Deus Artefacta: Caesarea Maritima

The Roman theater at Caesarea Maritima
The Apostle Paul visited Caesarea on several occasions during his travels.
© Berthold Werner Labelled by D. E. Graves/ Wikimedia Commons

Caesarea Maritima was situated on the coast of Palestine, on the line of the great road from Tyre to Egypt, and about halfway between Joppa and Dora. The distance from Jerusalem was about 70 miles; Josephus states it in round numbers as 600 stadia. In Strabo’s time there was on this point of the coast merely a town called “Strato’s Tower,” with a landing-place, whereas in the time of Tacitus Caesarea is spoken of as being the head of Judea. It was in this interval that the city was built by Herod the Great. It was the official residence of the Herodian kings, and of Festus, Felix and the other Roman procurators of Judea. Here also lived Philip the deacon and his four prophesying daughters. Caesarea continued to be a city of some importance even in the time of the Crusades, and the name still lingers on the site (Kaisariyeh). Many of the building stones have been carried to other towns.

Two cities in Israel bear the name Caesarea (Καισάρεια Kaisareia) in the New Testament (NT). One is Caesarea Philippi, while the other, treated here, is Caesarea Maritima (“by the sea”)

In the first century, Caesarea was a garrison seaport of Rome on the Palestine (Palestinae) coast on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean (Coord.: 32°30´0″N 34°53´30″E) some 65 miles (105 km) NW of Jerusalem and about halfway between Haifa (28m/45 km S) and Tel Aviv (31 m/50 km N). It is located on the N edge of the plain of Sharon on the major road from Tyre to Egypt. Although Caesarea was the capital of the Roman Province of Judea, Judea included the ethnic region of Samaria in which Caesarea was located and thus identified with the region of Samaria. Herod’s Caesarea became the largest city in Judaea covering about 165 acres.[1]

Toponym

Herod the Great (10 bc), built the city of Caesarea on site of a small fortified Phoenician anchorage named Strabo’s (or Straton’s) Tower (Jos. A.J. 13.313).[2] He named it after Caesar Augustus, hence called Caesarea Sebaste (Σεβαστός Sebastos = “Augustus”). Herod called the harbor complex Limen Sebastos or Portus Augusti.[3] In ancient Greek and Latin sources, the city is never referred to as “Caesarea Maritima” rather simply as Caesarea, or sometimes “Caesarea Palestinae” (Jos. B.J. 7.23; Philo Legat. 305). Emperor Vespasian raised its status to that of a Colonia, with the name Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Caesarea.[4] Under Trebonianus Gallus (ad 251–53) it was given the distinquied name of Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Felix Concordia Caesarea Metropolis Provinciae Syriae Palaestinae.[5]

Site of Caesarea Maritime. 1. Citadel; 2. Warehouses; 3. Mosque; 4. St. Paul's Cathedral;
5. Temple of Augustus and Roma; 6. Arched gate; 7. East Gate; 8. South Gate;
9. Mithraeum; 10. North Gate; 11. Bridge; 12. Jewish Quarter (Roman Period);
13. Strato's Tower; 14. Hellenistic North Gate; 15. Hellenistic Amphitheater;
16. Praetorium/Roman Baths; 17. Roman Amphitheater; 18. Circus;
19. Byzantine Mosaic; 20. Herod's Circus. © David E. Graves

History

Ptolemaic Control

When the region passed under Ptolemaic control in 259 bc the site of Caesarea was first mentioned as Strato’s Tower in the Zeno papyrus.[6] The Strato’s Tower was taken by Zoilus and was converted into a fortified port city near the end of the 2^nd cent. bc in light of the rise of the Hasmonean dynasty. As part of the reinforcement of the city the port harbor was expanded to create an artificial waterbreak on the N side of the harbor that were within the city walls. Alexander Jannaeus conquered the city in 103 bc. It declines in importance and is lays in ruins until the time of Herod the Great (40–4 bc).

