Quick Definition
πραιτώριον, ου, τό n.n. the official residence of the procurator
Strong's Definition
the prætorium or governor's courtroom (sometimes including the whole edifice and camp)
Derivation: of Latin origin;
KJV Usage: (common, judgment) hall (of judgment), palace, prætorium
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, n. | -ου
7.7 · Constructions · Buildings
palace, fortress the dwelling of a king or ruler; usually larger and more elaborate than the dwelling of an average person There are differences of opinion as to the particular πραιτώριον mentioned in Jerusalem. It may have been either the palace of Herod in the western part of the city or the fortress Antonia northwest of the Temple area. The πραιτώριον in Caesarea was the palace built by Herod the Great (see ACT 23:35).
In the Gospels it is satisfactory to translate πραιτώριον[a] as ‘the palace where the governor lived’ or ‘the large dwelling where the ruler lived.’ In a number of languages a term for ‘palace’ often suggests a military fortification, and this would accordingly be quite appropriate for NT usage.
MAT 27:27 · MRK 15:16 · JHN 18:28 · JHN 18:28 · JHN 18:33 · JHN 19:9 · ACT 23:35
55.12 · Military Activities · Army
group of soldiers, palace guard a detachment of soldiers serving as the palace guard
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
πραιτώριον, -ov, τό, a Lat. word, praelorium (neut. of the adj. praetorius used substantively); the word denotes 1. ‘head-quarters’ in a Roman camp, the tent of the commander-in-chief. 2. the palace in which the governor or procurator of a province resided, to which use the Romans were accustomed to appropriate the palaces already existing, and formerly dwelt in by the kings or princes (at Syracuse “illa domus praetoria, quae regis Hieronis fuit,” Cic. Verr. ii. 5, 12, 30); at Jerusalem it was that magnificent palace which Herod the Great had built for himself, and which the Roman procurators seem to have occupied whenever they came from Cwesarea to Jerusalem to transact public business: Mt. xxvii. 27; Mk. xv. 16; Jn. xviii. 28, 33; xix. 9; cf. Philo, leg. ad Gaium, § 38; Joseph. Ὁ. j. 2, 14, 8; also the one at Cesarea, Acts xxiii. 35. Cf. Keim iii. p. 359 sq. [Eng. trans. vi. p. 79; B.D. 8. v. Praetorium]. 3. the camp of praetorian soldiers established by Tiberius (Suet. 37): Phil. i.13. Cf. Win. RWB. s. v. Richthaus; [Bp. Lghtft. (Com. on Philip. Ῥ. 99 544.) rejects, as destitute of evidence, the various attempts to give a local sense to the word in Phil.1.¢., and vindicates the meaning praetorian guard (so R.V.)].
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
πραιτώριον praitōrion 8x
when used in reference to a camp, the tent of the general or commander-in-chief; hence, in reference to a province, the palace in which the governor of the province resided, Mt. 27:27; Mk. 15:16; Acts 23:35; the camp occupied by the praetorian cohorts at Rome, the praetorian camp, or, the Roman emperor’s palace, Phil. 1:13
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
*† πραιτώριον, -ου, τό, (Lat. prætorium), headquarters in a Roman camp.
The palace or official residence of the Governor of a province: Mt 27:27, Mk 15:16 (v. Swete, in l.), Jo 18:28, 33 19:9; τ. π. τ. Ἡρῴδου, Ac 23:35.
the Prætorian Guard: Phl 1:13 (v. Lft., in l.; ICC, 51 f.).†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
πραιτώριον (a) Apart from Phil 115 (see (4)) πραιτώριον is always used in the NT to denote the ‘‘ palace” or ‘‘ official residence’’ of a Governor ; cf. Mk 1515, Ac 2335. For this usage exx. can be freely supplied from our sources, e.g. BGU I. 288! (a.p. 138-161) κ[α]θημένων ἐν συμβουλίῳ ἐν τῷ πραιϊτωρίῳ τοῦ κρατίστου ἡγ]εμόνος, P Oxy IIT. 4711: (ii/A.D.) where an official Maximus is charged with keeping a youth all day ἐν τῶι [πραι]τῳρίῳι, BGU I. 21) 16 (a.p. 340) ὑπατείας Σεπτιμίου ᾿Ακινδύνου τοῦ λαμπροτάτί(ου) ἐπάρχου τοῦ ἱεροῦ πραιτωρίου, similarly P Oxy IX. r1go'® (A.D. 347), 26. VIII. 11167 (A.D. 363), and from the inscrr . δ 932 (= 3880)® (A.D. 202) παραλαϊνβ]ά[νι]ν τὰ πραιτώρια kal τὰ βαλανεῖα πανταχόθεν ὁλόκληρα. It may also be of interest to recall that an inscr. found in York and , TpakT@p 9 printed in 7GS/ 2548 begins θεοῖς τοῖς τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ πραιτωρίου Σκριβί(ώνιος) Δηΐϊμ)ήτριος. (6) In Phil 17% the word has been frequently understood of the ‘‘praetorian barracks or camp,”’ but, as Lightfoot Philippians* pp. 97-102 has pointed out, clear instances of this sense are wanting, and, further, such an interpretation would be out of keeping with the words that follow (ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ πραιτωρίῳ kal τοῖς λοιποῖς πᾶσιν). He prefers accordingly to give the word a personal application, and to think of the imperial or praetorian guards, the cohortes praeloriae : cf. Tac. H7st. iv. 46 militiam et stipendia orant . . . igitur in praetorium accepti, Suet. Mero 9 ascriptis veteranis e praetorio, and from the inserr. Wisston Archéol. de Macédoine p- 325, No. 130 Tt. Κλαύδιον οὐετρανὸν στρατευσάμενον ἐν mpattwplw, ‘‘a veteran, who served in the Guards”: cf. Ρ- 326, No. 131. With this Ramsay (7eaching, p. 363f.) now agrees in preference to his former view (Pax/, p. 357), when following Mommsen (Ber/. Sttzungsberichte, 1895, p. 498 n.1: cf. Hermes xxxv. (1900), p. 437 f.) he understood the reference to be to ‘*the whole body of persons connected with the sitting in judgment,” the law-officers of the Crown. It should, however, be noted that, if the Epistle is to be referred to an Ephesian rather than a Roman captivity of the Apostle, as is now frequently the case, the view advocated above would require modification.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
πραιτώριον (praitōrion) — praetorium. πραιτώριον, τό, = Latin Praetorium, official residence of a governor, [NT]; later, of private residences, [Refs 6th c.AD+]
II. praetorian guard: ἔπαρχος πραιτωρίον, τοῦ π., = praefectus praetorio, [Refs 2nd c.AD+]
II.2. imperial household, Ep. Phil.1.13.