Lysias was a Roman military officer mentioned in the New Testament, specifically in the Acts of the Apostles. He held the position of a tribune, also known as a chiliarch, which means he was a commander of a cohort, typically consisting of about 1,000 soldiers. His full name, as recorded in Acts 23:26, is Claudius Lysias, indicating that he likely acquired Roman citizenship, possibly through purchase, as was common during that period.

Biblical Account:

Lysias plays a significant role in the events surrounding the Apostle Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem. His actions are documented in Acts 21-24, where he is depicted as a pragmatic and somewhat cautious officer, concerned with maintaining order and upholding Roman law.

1. Intervention in Jerusalem: Lysias first appears in Acts 21:31-32, when a riot breaks out in Jerusalem due to the presence of Paul, who was accused by the Jews of defiling the temple. Lysias, upon hearing of the uproar, immediately took soldiers and centurions to quell the disturbance. He arrested Paul, initially mistaking him for an Egyptian revolutionary (Acts 21:38).

2. Paul’s Defense: After realizing Paul was a Roman citizen, Lysias allowed him to address the crowd (Acts 21:39-40). The next day, Lysias sought to understand the accusations against Paul by bringing him before the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:30).

3. Protection of Paul: When a plot to kill Paul was uncovered, Lysias acted decisively to protect him. He arranged for Paul to be transferred to Caesarea under heavy guard, sending him to Governor Felix with a letter explaining the situation (Acts 23:23-30). This action underscores Lysias’s responsibility to ensure the safety of a Roman citizen and his adherence to legal protocols.

4. Legal Proceedings: Lysias’s involvement concludes with his letter to Felix, which provides a summary of the events and his assessment that Paul had committed no crime deserving death or imprisonment (Acts 23:29).

Historical and Cultural Context:

Lysias’s role as a Roman tribune placed him in a complex position, balancing the demands of Roman authority with the volatile religious and social dynamics of Jerusalem. His interactions with Paul highlight the Roman legal system's influence and the privileges associated with Roman citizenship. Lysias’s actions reflect the Roman emphasis on law and order, as well as the administrative challenges faced by Roman officials in the provinces.

Theological Significance:

From a theological perspective, Lysias’s intervention is seen as part of God’s providential care for Paul, ensuring his safety and the continuation of his mission. The narrative demonstrates how God can use secular authorities to accomplish His purposes, protecting His servants and advancing the Gospel. Lysias, though a pagan officer, becomes an unwitting instrument in the divine plan, illustrating the sovereignty of God over human affairs.

References in Scripture:

· Acts 21:31-40
· Acts 22:24-30
· Acts 23:10-35

Lysias’s interactions with Paul provide valuable insights into the early Christian experience under Roman rule and the legal protections afforded to Roman citizens, which played a crucial role in the spread of Christianity during the first century.Lysias

dissolving

Lysias

(dissolving), a nobleman of the blood-royal, 1Macc 3:32; 2Macc 11:1, who was entrusted he Antiochus Epiphanes (cir. B.C. 166) with the government of southern Syria and the guardianship of his son Antiochus Eupator. 1Macc 3:32; 2Macc. 10:11. After the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, B.C. 184, Lysias assumed the government as guardian of his son, who was pet a child. 1Macc 6:17. In B.C. 164 he, together with his ward, fell into the hands of Demetrius Soter, who put them both to death. 1Macc 7:2-4; 2Macc 14:2.

Lysias

Or Claudius Lysias, commander of the Roman guard at Jerusalem during Paul's last visit there. In the honorable discharge of his duty, he repeatedly saved Paul from the malice of the Jews, Acts 21:27-40 22:1-23:35.

Lysias, Claudius

The chief captain (chiliarch) who commanded the Roman troops in Jerusalem, and sent Paul under guard to the procurator Felix at Caesarea (Acts 21:31-38; 22:24-30). His letter to his superior officer is an interesting specimen of Roman military correspondence (23:26-30). He obtained his Roman citizenship by purchase, and was therefore probably a Greek. (see CLAUDIUS.)