Roman Period (63 bc–ad 329)

Mark Antony (83–30 bc) gave the small town of Capernaum to Cleopatra VII (r. 51–30 bc). In 30 bc, following the battle of Actium, Octavian (Caesar Augustus) gave the town to Herod the Great ( r. 37 bc–ca. 4 bc), who built a new city that became the largest port of its time over a period of about twelve years (22–ca. 10/9 bc; Josephus A.J. 15.9.6 §341).[7] Josephus described Herod’s project as “entirely rebuilt with white stone, and adorned with the most magnificent palaces, displaying here, as nowhere else, the innate grandeur of his character” (Jos. A.J. 1.21.5 §208 [Thackeray]). In 4 bc with the death of Herod the Great, the region was handed to his son Archelaus who became the ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea and Jaffa (ca. 4 bc to ad 6). In ad 6, Emperor Augustus removed Archelaus for incompetence and the region was reformed under direct Roman rule at the time of the Census of Quirinius (Jos. B.J. 2.7.3). Caesarea became the provincial civilian and military capital of the Judaea province that lasted for over six hundred years.[8] As the center of government it was the headquarters of the Roman legions and Roman procurator’s headquarters, and residence of procurator Antonius Felix, and prefect Pontius Pilatus (ad 26–36). The province was changed to Syria-Palaestina in ad 135 following the Bar Kokhba revolt.[9]

Pompey added this region to the Roman province of Syria in ad 63 and established it with the status of an autonomous city (polis). Independent coinage began to be minted at Casearea in the fourteenth year of Nero (ad 54–68), but ceased under Vespasian (ad 69–79) and Titus (ad 79–81), but was resumed under Domitian (ad 81–96).[10] McRay describes the typical Roman construction of the city with as “Herod’s engineers built the city on the format of major Roman cities with an orthogonal, or checkerboard, system of paved streets, sophisticated water and sewer systems, a theater [see fig. 66],[11] bathhouse,[12] palaces, temples and an impressive harbor[13]”[14] (Jos. A.J. 15.9.6; B.J. 1.21.5-8 §410; see fig. 67). There was also a stadium[15] for games and horse races (Jos. B.J. 1.21.8 §415; A.J. 16.1 §137) that was later replaced by a Hippodrome.[16] According to Acts of the Apostles, the harbor (Limen Sebastos) was the port of arrival and departure for several of Paul’s journeys (Acts 9:30; 18:22; 21:8; 27:1–2). The harbor was the first identified artificial harbor in the world, and its construction featured a technique that used hydraulic concrete made from volcanic pozzuolana sand that could harden underwater (Vitruvius Arch. 2.61).[17]

Water was provided by two aqueducts, one built by Herod from an underground spring and a second built by Hadrian (r. ad 117–138) in ad 130 on the west side of the existing aqueduct. Josephus described that Herod erected a magnificent temple to Augustus and Roma visible from the harbor (Jos. B.J. 1.21.7).

Pontius Pilate (26–37 AD) limestone, inscription (82.0 cm H, 65.0 cm w)
Building dedication with 4 lines of writing in Latin (AE 1963 no. 104).
Caesarea, Israel: © David E. Graves

During the 1961 excavations of the Roman theatre at Caesarea Maritima, archaeologists led by Antonio Frova uncovered a limestone block with an inscription that read:

[…]S TIBERIÉVM[18]

[…]TIVS PILATVS

[…]ECTVS IVDA[…]E

[...]É[…][19]

The inscription (104; fig. 68) is believed to be either part of a larger inscription dedicating a temple to the emperor Tiberius in Caesarea[20] or commemorating the restoration of the Caesarea Maritima harbour (Jos. B.J. 1.21.5–7; A.J. 15.9.6).[21] Recent archaeological research around the harbour would support Alföldy’s proposal of a dedicatory inscription a Tiberian temple.[22] While Pontius Pilate has been mentioned in ancient texts (John 19:6; Tacitus Ann. 15.44; Josephus B.J. 2.117–18; A.J. 17.55–64; 85–89; 18.3.3 §63; Philo Legat. 38.299–305) this was the first physical evidence that Pilate existed although his identity has been recently verified once again.

