“There can be no good reason for doubting an identification,
which would unquestionably have been proposed and hardly
disputed had
Sergius Paulus been known from any other source than the New
Testament”.
D. G. Hogarth
Bryan Windle (November 15, 2019) tells us about the
archaeological evidence:
Sergius Paulus: An
Archaeological Biography – Bible Archaeology Report
Sergius Paulus: An
Archaeological Biography
In our series of bioarchaeographies, we’ve been using
archaeology to tell the life story of biblical figures. So far we’ve
studied King Hezekiah, Pontius Pilate, Nebuchadnezzar, Gallio,
and Tiglath-Pileser III. With each of these biblical characters, we’ve seen direct
archaeological evidence that affirms their historicity as well as specific
details in Scripture. Sometimes in archaeology, however, a possible reference
to a certain person is found, rather than a clear, unequivocal reference.
This necessitates a “connect-the-dots” type of approach, as archaeologists seek
to interpret the inscriptions that are discovered. Such is the case with
the subject of this archaeological biography: Sergius Paulus.
Paul and Barnabas met the proconsul, Sergius Paulus,
during a missionary trip to Cyprus. In Act 13:6-7, we read, “When they had
gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain
magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.
Damien
Mackey’s comment:
For more on this wily wonder-worker of wicked wizadry, see my article:
The
False Prophet
Bryan Windle continues:
He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of
intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of
God.” Sergius Paulus eventually put his faith in Jesus Christ (Acts
13:12) and, after leaving Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas made their way to Pisidian
Antioch (Acts 13:14). Proconsuls were important men in the Roman Empire during
the first century. Is there evidence of a prominent man named Sergius
Paulus around this time (AD 45-50) who we might identify as the proconsul of
Cyprus? Indeed, there is: multiple inscriptions naming a certain “Sergius
Paulus” indicate that such a man was an official in the Roman empire in the
middle of the first century.
Roman Names
To begin, we need to understand Roman names.
Typically, Roman men had three names: a praenomen (informal
“first name”), nomen (gens or clan name),
and cognomen (small family name). …. Gaius Julias Caesar
is a good example. With Sergius Paulus, only his nomen and cognomen are
given in Acts 13, not his praenomen/first name. Still, as we
shall see, a number of inscriptions bear this name, and even a first initial.
Inscriptions
In 1877 a Greek inscription was discovered at Soloi,
on the northern coast of Cyprus, which mentions a proconsul named Paulus.
This inscription (IGR III, 930), which has been dated to the middle
of the first century, is currently housed in the Cyprus museum and reads:
“Apollonius to his father…consecrated this enclosure
and monument according to his family’s wishes…having filled the offices of
clerk of the market, prefect, town-clerk, high priest, and having been in
charge as manager of the records office. Erected on the 25th of
the month Demarchexusius in the thirteenth year [of the reign of Claudius – 54
AD]. He also altered the senate by means of assessors during the time of
proconsul Paulus”. ….
Note that, while the inscription dates to 54 AD, it
references an event earlier than this, during the time of the
proconsul Paulus. This inscription establishes that someone in the Pauli
family was proconsul on the island of Cyprus around the time the Bible
describes Sergius Paulus in such a role. D. G. Hogarth personally
inspected the inscription in 1888 and wrote, “The great interest of this
inscription lies in the possible allusion to the Sergius Paulus of Acts
xiii. There can be no good reason for doubting an identification, which
would unquestionably have been proposed and hardly disputed had Sergius Paulus
been known from any other source than the New Testament.” ….
Another inscription on a boundary stone from Rome
names L. Sergius Paullus as one of the curators of the Tiber River (Note:
Paullus is the Latin spelling; Paulus is the Greek spelling). It has been
dated to 47 AD. Due to the very limited number of first names commonly
used among men in Rome, it is probable that L. stands for Lucius.
The inscription (CIL 6.31545) reads:
“Paullus
Fabius Persicus
Gaius
Eggius Marullus
Lucius
Sergius Paullus
Gaius
Obellius Rufus
Lucius
Scribonius Libo (?)
The
commissioners of the banks and beds of the Tiber, by the authority of Tiberius
Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus [the emperor Claudius], leader of the
Senate (?), marked the boundaries [of the Tiber floodplain] by placing
boundary stones on the bank from the Trigarium to the Pons Agrippae”. ….
Thus, a man named Lucius Sergius Paulus held a
position as a Roman official overseeing the Tiber River in the middle of the
first century. As commissioner of the banks and beds of the Tiber, he
would have been “responsible for managing the flow of the river to prevent the
disastrous flooding that sometimes occurred in the city.” …. New Testament
scholar, Ben Witherington III, concludes: “The fact that the Latin inscription,
datable to the 40’s, like the text of Acts 13, mentions a prominent Sergius
Paulus as a public figure suggests a connection between the two since clearly
Paul’s visit to Cyprus must also be dated to the reign of Claudius in the later
40’s.
