Gabbata
Gabbata was the name of a square paved with stones or a mosaic floor in Jerusalem according to Jn 19:13 EU . There the prefect of the Roman Empire exercised his judicial office over the province of Judea , Pontius Pilatus , around 30:
"In response to these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out and he sat on the judgment seat in the place called Lithostrotos, Gabbata in Hebrew."
The term is mentioned only this once in the New Testament , but has a crucial meaning here: The sentence introduces the condemnation of Jesus to be crucified .
Surname
Gabbata is introduced as a Hebrew word in John 19:13 . In fact, John used the Aramaic term from the colloquial language of the Jewish population at the time. The Aramaic gabbeta means elevation and height and comes from the Hebrew גבחת - gabachat , meaning “ balding hair ; Baldness ". It appears at this point Graecized as Gabbatha together with the Greek expression λιθóστρωτον - lithóstroton literally of "stone" or "crazy paving".
The Greek term is not a translation from Aramaic: both denote the same place in different languages. “Forehead baldness” can refer to its smoothed raised surface as a whole, in the sense of “open space”. “Stone paving” or “mosaic paving”, on the other hand, refers to the flooring material used. Since lithóstraton was apparently a permanent name, it is believed that it was the only plaza in Jerusalem paved with stone mosaics.
Localization
According to Mk 15,16 EU and Flavius Josephus ( The Jewish War , Book 5, Chapter 5), the official seat of Pilate was identical to the Praetorium (legion camp). This suggests that the Gabbata Court Square was in or near this building. Because plaster covered the interior of the Praetorium and its front forecourt. This could have been built under Herod Agrippa II (Flavius Josephus, Antiquitates Judaicae xx. 9, § 7).
According to Flavius Josephus ( Antiquitates Iudaicae 1, § 29; vi. 4, § 2,6) and Philo of Alexandria ( Legatio ad Caium § 38), the praetorium was then located within the Antonia Castle , Herod the Great as his castle with royal apartments had built. This was a barracks with thick walls and gates on the northwest corner of the outer temple courtyard . From there the Roman occupiers controlled the entire temple area and found refuge there from Jewish uprisings if necessary.
Since the eastern border of Herod's Palace, where Gabbata must have been, is unknown, the location in the area of today's citadel on Jaffa Gate can no longer be precisely located. Attempts to identify the place with the paved temple courtyard for the " heathen " or the place where the Sanhedrin met, did not prevail.
New Testament context
The synoptic gospels do not mention the name of the place where Jesus was condemned, nor any formal death sentence for Pilate. According to Mk 15.1 EU , he was brought to the residence of Pilate directly after the trial in front of the Sanhedrin in the palace of the incumbent high priest Kajaphas . Only after his brief interrogation and execution order was Jesus led to the flagellation according to Mk 15.16 EU :
"The soldiers led him into the palace, that is, into the Praetorium, and called the whole cohort together."
Accordingly, the condemnation did not take place in the Praetorium, but outside of it.
The Gospel of John changes in many places the sequence of the Passion of Jesus, which is largely uniformly presented in the older Gospels. His trial before the Sanhedrin is omitted here. Jesus is only subjected to a private interrogation by Annas , the father-in-law of Kajaphas ( Jn 18 : 19–24 EU ). A legal reason and a formal death sentence are not mentioned. Cajaphas then transferred Jesus directly to the official seat of Pilate ( Jn 18.28 EU ):
“From Caiaphas they brought Jesus to the Praetorium; it was early in the morning. "
This assumes that Pilate was there to exercise his office. It also says:
"You did not go into the building yourself so as not to become unclean, but to be able to eat the paschal lamb."
Thereafter, contrary to Mark's report, Jesus was condemned in the interior of the building without direct witnesses.
The following interrogation of Jesus by Pilate unfolds into a broad scene in the course of which there is a public dispute over the guilt of the accused before the Praetorium. Pilate appears as the defender of Jesus' innocence, who wants to save his life and set Jesus free, but finally gives in to the angry pressure of the priests and the crowd ("Crucify him!") And delivers Jesus to them ( Joh 18,33-19,16 EU ).
With the mention of the place Gabbata, the death sentence of Pilate begins. Joh 19,14 EU also contains a time indication, according to which the judgment “at the sixth hour” - around noon - was given. Both conclude the process of Jesus before Pilate. The evangelist shows his readers his precise knowledge of the circumstances of the judgment in order to make it credible for them. By describing Pilate taking his Judgment Seat on Gabbata, John is emphasizing the authority and legitimacy of his death sentence and his testimony about Jesus: See, there is your King!
See also
credentials
literature
- Joachim Jeremias : Jerusalem at the time of Jesus , Vandenhoeck + Ruprecht, Göttingen 1969 (4th edition), ISBN 3-525-53517-1
- Clemens Kopp: The holy places of the Gospels , Pustet Verlag, 2nd edition 1964
- LThK : Gabbatha