TIBERIUS, CLAUDIUS NERO (Tiberius Claudius Nero; after his adoption by Augustus, Tiberius Iulius Caesar), ROMAN EMPEROR. - B. 16 Nov. 42 B.C., d. at the villa of Misenum on 16 March 37 A.D. In the New Testament he is named expressly only in Lk. 3:1; he is alluded to in Mt. 22:17, 21 and parallels (when Jesus is questioned about the lawfulness of the tribute to Caesar), Lk. 23:2 and Jn. 19:12, 15 (at the trial of Jesus before Pilate). During his reign (14-37 A.D.) the whole public activity of the Baptist and of Jesus took place, the martyrdom of St. Stephen occurred, and probably also the conversion of St. Paul.
Partly contemporary with him (Lk. 3:1 ff.) are Pontius Pilate (v.) as procurator of Judea (26-36 A.D.), Herod the tetrarch of Galilee (4 B.C.-39 A.D.), Philip the tetrarch of the north-eastern regions of Palestine (4 B.C.-34 A.D.), Caiaphas the high priest of the Jews (18-26 A.D.) and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene (between 14 and 29 A.D.). The determination of the "15th year of the reign of T." (Lk. 3:1) would be very useful for establishing precisely in which year of our era the preaching of the Baptist began, and that of Jesus (which began three, at most nine months later), as also the age of the Lord at that time (indicated too vaguely in Lk. 3:23). Unfortunately both the starting point of the reckoning (from the death of Augustus: 19 Aug. 14, or from the co-regency of T. with Augustus in the government of the provinces, which began in 12) and the very manner of reckoning (counting or not counting as a whole year the months elapsing until the beginning of the following year, which for the Romans was 1 Jan. and for the Jews was 1 Tishri or Nisan) remain uncertain. The conclusions therefore oscillate between the years 26-29, with preferences for 26-27 and 28-29. Thus the "about 30 years" of Jesus (Lk. 3:23) may be from 31 to 34.
Great care for the good administration of the provinces is acknowledged in T.; he used to say that "it is the duty of the good shepherd to shear the flock, not to flay it"; he left his legates in office even more than three years, persuaded that if the flies that suck the blood of a wounded man are driven away, others more thirsty will come that will drain him of blood (Fl. Josephus, Antiq. Iud., XVIII, 6, 5). The best legate that T. gave to Syria was L. Vitellius (35-39), who had a great part in the affairs of Judea (v. LEGATE, II. of Syria, 14). On the other hand, in the appointment of Pilate as procurator of Judea, Sejanus, hostile to the Jews, perhaps had influence. Yet several times T. gave them satisfaction against Pilate, as when he had the golden shields placed by him in the Palace of Herod at Jerusalem brought to Caesarea. It seems, moreover, that T. had Pilate secretly watched by Herod Antipas; it is certain that Pilate decided to pronounce the death sentence against Jesus for fear of being denounced as a favourer of one accused of the crime of lese-majesty (Lk. 23:2; Jn. 19:12 ff.).
It is quite probable that the tribute money shown to Jesus (Mt. 22:19 ff. and parallels) was that of T.; in that case it was of silver and bore on the obverse the image of the Emperor crowned, surrounded by the inscription: Tiberias Caesar Divi Augusti P(ilius) Augustus, and on the reverse the effigy of Julia Livia with sceptre and flower, and around it the legend Pontif. Maxim. Livia held the title of "augusta" from 14 A.D. until 29 (when she died): of this time, therefore, is the inscription of a certain Nymphaeus, freedman of the tetrarch of Abilene (v.) Lysanias, in honour of the "augusti" (Tiberius and Livia). Paul Orosius relates (Histor. adv. paganos. VII, 4: PL 31, 1066-69; cf. Tertullian, Apol., V: PL 1, 290-92) that T., informed by Pilate of the death and resurrection of Jesus and of his miracles, wished to declare him God: but the Senate opposed it. This report may be based on the apocrypha of Pilate, in which it is also read that T. received Baptism after being healed by adoring the sudarium of Veronica (v. PILATE, Apocrypha of, n. 3).