Pavement

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Pavement —The word occurs only in  John 19:13 as one of the names by which was known the locality otherwise called Gabbatha (wh. see) In classical usage λιθόστρωτον denotes a stone pavement, and later a mosaic or tessellated pavement, in which sense the word passed into Latin. Of recent years beautiful pavements have been found in many places in Palestine; but so far there is no evidence outside the NT that any locality in Jerusalem was generally known as either Gabbatha or the Pavement, and no attempted identification of the spot is quite satisfactory. The easiest course is to regard the passage as unhistorical, and the allusions as derived only from the writer’s imagination and introduced to give verisimilitude to the narrative; but such an explanation is itself as subjective as the pleas it adopts. That the reference is to the paved forecourt of the Temple, or to the usual meeting-place of the Sanhedrin, is rendered unlikely by the absence of the designation from Jewish literature, as well as by the improbability that Pilate would choose any partially consecrated spot for the inquiry. On the other hand, there are Latin usages which seem to connect the locality with the governor’s official or temporary residence. Julius Caesar is described by Suctonius ( Vit. Div. Jul. 46) as carrying about with him on his military expeditions a tessellated pavement, which was laid down in his encampments as marking the spot from which judicial decisions and addresses to the soldiers were given. Josephus ( Ant. xviii. iv. 6) reports that Philip the tetrarch similarly carried his tribunal with him (τοῦ θρόνου εἰς δν ἔκρινε καθεζύμενος ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἑπομένου), but there is no reference to a portable mosaic. In the case of Pilate, it is possible that he would be disposed to imitate the procedure of the Emperor, or even that of a petty sovereign, but in this matter no record to such an effect has been found; and whilst the course would not be without danger, it is not easy to think that a locality would derive its name from being one of many places on which a movable pavement was once or occasionally laid. That, moreover, there were, as a rule, in the larger centres of population, fixed places for the administration of justice is not unlikely. The provincial basilicas were often law-courts as well as exchanges, the tribunal being set in the semicircular apse, of which the raised floor was certainly paved, and exactly the kind of spot to attract a designer. There may not have been any such basilica at Jerusalem, or at least the remains of one have not so far been clearly identified. Josephus ( BJ II. ix. 3: καθίσας ἐπὶ βήματος ἐν τῷ μεγάλῳ σταδίῳ) has been cited in support of a view that Pilate used ‘the open market-place’ (so Whiston, followed by many) at Jerusalem for the administration of justice; but the passage refers to Caesarea, and the rendering of στάδιον as a synonym of ἀγορά is not well established. Each stationary camp, again, had its tribunal, sometimes formed of turf but more frequently of stone, and from it the general addressed the soldiers and the tribunes administered justice. In Jerusalem the garrison occupied the castle of Antonia, within which would be the tribunal used in cases of military discipline, but probably not for the hearing of Jewish complaints and causes. Pilate himself would reside in Herod’s palace (cf. Philo, ad Gaium , 31, and the practice of Gessius Florus in Josephus BJ ii. xv. 5), as did also the procurator at Caesarea ( Acts 23:35). It was a magnificent building, lined outside with spacious porticoes. Here it was natural that the Jews should present themselves when seeking the execution of Jesus ( John 18:28;  John 19:4), who was apparently confined in the palace ( John 19:9;  John 19:13 a). And one of these paved porticoes may well have been known within the palace as the Pavement, upon which stood the judgment-seat, under an open cupola or within a rounded porch.

Literature.—Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible, art. ‘Gabbatha’; EBi [Note: Bi Encyclopaedia Biblica.] , art. ‘Pavement.’

R. W. Moss.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Λιθόστρωτος (Strong'S #3038 — Adjective — lithostrotos — lith-os'-tro-tos )

an adjective, denoting "paved with stones" (lithos, "a stone," and stronnuo, "to spread"), especially of tessellated work, is used as a noun in  John 19:13 , of a place near the Praetorium in Jerusalem, called Gabbatha, a Greek transliteration of an Aramaic word. In the Sept.,  2—Chronicles 7:3;  Esther 1:6; Song of  Song of Solomon 3:10 .

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) That with which anythingis paved; a floor or covering of solid material, laid so as to make a hard and convenient surface for travel; a paved road or sidewalk; a decorative interior floor of tiles or colored bricks.

(2): ( v. t.) To furnish with a pavement; to pave.

King James Dictionary

PA'VEMENT, n. L. pavimentum. A floor or covering consisting of stones or bricks, laid on the earth in such a manner as to make a hard and convenient passage as a pavement of pebbles, of bricks, or of marble.

PA'VEMENT, To pave to floor with stone or brick. Unusual.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Pavement. See Gabbatha .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 John 19:13Gabbatha

Holman Bible Dictionary

Gabbatha

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

PAVEMENT . See Gabbatha.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

See Judgement Seat

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

See GABBATHA.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

is the rendering in the A.V. of רַצְפָּה , Ritspah', originally a Stone heated for baking purposes, and hence a Tesselated Pavement ( 2 Chronicles 7:3;  Esther 1:6; Ezekiel xl, 17, 18; 42:3), once of the cognate term

מִרְצֶפֶת , Martse'Pheth, A Paved Floor ( 2 Kings 16:17). In  John 19:13 it is the rendering of Λιθόστρωτος , which is immediately explained by the Heb. equivalent Gabbatha (q.v.). In the account of the sacrilege of Ahab, we read that he removed the brazen oxen upon which the base in the Temple rested, and substituted a stone pavement ( 2 Kings 16:17). The lower stories of Eastern houses and palaces, in later days, were usually paved with marble ( Esther 1:6), but in the time of Moses marble was not used for pavements. The "paved work of a sapphire stone" mentioned in  Exodus 24:10 is therefore supposed to refer to the splendid floors known in Egypt, which were formed of painted tiles or bricks. Champollion and Rosellini have given specimens of these ornamented floors, and fragments of such may be seen in the British Museum. This taste still prevails in the East. Le Bruyn tells us that the mosque at Jerusalem is almost all covered over with green and blue bricks, which are glazed, so that when the sun shines the eve is perfectly dazzled; and Dr. Russell likewise mentions that a portion of the pavement of some of the houses in Syria is composed of mosaic work. (See House).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

pāv´ment  : In the Old Testament, with the exception of   2 Kings 16:17 , the Hebrew word is רצפּה , ricpāh ( 2 Chronicles 7:3;  Esther 1:6;  Ezekiel 40:17 , etc.); in Sirach 20:18 and Bel and the Dragon verse 19 the word is ἔδαφος , édaphos  ; in  John 19:13 , the name "The Pavement" (λιθόστρωτος , lithóstrōtos , "paved with stone") is given to the place outside the Pretorium on which Pilate sat to give judgment upon Jesus. Its Hebrew (Aramaic) equivalent is declared to be Gabbatha (which see). The identification of the place is uncertain.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

[GABBATHA]