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Paul's Early Life refers to an episode in the life of Paul of Tarsus and the early Church, as narrated in Acts of Apostles and the Letters of Paul

< Life of Paul  : Paul's Early Life -- Paul Persecuting the Church -- Conversion of Paul -- Paul's First Missionary Journey -- Council of Jerusalem -- Incident at Antioch -- Paul's Second Missionary Journey -- Paul's Third Missionary Journey -- Paul's Last Visit to Jerusalem -- Paul in Caesarea -- Paul's Journey to Rome -- Paul in Rome -- Martyrdom of Paul -- Relics of Paul >

Overview

The Pauline Letters and the Acts of Apostle offer some information about Paul's life before he joined the Jesus movement.

Paul was a Jew living in the Diaspora, a native of Tarsus, the capital city in the Roman province of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3). In the Acts, Paul repeatedly boasts his status of Roman citizen and claim that he inherited Roman citizenship from his father.

In Philippians (3:4-6), Paul refers to himself as being "circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; [6] as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless."

As usual among Jews in the Diaspora, Paul was known by his Hebrew name "Saul" (שָׁאוּל) and his Greek name Paulos (Παῦλος; Lat. Paulus).

Paul calls himself "a Pharisee (Phil 3:5)and Acts claims that he was a pupil of Gamaliel in Jerusalem.

Paul's Early Life, in ancient sources

Letters of Paul

Galatians 1:13-14 (NRSV) -- [13] You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

Philippians 3:4-6 (NRSV) -- [4] ...If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: [5] circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; [6] as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Acts of Apostles

Acts 9:11 -- " ... a man of Tarsus named Saul ... "

Acts 21:39 -- Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city" ...

Acts 22:3 -- "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day" ...

External links