Acts 23:23-24

23:23 Then ¹  he summoned ²  two of the centurions ³  and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea ⁴  along with seventy horsemen ⁵  and two hundred spearmen ⁶  by ⁷  nine o’clock tonight, ⁸  23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride ⁹  so that he may be brought safely to Felix ¹⁰  the governor.” ¹¹ 

Luke 7:8

7:8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. ¹²  I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, ¹³  and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁴ 

Luke 7:2

7:2 A centurion ¹⁵  there ¹⁶  had a slave ¹⁷  who was highly regarded, ¹⁸  but who was sick and at the point of death.

Luke 2:3-4

2:3 Everyone ¹⁹  went to his own town ²⁰  to be registered. 2:4 So ²¹  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ²²  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ²³  of David called Bethlehem, ²⁴  because he was of the house ²⁵  and family line ²⁶  of David.

[23:23]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Since this represents a response to the reported ambush, καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[23:23]  ² tn Grk “summoning…he said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:23]  ³ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[23:23]  ⁴ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1. This was a journey of about 65 mi (just over 100 km).

[23:23]  ⁵ tn Or “cavalrymen.”

[23:23]  ⁶ tn A military technical term of uncertain meaning. BDAG 217 s.v. δεξιολάβος states, “a word of uncertain mng., military t.t., acc. to Joannes Lydus…and Theophyl. Sim., Hist. 4, 1 a light-armed soldier, perh. bowman, slinger; acc. to a scholion in CMatthaei p. 342 body-guard….Spearman Goodspd., NRSV; ‘security officer’, GDKilpatrick, JTS 14, ’63, 393f.”

[23:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “from.”

[23:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “from the third hour of the night.”

[23:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “provide mounts to put Paul on.”

[23:24]  ¹⁰ sn Felix the governor was Antonius Felix, a freedman of Antonia, mother of the Emperor Claudius. He was the brother of Pallas and became procurator of Palestine in a.d. 52/53. His administration was notorious for its corruption, cynicism, and cruelty. According to the historian Tacitus (History 5.9) Felix “reveled in cruelty and lust, and wielded the power of a king with the mind of a slave.”

[23:24]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Felix the procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[7:8]  ¹² tn Grk “having soldiers under me.”

[7:8]  ¹³ sn I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.

[7:8]  ¹⁴ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[7:2]  ¹⁵ sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.

[7:2]  ¹⁶ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[7:2]  ¹⁷ tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times… in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v. 1). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος) in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force. In addition, the parallel passage in Matt 8:6 uses the Greek term παῖς (pais), to refer to the centurion’s slave. This was a term often used of a slave who was regarded with some degree of affection, possibly a personal servant.

[7:2]  ¹⁸ tn The term ἔντιμος (entimos) could mean “highly valued,” but this sounds too much like the slave was seen as an asset, while the text suggests a genuine care for the person. More archaically, it could be said the centurion was fond of this slave.

[2:3]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And everyone.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “hometown” (so CEV).

[2:4]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:4]  ²² sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

[2:4]  ²³ tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

[2:4]  ²⁴ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

[2:4]  ²⁵ sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

[2:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “family,” “lineage.”