Verse 28
And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this citizenship. And Paul said, But I am Roman born.
With a great sum ... As Dummelow said, "It is evident that the chief captain had not bought his citizenship under Claudius (41-54 A.D.), who sold it for a merely nominal sum."[26] This fact has an affirmative bearing on the early date of events in this chapter, for Claudius Lysias had received his citizenship at a time prior to Claudius.
I am a Roman born ... From this, it appears that Paul's father had been awarded Roman citizenship, or that even his grandfather had received it, by what means we are totally unaware; however, the most reasonable guess is that it came about from some signal and outstanding service to the emperor.
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