Whats the difference between Golgotha and Calvary?

Question

Is it because Golgotha is the name of the hill where Jesus was crucified and Calvary is the name of the area ?? Thanks :]

Answer 1

Actually, "Golgatha" is not Hebrew, but Aramaic -- the -a suffix is the Aramaic equivalent of the definite article (Hebrew, on the other hand, used the prefix "ha-" for this purpose) It literally means simply "The Skull", though since it is here being used as a place name"The Place of the Skull" was a reasonable way to explain it to Greek readers in the New Testament.

"Calvaria", as others have noted is the equivalent LATIN word. This name (or adaptations of it into other languages - as "Calvary" in English) is widely known because of the important role of the Latin Bible (Jerome's Vulgate) through the centuries.

(By the way, the REASON some folks mistakenly think Golgotha is Hebrew is that in the Greek language as used in the New Testament, the same word is used for both. It's not that people didn't KNOW the difference, they just didn't specify this the way we do.)

As for the question of whether it specified the "hill" or the area including the hill, we simply do not know. And the New Testament never tells us. The custom of using these terms to specify the topmost part (hill) comes centuries later.

And WHY did it have that name? Again, we're not sure. Three best guesses may be
a) it was nicknamed based on its being a place of execution.
b) that the name referred to a nearby cemetery (possibly related to the use in (a))
c) the shape of the hill suggested a skull. (This one seems quite convenient in light of the use of the place... but perhaps the very idea that it DID look like a skull was suggested by its use in (a) and/or (b). )

Answer 2

Golgotha and Calvary mean the same thing and same place. Both are interpreted as "place of the skull."
Calvary (Golgotha) is the English-language name given to the site, outside of Ancient Jerusalem’s early 1st century walls, of Jesus’ crucifixion.
I hope this helps.
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Answer 3

Golgotha Hill

Answer 4

Same place in two different languages. What is important is what happened there - the crucifixion of the Savior.

Answer 5

i think its the same hill, but named in 2 different languages. both names mean 'place of the skull' ? referring to the shape of the hill /the valley where refuse was burned (and where Romans threw unclaimed executed criminals, ive been told) was called Gehenna. i think its still called that.

Answer 6

I believe it is the other way around. Golgotha was an area where the Jews would burn and thrown their trash. Constantly burning and smoking-almost a picture of the Hell that awaited all sinners (if that is what Hell is like).