Matt 27:27; Mar 15:16 they took Jesus to the p
Joh 18:28 they took Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the p
Act 23:35 ordered that they guard him in the p of
Praetorium (gr. praitorion; from lat. praetorium, “belonging to the praetor”). The word originally denoted the seat of the praetor or general in the camp, but was later applied to the official residence of the provincial governor*. The term is used in the Gospels to refer to the procurator’s temporary residence in Jerusalem during his stay in that city. Jesus’ trial before Pilate took place in this building (Mat 27:27; Mar 15:16; Joh 18:28, 33; 19:9). It is not certain if this place was Herod’s palace, located where the citadel is now, in the western part of Jerusalem; or if it was in the Torre Antonia, or fortress also built by him, to the north of the temple. The praetorium of Act 23:35 refers to Herod’s magnificent palace at Caesarea, which was the official residence of the procurators* of Palestine (6-41 AD and 44-66 AD). In Phi 1:13 the same Greek word is also used, but its meaning is disputed. If the epistle to the Philippians was written from Rome, as is most likely, it cannot refer to a palace, which in Rome was not called “praetorium”, but to the “praetorian guard” or the court of justice, which in both cases were designated by the term praitorion. This guard was formed by a group of soldiers who assisted the emperor and his family members in Rome and outside of it. In Paul’s time it consisted of 10 companies of 500 soldiers each, and was under the command of a tribune. These guards served for 16 years and received triple the payment given to legionnaires; their camp was on the outskirts of the city (fig 434). 944
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Roman military term with various meanings: it may be the palace of a provincial attorney; the tent of a commander of a military camp; imperial headquarters; personal guard of the emperor; lodging of imperial officials. This diversity of meanings of the word p. it can be seen with the letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians, while he was in prison, Fpl 1, 13. Some suppose that it was written in Rome, in which case the Apostle would be in the praetorian guard, who camped near the city walls ; others think that it could well be the cities of Ephesus or Caesarea, then Paul’s place of confinement would be in the governor’s residence, since there was a praetorium in each city with his prison. The p. that is mentioned in the gospels is the palace of the provincial procurator, where the court of justice of the Roman procurator was also located, Mt 27, 27; Mark 15, 16; Jn 18 28 and 33; 19, 8; Acts 23, 35. It is still discussed whether p. in Jerusalem, it was in the ancient palace built by Herod the Great, west of the city, or in the Antonia fortress, north of the Temple.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
It derives from praetorium, the lat. of the Greek word. praitorion, which for the Romans could have several meanings. Originally, it referred to the general’s tent in the army camp. Sometimes it referred to military headquarters in Rome itself or in provincial capitals. It also meant the staffing of men who worked in those places, or even the session of a planning council. In the Gospels (Mat 27:27; Mar 15:16; Joh 18:28, Joh 18:33), it refers to the palace or temporary seat (judgment room) of the Roman governor or procurator when he was in Jerusalem, which in reality it was Herod’s palace, next to the temple (compare Act 23:35). It was the site of Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate. Doubtless the disputed reference found at Phi 1:13 (compare Phi 4:22, Caesar’s house), means the seat of the emperor’s personal guard.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
See JERUSALEM.
Source: Archaeological Biblical Dictionary
Roman governor’s palace, where judgment was held, Mat 27:27, Mar 15:16 Joh 18:28, Joh 18:33. In Acts 23:35 it refers to Herod’s palace at Caesarea.
Praetor: The highest Roman magistrate. subsequently, they were the elected officials to administer justice.
Praetorian Guard: The guard of the imperial palace, or of the governor, Phil. I:13, Acts 4:22.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
It was called among the Romans to the store of the general or commander in the army. By extension, to the residence of the governor of the province or city. Also to the barracks where the troops were staying. “The governor’s soldiers took Jesus to the p., and gathered the whole company around him† (Mat 27:27; Mar 15:16; Joh 18:28). Writing from prison to the Philippians, Paul says: †œMy prisons have been made evident in Christ in all the p., and to all the others† ). Those who are of the opinion that the Epistle to the Philippians was written from Caesarea point out that Acts 23:18-35 narrates the transfer of Paul as a prisoner to that city, where an order was given “to guard him in p. of Herod† .
