The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70 · External witness
Barabbas
fl. AD 30 (released; life otherwise unrecorded) · Insurrectionist · Released in place of Christ · Jerusalem
External witness
Who Barabbas was
Named in all four Gospels, and the only man in Scripture whose whole recorded significance is that he was let go. Matthew calls him **“a notable prisoner”**; Mark is specific about the charge — he lay bound with men who had made insurrection, **“who had committed murder in the insurrection”**; John calls him a robber, using the word Josephus uses of the insurgents.
His name is a patronymic: *bar-abba*, **son of the father**. Nothing else about him is recorded — no trial, no later life, no death.
**A textual variant worth knowing.** A number of manuscripts read **“Jesus Barabbas”** at Matthew 27:16–17, giving the released man the same personal name as the condemned one, so that Pilate’s question becomes a choice between two men called Jesus. **Origen knew the reading and objected to it** on the ground that no sinner should bear that name — which is itself evidence that the reading was current in the third century, since he would not have argued against a text nobody had. Modern editors are divided. The archive records the variant and does not adopt it.
He is held as an external witness rather than a member: he is connected to the church by nothing but the exchange, and no source claims otherwise.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Barabbas active?
Barabbas is dated fl. AD 30 (released; life otherwise unrecorded) in the archive, which places Barabbas in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70).
Which early sources mention Barabbas?
Barabbas is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Mark and John. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Barabbas from?
The archive associates Barabbas with Jerusalem.
Who were Barabbas’ contemporaries?
The archive links Barabbas to 4 other figures, including Pontius Pilate, Joseph Caiaphas, Annas (Ananus I) and Jesus of Nazareth. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Mark 15:7–15
c. AD 30And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. … But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. … And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.Mark · read ↗
John 18:40
c. AD 30Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.John · read ↗
Names proposed by later tradition
“Jesus Barabbas” — the longer reading at Matthew 27:16–17
A number of manuscripts give the released man the personal name Jesus, so that Pilate offers a choice between two men so named. Origen knew the reading and argued against it on the ground that no sinner should bear the name — evidence that it was current in the third century. Modern editors are divided. Recorded, not adopted.
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Barabbas.