Praetorian Guard

Biblical Text

The praetorian guard appears in Philippians 1:13. The King James Version renders the verse: "So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places." The Korean New Korean Revised Version, by contrast, renders the key term as siwidae ("praetorian guard"). Paul says that his imprisonment has in fact served to advance the gospel (Philippians 1:12). He offers two examples. First, it became known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else that he was imprisoned for Christ. Second, seeing this, the brethren grew bolder in speaking the word (Philippians 1:14). The phrase "they that are of Caesar's household" in the closing greetings of the same letter (Philippians 4:22) is frequently discussed alongside this verse.

Terminology and Background

The Greek word praitōrion derives from the Latin praetorium, which originally denoted the tent or headquarters of a Roman military commander. It later came to be used in two senses:

• The imperial guard: the unit that protected the emperor in Rome. It is generally held to have been organized as a standing force under the emperor Augustus.
• The governor's residence: the official residence in a province where the governor lived and held court.

The New Korean Revised Version translates this word differently depending on context. In the Gospels, where it refers to the place where Pontius Pilate tried Jesus, it is rendered gwanjeong ("hall"; Matthew 27:27; John 18:28) or transliterated as Beuraidorion (Mark 15:16); the KJV correspondingly has "the common hall," "the hall of judgment," and "Praetorium." In Acts 23:35 it refers to "Herod's judgment hall" in Caesarea, where Paul was held. In Philippians 1:13, because the word stands in parallel with people ("the whole praetorian guard and all the rest"), it is often understood as a body of soldiers rather than a place. Other translations render it "imperial guard" or "palace guard."

Significance in the Broader Biblical Context

This verse is read as depicting an imprisoned apostle bearing witness to the gospel even before the soldiers who guarded him. According to Acts 28:16, 30, Paul lived in Rome in a rented house under the watch of a soldier and for two years received all who came to him. Read together with this account, the verse has been interpreted to mean that news of Paul spread throughout the entire guard by way of the soldiers who took turns guarding him. This, however, is an inference from the text; the text does not say that any of the soldiers were converted.

Interpretation and Debate

The meaning of the praetorian guard is bound up with the question of where Philippians was written.

• Roman hypothesis: the traditional view. It identifies the praetorian guard with the imperial guard in Rome and "Caesar's household" with people attached to the imperial household.
• Caesarean and Ephesian hypotheses: views held by some scholars. Noting that praitōrion can also denote a provincial governor's residence or the soldiers attached to it, these views hold that the letter was written while Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea or Ephesus.

This is a historical question debated among scholars rather than one that divides denominations. In the Korean church, the view that the letter was written in Rome is widely accepted.

In the Korean Church

Philippians 1:12-14 is frequently used as a sermon text on the theme that suffering or constraints can become opportunities for spreading the gospel. In such sermons, the praetorian guard is cited as an instance in which the soldiers guarding Paul came to hear the gospel.