The Role of the Centurion in Luke-Acts Open Access
Kyrychenko, Oleksandr (2013)
Published
Abstract
Although Roman centurions appear at crucial stages in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the significance of the centurion's office for the development of Luke's story has not been adequately researched. To fill in that void, this study examines the role of the Roman centurion in the narrative of Luke-Acts. A discussion of the treatment of the Roman army in general and Roman centurions in particular in the relevant Greco-Roman and Jewish sources of the period provides insight for the following analysis of the function of the centurion in Luke's story. This study argues that 1) contemporary evidence reveals a common perception of the Roman centurion as a principal representative of the Roman imperial power, and that 2) based on that perception, Luke-Acts employs centurions in the role of prototypical Gentile believers in anticipation of the Christian mission to the Empire. The introductory chapter surveys the current state of the question and provides the plan of the study. Chapter one surveys the background data, including the place and role of the centurion in the Roman military organization and structure, the phenomenon of the Roman army as the basis of the ruling power in the period of the late first century B.C.E.--first century C.E., the role of the Roman army in the life of the civilian community, the Roman military regiments in Palestine, Luke's military terminology, and Roman military units in Luke-Acts. Chapter two reviews Greco-Roman witnesses that reflect on the image of the Roman military, including the historical treatises of Polybius, Julius Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Velleius Paterculus, Tacitus, and Appian; the biographical writings of Cornelius Nepos, Plutarch, and Suetonius; the works of Plautus, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Petronius, Quintilian, Epictetus, Juvenal, Fronto, and Apuleius; and non-literary evidence. Chapter three engages the relevant Jewish witnesses, including 1 Maccabees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish pseudepigrapha, the historical works of Philo, Talmudic literature, and non-literary evidence. The examination of the works of Josephus occupies the second part of chapter. Chapter four examines the relevant accounts in Luke's diptych. The accounts of Luke 7:1-10 and Acts 10:1-11:18, central for explicating the role of the centurion in Luke-Acts, are the focus of the second half of the chapter. The conclusion reviews the findings of the study and summarizes the results.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
I. The Prominence of Centurions in Luke-Acts and the Current State of the Study
II. The Scope, Methodology, and Argument of the Study
III. The Plan of the Study
Chapter 1: Luke-Acts in the Roman Military Setting
I. The Purpose and Scope of this Chapter
II. The Significance of the Centurion's Office in the Roman Army
A. The Place and Role of the Centurion in the Structure of a Legion
B. The Role of the Centurion in an Auxiliary Cohort
II. The Army and the Ruling Power
A. The Army and the Julio-Claudian Emperors
B. The Army in the Year of the Four Emperors
C. The Role of the Centurion as Representative of the Imperial Authority
III. The Roman Army in the Civilian Context
IV. The Roman Army in Palestine
A. Judaea--From Kingdom to a Province
B. Sebasteni Auxiliary Units
C. Roman Military Regiments in Luke-Acts
i. Military Terminology in Luke-Acts
ii. The Cohors Italica
iii. Roman Troops in Jerusalem
iv. The Cohors Augusta
D. The Jewish Revolt and the Roman Response
V. Conclusion
Chapter 2: The Image of the Roman Soldier in Greco-Roman Sources
I. The Purpose and Scope of this Chapter
II. The Roman Soldier in Greco-Roman Literature
A. The Image of the Soldier in the Works of History
i. Polybius
ii. Julius Caesar
iii. Sallust
iv. Livy
v. Velleius Paterculus
vi. Tacitus
vii. Appian
viii. Summary of the Section
B. The Image of the Soldier in the Works of Biography
i. Cornelius Nepos
ii. Plutarch
iii. Suetonius
iv. Summary of the Section
C. The Image of the Soldier in Other Literary Sources
III. The Roman Soldier in Non-Literary Sources
IV. Conclusion
Chapter 3:The Image of the Roman Soldier in Jewish Sources
I. The Purpose and Scope of this Chapter
II. The Roman Soldier in Jewish Literature
A. The Roman Army in Jewish Literature Prior to 63 B.C.E.: 1 Maccabees
B. The Roman Army in Jewish Prophetic Literature
i. Dead Sea Scrolls
ii. Psalms of Solomon
iii. Assumption of Moses 6-7
iv. Sibylline Oracles
v. Jewish Apocalyptic Sources: 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and Apocalypse of Abraham
vi. Summary of the Section
C. The Roman Army in the Works of Philo
III. Non-literary Sources
IV. The Roman Army in Talmudic Sources
V. The Roman Army in the Works of Josephus
VI. Conclusion
Chapter 4: The Roman Military in Luke-Acts
I. The Purpose and Scope of this Chapter
II. The Roman Army in the Gospel of Luke
A. The Soldiers and John the Baptist (Luke 3:14)
B. The Roman Army in the Prophecies Against Jerusalem and Its Temple (Luke 13, 19, 21, 23)
C. Roman Military in the Passion Narrative (Luke 23)
III. The Roman Army in the Acts of the Apostles
A. Paul in the Protective Roman Custody (Acts 21-23)
B. The Roman Military and Paul on a Voyage to Rome (Acts 27)
IV. The Figure of the Centurion in Luke 7 and Acts 10
A. Jesus and the Centurion (Luke 7:1-10)
B. The Story of the Centurion Cornelius (Acts 10-11)
V. Conclusion
Conclusion
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