GABBATHA (gab'ba-tha), (Gr. yappat3d, gab bath-ah' ; Chald. 14:,.1P, knoll), the place mentioned in John xix:13 where the Evangelist states that Pontius Pilate, alarmed at last in his attempts to save Jesus, by the artful insinuation of the Jews, 'If thou let this man go, thou art not Cmsar's friend,' went into the prwtorium again, and brought Jesus out to them, and sat down once rnore upon the !qua, tribunal, in a place called AreiScrrpwrop, stone paved, but in the Hebrew Gabbatha.
The Greek word, signifying literally stone paved, is an adjective, and is generally used as such by the Greek writers; but they also some times use it to denote a pavement formed of ornamental stones of various colors, commonly called a tesselated or niosaic pavement. The par tiality of the Romans for this kind of pavement is well known (Casaubon, ad Sueton. p. 38, etc., edit. 1605). From this fact it has been inferred by many eminent writcrs, that the stone-paved place where Pilate's tribunal was set on this occasion, was covered by a tesselaied pavement, which, as a piece of Roman magnificence, was appended to the prxtorium at Jerusalem. The emphatic man ner in which St. John speaks of it agrees with this conjecture. It further appears from his nar rative that it was outside the przetorium; for Pilate is said to have 'comc out' to the Jews, who, for ceremonial reasons, did not go into it, on this as well as on other occasions (John xviii :28, 29, 38; xix :4, 13). Besides which, the Roman
governors, although they tried causes, and con ferred with their council (Acts xxv :12), within the prmtorium, always pronounced sentence in the open air. Probably this tcsselated pavement, on which the tribunal was now placed, was inlaid on some part of the terrace, etc., running along one side of the prwtorium, and overlooking the area where the Jews were assembled, or upon a landing-place of the stairs, immediately before the grand entrance.
It has been conjectured that the pavement' in question was no other than the one referred to in 2 Chron. vii :3, and by Josephus, De Bell. Jud. vi: x, 8, as in the outer court of the temple; but that he would adjourn the whole assembly, consisting of rulers of every grade, as well as the populace, to any other place, is very unlikely; and the sup position that such place was any part of the temple is encumbered with additional difficulties.
J. F. D.