Arimathaea

Arimathea, according to the Gospel of Luke (xxiii. 51), was "a city of Judea". It was the home town of Joseph of Arimathea, who appears in all four Gospel accounts of the Passion for having donated his new tomb outside of Jerusalem for the body of Jesus.

In the Koine Greek New Testament texts, the Greek word for Arimathea has a rough breathing mark that looks like the open parenthesis symbol above the intial alpha of Arimathea. The rough breathing mark over the vowel dictates that the letter "A" should be preceded by an "h" sound. Consequently, the place of Joseph's origin should be pronounced "Harimathea," in order to be faithful to the Greek texts.

Arimathea is often held to be another name for Ramathaim-Zophim in Ephraim, the birth-place of Samuel, where David came to Samuel. (1 Samuel 1:1, 19), Others identify it with Ramlah in Dan, or Ramah in Benjamin. (Matt. 2:18)

Joseph is given a more extensive story in the apocryphal Acts of Pilate, though the work is considered late fiction. The Catholic Encyclopedia asserts that "the additional details which are found concerning Joseph in the apocryphal Acta Pilati, are unworthy of credence."

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