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
type, CONS
vet, (lat. “belonging to a praetor”) Primitive sense: space around the general’s store; then the official residence of the governor of a province; palace. In the NT this term designates: (a) The palace occupied by Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem and before which his court was established (Mr. 15:16; Mt. 27:27; Jn. 18:28, 33; 19 : 9, cf. 19:13). Some archaeologists place it in the Antonia tower, but the procurators of Judea used to reside in the palace of Herod the Great (Philo, Legat ad Gaium 38, 39). (b) Herod’s Palace at Caesarea. There Paul was imprisoned (Acts 23:35). (c) Praetorian Guard of Rome, in charge of guarding the imperial palace (Phil. 1:13). It seems that in Phil. 1:13 and 4:22 praetorium and house of Caesar are synonymous.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Place where the praetor has his headquarters or exercises his government. The praetor (praetor) was the Roman magistrate who exercised imperial authority in a province: he was responsible for order and compliance with the law, as well as for the collection and custody of taxes.
In the process of Jesus, the Praetorium is spoken of as a place of condemnation and it seems that it was placed in the Antonia Tower. Pilate, who was governor or procurator, not praetor, sat down to judge Jesus in the place of the Praetorium, called Lithostrotos or place of slabs. It was probably found in the central part of the Antonia Tower, next to the Temple, where remains of the pavement are still preserved. But, according to another tradition, the true praetorium was in a building near the current Wailing Wall, somewhat removed from the Temple.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
DJN
A
Residence of the Roman governor, from where he administered justice. Etymologically Praetorium is the seat of the praetor. In military camps it was the commander in chief’s tent. The praetorium has a special meaning in evangelical history, because its name appears repeatedly on the occasion of the trial and condemnation of Jesus (Mt 27, 27; Mk 15, 16; Jn 18, 28 and 33; 19, 9) and, in all case, it was the place of residence of the prefect, in this case Pontius Pilate, where Jesus was sentenced to death. The praetorium of the governor of Judea was usually in the city of Caesarea del Mar, capital of the province, where he lived in the old palace of Herod (Acts 23, 35). When the holder moved to another city, specifically to Jerusalem, where he used to go up on the Passover festivities, the place of residence was the ancient and luxurious palace of Herod the Great, as we know from Flavius Josephus. The palace stood in the “Upper City”, south of the current Jaffa Gate, in what is now the Armenian Quarter. Another large residential building in Jerusalem at that time was the old palace of the Hasmoneans, near the temple esplanade, which, apparently, used to be occupied by Herod Antipas, when he or other characters of the Herodian family went to the city. The Torre Antonia, in the north-western corner of the temple, was in fact nothing more than a barracks for the auxiliary cohort that served as the Roman garrison in the city. The commander or tribune of the same also had his headquarters there. Josephus describes this fortress and insists that it had rooms of a certain luxury, as befitted the residence of the highest Roman authority in the city, the tribune. But none of these buildings could compare with the splendid magnificence of the Palace of Herod the Great, surrounded by gardens and whose detailed description appears in the work “Jewish War” by Flavius Josephus (Bell. lud. V, 176-182). On the other hand, in the Acts of the Apostles four times Antonia is simply called “barrack” and never praetorium (Acts 21, 34 and 37; 22, 24; 23, 10).
One of the many local traditions in Jerusalem placed the place of Jesus’ condemnation in the church of Hagia Sophia, adjoining the western side of the temple esplanade, in the Tyropéon valley. It was probably to be founded on the vague location of the old seat of the Sanhedrin. Well, starting in the 14th century, the pious practice of the Via Crucis began to develop in Jerusalem and, in order to materialize its route, which theoretically should begin in the praetorium, the environment where the aforementioned tradition located the condemnation of Jesus, who apparently confused the judgment of the Sanhedrin with that of Pilate. A “scientific” adjustment then attempted to substantiate the aforementioned practice by supposing that the praetorium would coincide with the Antonia Tower, as Theodoric had already suggested in the 12th century, a fortress that, according to all indications, should not be very far from the place, perhaps a little further northeast, where the first station was established at Madrasi el-Malakiya. Since then, the study of the Antonia Tower has been the object of the attention of Christian historians. Unfortunately, this fortress was totally destroyed during the siege of Jerusalem in the year 70, according to what Josephus tells us.
In this context, we must point out here the popular attribution of an arch that crosses the Via Dolorosa at its beginning, to the praetorial building itself, which was designated as “Arco del Ecce Homo”, under which Pilate would have addressed the people showing Jesus after the scourging and pronouncing the phrase: “Behold the man” (Jn 19, 5). One of the archaeologists who has paid most attention to the study of the Torre Antonia was Fr. Vincent, who, after the works carried out in the adjoining convent of the Ladies of Sion, was able to confirm that, as had already been supposed, the arch of the street was but one of the three arcades that formed a gate or triumphal arch of the Aelia Capitolina of the times of…