KJV Acts 22:28... this FREEDOM?

[Manuel]

Act 22:28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

Why did the KJV translators translated this word as FREEDOM? The word politeia used here means more properly CITIZENSHIP, that is how the word is translated in other translations and that seems to be the context since the chief captain questioned Paul regarding his Roman citizenship. So why is it translated freedom? Just curious

Thanks

 

[larryjf]

They may have been trying to draw the distinction between being bound and being free. Verse 25 talks of Paul being "bound" so the point may be more properly understood of them placing under bondage a man who was supposed to be free.

I'm not sure that there would be much difference between translating it "freedom" or "citizenship" because the context is speaking of the freedom that comes from Roman citizenship.

 

[bouletheou]

I think perhaps it was because the Roman citizen had a great many more rights and privileges than the non-citizen.

 

[Manuel]

I am not sure that the context has anything to do with being bound and being free; Paul questions whether is legal or not to punish a Roman citizen who has not been convicted of any crime, then the centurion warns those who were going to beat him: "be careful of what you do because this man is a Roman (citizen)"; when the chief captain hears this, he comes and asks Paul if it's true that he is a Roman (citizen); Paul says: "Yes, I am (a Roman citizen). Then the captain says: with a great sum I obtained this freedom.

How did the KJV translators arrived to the conclusion that the captain obtain his freedom with money, freedom from what, slavery? It breaks with the context, it gives the word a different meaning, the same KJV translates the root word as "citizen" every time it occurs, and now all the commentators have to say that it really means "citizenship" not freedom. I was just wondering if there was an actual reason for that but it seems to be an just an error.

Thanks anyway

 

[Jerusalem Blade]

Hello Manuel,

The word politeia does indeed mean citizenship, and it also has the meaning "the rights of citizenship" which Thayer in his Lexicon says "some make this sense the primary one" and refers to Acts 22:28. What was the primary significance of Roman citizenship in the ancient world? The coveted rights of a free citizen under Roman law not granted to those without it. This freedom under the laws of the Empire saved Paul's hide, for he was exempt from scourging uncondemned. Such were his rights the chief captain was afraid for even having bound him, a free born citizen. To have the chief captain express himself as the KJV has it, "With a great sum obtained I this freedom" with respect to the rights of citizenship is an excellent translation.

 

[Jerusalem Blade]

Another thing:

In Paton J. Cloag's, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (T. And T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1870), he relates,

"Claudius," writes Suetonius, "prohibited foreigners from adopting Roman names, especially those which belonged to families. Those who pretended to the freedom of Rome he beheaded on the Esquiline" (Life of Claudius XXV). [Emphasis added]​

"Freedom" and "citizenship" were almost synonymous terms as regards this privileged status in the Roman Empire, per the Roman historian, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c.71-c.135).

 

[Manuel]

Thanks, Steve, excellent answer, I appreciate it.