This would provide one more piece of evidence, though
indirect, that Luke is dealing with historical data and situations, not just
creating a narrative with historical verisimilitude.”…. It is quite possible
that Lucius Sergius Paulus served as commissioner of the Tiber River either
before or after becoming the proconsul of Cyprus. While some have
suggested that Sergius Paulus was demoted from his role as procurator of Cyprus
after he put his faith in Christ, the dating of the inscriptions is not precise
enough to pinpoint the order in which he served in each role.
Two more Sergius Paulus inscriptions have been
discovered near Pisidian Antioch. The most famous is currently housed at
the Yalvac Museum. On it, the whole family name Paulii and part of the
name Sergii are clearly visible. …. Though fragmentary, it has been
reconstructed to read, “L. Sergius Paulus.” Unfortunately, no title or
position is given for this individual. Another inscription was copied by
Sir William Ramsay and J.G.C. Anderson near Pisidian Antioch in 1912. It
reads, “To L(ucius) Sergius Paullus, the younger, son of Lucius, one of the
four commissioners in charge of the Roman streets, tribune of the soldiers of
the sixth legion styled Ferrata, quaestor…” …. Ramsay
identifies this L. Sergius Paullus (the younger) as the son of L. Sergius
Paullus who was the proconsul of Cyprus. He also discovered another
inscription referring to a lady named Sergia Paula, whom he identifies as the
daughter of L. Sergius Paullus, the proconsul of Cyprus.
It should be noted that Ramsay bases his
identification on his speculation of the dates of the inscriptions and the
possible ages of each individual, and should be viewed as just that – a
hypothesis.
Sir William Ramsay copied this inscription near
Pisidian Antioch in 1912. It refers to an L. Sergius Paulus the younger, son of
L. Sergius Paulus. Photo: William Ramsay in The Bearing of Recent Discovery on
the Trustworthiness of the New Testament.
Still, the number of inscriptions referring to the
Sergius Paulus family around Pisidian Antioch have led some scholars to suggest
that the family estate was nearby, which raises an interesting possibility
given that the Apostle Paul and Barnabas made their way to this city
immediately after they left Cyprus. Dr. Titus Kennedy summarizes, “It is
possible, though unconfirmed and only a hypothesis based on circumstantial
evidence, that the reason Paul and Barnabus traveled to Antioch after Cyprus is
because Sergius Paulus had family ties there. If so, the L. Sergius Paulus
mentioned on the stone inscription from Antioch may further illuminate the life
of the proconsul Sergius Paulus who held positions on Cyprus and in
Rome.” …. Some speculate that Sergius Paulus adopted Saul
into the Paulus family through the common Roman practice of adult adoption
known as adrogation. This, they propose, explains why
Saul is henceforth known as Paul immediately after this account in the book of
Acts, and how he may have gone to Antioch to be introduced to the family.
It’s an interesting hypothesis.
One final inscription from Kytharia, Cyprus has been
suggested as relating to the proconsul Sergius Paulus. It bears the name
“Quintus Ser[gius]” and, while the name of the emperor is lost, it can be
restored as either Tiberius (14–37 AD), Caligula (37–41 AD), or Claudius (41–54
AD). .... If it is Claudius, it would be further evidence of
the Sergius clan on Cyprus at the time the Bible describes; if it is Tiberius
or Caligula, it would be too early to make a connection.
Furthermore, given the fragmentary nature of the
inscription, it is not possible to conclusively state what the nomen and
cognomen should be. While some have suggested Quintus Sergius Paulus, this
is tentative at best.
Literary References
Among these is Sergius Paulus, who appears to have
also been an author on Natural History in his own right, although his work has
been lost. Interestingly, in his second and 18th book,
Pliny writes about Cyprus, and makes note of its magicians. Bill Cooper
suggests, “To be quoted and relied upon by Pliny as an authority, your
scholarly credentials had to be second to none, and Sergius Paulus was clearly
highly esteemed as an author on Natural History for Pliny to rely on his work
as he did. Against this background, Luke’s statement concerning Sergius
Paulus – that he was a “prudent man” [a man of intelligence – ESV] (Acts 13:7)
– takes on added meaning.” ….
Summary
Based on the inscriptional evidence, many scholars
have concluded that there was indeed a prominent Roman official named Sergius
Paulus in the middle of the first century. It appears that his full name was
Lucius Sergius Paulus, and that, in addition to serving in various roles in the
Roman empire, he was also a respected author. Ben Witherington III
concludes: “In sum, the inscriptional evidence clearly places Sergii Pauli on
the island of Cyprus and the Latin inscription about Lucius of that family may
point us to the man in question. Given what we know about the Roman career
patterns of the time it is quite feasible that a curator of the Tiber might
have before or after his curatorship served as proconsul on Cyprus.” ….
By connecting the dots, it is reasonable to interpret
the evidence as suggesting that Lucius Sergius Paulus was likely the proconsul
of Cyprus whom Paul met and led to faith in Christ Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment