Suetonius
Home > Other Christian Text Sources > Suetonius Suetonius At a Glance Treatise Genre: (5/5) ***** Reliability of Dating: (5/5) ***** Length of Text: Greek Original Language: Ancient Translations: Modern Translations: Estimated Range of Dating: 115-115 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text Perseus: Lives of the Caesars in Latin Lives of the Caesars: Rolfe Translation Resources Suetonius: Electronic Texts and Resources Josh McDowell's "Evidence" for Jesus: Is It Reliable? (On Suetonius by Jeffery Jay Lowder) Books Lives of the Caesars Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings Information on Suetonius In The Life of Claudius 25.4, we find the statement, "As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome." This is plausibly a reference to the expulsion of Jewish Christians from Rome.
The author of Acts makes mention of this same expulsion, which occurred in 49 CE according to the fifth century church father Orosius, in Acts 18:2. "There he [Paul] met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome." Aquila and Priscilla seem to have been converted prior to meeting Paul. However, it is also possible that the Jews were expelled from Rome for a different cause. Chrestus is a suitable Greek name, so there may have been an agitator by the name of Chrestus in Rome. Or there may have been a different messianic pretender in Rome. It is difficult to say. Suetonius also makes mention of Nero's persecution in 16.2: "Punishment by Nero was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition." Notably, unlike Tacitus, Suetonius does not associate this punishment with the fire that swept Rome.
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