Encyclopedia entry
Golgotha
The common name of the spot where Jesus was crucified. It is interpreted by the evangelists as meaning “the place of a skull” (Matt. 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17). This name represents in Greek letters the Aramaic word Gulgaltha, which is the Hebrew Gulgoleth (Num. 1:2; 1 Chr. 23:3, 24; 2 Kings 9:35), meaning “a skull.” It is identical with the word Calvary (q.v.). It was a little knoll rounded like a bare skull. It is obvious from the evangelists that it was some well-known spot outside the gate (comp. Heb. 13:12), and near the city (Luke 23:26), containing a “garden” (John 19:41), and on a thoroughfare leading into the country. Hence it is an untenable idea that it is embraced within the present “Church of the Holy Sepulchre.” The hillock above Jeremiah’s Grotto, to the north of the city, is in all probability the true site of Calvary. The skull-like appearance of the rock in the southern precipice of the hillock is very remarkable.
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(skull), the Hebrew name of the spot at which our Lord was crucified. (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17) By these three evangelists it is interpreted to mean the “place of a skull.” Two explanations of the name are given: (1) that it was a spot where executions ordinarily took place, and therefore abounded in skulls; or(2) it may come from the look or form of the spot itself, bald, round and skull-like, and therefore a mound or hillock, in accordance with the common phrase—for which there is no direct authority— “Mount Calvary.” Whichever of these is the correct explanation, Golgotha seems to have been a known spot.
In the Bible
3
Verses where Golgotha is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- John 19:17
Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
- Mark 15:22
They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull.
- Matthew 27:33
And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull,
Scripture on Golgotha
8
See all 8 +−
Entries that reference Golgotha
3
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.