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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

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JUDGMENT*, Hall of

KJV translation in Jn 18:28, 33 OET JHN 18:28 · OET JHN 18:33; 19:9; Acts 23:35 of a NT word also translated “Praetorium” (Mk 15:16) and “common hall” (Mt 27:27). The word was first used to refer to the place where the Roman general’s tent stood in an army camp and hence was a reference to the headquarters of the camp. It then came to mean the military council that met in the general’s tent. Later, it was used in reference to the palace in which the Roman governor or procurator resided while ruling a province. It also designated the army headquarters and barracks that were housed in connection with the governor’s residence. In Jerusalem it was the palace that Herod the Great had built for himself. When the Roman governor came from his normal residence in Caesarea to Jerusalem, he occupied Herod’s palace and conducted his official business there. It was there that Pilate questioned Jesus (Jn 18:28; 19:9), but it was at another place called the “Pavement” that Pilate sat in judgment and gave Jesus to the Jews.