Gabbatha

Gabbatha names the place in Jerusalem where Pilate sat to deliver his judgment on Jesus. The Greek narrative supplies a Greek surface-name, "The Pavement," and then preserves the underlying local name in transliterated form.

The Place of the Judgment-Seat

The location is fixed by the Hebrew name itself. After hearing the crowd's pressure, Pilate moves Jesus out and takes the bench: "When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha" (John 19:13). The verse pairs the public-facing Greek epithet for the paved area with the Hebrew place-name, and it is on that paved ground — Gabbatha — that the judgment-seat is set when sentence is passed on Jesus.