During the excavation at Herod’s tomb (Herodium) in 1968–1969, led by Gideon Foerster,[23] a copper-alloy ring (δακτύλιος, daktýlios, ἀκαρές, akarés; Latin anulus) was recovered in the eastern exedra (L.XXXV), that was recently cleaned and photographed to reveal the picture of what is believed to be a wine krater (ὁ κρατήρ, ho kratḗr from κεράννυμι, keránnymi, “to mix” (Scheibler 2006b) with the name in Greek of Pontius Pilate (ΠΙΛΑΤΟ, PILATO; “of Pilate”)[24] It is known that Pilate lived in Caesarea and only went to Jerusalem on special occasions,[25] so it is not surprising to find an inscription with his name on it in Caesarea.

The mention of Pilate with Tiberius (42 bc–37 ad) puts Pontius Pilate in the same time period as Jesus, in the first century.[26] The inscription at Caesarea also clarifies Pilate’s title. The Gospels speak of him as a governor (Gr. egemon; Matt 27:2; Luke 3:1) while Tacitus speaks of him as procurator (Gr. epitropos; Ann. 15.44). This led to debate over his title and rank[27] until the discovery of the Pilate inscription in 1961 which settled the issue and provided his official title as Prefect (Lat. Prafectus).[28]

Prior to the death of Herod Agrippa I in ad 44, direct Roman rule was through the rank of prefect (i.e., Pilate), while later they were of procurator rank (i.e., Cuspius Fadus; Josephus B.J. 2.111, A.J. 17.342; Dio Chrysostom Or. 55.27).

Herod’s Promontory Palace, Caesarea Maritima. Herod build this
“most magnificent palace” (Josephus A.J. 20.137)
on a promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea.
Herod had a large olympic size swimming pool carved out
of the rock, surrounded by a stoa lined by pillars and rooms.
Following Herod’s death, Caesarea became the seat of
Roman government in the region and it was likely here that
Paul appeared before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa II (Acts 23–26).
© Todd Bolen. BiblePlaces.com

First Jewish War (ad 66–70)

The First Jewish War (ad 66–70) had its beginning in Caesarea with a Jewish uprising in ad 66 Josephus B.J. 2.14.5; J.W. 2.18.1 §457). Vespasian (ad 69–79), was proclaimed emperor by his legions while at Caesarea and his son Titus led the war against the revolt from there with over 10,000 soldiers housed in the city. The “Judaea Capta” coins were minted here to commemorate their defeat. It is estimated that nearly 20,000 Jews were executed at Caesarea.[29] The victory was celebrated with gladiatorial games in Caesarea where 2,500 Jewish prisoners of war were forced to fight to their death. In gratitude Vespasian raised the city of Caesarea to the rank of a Roman colony, Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Caesarea, the first “titular” colony established in the E part of the empire.[30] The new status granted all citizens of the city Roman citizenship along with tax privileges (Paulus Dig. L 15.8.7; Ulpian. Dig. L 15.1).

The great Christian persecution occurred from ad 303–13 and was documented by Eusebius of Caesarea who wrote On the Martyrs of Palestine and earlier his work Ecclesiastical History. Following the Roman period Caesarea fell into decay.

Byzantine Period (ad 330–638)

During the Byzantine period, Constantine the Great combined the diocese of Judea, Philistia, and Samaria into Palaestina Prima (ad 390–636) with the governor residing in Caesarea.

Persian Period

Following a Muslim invasion of Palestine Caesarea was attacked in ad 634 that led to the decline of the city. However, a Mosque was constructed where Herod’s temple to Augustus and Roma had previously stood. The Crusaders restored the harbour with walls still visible today.

Biblical Relevance

In the NT, Caesarea is only mentioned in the book of Acts, but centers prominently (Acts 8:40; 9:30; 10:1, 24; 11:11; 12:19; 18:22; 21:8, 16; 23:23, 33; 25:1, 4, 6, 13). Christianity was first introduced to Caeasrea by Philip, a deacon in the Jerusalem church (Acts 8:40), who later lived there with his four daughters and entertained Paul the Apostle (Acts 21:8–10).

