Antipatris, a city where Paul was brought by soldiers during his journey to Caesarea.
Antipatris was a city located in the region of Samaria, approximately 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Jerusalem. It is mentioned in Act.23.31 in connection with the apostle Paul's transfer from Jerusalem to Caesarea. After a plot against Paul's life was uncovered, the Roman commander ordered soldiers to escort Paul to Antipatris by night, ensuring his safety.
The city of Antipatris was built by Herod the Great and named after his father, Antipater. It was situated in a strategic location along the major road connecting Jerusalem to Caesarea, the Roman capital of Judea. The soldiers brought Paul to Antipatris, where they likely rested before continuing the journey to Caesarea the following day.
The mention of Antipatris in the account of Paul's transfer highlights the Roman authorities' concern for his safety and their efforts to protect him from the Jewish conspirators who sought to kill him. The city served as a stopover point on the journey, allowing the soldiers to cover a significant distance from Jerusalem and ensuring Paul's secure arrival in Caesarea.
Apart from this single reference in the context of Paul's transfer, no other information about Antipatris is provided in the Bible. Its inclusion in the narrative demonstrates the historical and geographical accuracy of the biblical account and the efficiency of the Roman military in transporting prisoners.
Approximate location: 32.100, 34.947 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
A city built by Herod the Great, and called by this name in honour of his father, Antipater. It lay between Caesarea and Lydda, two miles inland, on the great Roman road from Caesarea to Jerusalem. To this place Paul was brought by night (Acts 23:31) on his way to Caesarea, from which it was distant 28 miles. It is identified with the modern, Ras-el-Ain, where rise the springs of Aujeh, the largest springs in Palestine.
(for his father), a town to which the soldiers conveyed St. Paul by night on their march. (Acts 23:31) Its ancient name was Capharsaba; and Herod, when he rebuilt the city, changed it to Antipatris, in honor of his father, Antipater. The village Kefr-Sabba still retains the ancient name of Antipatris.
for, or against the father
ANTIP'ATRIS (for his father), a city built by Herod the Great in honor of his father, Antipater. It was on the road from Jerusalem to Caesarea, Acts 23:31, about 26 miles south-east of the latter and 10 miles north-east of Joppa, according to ancient authority. Some have located it at Kefr Saba, on the plain, 40 miles north-west of Jerusalem; Wilson and Conder place it at Kala'at Ras el 'Ain, ruins between Lydda and Caesarea, 30 miles south-east of the latter and 11 miles north-east of Joppa. The old Roman road from Jerusalem runs to this place, and thence to Caesarea. "One of the finest springs in the country is near." It did not seem probable to Wilson and Conder that any large town like Antipatris had been at Kefr Saba.
ANTIP'ATRIS (for his father), a city built by Herod the Great in honor of his father, Antipater. It was on the road from Jerusalem to Caesarea, Acts 23:31, about 26 miles south-east of the latter and 10 miles north-east of Joppa, according to ancient authority. Some have located it at Kefr Saba, on the plain, 40 miles north-west of Jerusalem; Wilson and Conder place it at Kala'at Ras el 'Ain, ruins between Lydda and Caesarea, 30 miles south-east of the latter and 11 miles north-east of Joppa. The old Roman road from Jerusalem runs to this place, and thence to Caesarea. "One of the finest springs in the country is near." It did not seem probable to Wilson and Conder that any large town like Antipatris had been at Kefr Saba.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
1 verse in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G0494
So the soldiers followed their orders and brought Paul by night to Antipatris.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.