Tertullus (Hastings' Dictionary)
The name is a diminutive from Tertius, as Luculliis from Lucius, etc. It is thoroughly Latin, and occurs in the 2nd cent, as agnovien of Pliny's colleague Cornutus, and as a cognomen borne by Elavil and by Sulpitii. In Ac 24 Ananias arrives at Cicsarea to accuse Paul before Eclix, accompanied by certain elders, ' and, as pleader (/j^oip), one Tertullus.' TertuUus was doubtless one of the Italian causidici who abounded in the provinces.
The proceedings, even in the inferior court of a mere procurator like Eelix, would probably be in Latin (Smith's Diet. Gr. and Rom. Anliq., s. 'Conventus': yet see Schiirer, HJP n. i. 50; Lewin, ii. 684) and conducted under Roman forms, requiring the services of a pro- fessional advocate. Tertullus was not a Jew, as Blasa needlessly infers from his use of the first fierson plural. The advocate naturally identifies limself with his clients.
Tertullus' speech begins with a characteristic captatio benevolentias. He gives to Felix the coveted praise of Pacator pro- vincia: (v.^), and welcomes the reforming hand of the governor, present at every place ami in every matter (v.^) ; whereas Tacitus remarks of Felix {Ann. xii. 54), ' intempestiuis reinediis delicta accendcbat ' (cf. Ilist. v. 9). These singularly gross compliments, evidently condensed by Luke, cul- minate in a subtler turn : Tertullus hints (v.
*) that they must be distasteful to so modest a man. The boily of tlie spccili is i'vi<lcn(ly, in its uninter- polated funu, a iiicie jotting by Luke, who may 720 TESTAMENT TESTAMENT have been present (20" 27')> of the heads of the accusation. IJiit tliese are carefully jireservcd : I'anl is (1) a stirrer up of ffrdo-fis, (2) the rinj;- Icader of a sect, and (3) guilty of an attempt to profane the temple. The ch.-irges are most skilfully chosen. Felix, with his experience (v.'")
of Jewish all'airs, would realize how dangerous such a prisoner was to the peace of his province. TertuJlus is a competent counsel, and knows his man. The grammar of the speech is dislocated, the participle of V. 16 haa uo projier principal verb ; tlie interpolated passage only partially supplies this defect. Cases of broken construction are somewhat frequent in the speeches of the latter part of Acts: see 21i8f- 262- 18 23. (an obvious condensation) 28.
The author had not woriced up his drafts into tiieir final form, or at any rate the finislniit^ touches were not given. A more remark- able example of this may be found in the eighth booli of Thucydides, where all the speeches are left in the form of rough abstracts. On fanciful etymologies suggested for the name (Tfparo\(57ot, Ter-Tullius) see Basil Jones in Smith's DB, s.v. A. Robertson.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Tertullus
Tertullus ter-tul'-us, ter- (Tertullos, diminutive of Latin tertius, "third"):, An orator who descended with Ananias the high priest and elders from Jerusalem to Caesarea to accuse Paul before Felix the Roman governor (Ac 24:1). Tertullus was a hired pleader whose services were necessary that the case for the Jews might be stated in proper form. Although he bore a Roman name, he was not necessarily a Roman; Roman names were common both among Greeks and Jews, and most orators were at this time of eastern extraction. Nor is it definitely to be concluded from the manner of his speech (Ac 24:2-8) that he was a Jew; it has always been customary for lawyers to identify themselves in their pleading with their clients. His speech before Felix is marked by considerable ingenuity. It begins with an adulation of the governorship of Felix that was little in accord with history (see FELIX); and the subsequent argument is an example of how a strong case may apparently be made out by the skillful manipulation of half-truths. Thus the riot at Jerusalem was ascribed to the sedition-mongering of Paul,…
Smith's Bible Dictionary on Tertullus
(diminutive from Tertius), “a certain orator,” (Acts 24:1) who was retained by the high priest and Sanhedrin to accuse the apostle Paul at Caesarea before the Roman procurator Antonius Felix. He evidently belonged to the class of professional orators. We may infer that Tertullus was of Roman, or at all events of Italian, origin. (A.D. 55.)
Fausset's Bible Dictionary on Tertullus
A diminutive of Tertius. The Latin professional orator employed by the high priest Ananias to prosecute Paul before Felix at Caesarea (Act 24:1). As the law proceedings were probably conducted in Latin, Roman or at least Italian advocates were commonly employed in the provinces. Greek may have been used in the Syrian law courts, as indeed the emperors permitted it even at Rome (Dio Cassius, 57:15). Still his address has a Latin tinge. It was a common rhetorical device to conciliate the judge by flattery. (See FELIX by putting down some rebels gave just enough color to Tertullus' eulogy to make its general falsehood the more glaring. (See PAUL) Act 24:6-8, "who also hath gone about ... whereof we accuse him," are omitted in the oldest manuscripts, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus.
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia