Joseph ben Caiaphas (/ˈkaɪ.ə.fəs/; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD) was the High Priest of Israel during the first century. In the New Testament, the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John indicate he was an organizer of the plot to kill Jesus. He is portrayed as presiding over the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus. The primary sources for Caiaphas' life are the New Testament and the writings of Josephus. The latter records he was made high priest by the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus after Simon ben Camithus had been deposed.

The Babylonian Talmud (Yevamot 15B) gives the family name as Kuppai, while the Jerusalem Talmud (Yevamot 1:6) mentions Nekifi. The Mishnah, Parah 3:5, refers to the family name as hakKof (perhaps "the Monkey", a play on his name for opposing the Pharisees).

The family name Caiaphas קַיָּפָה has a few possible origins:^{[citation needed]}

Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas (John 18:13), had been high-priest from AD 6 to 15, and continued to exercise a significant influence over Jewish affairs. Annas and Caiaphas may have sympathized with the Sadducees, a religious movement in Judaea that found most of its members among the wealthy Jewish elite. The comparatively long eighteen-year tenure of Caiaphas suggests he had a good working relationship with the Roman authorities.

The New Testament is critical of Caiaphas. In the Gospel of John (John 11), the high priests call a gathering of the Sanhedrin in reaction to the raising of Lazarus. While many scholars believe the repeated name is simply coincidence, some have suggested that the parable in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 16:28–30) may be connected. In the parable, a rich man and the beggar Lazarus have died. The rich man is suffering while Lazarus is with Abraham. The rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers. Abraham says that even if Lazarus rises from the dead, the "five brothers" of the rich man will ignore his message. This has given rise to the suggestion by Claude-Joseph Drioux and others that the "rich man" is itself an attack on Caiaphas, his father-in-law, and his five brothers-in-law.

Caiaphas considers, with "the Chief Priests and Pharisees", what to do about Jesus, whose influence was spreading. They worry that if they "let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation."

In the Gospel of John (John 18), Jesus is brought before Annas, whose palace was closer. Annas questioned him regarding his disciples and teaching, and then sent him on to Caiaphas. Caiaphas makes a political calculation, suggesting that it would be better for "one man" (Jesus) to die than for "the whole nation" to be destroyed. Similar ideas can be found in rabbinical discussion in Talmud and Midrash. According to John 11:51-52 it states that "He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."

Afterward, Jesus is taken to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Pilate tells the priests to judge Jesus themselves, to which they respond they lack authority to do so. Pilate questions Jesus, after which he states, "I find no basis for a charge against him." Pilate then offers the gathered crowd the choice of one prisoner to release—said to be a Passover tradition—and they choose a criminal named Barabbas instead of Jesus.