Acts 23 Footnotes

23:1 The use of “conscience” here is similar to the way the word is currently used. It refers to an internal judgment of good or bad behavior.

23:5 Paul’s failure to recognize the high priest who presided over the proceedings could be attributed to several things: (1) not knowing the current high priest, (2) not thinking the command to be struck was appropriate behavior for the high priest, and (3) not seeing clearly because of his possibly poor eyesight. Paul’s comment, however, may have been ironic, actually condemning the high priest’s actions.

23:6 Paul’s belief in the resurrection of the dead divided his accusers. The Pharisees, like Paul, believed in the resurrection; the Sadducees, of which the high priest Ananias was a member, did not. Resurrection was fundamental to Paul’s theology, as his letters (e.g., 1Co 15) and Acts (e.g., 24:15; 26:6-8; 28:20) indicate. Some scribes associated with the Pharisees claimed to find no basis for charges against Paul (23:9).

23:8 Scholars acknowledge that the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection. Some think that this passage indicates that they did not believe in angels or in a spiritual intermediate state between death and resurrection either. The Greek syntax indicates that the Sadducees didn’t believe in any spiritual state or spiritual beings. The Pharisees acknowledged the existence of them all.

23:16 It is unclear how many of Paul’s family members were in Jerusalem (vv. 17,22). The phrase “son of Paul’s sister” could indicate a man in his twenties or even older, although it is possible he was younger (see v. 19, where the commander took him by the hand). It is likely that Paul’s sister also resided in Jerusalem. The fact that this relative of Paul may have been present during the plotting against Paul’s life (the grammar can be taken this way) has led some scholars to wonder whether Paul’s family may have been strongly opposed to him.

23:23 Paul was to be accompanied by two centurions and troops, including infantrymen, cavalry, and a group of soldiers over which there is debate, since the word used for them is found only here in the NT. Scholars speculate that they may have been spearmen or javelin throwers.

23:24 Felix the governor, originally a slave, became procurator of Judea in AD 52, succeeding Cumanus. He was eventually removed from office about seven years later for bungling Jewish-Gentile conflicts in Caesarea. He was brother to one of the most important civil servants of the time.

23:25-30 How did the author get a copy of this letter (with standard greetings, body, and closing)? Most likely Luke heard it when it was read before Felix (and Paul) in Caesarea (v. 34); at least Paul heard it and communicated its contents to Luke. While Luke may have reconstructed the letter from knowledge of the events, he may have viewed the official documents for Paul’s trial.

23:27 Some have questioned whether the commander enhanced his account by claiming to have learned that Paul was a Roman citizen before he rescued him, and thus this knowledge served as the basis of the rescue. The grammar of the passage, however, indicates that the commander rescued Paul and then learned he was a Roman citizen—exactly what happened in the account.

23:31 A Roman road connected Jerusalem with Antipatris; the two were separated by thirty-five miles. This was not too great a distance to travel in a single night; there is substantial evidence that much longer distances were traveled by troops. Also, the trip from Jerusalem to Antipatris was downhill.

23:35 Felix told Paul he would give him a hearing when his accusers arrived, and then (as the grammar indicates) he ordered that Paul be kept in custody in the procurator’s palace. It was originally built by Herod the Great.