Paul met with Barnabas, Peter and James in Jerusalem to debate the Greek–speaking Jews (the Hellenists; Acts 9:26 and Gal 1:18–19). Because of the increased hostility against Paul, his friends sent him to Caesarea from the Sebastos harbor and then to Tarsus for safety to avoid death by those who were opposed to his testimony (Acts 9:29–30). The first time Christian baptism carried out on Gentiles was in Caesarea where Peter the Apostle baptized Cornelius a Centurion of the Italian cohort (Acts 10:1). As a Roman city with a significant military presence it is understandable for an Italian centurion to be stationed there (Acts 23:33). Shortly after Peter was rescued from prison, Herod Agrippa I (ad 37–44) visited Caesarea in ad 44 and died there (Acts 12:20–23; Josephus A.J. 19.343–350) after delivering a speech.

Paul also visited Caesarea during his second missionary journey (Acts 18:22) where he greeted the church (Eusebius Hist. eccl. 2.10) and during his third missionary journey Paul and his companions traveled by boat to the port of Ptolemais (modern Akko or Acre) and Caesarea Maritima where they stayed many days (Acts 21:10) with Philip the Deacon[31] at his house for several days (Acts 21:8), and who may have founded the church there (Acts 8:40).

Later Paul was imprisoned at Caesarea for two years (ad 58–60) secure from Jewish assassination plots before his voyage to Rome (Acts 23:23, 25:1–13). The tribune sent Paul by night under heavy guard (470 men, about half the cohort at the Antonia Fortress; Acts 23:23) to Caesarea, stopping the first night at Antipatris where only the cavalry continued to Caesarea with Paul. There, in the custody of the Roman Procurator, Tiberius Claudius Felix (Jos. A.J. 20.8.1 §§162–63),[32] he would be safe from the local mob and could be safely examined. The commander wrote a letter to Felix that accompanied them.

Acts 23 through 26 records the events surrounding Paul’s appearance before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa II at Caesarea (Acts 23:33–26:32). Several people in this narrative, including these prominent Roman officials, are attested in ancient historical sources outside of the book of Acts, including coins from the period. Paul stated in his defense that Felix had been governor for many years. Felix was governor from ad 52–60 until he was replaced by Porcius Festus in ad 60. Therefore, it is assumed that Paul was imprisoned by Felix from ad 57 to 59.

After several hearings before Felix and his wife Drusilla, a Jewess, he confined Paul to Herod’s Palace (Praetorium)[33] in Caesarea which was the governor’s official residence supported by an official Latin inscriptions mentioning legati, or governors.[34] Paul was under house arrest for two full years (Acts 24:1–27), though he had freedom of movement within his place of confinement and could have visitors (Acts 24:23). Felix was looking for a bribe, so he would often ask for Paul and hear him talk about faith in Jesus Christ, but as a favour to the Jews, Felix kept Paul in prison (Acts 24:27).

When Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus (ad 60; Tacitus Ann. 12.54) the Jews appealed to the new Roman procurator to have Paul returned to Jerusalem for trial in Jewish courts. He told the Jews to come to Caesarea, but when they arrived their charges were proved empty (Acts 25:1–8).

But to compromise, Festus asked if Paul would like to go to Jerusalem and be tried to please the Jews (Acts 25:20). His situation in Palestine was going from bad to worse, as he was caught between Jewish hatred and Roman indecision, and to argue his case in person in Caesar’s court would provide him with an opportunity to proclaim the Gospel before the most exalted audience in the world.

