Acts 23:25

And he wrote (grapsa). First aorist active participle of grapw, agreeing with the subject (Lysias) of eipen (said) back in verse Acts 23 (beginning). After this form (ecousan ton tupon touton). Textus Receptus has periecousan. The use of tupon (type or form) like exemplum in Latin (Page who quotes Cicero Ad Att. IX. 6. 3) may give merely the purport or substantial contents of the letter. But there is no reason for thinking that it is not a genuine copy since the letter may have been read in open court before Felix, and Luke was probably with Paul. The Roman law required that a subordinate officer like Lysias in reporting a case to his superior should send a written statement of the case and it was termed elogium. A copy of the letter may have been given Paul after his appeal to Caesar. It was probably written in Latin. The letter is a "dexterous mixture of truth and falsehood" (Furneaux) with the stamp of genuineness. It puts things in a favourable light for Lysias and makes no mention of his order to scourge Paul.