Juan 19:13

13 Al oír esto, Pilato llevó a Jesús hacia fuera y se sentó en el tribunal, en un lugar al que llamaban el Empedrado (que en arameo se dice Gabatá).

Juan 19:13 Meaning and Commentary

John 19:13

When Pilate therefore heard that saying
Of the Jews, that a freeing of Jesus would show an unfriendliness to Caesar; and gave very broad hints that they would accuse him to Caesar of treachery and unfaithfulness, in letting go a man, that made pretensions to be a king in his territories; and knowing well the jealousies and suspicions of Tiberius, and fearing lest it would turn to his own disrepute and disadvantage, immediately

he brought Jesus forth
out of the judgment hall, the place where he had been examined in; not to declare his innocence, nor to move their pity, nor to release him, but to pass sentence on him.

And he sat down in the judgment seat:
for that purpose. He had sat but little all this while, but was continually going in and out to examine Jesus, and converse with the Jews; but he now takes his place, and sits down as a judge, in order to give the finishing stroke to this affair; and where he sat down, was

in the place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew,
Gabbatha.
This place, in the Greek tongue, was called "Lithostrotos"; or "the pavement of stones", as the Syriac version renders it: it is thought to be the room "Gazith", in which the sanhedrim sat in the temple when they tried capital causes ^F20; and it was so called, because it was paved with smooth, square, hewn stones:

``it was in the north part; half of it was holy, and half of it common; and it had two doors, one for that part which was holy, and another for that which was common; and in that half which was common the sanhedrim sat ^F21.''

So that into this part of it, and by this door, Pilate, though a Gentile, might enter. This place, in the language of the Jews, who at this time spoke Syriac, was "Gabbatha", front its height, as it should seem; though the Syriac and Persic versions read "Gaphiphtha", which signifies a fence, or an enclosure. Mention is made in the Talmud ^F23 of the upper "Gab" in the mountain of the house; but whether the same with this "Gabbaths", and whether this is the same with the chamber "Gazith", is not certain. The Septuagint use the same word as John here does, and call by the same name the pavement of the temple on which the Israelites felt and worshipped God, ( 2 Chronicles 7:3 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Gloss. in T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 8. 2.
F21 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 25. 1. Maimon. Hilch. Beth Habbechira, c. 5. sect. 17. Bartenora in Misn. Middot, c. 5. sect. 3.
F23 T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 115. 1.

Juan 19:13 In-Context

11 —No tendrías ningún poder sobre mí si no se te hubiera dado de arriba —le contestó Jesús—. Por eso el que me puso en tus manos es culpable de un pecado más grande.

12 Desde entonces Pilato procuraba poner en libertad a Jesús, pero los judíos gritaban desaforadamente:—Si dejas en libertad a este hombre, no eres amigo del emperador. Cualquiera que pretende ser rey se hace su enemigo.

13 Al oír esto, Pilato llevó a Jesús hacia fuera y se sentó en el tribunal, en un lugar al que llamaban el Empedrado (que en arameo se dice Gabatá).

14 Era el día de la preparación para la Pascua, cerca del mediodía.—Aquí tienen a su rey —dijo Pilato a los judíos.

15 —¡Fuera! ¡Fuera! ¡Crucifícalo! —vociferaron.—¿Acaso voy a crucificar a su rey? —replicó Pilato.—No tenemos más rey que el emperador romano —contestaron los jefes de los sacerdotes.