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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

AUGUSTUS’S BAND*

Roman military unit mentioned in Acts 27:1 (KJB). Julius, the centurion who had custody of the apostle Paul on the way to Rome, was a member of Augustus’s Band. The Greek word translated “band” normally meant a Roman cohort or force of two cohorts. Some scholars, assuming that Julius was in command of that unit, have wondered why an officer normally commanding a century (100 men) should be in charge of 500 to 1,000. Perhaps Julius was not in command of the whole unit, or it was not a regular cohort (tenth part of a Roman legion) but a special courier or guard detachment.