Acts 10:1 - Exposition

Now there was (two last words in italics) for there was (in roman), A.V. and T.R.; Cornelius by name for called Cornelius, A.V. A glance at the map will show that Caesarea (see note to Acts 9:30 ) was but a short distance, some thirty miles, from Joppa. It was doubtless with a view to Peter's momentous errand to Caesarea that Luke recorded his previous visit to Lydda and his residence at Joppa, consequent upon the restoring of Dorcas to life: the origines of Gentile Christianity being the prime object of the Acts (see Introduction to the Acts). The Italian band ; or, cohort ( σπείρα ). The σπείρα , or cohort, was used in two senses. When spoken of strictly Roman troops, it meant the tenth part of a legion, and consisted of from four hundred and twenty-five to five hundred or six hundred men, according to the strength of the legion. Its commander was called a chiliarch, and it was divided into centuries, each commanded by a centurion. But when spoken of auxiliary provincial troops, it meant a regiment of about a thousand men (Josephus, 'Bell. Jud.,' 3.42). It is in this last sense probably that it is used here. Josephus, in the passage above quoted, speaks of five such auxiliary cohorts coming from Caesarea to join Vespasian's army, and he tells us in another place ('Bell. Jud.,' 2.18, 7) that the principal portion of the Roman army at Caesarea were Syrians. It is pretty certain, therefore, that the Italian cohort here spoken of were auxiliaries, so called as being made up in whole or in part of Italians, probably volunteers or velones (Farrar, vol. 1.278, note). Another reason for this conclusion is that it does not seem likely that one of the divisions of a legion should have a name, but that separate regiments would naturally have appropriate names for the same reason that the legions had. Thus, besides the Italian cohort here named, we have the Augustan cohort in Acts 27:1 . It might be important for the security of the procurator, in so turbulent a province as Judaea, to have at least one cohort of Italian soldiers at the seat of government. Renan thinks the full name of the cohort may have been "Cohors prima Augusta Italica civium Romanorum;" and adds that there were in the whole empire not fewer than thirty-two cohorts bearing the name of Italian.