John 18:28 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Then led they Jesus—unto the hall of judgment:— When the evangelist says it was early, he points out to us the great hurry and eagerness of the Jews to have this mystery of iniquity accomplished; for it was not customary with them to judge any man before the ninth hour. See on Luke 22:66. By the law, Numbers 19:22. Whosoever touched any unclean person, was unclean; for this reason the chief priests and elders, when they came to the praetorium, would not go in, lest the pollutions that they might have contracted in the house of a heathen, should render them unfit for eating the passover, for which they had now purified themselves. See Acts 10:28. Thesame reason likewise hindered them from going into the praetorium, at the other festivals, which the governor attended for the sake of administering justice. But to make the matter easy, a kind of structure was erected, adjoining to the palace, which served instead of a tribunal, or judgment-seat. This structure, from its Hebrew name Gabbatha, seems to have been pretty high, and was called in the Greek λιθοστρωτον, being paved with little pieces of marble of divers colours, because it was generally exposed to the weather. Perhaps it was something like a stage, but larger, open on all sides, but covered above, at least when the governor was to hear causes, having a throne placed on it for him to sit on; and as it was joined to the palace wall, there was a door in the wall, by which he came out upon it from within. The people therefore standing around, in the open air, could hear and see the governor when he spake to them from the pavement, without danger of being defiled, either by him, or any of his retinue.