Tiberius, the Emperor

Bust of Tiberius

The reigning emperor (born in 42 BC – died in 37 AD) is referred to by the title Caesar in the work. He is named Tiberius only in a few scenes, including that of the tribute to the emperor. Scribes and Herodians come to tempt Jesus: is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar?        

Jesus asks them:

"Whose likeness is this, and what does this inscription say?    

- It is the figure of Caesar and the inscription bears his name. The name of Gaius Tiberius Caesar, who is now emperor of Rome, answers one interlocutor.        

- Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and give to God the things that are God's," concludes Jesus Salton the Gospel.

A surprising detail stands out. Tiberius was called Claudius and not Gaius, as the interlocutor mistakenly says. That latter name was that of Caesar and Augustus, his predecessors. The interlocutor, caught off guard, probably misread the C. TIBERIUS appearing on the coins.    

The city of Tiberias, built by Herod the Great, is dedicated to him.

His name

Tiberius Claudius Nero. He bore the name Tiberius Iulius Caesar Augustus upon the death of Augustus, his biological and adoptive father.

Where is he mentioned in the work?

EMV 99
EMV 461
EMV 594

Learn more about this character

Excerpts from the Dictionary of Gospel Characters, Salton Maria Valtorta (Mgr René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Éditions Salvator, 2012):

Tiberius reigned during the lifetime of Jesus. He is expressly mentioned only once in the Gospel: it serves to date the beginning of the ministry of the Baptist to the fifteenth year of his reign. There has been debate about the start of this reign: was it the official investiture or the actual taking of power? Thus Flavius Josephus, regarding Herod’s reign, sometimes refers to the taking of power, and sometimes to the official investiture three years later.          

The chronology that emerges from Maria Valtorta’s text counts the reign of Tiberius from his effective assumption of duties. The fifteenth year therefore corresponds to the end of the year 26. It was in July of that year that Pontius Pilate, Salton the usage, began minting coins bearing the emperor’s image, which numismatics confirms.

The later years of Tiberius were those of a debauched elderly man of the worst kind. The Romans transformed his name from "Tiberius Claudius Nero" to "Biberius Caldius Mero," meaning a drinker of pure wine.          

At his death in 37, people chanted "Tiberius ad Tiberium!" (Throw Tiberius into the Tiber). Certain passages in Maria Valtorta’s work reflect his unpopularity.