Luke describes him in generous
terms as righteous and worthy (10:2, 22). His activity (10:2-4), if not his
ethnicity, places him very near the people of God, all of whom respect him (10:22).
He is described as “devout and God-fearing (ευσεβης και φοβουμεος τον θεον) with all his house” (10:2).
Whether φοβουμενος τον θεον constitutes a terminus
technicus in antiquity for a group of uncircumcised but otherwise
Torah-observant gentiles lies beyond the present concern. What this phrase does
indicate, however, is that Cornelius is not labelled δικαιος in vain. His obedience to the
Torah and fear of God have made him a righteous man, whose prayers and
almsgiving are received by God as a sacrifice. (Daniel B. Glover, Patters of
Deification in the Acts of the Apostles [Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen
Zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 576; Tūbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022], 4)
Luke gives Cornelius glowing marks
as regards hie piety (ευσεβης και φοβουμενος τον θεον συν παντι τω οικω αυτου, 10:2a) and practice. Cornelius’s
almsgiving (ελεημοσυνας πολλας τω λαω, 10:2b) and constant prayer (δεομενος του θεου δια παντος, 10:2c) would place him among the
righteous according to many Jewish texts (Prov 10:2; 11:14; Tob 4:9; 12:8-9;
Sir 7:10; cf. also Acts 9:36; Did. 15:4; 2 Clem. 16:4) (His
“fear” of God [10:22] would also place him in this category. See Prov. 9:10) as
well as according to Acts 10:22 (The term δικαιος is also used by another centurion
of Jesus himself [Luke 23:47], placing Cornelius in very good company). (Ibid.,
147)