Greek word · G4259
προαύλιον
proaulion
entryway
Literally “before-court”: the area in front of an αὐλή (courtyard), meaning the vestibule, gateway or entrance passage of a courtyard house. It occurs only here in the New Testament.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
Literally “before-court”: the area in front of an αὐλή (courtyard), meaning the vestibule, gateway or entrance passage of a courtyard house. It occurs only here in the New Testament.
- Against the English
KJV and WEB have “porch,” which a modern reader imagines as a veranda on the front of a house. BSB’s “gateway” and other modern versions’ “entryway” or “forecourt” are closer. Matthew’s parallel (26:71) uses πυλών, “gateway,” which supports the sense of an entrance passage.
- How it drifted
In 1611 “porch” could mean a covered entrance or vestibule (as in Solomon’s “porch” of the temple). In modern American English it mostly means a front veranda.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Rare in Greek literature, where it refers to the front area of a building or courtyard (BDAG s.v.). The Jerusalem houses of the wealthy excavated in the Upper City were built around an inner courtyard, reached from the street by an entrance passage. That plan fits the movement here.
Where it appears
Mark · 1
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Mark 14:68 προαύλιον, porch,
But he denied it. “I do not know or even understand what you are talking about,” he said. Then he went out to the gateway, and the rooster crowed.
Here: The space “in front of the courtyard”: the covered entrance passage or gateway between the street and the inner courtyard. Peter is halfway out of the house, not on a veranda.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.