{"id": "card_n_fddf9c7791b4", "kind": "note", "title": "Easton: Theophilus", "body": "Lover of God, a Christian, probably a Roman, to whom Luke dedicated both his Gospel (Luke 1:3) and the Acts of the Apostles (1:1). Nothing beyond this is known of him. From the fact that Luke applies to him the title “most excellent”, the same title Paul uses in addressing Felix (Acts 23:26; 24:3) and Festus (26:25), it has been concluded that Theophilus was a person of rank, perhaps a Roman officer.", "source": {"label": "Matthew Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1897)", "url": "/encyclopedia.html?ref=Theophilus", "ref": "Theophilus", "authority_tier": "external_aligned"}, "shelf": "dictionary", "box": "easton_person_q_t", "bands": ["easton", "bible_dictionary", "person"], "connections": [{"to_card_id": "card_n_b051cea86e39", "relationship": "cites", "via_connection_card_id": "card_c_76ffb4f14bf4"}, {"to_card_id": "card_n_ee545b228696", "relationship": "cites", "via_connection_card_id": "card_c_1e7cf0408f25"}], "author": "engine", "created_at": "2026-05-19T13:11:12.229578+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-19T19:50:49.664776+00:00", "visibility": "public", "lifecycle_stage": "public", "volatility": "permanent", "metrics": {"paperclips_count": 0, "helpful_count": 0, "not_helpful_count": 0, "cite_count": 4, "walks_through_count": 0, "flagged_count": 0}, "source_hash": "00436a926f52f3e2353451c878f7307d4fa4406ab9217cc8f64c16aea31815b5", "witnesses": [{"class": "manuscript_tradition", "label": "Original 1897 publication — Thomas Nelson, London", "ref": "Easton-1897"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Project Gutenberg — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45696", "ref": "PG-45696"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Internet Archive — multiple scans", "url": "https://archive.org/details/eastonsillustra00east", "ref": "IA-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "CCEL — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/", "ref": "CCEL-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Blue Letter Bible — searchable Easton's", "url": "https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/easton/", "ref": "BLB-Easton"}], "witness_status": "passed", "witness_status_reason": "5 witnesses across 2 independence classes: ['manuscript_tradition', 'republication']", "surface": "secular"}