Acts 27:1

Paul and Company Sail for Rome

27:1 When it was decided we ¹  would sail to Italy, ²  they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion ³  of the Augustan Cohort ⁴  named Julius.

Luke 2:1

The Census and the Birth of Jesus

2:1 Now ⁵  in those days a decree ⁶  went out from Caesar ⁷  Augustus ⁸  to register ⁹  all the empire ¹⁰  for taxes.

[27:1]  ¹ sn The last “we” section in Acts begins here and extends to 28:16 (the previous one ended at 21:18).

[27:1]  ² sn Sail to Italy. This voyage with its difficulty serves to show how God protected Paul on his long journey to Rome. From the perspective of someone in Palestine, this may well picture “the end of the earth” quite literally (cf. Acts 1:8).

[27:1]  ³ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

[27:1]  ⁴ tn According to BDAG 917 s.v. σεβαστός, “In σπεῖρα Σεβαστή 27:1 (cp. OGI 421) Σεβαστή is likew. an exact transl. of Lat. Augusta, an honorary title freq. given to auxiliary troops (Ptolem. renders it Σεβαστή in connection w. three legions that bore it: 2, 3, 30; 2, 9, 18; 4, 3, 30) imperial cohort.” According to W. Foerster (TDNT 7:175), “In Ac. 27:1 the σπεῖρα Σεβαστή is an expression also found elsewhere for ‘auxiliary troops.’” In no case would this refer to a special imperial bodyguard, and to translate “imperial regiment” or “imperial cohort” might give this impression. There is some archaeological evidence for a Cohors Augusta I stationed in Syria during the time of Augustus, but whether this is the same unit is very debatable.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[2:1]  ⁶ sn This decree was a formal decree from the Roman Senate.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Or “from the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[2:1]  ⁸ sn Caesar Augustus refers to Octavian, who was Caesar from 27 b.c. to a.d. 14. He was known for his administrative prowess.

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “that all the empire should be registered for taxes.” The passive infinitive ἀπογράφεσθαι (apografesqai) has been rendered as an active in the translation to improve the English style. The verb is regarded as a technical term for official registration in tax lists (BDAG 108 s.v. ἀπογράφω a).

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the whole (inhabited) world,” but this was a way to refer to the Roman empire (L&N 1.83).