ARIMATHEA ăr’ ə mə the ə (̓Αριμαθαία; KJV, ASV ARIMATHAEA). The native town of Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin who, after the Crucifixion, obtained the body of Jesus and placed it in his own unused tomb (Matt 27:57-60; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38). It is mentioned in the NT only in connection with the story of Joseph of Arimathea. The exact site is uncertain, but it is thought to be identical with the modern Rentis, twenty m. NW of Jerusalem, in the hills of the Shephelah area. It may be the same as the OT Ramathaim, where the prophet Samuel lived (1 Sam 1:1). It is mentioned in 1 Maccabees 11:34 ASV, and in Josephus, Antiquities, XIII. 4. 9 (Ramatha), where it is said that Demetrius II gave to Jonathan three Samaritan toparchies, including Arimathea (145 b.c.).

Bibliography C. F. Pfeiffer, Baker’s Bible Atlas (1961).