This is Scripture Roundtable 128 from The Interpreter Foundation, in which we discuss the New Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson #30, “God Is No Respecter of Persons,” focusing on scriptures in Acts 10-15, bringing in various insights to help us better understand the scriptures. These roundtables will generally follow the 2015 Gospel Doctrine schedule of scriptures, a few weeks ahead of time.
Panelists for this roundtable are Martin Tanner and Bruce Webster.
This roundtable is also available as an audio podcast, and will be included in the podcast feed. You can listen by pressing the play button or download the podcast below:
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:08:23 — 23.5MB)
Perhaps a minor point, but a centurion in a cohort may not have been its commander. Cohorts had five to six centuries (of 60 to 100 men each) each led by a centurion. A legion had 10 cohorts and the cohort was commanded by the senior centurion. But, there were also auxiliary cohorts–not part of a legion. As no legions were stationed in Palestine, the Italian Cohort was likely an auxiliary cohort. These were commanded by a prefect and had 5-6 centuries each commanded by a centurion. While it isn’t impossible for Cornelius to have commanded the entire cohort, it is likely, he command one of its centuries–what today we would call a company. Still an important officer.