Golgotha

Biblical Text

Golgotha appears in the crucifixion accounts of all four Gospels. In the KJV, Matthew 27:33 calls it "a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull," and Mark 15:22 calls it "the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull"; the New Korean Revised Version reads similarly. John 19:17 refers to "a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha." Luke 23:33 does not use the name "Golgotha" but simply calls it the place called "Skull," rendered in the KJV as "the place, which is called Calvary."

According to the Gospels, Simon of Cyrene carried Jesus' cross to this place (Mark 15:21), and Jesus was crucified there along with two malefactors (Luke 23:33). John records that the place was near the city (John 19:20) and that in a nearby garden there was a new tomb, where Joseph of Arimathea and others laid Jesus (John 19:41-42).

Name and Background

"Golgotha" is understood to be a Greek transliteration of an Aramaic word meaning "skull." Luke used the Greek word kranion, which has the same meaning, and the Latin Vulgate rendered it as calvaria. The English "Calvary" of the King James Version and the Korean Galbori both derive from this Latin word.

Scripture does not explain why the place was called "Skull." Some suggest that the terrain was shaped like a skull, others that the name reflected its use as a place of execution, but none of these explanations has been established. The account that passersby reviled Jesus (Matthew 27:39) suggests that the site was near a road.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Hebrews 13:11-13 connects the Old Testament ordinance that the bodies of sin offerings were burned outside the camp (Leviticus 16:27) with Jesus' suffering "without the gate," and exhorts believers: "Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp." Golgotha is thus understood not merely as a place of execution but as the place where Jesus' atonement was accomplished.

Interpretation and Debate

Scholars differ on the exact location. The traditional site is that of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built in the fourth century under Emperor Constantine, which the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have long venerated. In the late nineteenth century, a rocky hill north of the city and the nearby "Garden Tomb" were proposed as an alternative, and many Protestant pilgrims visit this site. Views on the archaeological evidence vary, and neither location has been established.

Although the site is commonly called "Golgotha Hill" or "Mount Calvary," Scripture calls it only a "place" and does not describe it as a hill or mountain. A story that the skull of Adam was buried there has circulated since the early church, but this tradition is not found in the biblical text.

In Korean Churches

In Korean churches, "Calvary" and "Golgotha" are widely used to refer to the sufferings of the cross. They are frequently mentioned in sermons and prayers during Holy Week and appear in songs of praise such as the hymn known in Korean as "On Mount Calvary" ("The Old Rugged Cross"). Some churches also include "Calvary" in their names. On pilgrimages to the Holy Land in Israel, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Garden Tomb are counted among the principal destinations.