The verb translated sat down may be either intransitive, meaning “to sit down,” or transitive, meaning “to cause (someone) to sit down.” Most translators prefer to take the verb intransitively. However, Moffatt (“Pilate brought Jesus out and seated him on the tribunal”) and Goodspeed (“he brought Jesus out and had him sit in the judge’s seat”) take it transitively. The verb is used transitively in 1 Corinthians 6.14 and Ephesians 1.20. However, it is most unlikely that a Roman governor, at the point of pronouncing the death sentence, would mock in such a manner the person he was about to condemn.

The exact site of the place called the Stone Pavement (most translations “the Pavement”) is unknown. The Greek word itself (lithostrōtos) may refer either to a mosaic of small stones or to a pavement of large stones. In the Septuagint of 2 Chronicles 7.3, the word is used of the pavement of Solomon’s temple, and so most scholars understand the word here to refer to a pavement of large stones. A large court, paved with stones more than a yard square and a foot thick, has been excavated on the lower levels of the fortress Antonia. This may well be the place referred to by John; but, as indicated in comments on 18.28, not all agree that the fortress Antonia was the governor’s palace. In the absence of definite evidence, it seems best to indicate an area paved with large stones.

In Hebrew is the same expression used in 5.2 (see also 19.17,20; 20.16); the form of the word Gabbatha indicates that the Aramaic is meant. Gabbatha is not the Aramaic equivalent of the Greek meaning “stone pavement.” The derivation of the word is disputed, and so it is best merely to transliterate the term, as most translators do. In Hebrew the name is “Gabbatha” may be rendered in several different ways, for example, “when Hebrews speak, they say ‘Gabbatha’ ” or “The name of this in the Hebrew language is Gabbatha” or “Gabbatha is the Hebrew name for this same place.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .