Barabbas Analysis

*Jerusalem

*Jerusalem. Leading city of Judaea and its environs, during the tenure of Pontius Pilate as prefect of Judaea in the first century c.e., that is the scene of the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth and the activities of Barabbas, in whose stead Jesus was crucified. Jesus is introduced in a brilliance of light, Barabbas in darkness; and darkness follows the crucifixion of Jesus. The contrast of light and darkness is extended as a contrast of positive and negative, with the Mount of Olives, for example, opposed to the valley of Ge-hinnom (Hinnom), the wretched repository of the corpses of vanquished enemies. The Gate of David exists in contrast to the Dung Gate. The topographical polarities are consistent with the moral polarities of Jesus and Barabbas—and with the spiritual polarities of the two: Jesus is the Son of the Father, who causes him to die on the cross; Barabbas (the name means “son of the father”) is shown to have killed his father, Eliahu (Elihu). The site of the crucifixion, the hill of Golgotha, stands in ugly contrast to the pleasant Vale of Kedron (Kidron). The contrast is furthered by the persons of the Fat Woman, Barabbas’s immoral consort, and the Woman with the Harelip (a Mary Magdalene figure). Barabbas rejoins his outlaw companions in the hills outside Jerusalem. Estranged from his cohorts, he leaves Palestine altogether.

*Cyprus

*Cyprus. Large island off the coast of Asia Minor in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The account of Barabbas, after a lacuna of uncertainty about his...