Acts 22:24-29

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (chiliarchos) literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.
2. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3. Acts 22:24 tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”
4. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “into the barracks, saying.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the participle εἴπας (eipas), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. The direct object “them” has been supplied; it is understood in Greek.
5. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6. Acts 22:24 sn To interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash. Under the Roman legal system it was customary to use physical torture to extract confessions or other information from prisoners who were not Roman citizens and who were charged with various crimes, especially treason or sedition. The lashing would be done with a whip of leather thongs with pieces of metal or bone attached to the ends.
7. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8. Acts 22:24 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9. Acts 22:25 tn Grk “for the thongs” (of which the lash was made). Although often translated as a dative of means (“with thongs”), referring to thongs used to tie the victim to the whipping post, BDAG 474-75 s.v. ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a dat. of purpose for the thongs, in which case οἱ ἱμάντες = whips (Posidonius: 87 fgm. 5 Jac.; POxy. 1186, 2 τὴν διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων αἰκείαν.—Antiphanes 74, 8, Demosth. 19, 197 and Artem. 1, 70 use the sing. in this way).”
10. Acts 22:25 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
11. Acts 22:25 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
12. Acts 22:25 tn Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.sn The fact that Paul was a Roman citizen protected him from being tortured to extract information; such protections were guaranteed by the Porcian and Julian law codes. In addition, the fact Paul had not been tried exempted him from punishment.
13. Acts 22:26 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
14. Acts 22:26 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
15. Acts 22:26 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
16. Acts 22:26 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
17. Acts 22:26 tn Or perhaps, “What do you intend to do?” Although BDAG 627 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.α lists this phrase under the category “be about to, be on the point of,” it is possible it belongs under 1.c.γ, “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…τί μέλλεις ποιεῖν; what do you intend to do?”
18. Acts 22:26 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
19. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
20. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “and said to.”
21. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22. Acts 22:27 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
23. Acts 22:27 tn Grk “He said.”
24. Acts 22:28 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
25. Acts 22:28 sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.
26. Acts 22:28 tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: even…Ac 5:39; 22:28.”
27. Acts 22:28 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.sn Paul’s reference to being born a citizen suggests he inherited his Roman citizenship from his family.
28. Acts 22:28 tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.
29. Acts 22:29 tn BDAG 158 s.v. ἀφίστημι 2.b has “keep away…ἀπό τινος…Lk 4:13; Ac 5:38; 2 Cor 12:8…cp. Ac 22:29.” In context, the point would seem to be not that the interrogators departed or withdrew, but that they held back from continuing the flogging.
30. Acts 22:29 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
31. Acts 22:29 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32. Acts 22:29 tn This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.
33. Acts 22:29 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
34. Acts 22:29 sn Had him tied up. Perhaps a reference to the chains in Acts 21:33, or the preparations for the lashing in Acts 22:25. A trial would now be needed to resolve the matter. The Roman authorities’ hesitation to render a judgment in the case occurs repeatedly: Acts 22:30; 23:28-29; 24:22; 25:20, 26-27. The legal process begun here would take the rest of Acts and will be unresolved at the end. The process itself took four years of Paul’s life.