Claudius Lysias - Tribune of A Jerusalem Cohort

Tribune of A Jerusalem Cohort

Claudius Lysias' complete description as found in the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles is "the tribune of the cohort" in Jerusalem, which resided in nearby "barracks" (Acts 21.34, 37; 22.24, 23.10, 16, 32). It takes six cohorts to make up a legion, and each legion had six tribunes with a thousand men ("soldiers and centurions" Acts 21:32) under his command if the cohort was full; consequently, Claudius Lysias was a part of a larger military force. The exact numbers in his cohort may never be known, however he had sufficient men to spare two centurions, two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to accompany Paul to Caesarea Acts 23:23-24. Furthermore, when the security detail arrives before Antipartis (Acts 23:31), Claudius Lysias allows for the seventy horsemen to go on with him and Paul to Caesarea, the headquarters of the Procurator Felix (Acts 23:32-35).

The "barracks" referenced in the book of Acts (21.34, 37; 22.24; 23.10, 16, 32), in connection to Claudius Lysias and his cohort are references to the Tower of Antonia, which Herod the Great rebuilt from a previous structure and named it after Marc Antony. The Antonia was added on to the NW side of the Temple facilities, "from which stairs descend into the outer court of the temple" (Acts 21.32, 35, 22.30). For this reason, the Roman Tribune could hear the commotion caused by the confusing riot over Paul's presence in the Temple, and respond with speed (Acts 21.27-32).

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