Judgment seat
(Matt. 27:19), a portable tribunal (Gr. bema) which was placed according as the magistrate might direct, and from which judgment was pronounced. In this case it was placed on a tesselated pavement, probably in front of the procurator's residence. (See [328]GABBATHA.)
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Related study
These teachings share Scripture, study subjects, or Strong’s references.
Dictionary
Heart
According to the Bible, the heart is the centre not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. "Heart" and "soul" are often used interchangeably (Deut. 6:5; 26:16; comp. Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33), but this is not generally the case. The heart is the "home of the personal life," and hence a man is designated, according to his heart, wise (1 Kings 3:12, etc.), pure (Ps. 24:4; Matt. 5:8, etc.), upright and righteous (Gen. 20:5, 6; Ps. 11:2; 78:72), pious and good (Luke 8:15), etc. In these and such passages the word "soul" could not be substituted for "heart." The heart is also the seat of the conscience (Rom. 2:15). It is naturally wicked (Gen. 8:21), and hence it contaminates the whole life and character (Matt. 12:34; 15:18; comp. Eccl. 8:11; Ps. 73:7). Hence the heart must be changed, regenerated (Ezek. 36:26; 11:19; Ps. 51:10-14), before a man can willingly obey God. The process of salvation begins in the heart by the believing reception of the testimony of God, while the rejection of that testimony hardens the heart (Ps. 95:8; Prov. 28:14; 2 Chr. 36:13). "Hardness of heart evidences itself by light views of sin; partial acknowledgment and confession of it; pride and conceit; ingratitude; unconcern about the word and ordinances of God; inattention to divine providences; stifling convictions of conscience; shunning reproof; presumption, and general ignorance of divine things."
Dictionary
Judgment hall
Gr. praitorion (John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Matt. 27:27), "common hall." In all these passages the Revised Version renders "palace." In Mark 15:16 the word is rendered "Praetorium" (q.v.), which is a Latin word, meaning literally the residence of the praetor, and then the governor's residence in general, though not a praetor. Throughout the Gospels the word "praitorion" has this meaning (comp. Acts 23:35). Pilate's official residence when he was in Jerusalem was probably a part of the fortress of Antonia. The trial of our Lord was carried on in a room or office of the palace. The "whole band" spoken of by Mark were gathered together in the palace court.
Dictionary
Pavement
It was the custom of the Roman governors to erect their tribunals in open places, as the market-place, the circus, or even the highway. Pilate caused his seat of judgment to be set down in a place called "the Pavement" (John 19:13) i.e., a place paved with a mosaic of coloured stones. It was probably a place thus prepared in front of the "judgment hall." (See [463]GABBATHA.)
Dictionary
Thieves, The two
(Luke 23:32, 39-43), robbers, rather brigands, probably followers of Barabbas. Our Lord's cross was placed between those of the "malefactors," to add to the ignominy of his position. According to tradition, Demas or Dismas was the name of the penitent thief hanging on the right, and Gestas of the impenitent on the left.
Dictionary
Appeal
A reference of any case from an inferior to a superior court. Moses established in the wilderness a series of judicatories such that appeals could be made from a lower to a higher (Ex. 18:13-26.) Under the Roman law the most remarkable case of appeal is that of Paul from the tribunal of Festus at Caesarea to that of the emperor at Rome (Acts 25:11, 12, 21, 25). Paul availed himself of the privilege of a Roman citizen in this matter.
Dictionary
Babel, tower of
The name given to the tower which the primitive fathers of our race built in the land of Shinar after the Deluge (Gen. 11:1-9). Their object in building this tower was probably that it might be seen as a rallying-point in the extensive plain of Shinar, to which they had emigrated from the uplands of Armenia, and so prevent their being scattered abroad. But God interposed and defeated their design by condounding their language, and hence the name Babel, meaning "confusion." In the Babylonian tablets there is an account of this event, and also of the creation and the deluge. (See [43]CHALDEA.) The Temple of Belus, which is supposed to occupy its site, is described by the Greek historian Herodotus as a temple of great extent and magnificence, erected by the Babylonians for their god Belus. The treasures Nebuchadnezzar brought from Jerusalem were laid up in this temple (2 Chr. 36:7). The Birs Nimrud, at ancient Borsippa, about 7 miles south-west of Hillah, the modern town which occupies a part of the site of ancient Babylon, and 6 miles from the Euphrates, is an immense mass of broken and fire-blasted fragments, of about 2,300 feet in circumference, rising suddenly to the height of 235 feet above the desert-plain, and is with probability regarded as the ruins of the tower of Babel. This is "one of the most imposing ruins in the country." Others think it to be the ruins of the Temple of Belus.