100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
39. Lysias’ Citizenship
In Acts 22:28 the chief captain tells Paul that he had obtained his citizenship with a “great sum” of money. The captain’s name, Claudius Lysias, indicates that it was under Claudius that he had become a freedman. During this phase in Roman history, many barriers were in place preventing an imperial freedman from gaining equestrian status. According to Roman historian A.N. Sherwin-White, the “great sum” paid by Lysias was probably not therefore the price of his freedom, but the refers to the bribe he must had paid to the intermediates of the imperial secretariat or the provincial administration. This bribe would have secured his name on a list of candidates for enfranchisement.
Note that during the reign of Claudius, government officials were making money on the side out of the growing demand for Roman privileges. This situation was allowed to persist until the time of Nero, when the emperor became extremely angry at the discovery that certain officials were trafficking in appointments and honours. Lysia’s reference to the difficulty in obtaining Roman citizenship therefore helps us to date the events described, as coming from the mid-first century. White points out:
“One thing is clear, the historical atmosphere of the Lysias incident is exactly right for the time of Claudius…The reference to the difficulty of acquiring Roman citizenship would be much less appropriate in a later age, even if the venality of the Claudian administration in this respect were not so well documented. It is characteristic that the abuse goes unchecked under Claudius, is punished under Nero, and in later reigns is not mentioned as among the defects of the times.” A.N. Sherwin-White, “Roman Law and Roman Society in the New Testament”, Baker Book House, (reprint from 1963 Oxford University Press Ed.), 1992, p.160
Notes and References:
Colin Hemer mentions the Lyaias incident in his thorough volume “The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History. He does not comment on Sherwin-White’s suggestion that the “great some” was in fact a bribe. He does, however, offer this important insight:
“22:28 The [chiliarchos] had bought his citizenship at great cost. The sale of citizenship was notoriously a feature of life under Claudius (Dio 60.17.5-7). Dio’s statement is placed annalistically in AD 43 (60.7.1), and he says that the privilege, first sold at great cost, became cheapened later under Claudius, an interesting parallel with our present passage. This man, whose name Claudius Lysias (23:26) sufficiently confirms his enfranchisement by Claudius, had presumably gained his rights early in the reign, and had seen his pride reduced by Claudius’ later practice, and his remark reflects this. There is in fact circumstantial support at least for a dramatic date plausibly reflecting the aftermath of Claudius’ later citizenship policy in the lifetime of a man still in his prime after living in adulthood through the period.” Colin J. Hemer, “The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History ”, Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana, 1990, p. 170