Quod scripsi, scripsi (Latin for "What I have written, I have written") is a Latin phrase. It was most famously used by Pontius Pilate in the Bible in response to the Jewish priests who objected to his writing "King of the Jews" on the sign ( titulus ) that was hung above Jesus at his Crucifixion. It is mostly found in the Latin Vulgate Bible. [1]
The phrase appears in the Bible in John 19:20–22. When Jesus was sent to be crucified, Pilate wrote the sign to be hung above Jesus on the cross. He wrote "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" in Hebrew (or, more correctly, Aramaic. [2] ) Latin and Ancient Greek. The Jewish priests voiced their objections of this to Pilate, stating that Jesus had only claimed the title and they did not recognise Him as such. They said to Pilate, "Do not write King of the Jews, but that he said: 'I am the King of the Jews'." [3] Pilate responded to them sternly with "Quod scripsi, scripsi" (Greek: Ὃ γέγραφα γέγραφα, Ho gegrapha gegrapha). This was interpreted by Jerome as an allusion to the headings of Psalm 56 and Psalm 57, which in the Vulgate seem to refer to an inscription that is not to be changed. [3] [4]
The scene where Pilate says "Quod scripsi, scripsi" was not covered in art or discussion as a popular subject. Aside of the Bury St. Edmunds Cross there was little discussion on it in the pre-Reformation Christian Church. It was suggested that this may have been because it is only mentioned in detail by John the Evangelist and because it was mentioned in the apocryphal Acts of Pilate. [4]
In 1306, when Henry II of Jerusalem signed a patent to give the Kingdom of Cyprus to the governorship of Amalric, Lord of Tyre, the marshal of the temple accompanying Amalric reportedly said "Quod scripsi, scripsi" with disdain to Henry when he signed the patent. [5]
On being released from imprisonment in 1418, Antipope John XXIII came, broken down and destitute, to Florence, and was given an asylum there by Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, who, when the deposed Pope died in the following year, erected to his memory the tomb which is to be seen in the Florence Baptistery. When the inscription was put up (after Giovanni's death), Pope Martin V objected to the words "Quandam Papa" (former Pope) and wrote to the Signoria demanding that they should be erased. The reply was a refusal, written by Cosimo de' Medici, and couched in the words of Pontius Pilate, saying, "Quod scripsi, scripsi." [6]
The philosopher Immanuel Kant used a play on "Quod scripsi, scripsi" in response to critics of his Metaphysics of Morals , using "Quod scripsi, scribentes" (What I have written, I am writing). [7]
Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ultimately ordered his crucifixion. Pilate's importance in Christianity is underscored by his prominent place in both the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. Because the gospels portray Pilate as reluctant to execute Jesus, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church believes that Pilate became a Christian and venerates him as both a martyr and a saint, a belief which is historically shared by the Coptic Church, with a feast day on 19 or 25 June, respectively.
The Passion is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week.
The unnamed wife of Pontius Pilate appears only once in the Gospel of Matthew (27:19), where she intercedes with Pilate on Jesus' behalf. It is uncertain whether Pilate was actually married, although it is likely. In later tradition, she becomes known as Procula, Procla or Procle and plays a role in various New Testament Apocrypha. At a later date, she acquires the name Claudia Procula in Western tradition, as well as other names and variants of these names. She is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Eastern Catholic Church, the Coptic Church, and the Ethiopian Church. She has also frequently been featured in literature and film.
John 15 is the fifteenth chapter in the Gospel of John in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. It is part of what New Testament scholars have called the 'farewell discourse' of Jesus. It has historically been a source of Christian teaching and Christological debate and reflection, and its images have been influential in Christian art and iconography. The chapter implies one of the highest and most developed Christologies to be found in the New Testament. The original text was written in Koine Greek. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this Gospel.
Scripsi was an Australian literary periodical published from 1981 to 1994 in Melbourne, first from the English Department and subsequently from Ormond College of the University of Melbourne. Its name comes from Pontius Pilate's assertion "Quod scripsi, scripsi".
John 18:38 is the 38th verse in chapter 18 of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of Christian Bible. It is often referred to as "jesting Pilate". In it, Pontius Pilate questions Jesus' claim that he is "witness to the truth".
Matthew 27 is the 27th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew, part of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. This chapter contains Matthew's record of the day of the trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Scottish theologian William Robertson Nicoll notes that "the record of this single day is very nearly one-ninth of the whole book".
Mark 15 is the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. This chapter records the narrative of Jesus' passion, including his trial before Pontius Pilate and then his crucifixion, death and entombment. Jesus' trial before Pilate and his crucifixion, death, and burial are also recorded in Matthew 27, Luke 23, and John 18:28–19:42.
John 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. This chapter records the events on the day of the Crucifixion of Jesus, starting with the arrest of Jesus the evening before. The three denials of Peter are interwoven into the narrative concerning the trials of Jesus.
John 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this Gospel. This chapter records the events on the day of the crucifixion of Jesus, until his burial.
Luke 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records several parables and teachings told by Jesus Christ and his lamentation over the city of Jerusalem. Jesus resumes the journey to Jerusalem which he had embarked upon in Luke 9:51. This chapter, taken with Luke 12:54-59, begins to outline and illustrate "the problem with the Jewish nation" which accounts for the urgency of his journey to Jerusalem. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, however early Christian tradition generally accepts that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles.
Luke 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles. This chapter records the trial of Jesus Christ before Pontius Pilate, Jesus' meeting with Herod Antipas, and his crucifixion, death and burial.
In the New Testament, the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin following his arrest in Jerusalem and prior to the trial before Pontius Pilate. It is an incident reported by all three Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament, while the Gospel of John refers to a preliminary inquiry before Annas. The gospel accounts vary on a number of details.
Deicide is the killing of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected.
The Cloisters Cross, is a complex 12th-century ivory Romanesque altar cross or processional cross. It is named after The Cloisters, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which acquired it in 1963.
Jewish deicide is the theological position and antisemitic trope that the Jews as a people are collectively responsible for the killing of Jesus, even through the successive generations following his death. The notion arose in early Christianity, and features in the writings of Justin Martyr and Melito of Sardis as early as the 2nd century. The Biblical passage Matthew 27:24–25 has been seen as giving voice to the charge of Jewish deicide as well.
Psalm 26, the 26th psalm of the Book of Psalms in the Bible, begins : "Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity".
Psalm 116 is the 116th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications". It is part of the Egyptian Hallel sequence in the Book of Psalms.
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In the Koine Hellenic of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as Basileus ton Ioudaion.
Acts 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas to Cyprus and Pisidia. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke composed this book as well as the Gospel of Luke. From this point onwards, except for the Council held in Jerusalem, Luke's narrative focusses on Paul, his ministry, and the events of his life.
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