Discovery BoxActs 22:24-28 
Context22:24 the commanding officer 1 ordered Paul 2 to be brought back into the barracks. 3 He told them 4 to interrogate Paul 5 by beating him with a lash 6 so that he could find out the reason the crowd 7 was shouting at Paul 8 in this way. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, 9 Paul said to the centurion 10 standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen 11 without a proper trial?” 12 22:26 When the centurion 13 heard this, 14 he went to the commanding officer 15 and reported it, 16 saying, “What are you about to do? 17 For this man is a Roman citizen.” 18 22:27 So the commanding officer 19 came and asked 20 Paul, 21 “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” 22 He replied, 23 “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer 24 answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” 25 “But I was even 26 born a citizen,” 27 Paul replied. 28
1 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). In Greek the term χιλίαρχος (ciliarco") literally described the “commander of a thousand,” but it was used as the standard translation for the Latin tribunus militum or tribunus militare, the military tribune who commanded a cohort of 600 men.
2 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Or “the headquarters.” BDAG 775 s.v. παρεμβολή 2 has “barracks/headquarters of the Roman troops in Jerusalem Ac 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32.”
4 tn Grk “into the barracks, saying.” This is a continuation of the same sentence in Greek using the participle εἴπας (eipas), but due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence a new sentence was begun in the translation here. The direct object “them” has been supplied; it is understood in Greek.
5 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 sn To interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash. Under the Roman legal system it was customary to use physical torture to extract confessions or other information from prisoners who were not Roman citizens and who were charged with various crimes, especially treason or sedition. The lashing would be done with a whip of leather thongs with pieces of metal or bone attached to the ends.
7 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Grk “for the thongs” (of which the lash was made). Although often translated as a dative of means (“with thongs”), referring to thongs used to tie the victim to the whipping post, BDAG 474-75 s.v. ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a dat. of purpose for the thongs, in which case οἱ ἱμάντες = whips (Posidonius: 87 fgm. 5 Jac.; POxy. 1186, 2 τὴν διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων αἰκείαν. – Antiphanes 74, 8, Demosth. 19, 197 and Artem. 1, 70 use the sing. in this way).”
10 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
11 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
12 tn Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.
sn The fact that Paul was a Roman citizen protected him from being tortured to extract information; such protections were guaranteed by the Porcian and Julian law codes. In addition, the fact Paul had not been tried exempted him from punishment.
13 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
14 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
15 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
16 tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.
17 tn Or perhaps, “What do you intend to do?” Although BDAG 627 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.α lists this phrase under the category “be about to, be on the point of,” it is possible it belongs under 1.c.γ, “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…τί μέλλεις ποιεῖν; what do you intend to do?”
18 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
19 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
20 tn Grk “and said to.”
21 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
23 tn Grk “He said.”
24 tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 24.
25 sn Sometimes Roman citizenship was purchased through a bribe (Dio Cassius, Roman History 60.17.4-9). That may well have been the case here.
26 tn BDAG 495-96 s.v. καί 2.b has “intensive: even…Ac 5:39; 22:28.”
27 tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.
sn Paul’s reference to being born a citizen suggests he inherited his Roman citizenship from his family.
28 tn Grk “Paul said.” This phrase has been placed at the end of the sentence in the translation for stylistic reasons.