When Herod Agrippa II (ad 48–93/94) and Bernice came to welcome Festus as the new governor (Acts 25:13), Festus asked Herod what charges he could use to send Paul to Caesar (Acts 25:14–19). Agrippa stated that he would like to hear Paul for himself. The next day in front of an invited audience, Paul spoke to them all. When Paul spoke to king Agrippa he delivered one of his most famous addresses (Acts 26:1–23). Festus thought Paul might be mad but was certainly not criminal, and had nothing much to send in his report to the emperor (Nero, ad 54–68) along with the prisoner (Acts 25:27; Ulpian Dig. 49.6.1). Agrippa wondered if Paul was trying to convert him (Acts 26:28). They both agreed that justice would demand Paul’s release but Paul had appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:11) and so had to go to Rome (Acts 26:32). Paul invoked his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar in Rome (Acts 25:11; Lat. provocatio later replaced by appellation; Livy Hist. Rome 3.13, 56; Cicero De or. 2.48).[35] Donfried notes that:

“If one were to assume that the general sequence of the subsequent events outlined in Acts is accurate—two–year Caesarean imprisonment, hearing before Festus, and arrival in Rome—then the dates ca. ad 57–59 for the first of these and a date of ca. ad 60 for Paul’s arrival in Rome would agree with the parameters of possible dates reviewed above.”[36]

Two mosaic inscriptions have been uncovered at Caesarea that represent biblical texts. John McRay, the retired professor emeritus of NT and archaeology at Wheaton College Graduate School, states:

While I was excavating at Caesarea on the coast of Israel in 1972, we uncovered a large mosaic inscription of the Greek text of Romans 13:3. A shorter one had been found in 1960 by an Israeli archaeologist, Abraham Negev. The two texts, dating to at least the fifth century, are part of a mosaic floor of a large public building (perhaps a praetorium or archives building) and are identical to that passage in the Greek New Testament. These are as old as some of our oldest manuscripts of the New Testament.[37]

The building has been identified as “a revenue office in a public building.”[38] The sign located at the site of Caesarea Maritima identifies the building as “Byzantine government offices where clerks recorded tax revenues.”[39]

One of two mosaics at Caesarea Maritima quoting Romans 13:3.
This is the shorter version. The original mosaic is on display at
the Kibbutz Sdot Yam Museum.
© Courtesy of Ferrell Jenkins, BiblicalStudies.info

The pair of Greek medallion mosaics (fig. 70) translate as: “‘Do you wish to have no reason to fear the authority? Then do what is good’—one stops here, the other continues to include—‘and you will receive its approval.’ ”[40]

The context of this quote in Paul’s letter to the Romans, which reads as follows: “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Rom 13:3–4 emphasis added).[41] These are two of the oldest inscriptions of NT texts (ca. 5^th cent. ad).

Pilate Ring

Drawing of the ring of Pilate in

My water colour illustration of Pilate's ring discovered at Herodium that was featured on the front cover of the Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin. Graves, David E. ‘Pilate’s Ring and Roman Religion’. Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin 69, no. 1 (2019): 1–20.

For more on the name of Pontius Pilate see this article.

Footnotes

[1] John R. McRay, “Caesarea Maritima.” DNTB 176.

[2] Gideon Foerster, “The Early History of Caesarea,” BASOR, no. 19 (1975): 9–22; Duane W. Roller, “The Problem of the Location of Straton’s Tower,” BASOR 252 (1983): 61–66.

[3] Identified on coins from the Roman occuption of Caesarea. Robert L. Hohlfelder, “Beyond Coincidence? Marcus Agrippa and King Herod’s Harbor,” JNES 59, No. 4 (2000): 241–53.

[4] Foerster, “The Early History of Caesarea,” 9–22.

[5] Robert L. Hohlfelder, “Caesarea (Place).” ABD 1:802.

[6] Hohlfelder, “Caesarea (Place).” ABD 1:798–803.

[7] Josephus gives a time of ten years in A.J. 16.5.1 §136. A coin of Nero bears the inscription “Caesarea by Augustus’ Harbor.”

[8] Hayim Ben-Sasson, ed., A History of the Jewish People (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985), 246–47.

[9] Shimon Applebaum, Judaea in Hellenistic and Roman Times: Historical and Archaeological Essays (Leiden: Brill, 1989) 123.

[10] Leo Kadman, The Coinage of Caesarea Maritima. Corpus Nummorum Palestinensium II (Jerusalem, 1957), 28f, Nos 1–21.

