Arimathea
A place in the Bible
A town of Judea. Joseph, the disciple who buried Jesus, came from there.
What happened here
- Joseph of Arimathea: he was a rich man and a disciple of Jesus, though secretly, out of fear. He was waiting for the kingdom of God.
- The burial: Joseph asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. He wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his new tomb, hewn in the rock.
Today
No one knows for sure where it was. Some think it is Ramah, the town of the prophet Samuel.
Where it appears in the Bible
Luke 23:50-51; Matthew 27:57; John 19:38; Mark 15:43; Matthew 27:58-60
What the Bible says
Luke 23:50-51
50And behold there was a man named Joseph, who was a counsellor, a good and just man, 51(The same had not consented to their counsel and doings;) of Arimathea, a city of Judea; who also himself looked for the kingdom of God.
Matthew 27:57
And when it was evening, there came a certain rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus.
John 19:38
And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Luke 23:51; Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), “Arimathea”