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Lysias

Man living at the time of the New Testament

Claudius Lysias, the Roman commander in Jerusalem, rescued Paul from a Jewish mob and sent him to Felix.

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Also known as Claudius

Claudius Lysias was a Roman tribune (commander) stationed in Jerusalem during the time of Paul's arrest (Act.23.26). When Paul was attacked by a Jewish mob in the temple, Lysias intervened with his soldiers and took Paul into custody (Act.21.30-33). Upon learning of a plot to kill Paul, Lysias arranged for him to be transferred to Caesarea under armed guard to appear before Felix, the governor (Act.23.12-35). In his letter to Felix, Lysias explained the circumstances of Paul's arrest and his decision to send him to the governor for judgment (Act.23.26-30). Lysias admitted that he had initially arrested Paul thinking he was a rebel, but later learned that the charges against him were related to Jewish religious disputes (Act.23.28-29). Lysias' actions demonstrate his commitment to maintaining order and ensuring that Paul received a fair trial under Roman law. His letter to Felix also serves as an official record of the events surrounding Paul's arrest and transfer to Caesarea.

Connections

Part of: Roman Officials

Claudius Lysias rescues Paul

RoleStated in the text

Lysias, the tribune, rescued Paul from the temple mob, discovered he was a Roman citizen, and sent him to Felix with a letter. His Roman name Claudius suggests he acquired citizenship under the emperor Claudius, consistent with his remark that he bought it.

LysiasRoman commander who rescued Paul from a Jewish mobPaulAn apostleFelixRoman governor of Judea; heard Paul's case.
Where the text shows it: Acts 21:31-33 — RescueActs 22:25-29 — CitizenshipActs 23:26 — Claudius Lysias to Felix

Sources: Scripture

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Lysias Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(dissolving), a nobleman of the blood-royal, 1Macc 3:32; 2Macc 11:1, who was entrusted he Antiochus Epiphanes (cir. B.C. 166) with the government of southern Syria and the guardianship of his son Antiochus Eupator. 1Macc 3:32; 2Macc. 10:11. After the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, B.C. 184, Lysias assumed the government as guardian of his son, who was pet a child. 1Macc 6:17. In B.C. 164 he, together with his ward, fell into the hands of Demetrius Soter, who put them both to death. 1Macc 7:2-4; 2Macc 14:2.

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Lysias Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

dissolving

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Lysias. Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

LY'SIAS. See Claudius.

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Lysias Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

LY'SIAS. See Claudius.

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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.

Where Lysias appears

3 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G3079

Acts3

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.