[11] Josephus J.W. 1.21.8 §415; A.J. 15.9.6 §341.

[12] B. Burrell, K. Gleason and E. Netzer, “Caesarea, the Promontory Palace,” Excavations and Surveys in Israel (Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority, 1994) 14:75.

[13] Robert L. Hohlfelder et al., “Sebastos: Herod’s Harbor at Caesarea Maritima,” BA 46, no. 3 (1983): 133–43.

[14] John R. McRay, “Caesarea Maritima.” DNTB 176.

[15] Stern, NEAEHL, 283.

[16] John H. Humphrey, “Prolegomena to the Study of the Hippodrome at Caesarea Maritima.” BASOR 213 (1974): 35, 45.

[17] J. P. Oleson, “Herod and Vitruvius: Preliminary Thoughts on Harbour Engineering at Sebastos, the Harbour of Caesarea Maritima.” Pp. 165–72 in Harbour Archaeology. B.A.R. International Series 257. Ed. Raban. Oxford, 1985.

[18] This word was not known to scholars, but they speculate that it was perhaps a temple (Tiberieum) built to honour the emperor Tiberius.

[19] Antonio Frova, “L’Iscrizione Di Ponzio Pilato a Cesarea,” Rendiconti dell’Istitutio Lombardo 95 (1961): 419–34; Jerry Vardaman, “A New Inscription Which Mentions Pilate as ‘Prefect,’” JBL 81, no. 1 (1962): 70–71; Giordano dell’ Amore, Virginio Borroni, and Antonio Frova, Scavi di Caesarea Maritima (Milano: “L’Erma” di Bretschneider, 1966), 217; Joan E. Taylor, “Pontius Pilate and the Imperial Cult in Roman Judaea,” NTS 52 (2006): 564–75.

[20] [CAESARIEN]S TIBERIÉVM [PON]TIVS PILATVS [PRAEF]ECTVS IVDA[EA]E [...D]É[DIT…] translated as “[Pon]tius Pilate, [the Pre]fect of Jude[a, has dedicated to the people of Caesarea a temple in honor of] Tiberius”. Robert J. Bull, “Caesarea Maritima: The Search for Herod’s City,” BAR 8, no. 3 (1982): 24–40; Robert J. Bull, “Pontius Pilate Inscription,” BAR 8, no. 5 (1982).

[21] [NAUTI]S TIBERIÉVM [PON]TIVS PILATVS [PRAEF]ECTVS IVDA[EA]E [...REF]É[CIT…] translated as “[Seaman’]s Tiberieum “[Pon]tius Pilate, [Pre]fect of Jude[a [restor]e[s…” Géza Alföldy, “Pontius Pilatus Und Das Tiberieum von Caesarea Maritima Scripta,” Scripta Classica Israelica 18 (1999): 106–7.

[22] Robert L. Hohlfelder, “Caesarea beneath the Sea,” BAR 8, no. 3 (1982): 42–47; Robert L. Hohlfelder et al., “Sebastos: Herod’s Harbor at Caesarea Maritima,” BA 46, no. 3 (1983): 133–43; R. Lindley Vann, “Herod’s Harbor Construction Recovered Underwater,” BAR 9, no. 3 (1983): 10–14.

[23] Gideon Foerster, “Herodium, Notes and News.” IEJ 19, no. 2 (1969), 123–124;. “Chronique Archéologique: Hérodium” [Archeological Chronicle: Herodium]. RB 77, no. 3 (July 1970): 400–401; “Herodium.” NEAEHL (1993), 2:618–621.

[24] Shua Amorai-Stark, Malka Hershkovitz, Gideon Foerster, Yakov Kalman, Rachel Chachy, and Roi Porat. “An Inscribed Copper-Alloy Finger Ring from Herodium Depicting a Krater.” IEJ 68 no. 2 (2018), 208–220; David E. Graves, “Pilate’s Ring and Roman Religion,” NEASB 64 (2019): 1–20.

[25] Taylor, “Pontius Pilate and the Imperial Cult in Roman Judaea,” 567, 570; Warren Carter, Pontius Pilate: Portraits of a Roman Governor, Interfaces Series (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003), 115.

