![Brooklyn Museum - The Judgment on the Gabbatha (Le jugement sur le Gabatha) - James Tissot](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Judgment_on_the_Gabbatha_%28Le_jugement_sur_le_Gabatha%29_-_James_Tissot.jpg)
Gabbatha (
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
גבתא) is the
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
name of a place in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
that is also referred to by the Greek name of (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
). It is recorded in the gospels to be the place of the trial of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
before his
crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
30/33
AD. The site of the
Church of Ecce Homo is traditionally thought to be its location, but archaeological investigation has proven this unlikely.
Herod's Palace Herod’s Palace may refer to any of several palace-fortresses built (or rebuilt from previous fortresses) during the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judea from 37 BC to 4 BC. Mostly in ruins today, several have been excavated.
* Herod's Palace ( ...
is a more likely location.
Etymology
(, from ‘stone’ and ‘covered’) occurs in the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
only once, in John 19:13.
It states that
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...
:
: brought
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
forth, and sat down in the judgment seat, in the place that is called Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew Gabbatha.
![Ecce Homo Pavement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Ecce_Homo_Pavement.jpg)
The name "Gabbatha" is an Aramaic word, the language spoken commonly at the time in
Judea
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...
. It is not a mere translation of ''Lithostrotos'', which properly means the tessellated or mosaic pavement where the judgment-seat stood, but which was extended to the place itself in front of Pilate's ''
praetorium
The Latin term (also and ) originally identified the tent of a general within a Roman castrum (encampment), and derived from the title praetor, which identified a Roman magistrate.Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 2 ed., ...
'', where that pavement was laid. This was proved by the practice of St. John, who elsewhere gives Aramaic names as distinctly belonging to places, not as mere translations of the Greek. This is proved also because ''Gabbatha'' is derived from a root meaning 'back' or 'elevation' – which refers not to the kind of pavement, but to the elevation of the place in question. It thus appears that the two names "Lithostrotos" and "Gabbatha" were due to different characteristics of the spot where Pilate condemned Jesus to death. The Aramaic name was derived from the configuration of that spot, with the Greek name derived from the nature of its pavement.
Identification
Efforts have been made by commentators to identify Gabbatha either with the outer court of the Temple, which is known to have been paved, or with the meeting-place of the Great
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...
, which was half within, half without that Temple's outer court, or again with the ridge at the back of the House of the Lord; but these efforts cannot be considered as successful.
![The Ecce Homo Arch and Gabbatha (The Pavement)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/The_Ecce_Homo_Arch_and_Gabbatha_%28The_Pavement%29.jpg)
According to
Pierre Benoit, Pilate carried out his judgements at
Herod's Palace Herod’s Palace may refer to any of several palace-fortresses built (or rebuilt from previous fortresses) during the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judea from 37 BC to 4 BC. Mostly in ruins today, several have been excavated.
* Herod's Palace ( ...
at the southwest side of the city, rather than at this point in the city's northeast corner.
[ Benoit, Pierre, "The Archaeological Reconstruction of the Antonia Fortress", in ''Jerusalem Revealed'' (edited by ]Yigael Yadin
Yigael Yadin ( he, יִגָּאֵל יָדִין ) (20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981.
B ...
), (1976) Archaeological studies have confirmed that the Roman pavement at these two traditional stations was built by
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
in the 2nd century AD as the flooring of the eastern
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
of
Aelia Capitolina
Aelia Capitolina (Traditional English Pronunciation: ; Latin in full: ) was a Roman colony founded during Emperor Hadrian's trip to Judah in 129/130, centered around Jerusalem, which had been almost totally razed after the siege of 70 CE. The f ...
.
Prior to Hadrian's changes, the area had been a large open-air pool of water, the
Struthion Pool mentioned by
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
.
The pool still survives under
vaulting
In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rin ...
added by Hadrian so that the forum could be built over it, and can be accessed from the portion of Roman paving under the
Convent of the Sisters of Zion
The Convent of the Sisters of Zion is a Roman Catholic convent of the Congregation of Notre-Dame de Sion, located near the eastern end of the ''Via Dolorosa'' in the Old City of Jerusalem. The convent was built in 1857 by Marie-Alphonse Ratisbon ...
, and from the
Western Wall Tunnel
The Western Wall Tunnel ( he, מנהרת הכותל, translit.: ''Minharat Hakotel'') is a tunnel exposing the Western Wall from where the traditional, open-air prayer site ends and up to the Wall's northern end. Most of the tunnel is in continua ...
.
A triple-arched gateway built by Hadrian as an
entrance to the eastern forum of Aelia Capitolina was traditionally, but as
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
investigation shows, mistakenly,
[Benoit, Pierre, ''The Antonia of Herod the Great, and the East Forum of Aelia Capitolina'' (1971)] said to have been part of the gate of Herod's
Antonia Fortress
The Antonia Fortress (Aramaic: קצטרא דאנטוניה) was a citadel built by Herod the Great and named for Herod's patron Mark Antony, as a fortress whose chief function was to protect the Second Temple. It was built in Jerusalem at the ea ...
. This was alleged to be the location of Jesus' trial and Pilate's ''
ecce homo'' speech.
References
''This article incorporates text from the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
''.''
{{New Testament places associated with Jesus
New Testament places