In the New Testament it designates the official residence of Pilate or that
of the high priest (Matthew 26:3, 58, 69; Mark 14:54, 66; John 18:15). In
Phil. 1:13 this word is the rendering of the Greek praitorion, meaning the
praetorian cohorts at Rome (the life-guard of the Caesars). Paul was
continually chained to a soldier of that corps (Acts 28:16), and hence his
name and sufferings became known in all the praetorium. The “soldiers
that kept” him would, on relieving one another on guard, naturally spread
the tidings regarding him among their comrades. Some, however, regard the
praetroium (q.v.) as the barrack within the palace (the palatium) of the
Caesars in Rome where a detachment of these praetorian guards was
stationed, or as the camp of the guards placed outside the eastern walls of
Rome.
“In the chambers which were occupied as guard-rooms,” says Dr.
Manning, “by the praetorian troops on duty in the palace, a number of
rude caricatures are found roughly scratched upon the walls, just such as
may be seen upon barrack walls in every part of the world. Amongst these
is one of a human figure nailed upon a cross. To add to the ‘offence of the
cross,’ the crucified one is represented with the head of an animal,
probably that of an ass. Before it stands the figure of a Roman legionary
with one hand upraised in the attitude of worship. Underneath is the rude,
misspelt, ungrammatical inscription, Alexamenos worships his God. It can
scarcely be doubted that we have here a contemporary caricature, executed
by one of the praetorian guard, ridiculing the faith of a Christian comrade.”
- PALESTINE originally denoted only the sea-coast of the land of Canaan
inhabited by the Philistines (Exodus 15:14; Isaiah 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4), and
in this sense exclusively the Hebrew name Pelesheth (rendered “Philistia”
in Psalm 60:8; 83:7; 87:4; 108:9) occurs in the Old Testament.
Not till a late period in Jewish history was this name used to denote “the
land of the Hebrews” in general (Genesis 40:15). It is also called “the holy
land” (Zechariah 2:12), the “land of Jehovah” (Hos. 9:3; Psalm 85:1), the
“land of promise” (Hebrews 11:9), because promised to Abraham (Genesis
12:7; 24:7), the “land of Canaan” (Genesis 12:5), the “land of Israel” (1
Samuel 13:19), and the “land of Judah” (Isaiah 19:17).
The territory promised as an inheritance to the seed of Abraham (Genesis
15:18-21; Numbers 34:1-12) was bounded on the east by the river
Euphrates, on the west by the Mediterranean, on the north by the