Tertullus
Summary
Tertullus was the professional orator retained by the Jewish high priest and Sanhedrin to prosecute the apostle Paul before the Roman governor Felix at Caesarea.
☩Professional Role
Tertullus belonged to the class of professional orators who found employment at the tribunals of provincial magistrates throughout the Roman Empire. His Latin name (a diminutive of Tertius) and the probability that the proceedings were conducted in Latin suggest he was of Roman or Italian origin. The Sanhedrin retained his services because of their own unfamiliarity with the Latin language and Roman legal procedure. Such hired advocates were common in the provinces, ready to plead in civil actions or harangue on public affairs in either Greek or Latin as required.
☩His Speech Against Paul
Tertullus's speech opened with elaborate flattery of Felix, praising his establishment of peace—a strange contrast with Tacitus's summary that Felix 'exercised the power of a king with the spirit of a slave.' The prosecutor skillfully manipulated half-truths to build his case: he portrayed Paul as a sedition-mongering plague throughout the world, a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, and a profaner of the Temple. He claimed the arrest was lawful and orderly, and implied that the intervention of the tribune Lysias was unwarranted. The speech illustrates how a strong case may apparently be made through careful selection and presentation of partial facts.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Tertullus," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Tertullus," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. V (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Tertullus," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).