Antipatris

Biblical Text

Antipatris appears only once in the Bible, in Acts 23:31. After Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and examined before the council (the Sanhedrin), more than forty Jews bound themselves with an oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed him (Acts 23:12–13). When Paul's nephew reported the plot (Acts 23:16), Claudius Lysias, the chief captain (a commander of a thousand men) of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem, assigned two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to send Paul by night to Caesarea, where the governor Felix resided (Acts 23:23–24).

"Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris" (Acts 23:31, KJV). The next day the foot soldiers returned to the barracks in Jerusalem, and only the horsemen continued with Paul to Caesarea and delivered him to the governor (Acts 23:32–33). In the text, Antipatris appears as an intermediate stop on the escort route and as the place where the escort was reduced once the most dangerous stretch had been passed.

Background

The name renders the Greek Antipatris. According to Josephus, Herod the Great rebuilt the town and named it after his father, Antipater.

Antipatris lay at the junction of the road descending northwest from Jerusalem and the north–south road running along the coastal plain. For this reason it is known to have been a strategic military and transportation hub. The distance from Jerusalem to Antipatris is estimated at somewhat more than 60 kilometers (about 37 miles), and the distance from Antipatris to Caesarea is thought to be shorter. Because the town lay on level ground beyond the Judean hill country, the risk of ambush was lower there. Many interpreters connect the return of the foot soldiers at this point with these geographical circumstances.

Scholars generally identify the site with the Old Testament Aphek, specifically the Aphek where the Philistines encamped to fight against Israel (1 Samuel 4:1). However, because the Old Testament mentions several places called Aphek, whether a given Old Testament passage refers to this site must be determined case by case. Judgments about its precise modern location likewise depend on archaeological research.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Although Antipatris is mentioned only briefly, it marks one stage in Paul's journey from Jerusalem, through his custody in Caesarea, to Rome. Just before this, the Lord tells Paul, "so must thou bear witness also at Rome" (Acts 23:11, KJV). Many interpreters therefore read the Roman escort as part of the process by which Paul's life was preserved and the gospel advanced toward Rome.

Interpretation and Cautions

Preachers often cite this scene as an example of protection provided under God's providence, even through the hands of a Gentile power. The text, however, records only the bare fact of the escort; it says nothing about Paul's state of mind or about events along the way. Nor does it give details of the route taken through the night or the time the journey required. Explanations that supply such details should be regarded as geographical conjecture or devotional application.