[26] Brian C. McGing, “Pontius Pilate and the Sources,” CBQ 53 (1991): 416–38; Evans, “Excavating Caiaphas, Pilate, and Simon of Cyrene,” 334–38.

[27] Arnold H. M. Jones, “Procurators and Prefects in the Early Principate,” Studies in Roman Government and Law, ed. Arnold H. M. Jones (Oxford: Blackwell, 1960), 115–25.

[28] Jerry Vardaman, “A New Inscription Which Mentions Pilate as “Prefect.” JBL 81, No. 1 (1962): 70–71.

[29] Aryeh Kasher, Jews and Hellenistic Cities in Eretz-Israel: Relations of the Jews in Eretz-Israel with the Hellenistic Cities During the Second Temple Period (332 BCE–70CE) (Mohr Siebeck, 1990), 311; Robert L. Hohlfelder, “Caesarea (Place).” ABD 1:802.

[30] Benjamin Isaac, “Roman Colonies.” ABD 5:801.

[31] Philip was one of the seven appointed to deal with poverty in the church (Acts 6:5) and is not to be confused with Philip the Apostle (Acts 1:13) as Eusebius did (Hist. eccl. 3.31.3–5; 3.39.9).

[32] Josephus A.J. 20.137; Suetonius Jul. 5.23; Tacitus uses Antonius Felix, Hist. 5.9. F. F. Bruce, “The Full Name of the Procurator Felix,” JSNT 1 (1978): 33–36F. F. Bruce, “The Full Name of the Procurator Felix,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 1 (1978): 33–36.

[33] Kathyrn L. Gleason, “The Promontory Palace at Caesarea Maritima: Preliminary Evidence for Herod’s Praetorium,” JRA 11 (1998): 23–52.

[34] Barbara Burrell, “Two Inscribed Columns from Caesarea Maritima.” ZPE 99 (1993): 295. See also Barbara Burrell, K. Gleason and E. Netzer, “Caesarea, the Promontory Palace,” Excavations and Surveys in Israel (Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority, 1994) 14:75; idem, “Uncovering Herod’s Seaside Palace” BAR 19 (May/June 1993) 56.

[35] Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1875 2 Ed), 107–8.

[36] Karl Paul Donfried, “Chronology: New Testament,” in ABD, ed. David Noel Freedman et al. (New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1996), 1021.

[37] John McRay, “Archaeology and the Bible: How Archaeological Findings Have Enhanced the Credibility of the Bible,” 4Truth.Net of the Southern Baptist Convention, September 28, 2013, http://www.4truth.net /fourtruthpbbible.aspx?pageid=8589952738; Clayton Miles Lehmann and Kenneth G. Holum, The Greek and Latin Inscriptions of Caesarea Maritima, ed. Robert J. Bull and David Larrimore Holland, BASORSup 19. The Joint Expedition to Caesarea Maritima 5 (Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1975), 100–101 (and Pl. LCIV: nos. 88 and 89); Kenneth G. Holum, “Caesarea Palaestinae: Inscriptions of the Imperial Revenue Office,” The Roman and Byzantine Near East: Some Recent Archaeological Research, ed. John H. Humphrey, JRA Supp. Series 14 (Ann Arbor, MI: JRA, 1995), 333–345.

[38] Peter M. Head, “Additional Greek Witnesses to the New Testament,” The Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research: Essays on the Status Quaestionis. Second Edition, ed. Bart D. Ehrman and Michael W. Holmes (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 445.

[39] Ferrell Jenkins, “Have No Fear of the Authorities,” Ferrell’s Travel Blog: Commenting on Biblical Studies, Archaeology Travel and Photography, September 10, 2010, https://ferrelljenkins .wordpress.com/2010/09/10/.

[40] Head, “Additional Greek Witnesses to the New Testament,” 445.

[41] Kenneth G. Holum, “Archaeological Evidence for the Fall of Byzantine Caesarea,” BASOR 286 (1992): 80.