CLAUDIUS LYSIAS

klo'-di-us lis'-i-as (Klaudios Lysias): A chief captain who intervened when the Jews sought to do violence to Paul at Jerusalem (Acts 21:31; Acts 24:22). Lysias, who was probably a Greek by birth (compare Acts 21:37), and who had probably assumed the Roman forename Claudius (Acts 23:26) when he purchased the citizenship (Acts 22:28), was a military tribune or chiliarch (i.e. leader of 1,000 men) in command of the garrison stationed in the castle overlooking the temple at Jerusalem. Upon learning of the riot instigated by the Asiatic Jews, he hastened down with his soldiers, and succeeded in rescuing Paul from the hands of the mob. As Paul was the apparent malefactor, Lysias bound him with two chains, and demanded to know who he was, and what was the cause of the disturbance. Failing amid the general tumult to get any satisfactory reply, he conducted Paul to the castle, and there questioned him as to whether he was the "Egyptian," an postor that had lately been defeated by Felix (Josephus, BJ, II, xiii, 5; Ant, XX, viii, 6). Upon receiving the answer of Paul that he was a "Jew of Tarsus," he gave him permission to address the people from the stairs which connected the castle and the temple. As the speech of Paul had no pacifying effect, Lysias purposed examining him by scourging; but on learning that his prisoner was a Roman citizen, he desisted from the attempt and released him from his bonds. The meeting of the Sanhedrin which Lysias then summoned also ended in an uproar, and having rescued Paul with difficulty he conducted him back to the castle. The news of the plot against the life of one whom he now knew to be a Roman citizen decided for Lysias that he could not hope to cope alone with so grave a situation. He therefore dispatched Paul under the protection of a bodyguard to Felix at Caesarea, along with a letter explaining the circumstances (Acts 23:26-30. The genuineness of this letter has been questioned by some, but without sufficient reason.) In this letter he took care to safeguard his own conduct, and to shield his hastiness in binding Paul. There is evidence (compare Acts 24:22) that Lysias was also summoned to Caesarea at a later date to give his testimony, but no mention is made of his arrival there. It is probable, however, that he was among the chief captains who attended the trial of Paul before King Agrippa and Festus (compare Acts 25:22). For the reference to him in the speech of Tertullus (see Acts 24:7 the Revised Version, margin), see TERTULLUS.

C. M. Kerr

LYSIAS

lis'-i-as (Lusias):

(1) "A noble man, and one of the blood royal" whom Antiochus Epiphanes (circa 166 B.C.) left with the government of Southern Syria and the guardianship of his son, while he went in person into Persia to collect the revenues which were. not coming in satisfactorily (1 Maccabees 3:32; 2 Maccabees 10:11). According to Josephus (Ant., XII, vii, 2), the instructions of Lysias were' "to conquer Judea, enslave its inhabitants, utterly destroy Jerusalem and abolish the whole nation." Lysias, accordingly, armed against Judas Maccabeus a large force under Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, Nicanor and Gorgias. Of this force Judas defeated the two divisions under Nicanor and Gorgias near Emmaus (166 B.C.), and in the following year Lysias himself at Bethsura (1 Maccabees 4), after which he proceeded to the purification of the temple. In the narration of these campaigns there are considerable differences between the writers of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees which scholars have not found easy to explain. Antiochus died at Babylon on his Persian expedition (164 B.C.), and Lysias assumed the office of regent during the minority of his son, who was yet a child (1 Maccabees 6:17). He collected another army at Antioch, and after the recapture of Bethsura was besieging Jerusalem when he learned of the approach of Philip to whom Antiochus, on his deathbed, had entrusted the guardianship of the prince (1 Maccabees 6:15; 2 Maccabees 13). He defeated Philip in 163 B.C. and was supported at Rome, but in the following year he fell with his ward Antiochus into the hands of Demetrius I (Soter), who put both of them to death (1 Maccabees 7:1-23).

(2) See CLAUDIUS LYSIAS (Acts 23:26).

J. Hutchison

3079. Lusias -- Lysias, a Roman
... Lysias, a Roman. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: Lusias Phonetic
Spelling: (loo-see'-as) Short Definition: Claudius Lysias Definition: Claudius ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3079.htm - 6k

2804. Klaudios -- Claudius, the name of an Emperor, also an army ...
... Definition: (a) Claudius, the fourth of the Roman Emperors, Tiberius Claudius Caesar
Augustus Germanicus, who ruled AD 41-54, (b) Claudius Lysias, a tribune at ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2804.htm - 6k

How Judas Overthrew the Forces of Apollonius and Seron and Killed ...
... Overthrew The Forces Of Apollonius And Seron And Killed The Generals Of Their Armies
Themselves; And How When, A Little While Afterwards Lysias And Gorgias ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 7 how judas overthrew.htm

