Language:
French
Year of publication:
2020
Titel der Quelle:
Biblica
Angaben zur Quelle:
101,3 (2020) 411-430
Keywords:
Josephus, Flavius Criticism and interpretation
;
New Testament. Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Judea (Region) (Israel) History To 70 A.D.
;
Eretz Israel Politics and government 168 B.C.-135 A.D.
Abstract:
Acts 24,27 can be understood in two different ways: either, it indicates the duration of Paul’s imprisonment, or it refers to the procurator Felix’s term of office. This second possibility would admittedly make some other details of the Acts story much clearer, but it seems quite impossible. Indeed, whichever dates we choose for his arrival (50/51 or 52/53) and for his replacement by Festus (56 or 59/60), Felix certainly remained in office for more than two years. However, some strange or unusual expressions used by Josephus about him seem to indicate that he was first sent to Palestine by Claudius as a simple chargé d’affaires (or as a procurator stricto sensu), that he was only appointed in 54 as the governor of Judea by Nero, and that, following Acts 24,27, he was replaced by Festus two years later, in 56. This conclusion is supported by what we know about Nero’s policy in the very beginning of his reign, as well as some pieces of evidence we can gather from other sources.
DOI:
10.2143/BIB.101.3.3288729
URL:
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