XL. THE CENTURION WHO KEPT PAUL
Acts 24:23.—“And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty.”
Rather, “he commanded the centurion,” tw ekatontarch.
It should seem, therefore, that St. Luke had in his mind some particular centurion. Is there anything in the narrative which would enable us to identify him?
It will be remembered, that in the preceding chapter (23:23) the chief captain “called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Cæsarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; and provide them beasts that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.”
This escort, having arrived with their prisoner at Antipatris (v. 32), divided; the infantry returning to Jerusalem, and of course the centurion who commanded them; the horsemen and the other centurion proceeding with Paul to Cæsarea.
When, therefore, St. Luke tells us that Felix commanded the centurion to keep Paul, he no doubt meant the commander of the horse who had conveyed him to Cæsarea; whose fidelity having been already proved, he consigned to him this further trust.
This is very natural: but the neglect or non-detection of this touch of truth in our version, shows how delicate a thing the translation of the Scripture is; and how favourable to the evidence of its veracity is the strict and accurate, nay, even grammatical investigation of it [Bp. Middleton, on the Greek Article, p. 298, finds a subject for philology, here again, where I find one for evidence.] .
|