Acts 9:2

Acts 9:2

And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

a.    This was basically authority to go to a synagogue in a foreign city, and bring anyone who were involved in this sect “this way”, back to Jerusalem to stand trial before the Sanhedrin.

a.    F. F. Bruce, Paul Apostle Of The Heart set Free, p.72. “When the Jewish state won independence under the Hasmonaeans, it had powerful patrons in the Romans, who let the countries surrounding Judea know this and demanded that Judea should be granted the rights of a sovereign state, including the right of extradition. Thus, a letter delivered in 142 B.C. concludes with the [following] requirement [from 1 Maccabees 15:21]. Therefore if any scoundrels have fled to you from their country [Judea], hand them over to the high priest Simon, so that he may punish them according to their law.”