📖 Biblical Definition
Caesarea was the great coastal city of Roman Judea — built by Herod the Great around 22-10 BC on the Mediterranean shore and named for Caesar Augustus. It became the Roman administrative capital of the province, seat of the procurators (Pilate, Felix, Festus). Scripture places three pivotal events there. First, the conversion of Cornelius the Roman centurion and the opening of the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10) — Peter’s visit that broke the wall. Second, Paul’s two-year imprisonment under Felix and Festus, with the dramatic defenses before them and before Agrippa (Acts 23-26). Third, the place from which Paul finally sailed in chains to Rome (Acts 27:1-2). The gospel’s reach to the empire ran through this city.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Caesarea — the Roman seat of government in Judea, on the Mediterranean coast.
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Caesarea Maritima was Herod's great port city, with an artificial harbor and a temple to Augustus. It became the residence of Roman procurators including Pilate, Felix, and Festus, and a strategic launching point for missionary travel.
📖 Key Scripture
Acts 10:1 — "There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius."
Acts 10:24 — "And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea."
Acts 23:33 — "Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor."
Acts 25:13 — "King Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Treated as a generic Roman city; the gospel-to-the-Gentiles pivot is glossed over.
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No major postmodern redefinition of this place. The risk is that the geographic-symbolic resonance Scripture builds with it gets lost — modern readers skim past place-names that the biblical writers used as shorthand for whole histories.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek Kaisareia — city of Caesar; from Kaisar.
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G2542 — Kaisareia — Caesarea
G2541 — Kaisar — Caesar, emperor
G1484 — ethnos — nation, Gentile, people
Usage
"At Caesarea the Spirit fell on Gentiles before the apostle could finish his sermon."
"Two years of chains in Caesarea evangelized a governor and a king."
"Caesar named the city; Christ used it to break the Jew-Gentile wall."