100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
43. Correct Title on Cyprus - Proconsul
Among the many specific local details described in the book of Acts is the variety of titles of political figures. These diverse titles of course varied with time and place, and the potential for error on the part of an author not very well informed would be great. In Acts, however, every title used is precise and correct for its time and place A. Case in point: the proconsul encountered by Paul and Barnabas on Cyprus during their first missionary journey.
Cyprus was annexed by Rome in 57 B.C. and was attached to the province of Cilicia in Asia Minor in 55 B.C. The island became a separate province governed by a legate in 27 B.C. In 22 B.C. Augustus delivered Cyprus to the senate and it was then governed by a proconsul. So in thirty-five years, Cyprus had four types of Roman government B. Accuracy on this point means the author of Acts must have been well acquainted with the facts. Again, this type of accuracy supports the contention that Luke authored Acts, and that it is a factual account of early church history.
43. Correct Title on Cyprus – Proconsul - Notes and References
A. “A student of history is aware of the bewildering variety in the titles held by these men, and he cannot fail to be struck by the confident accuracy with which Luke uses them.” Carl Henry, “Archaeological Confirmation of the New Testament”, Revelation and the Bible, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1958, p. 325
“A writer who thus relates his story to the wider context of world history is courting trouble if he is not careful; he affords his critical readers so many opportunities for testing his accuracy. Luke takes this risk, and stands the test admirably. One of the most remarkable tokens of his accuracy is his sure familiarity with the proper titles of all the notable persons who are mentioned in his pages. This was by no means such an easy feat in his days as it is in ours, when it is so simple to consult convenient books of reference. The accuracy of Luke’s use of the various titles in the Roman Empire has been compared to the ease and confident way in which an Oxford man in ordinary conversation will refer to the heads of Oxford colleges by their proper titles – the Provost of Oriel, the Master of Balloil, the Rector of Exeter, the President of Magdalen, and so on…But Luke had a further difficulty in that the titles sometimes did not remain the same for any great length of time; a province might pass senatorial government to administration by a district representative of the emperor, and would then be governed no longer by a proconsul but by an imperial legate…” F.F. Bruce, “The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?”, Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 5th Revised Edition, 1978, p. 82
B. J.A. Thompson, “The Bible and Archaeology”, Eerdmans Publishing Co. , Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1962, p. 381