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TERTULLUS

(Gk. Tértyllos)

A professional orator brought to Caesarea by the Jewish high priest Ananias and elders to appeal their case against Paul before the Roman governor Felix (Acts 24:1-8). It is unclear whether Tertullus himself was Jewish or Roman or, perhaps, both a Hellenistic Jew and Roman citizen — like Paul. His references to “this nation (Gk. éthnos)” and “all the Jews” intimate a certain distance from the Jewish people; but mostly Tertullus employs “we”-language, effectively arguing the opinion of the Jewish authorities as his own (the Western addition in Acts 24:6b reinforces this stance: “We would have judged him according to our law”).

In any case, Tertullus functions as an advocate skilled in standard forensic rhetoric. His opening gambit (exordium) appeals to the magistrate’s penchant for brevity and flattery, particularly extolling Felix’s noble commitment to Jewish peace and welfare. This sets up the statement of charges (narratio), in which Tertullus accuses the “pestilent” Paul of threatening the peace not only in Judea but throughout the empire. Finally, he offers as corroborating evidence (probatio) Paul’s recent attempt to defile the temple, leading to his arrest (cf. Acts 21:27-36). According to Acts, such charges are groundless, as Paul’s subsequent defense makes clear (Acts 24:10-21).

Bibliography. B. Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, vol. 3 of The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting, ed. B. W. Winter (Grand Rapids, 1994), 158-72; Winter, “The Importance of the Captatio Beneuolentiae in the Speeches of Tertullus and Paul in Acts 24:1-21,” JTS n.s. 42 (1991): 505-31.

F. Scott Spencer

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TERTULLUS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)