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Caiaphas

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

High priest who presided over Jesus’ trial and urged His death

Detailed Definition
Caiaphas declared it expedient for one man to die for the people, unwittingly prophesying Christ’s atonement. His political maneuvering sealed Jesus’ fate. In poetry, Caiaphas symbolizes religious authority corrupted by expediency, the tragic irony of speaking truth without understanding, and the collision of human calculation with divine sacrifice.
Example
Example in poetry:
In John Milton’s "Paradise Lost," Caiaphas’s counsel (John 11) ironically fulfills prophecy; In T.S. Eliot’s "Ash-Wednesday," Caiaphas represents institutional resistance to grace; In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s "The Drama of Exile," Caiaphas symbolizes political religion; In George Herbert’s "The Church-porch," Caiaphas’s unwitting prophecy illustrates divine sovereignty; In John Keble’s "The Christian Year," Caiaphas’s office contrasts with his blindness; In W.H. Auden’s "For the Time Being," Caiaphas embodies the tragic administrator.
Additional Notes
Caiaphas: High priest who presided over Jesus’ trial (John 11:49–52; 18:14); unwittingly prophesied Jesus’ death for the nation. In poetry, Caiaphas represents institutional power, political calculation, and the irony of unintended prophecy. His counsel (“it is expedient…”) is chillingly pragmatic—useful in poems on complicity, the machinery of sacrifice, or the collision of divine purpose and human malice.
Also Known As
Caiaphas the High Priest Joseph Caiaphas
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