Description and usage
The porch was a covered colonnade, open normally on one side, where people could stand, sit, or walk, protected from the weather and the heat of the sun. It consisted of two parallel rows of columns that supported a roof.
Translation
In many parts of the world the closest equivalent for the Greek word stoa would be a verandah, an extensive type of porch. Such a porch may be rendered “long outside room” or “room made with pillars and open.” All of the above references except JHN 5:2 are to “Solomon’s Porch,” which was probably located along the eastern edge of the Court of the Gentiles in the Temple complex.