The skull; Golgotha, a knoll near Jerusalem
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Golgotha names the place where Jesus was crucified, identified in the Gospels as the Place of the Skull. The word matters because it anchors the cross in a named location rather than in a vague religious idea.
Reader summary
Full entry for Γολγοθᾶ (G1115) · Open the biblical lexicon
Golgotha names the place where Jesus was crucified, identified in the Gospels as the Place of the Skull. The word matters because it anchors the cross in a named location rather than in a vague religious idea.
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Golgotha (2), [called] Golgotha (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 27:33. Its strongest book concentrations include John (1), Mark (1), Matthew (1).
Golgotha names the place where Jesus was crucified, identified in the Gospels as the Place of the Skull. The word matters because it anchors the cross in a named location rather than in a vague religious idea. Matthew and Mark bring readers to the place after the mockery and procession, while John shows Jesus carrying His own cross to the same named site. The lexical claim is modest: this is a place name.
The theological weight comes from the crucifixion that takes place there. Teachers should use Golgotha to keep the passion historically concrete, to honor the evangelists' witness, and to avoid speculative claims about the site's shape, exact archaeology, or hidden symbolism that the text does not state.
Golgotha names the crucifixion place in Matthew, Mark, and John. The word locates the event in concrete history while the surrounding passion narratives supply the saving meaning of the cross.
And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull,
Matthew names Golgotha as the place reached after Jesus is led to crucifixion.
They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull.
Mark repeats the place name and translates its meaning for the reader.
Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
John anchors the scene as Jesus carries His own cross to the Place of the Skull.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. the skull; Golgotha, a knoll near Jerusalem
:--Golgotha.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Golgotha
Read verseGolgotha
Read verseGolgotha
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Hebrew roots and equivalents that share conceptual or etymological ground with this Greek word.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Golgotha helps readers keep the cross historically concrete without turning the place name into a hidden code. The Gospels do not present the location as a puzzle for speculative meaning; they use it to locate the death of Jesus in the real world. Matthew and Mark identify the place reached as Jesus is led out to be crucified. John adds the striking detail that Jesus goes out carrying His own cross.
In each Gospel, the place receives significance because the Son of God is crucified there. The word therefore serves faithful teaching when it keeps the passion anchored in time, place, public shame, and divine purpose. It is misused when geography replaces the crucified Christ as the center of attention.
John.19.17
Golgotha is a Semitic place name carried into Greek and translated for readers as the Place of the Skull. The word functions as a proper name, so teachers should not treat it like a common noun with a wide semantic range.
The Old Testament prepares readers for substitution, suffering, shame, and sacrifice, but the New Testament use of Golgotha remains a named passion location. Connections to sacrifice and fulfillment should be made through the crucifixion passages and the canon, not through speculative geography.