The commander also realized that Paul"s enemies in Jerusalem would stop at nothing to see him dead. As long as Paul was in Jerusalem there was a danger of rioting. Consequently Claudius prepared to send him to the Roman provincial capital with a heavy guard under cover of night. The number of soldiers may have been270 or470 depending on the meaning of dexiolaboi, "spearmen." This word may refer to foot soldiers or to led horses. [1] The question is whether there were200 infantry and70 cavalry, plus200 spearmen or200 extra horses. The third hour of the night was9:00 p.m. This is the third time Paul left a city secretly at night (cf. Acts 9:25; Acts 17:10). Obviously Claudius Lysias did not want the assassination of a Roman citizen on his record, so he took precautions to protect Paul. Paul"s guards continued to treat him with the respect due a Roman citizen. The commander even provided horses for him to ride on. [source][source][source]
"The size of the escort is not excessive, in view of the troubled times and Jewish fanaticism." [2][source]