Acts XXIV
... XXIV: 1. When the Jews were commanded by Lysias to present their accusation before
Felix, though disappointed in their first plot, they still hoped to ...
/.../mcgarvey/a commentary on acts of the apostles/acts xxiv.htm

The Trial at Caesarea
... the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: who also hath gone about
to profane the temple." Tertullus then stated that Lysias, the commandant of ...
/.../white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 39 the trial at.htm

Concerning the Death of Antiochus Epiphane. How Antiochus Eupator ...
... [24] This Antiochus died in the hundred forty and ninth year; but it was Lysias
that declared his death to the multitude, and appointed his son Antiochus to be ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 9 concerning the death.htm

In the Meantime, Matthathias Dies, Having Appointed in his Own ...
... for he who had of old been the richest of kings now deeply felt the poverty due
to his own wickedness), he divided his forces with Lysias, and committed to him ...
/.../severus/life and writings of sulpitius severus /chapter xxi in the meantime.htm

The Maccabees.
... His son, Antiochus Eupator, was only nine years old, and his affairs were managed
by a governor named Lysias, who continued the persecution, and led an army to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson xviii the maccabees.htm

Acts XXIII
... Lysias was once more disappointed in his efforts to learn the truth about his case,
and must have been in greater perplexity than ever, as he commanded the ...
/.../mcgarvey/a commentary on acts of the apostles/acts xxiii.htm

Paul in the Temple
... enclosure. Tidings 'came up' to the officer in command, Claudius Lysias
by name (Acts 23:26), that all Jerusalem was in confusion. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture the acts/paul in the temple.htm

Paul Before Felix
... And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he
deferred them, and said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture the acts/paul before felix.htm

Rhetoric and Eloquence
... Socrates, animated with the same spirit, thought it unworthy of him to pronounce
the speech Lysias had composed for his defense, it being the custom of the ...
/.../kleiser/the training of a public speaker/rhetoric and eloquence.htm

Lysias (3 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Lysias, Claudius. The chief captain ... (see CLAUDIUS.).
Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. CLAUDIUS LYSIAS. klo'-di-us ...
/l/lysias.htm - 12k

Claudius (3 Occurrences)
... (2.) Claudius Lysias, a Greek who, having obtained by purchase the privilege of
Roman citizenship, took the name of Claudius (Acts 21:31-40; 22:28; 23:26). ...
/c/claudius.htm - 15k

Nicanor (1 Occurrence)
... After the defeat of Seron by Judas, Epiphanes entrusted his chancellor Lysias
with the reduction of Judea (1 Maccabees 3:34;). Nicanor ...
/n/nicanor.htm - 14k

Eupator
... The name given to Antiochus V who had succeeded his father Antiochus IV (Epiphanes),
164 BC, while still a child under the guardianship of Lysias (APC 1Macc 3 ...
/e/eupator.htm - 7k

Felix (11 Occurrences)
... being attacked at the instigation of the Asiatic Jews for alleged false teaching
and profanation of the temple, was rescued with difficulty by Lysias the chief ...
/f/felix.htm - 15k

Antonius
... being attacked at the instigation of the Asiatic Jews for alleged false teaching
and profanation of the temple, was rescued with difficulty by Lysias the chief ...
/a/antonius.htm - 10k

Lys'ias (2 Occurrences)
Lys'ias. Lysias, Lys'ias. Lysimachus . ... Lys'ias (2 Occurrences). Acts 23:26 Claudius
Lysias, to the most noble governor Felix, hail: (See RSV). ...
/l/lys'ias.htm - 6k

Tertullus (2 Occurrences)
... violence, but was legally carried out by the high priests and elders in the interests
of peace; and but for the unwarranted interference of Lysias (see LYSIAS...
/t/tertullus.htm - 9k

Maccabaeus
... He defeated several of the generals of Antiochus-Apollonius at Beth-horon, part
of the army of Lysias at Emmaus (166 BC), and Lysias himself at Bethsura the ...
/m/maccabaeus.htm - 17k

Demetrius (3 Occurrences)
... xxxi.12), chafed at a longer detention, particularly as his cousin, Antiochus Eupator,
a boy of 9, succeeded to the kingdom with Lysias as his guardian. ...
/d/demetrius.htm - 17k

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