Text -- Acts 22:27-30 (NET)

22:27 So the commanding officer came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” He replied, “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” “But I was even born a citizen,” Paul replied. 22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away from him, and the commanding officer was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had had him tied up.

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Act 22:27

¹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

² tn Grk “and said to.”

³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

⁵ tn Grk “He said.”

NET Notes: Act 22:28

¹ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

² 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.

³ tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: even…Ac 5:39; 22:28.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Act 22:29

¹ 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.

² tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn This is a present tense (ἐστιν, estin) retained in indirect discourse. It must be translated as a past tense in contemporary English.

⁵ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

⁶ 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.

NET Notes: Act 22:30

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the commanding officer) has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “the certainty, why.” BDAG 147 s.v. ἀσφαλής 2 has “τὸ ἀ. the certainty = the truth (in ref. to ferreting out the facts…ἵνα τὸ ἀ. ἐπιγνῶ) γνῶναι 21:34; 22:30.”

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Grk “the whole Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

⁵ tn Grk “and bringing.” The participle καταγαγών (katagagwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to clarify the logical sequence.