Distribution Agreement In presenting this thesis or dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Emory University, I hereby grant to Emory University and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive, make accessible, and display my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, including display on the world wide web. I understand that I may select some access restrictions as part of the online submission of this thesis or dissertation. I retain all ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. Signature: _____________________________ ______________ Oleksandr Kyrychenko Date The Role of the Centurion in Luke-Acts By Oleksandr Kyrychenko Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Division of Religion New Testament _________________________________________________ Carl R. Holladay Advisor _________________________________________________ Thomas S. Burns Committee Member _________________________________________________ Luke Timothy Johnson Committee Member _________________________________________________ Walter T. Wilson Committee Member Accepted: _________________________________________________ Lisa A. Tedesco, Ph.D. Dean of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies ______________________Date The Role of the Centurion in Luke-Acts By Oleksandr Kyrychenko M.Div., Abilene Christian University, 2003 M.A., Abilene Christian University, 2003 B.A., Kharkiv Polytechnic University, 1993 Advisor: Carl R. Holladay, Ph.D. An abstract of A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Division of Religion, New Testament 2013 Abstract The Role of the Centurion in Luke-Acts By Oleksandr Kyrychenko 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 two-volume work. 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. The Role of the Centurion in Luke-Acts By Oleksandr Kyrychenko M.A., Abilene Christian University, 2003 M.Div., Abilene Christian University, 2003 B.A., Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, 1993 Advisor: Carl R. Holladay, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Division of Religion, New Testament 2013 Table of Contents Introduction 1 I. The Prominence of Centurions in Luke-Acts and the Current State of the Study 1 II. The Scope, Methodology, and Argument of the Study 7 III. The Plan of the Study 7 Chapter 1: Luke-Acts in the Roman Military Setting 9 I. The Purpose and Scope of this Chapter 9 II. The Significance of the Centurion’s Office in the Roman Army 10 A. The Place and Role of the Centurion in the Structure of a Legion 10 B. The Role of the Centurion in an Auxiliary Cohort 17 II. The Army and the Ruling Power 22 A. The Army and the Julio-Claudian Emperors 23 B. The Army in the Year of the Four Emperors 31 C. The Role of the Centurion as Representative of the Imperial Authority 33 III. The Roman Army in the Civilian Context 35 IV. The Roman Army in Palestine 41 A. Judaea—From Kingdom to a Province 41 B. Sebasteni Auxiliary Units 43 C. Roman Military Regiments in Luke-Acts 45 i. Military Terminology in Luke-Acts 45 ii. The Cohors Italica 47 iii. Roman Troops in Jerusalem 49 iv. The Cohors Augusta 50 D. The Jewish Revolt and the Roman Response 52 V. Conclusion 54 Chapter 2: The Image of the Roman Soldier in Greco-Roman Sources 56 I. The Purpose and Scope of this Chapter 56 II. The Roman Soldier in Greco-Roman Literature 57 A. The Image of the Soldier in the Works of History 57 i. Polybius 57 ii. Julius Caesar 60 iii. Sallust 65 iv. Livy 69 v. Velleius Paterculus 74 vi. Tacitus 79 vii. Appian 90 viii. Summary of the Section 93 B. The Image of the Soldier in the Works of Biography 95 i. Cornelius Nepos 95 ii. Plutarch 96 iii. Suetonius 101 iv. Summary of the Section 104 C. The Image of the Soldier in Other Literary Sources 105 III. The Roman Soldier in Non-Literary Sources 109 IV. Conclusion 115 Chapter 3:The Image of the Roman Soldier in Jewish Sources 118 I. The Purpose and Scope of this Chapter 118 II. The Roman Soldier in Jewish Literature 118 A. The Roman Army in Jewish Literature Prior to 63 B.C.E.: 1 Maccabees 118 B. The Roman Army in Jewish Prophetic Literature 122 i. Dead Sea Scrolls 124 ii. Psalms of Solomon 127 iii. Assumption of Moses 6–7 131 iv. Sibylline Oracles 132 v. Jewish Apocalyptic Sources: 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and Apocalypse of Abraham 135 vi. Summary of the Section 137 C. The Roman Army in the Works of Philo 138 III. Non-literary Sources 141 IV. The Roman Army in Talmudic Sources 144 V. The Roman Army in the Works of Josephus 146 VI. Conclusion 183 Chapter 4: The Roman Military in Luke-Acts 187 I. The Purpose and Scope of this Chapter 187 II. The Roman Army in the Gospel of Luke 188 A. The Soldiers and John the Baptist (Luke 3:14) 188 B. The Roman Army in the Prophecies Against Jerusalem and Its Temple (Luke 13, 19, 21, 23) 190 C. Roman Military in the Passion Narrative (Luke 23) 193 III. The Roman Army in the Acts of the Apostles 197 A. Paul in the Protective Roman Custody (Acts 21–23) 197 B. The Roman Military and Paul on a Voyage to Rome (Acts 27) 198 IV. The Figure of the Centurion in Luke 7 and Acts 10 200 A. Jesus and the Centurion (Luke 7:1–10) 200 B. The Story of the Centurion Cornelius (Acts 10–11) 212 V. Conclusion 239 Conclusion 242 Bibliography 250 1 Introduction I. The Prominence of Centurions in Luke-Acts and the Current State of the Study Centurions appear numerous times in the narrative of Luke-Acts, often at crucial stages of the development of Luke’s story. The centurion of Luke 7:1–10 presents a unique example of faith in Jesus. The centurion of Luke 23:47 declares the crucified Jesus as δίκαιος, affirming both his innocence and his righteousness. The centurion of Acts 10:1–11:18 plays a key role in the birth of the first Gentile Christian church—a seminal event in the Christian mission to Gentiles, dominating the rest of the book. Centurions of Acts 21–23 aid Paul, the missionary to Gentiles, in Jerusalem and protect him on his way to Caesarea. Finally, the centurion of Acts 27 expresses friendliness to Paul, saves his life during the sea voyage, and delivers him to Rome, thus ensuring the safe arrival of the missionary and his gospel to the capital of the Roman world. Although these accounts have received much attention from New Testament scholarship, the implications of the fact that these characters were centurions have not been examined. This neglect reflects a general lack of research pertaining to the Roman military within New Testament scholarship, which routinely resorts to citing monographs originally published over three quarters of a century ago.1 Not only do these works lack 1 These include Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.–A.D.