PAUL'S WORK AS
1.
After Conversion and the "Silent Years"
After his
conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9, 22, 26; Gal 1), Paul went
to Arabia and then returned to Damascus,
where he preached the good news for three years (Acts 9:21-22; 26:20). He
was forced to flee Damascus, because Aretas IV, the Nabatean king,
had given orders to his ethnarch that he arrest Paul (Gal 1:17-18;
Acts 9:19-25). He escaped the city by being let down from the city
walls in a basket at night. (Little evidence is available to date
the reign of Aretas IV.) Later, when writing to the Corinthians, Paul
looks back upon this event and interprets it as instrumental in providing
him a much-needed sense of the need of reliance on another power (2
Cor 11:30-33). Having compared himself favorably to the "super-apostles"
in 2 Cor 11:21b-29, he steps back, and, in a sense, retracts what
he has just said: "But if I must boast, I will boast in the things
that show my weakness." He then relates this incident as a counterbalance
to his previous "boastings," since to escape from Damascus in such
a way is a display of his own powerlessness. The next event in Paul's
life mentioned in the Book of Acts was his move to Antioch.
Barnabas, who had been sent to Antioch by the Jerusalem church (Acts
11:22), went to Tarsus to bring Paul back with him to Antioch, where
he stayed and worked with Barnabas for a year (Acts 11:25-26). Because he says in Gal 2:1 that this visit to Jerusalem took place "fourteen years later," it is possible to determine to some extent the dates of the events previous to the famine visit. As indicated, it is disputed from which event the fourteen years are to be dated: 1. His first journey to Jerusalem (Gal 1:18) and return to Syria-Cilicia (Gal 1:21); 2. Or his vision of Christ (Gal 1:15). If dated from Paul's first journey to Jerusalem and return to Syria-Cilicia, which is most probable, and if the date of the famine is c. 46-47, then his first Jerusalem visit and taking up residence in Syria-Cilicia took place fourteen years earlier, around 32-33, which would place his conversion c. 29-30, three years before his time spent in Damascus. (It must be remembered that Paul spent one of the fourteen years in Antioch before going to Jerusalem for the second time since his conversion.) This assumes, however, that the three years (1:18) and fourteen years (2:1) are full years. If the two are to be reckoned inclusively, which was common in Jewish usage, what Paul means by three years is two full years and by fourteen years he means thirteen full years. In this case, the period of time could be between fifteen and seventeen years, which would situate his conversion c. 29-32. (This would have to be correlated with Jesus' death and resurrection, which most assume happened between 29 and 33.)
After his return to Antioch
from his second trip to Jerusalem after his conversion, Paul was sent
on an evangelistic tour, which has come to be known as Paul's
First Missionary Journey, and is recorded in Acts 13:4-14:18. Luke
says that it was the Holy Spirit who indicated that Paul and Barnabas
should be set apart for this work (Acts 13:2); Luke implies that this
directive
In Lystra, Paul healed a crippled man, which resulted in the people acclaiming him and Barnabas as the Greek gods Hermes and Zeus respectively (14:8-20). Luke records Paul’s speech in Lystra to the gentile crowd that mistook him for the god Hermes and Barnabas for the god Zeus. Paul exclaims that Barnabas and he are merely human beings there to exhort them to turn from idols to the living God (Acts 14:15-17). When addressing this gentile audience, Paul appeals to their pre-existing knowledge of the one God who provides them with all their needs, and polemizes against their "worthless idols" (mataioi; Heb: hebel) (see also Acts 17:22-31; Rom 1:19-20) (see Exod 20:4-51 Kings 16:2, 13, 26; 2 Kings 17:15; Jer 2:5; 8:19). At the instigation of Jews from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, the crowd turned on the pair, no longer viewing them as gods. As a consequence Paul was stoned, but survived (seemingly miraculously). Based on what Paul writes in his letters, it appears that Luke does not record in the Book of Acts most of the suffering and persecution that Paul endured as an apostle (1 Cor 4:9; 15:32; 2 Cor 4:8-11; 6:4-5, 9-10; 11:23-27). Between the first and second missionary journeys the so-called Jerusalem Council was held, during which the Jewish Law and the status of gentile believers was discussed. Luke explains that some men came from Judea to Antioch, where Paul was, and preached to the gentile converts there that they must be circumcised (and afterwards keep the Jewish Law in its entirety) or else they could not be saved (from God's eschatological wrath). As a result, a conflict arose between these men and Paul and Barnabas; the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to settle this issue (Acts 15:1-2). Paul and Barnabas' views were vindicated by the council, and they returned to Antioch (Acts 15:35). They were given a letter confirming the support of the Jerusalem church for their view on gentile believers and the Jewish Law (a transcript of the letter is found in Acts 15:24-29). The letter placed only four requirements on gentile believers: abstaining from idolatry (i.e., food sacrificed to idols), blood, strangled animals and sexual immorality (see Acts 15:20). Conforming to these four requirements would facilitate the integration of Jews and gentiles in the church. Accompanying Paul and Barnabas were Judas and Silas, both identified as prophets (Acts 15:30-35). The event described by Paul in Gal 2:11-14—Paul's confrontation of Cephas (Kêphas) (Peter)—likely occurred after Paul's return to Antioch from his first missionary journey but before he went to Jerusalem for the third time, in order to settle the issue of gentile believers (Acts 15). (It is possible, however, that this event occurred after Paul's second trip to Jerusalem, but before his first missionary journey.) Paul criticized Peter for his inconsistency in his relations with gentiles, for, before "certain men from James" (tines apo Iakobou) came to Antioch, Peter ate with gentile believers, whereas upon their arrival he withdrew from table fellowship with them. Peter did not seem to have the courage of his convictions: "He feared those from the circumcision group" (i.e., the group that advocated that gentile believers be circumcised) (Gal 2:12). Although it is not clear who these men were, the designation "certain men from James" probably refers to some from the religious faction mentioned in Acts 15:2, 5: Pharisaic believers who taught that gentiles must keep the Jewish Law. These men are said to be "from James," perhaps because they claimed the authority of James for their position (But James spoke in favor of Paul's position at the Jerusalem council.)
After his return to Antioch,
Paul and Silas set out on what is known as his Second
Missionary Journey, recorded in Acts 15:39-18:22. Paul covered more
territory this time than on his First Missionary Journey. Paul and Barnabas
have a falling out over whether to take John (Mark) along (Acts 15:36-40).
Starting from Antioch, Paul and Silas (and others) traveled overland
through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches. They visited Derbe
and Lystra (Acts 16:1), and Luke says that they "traveled through
the cities" (Acts 16:4), which probably implies that they also
visited Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, since it was Paul's plan to revisit
the churches founded on his first missionary journey (Acts 15:36). They
delivered to these Galatian churches the decision reached by the Jerusalem
council (Acts 16:4). Next they traveled through "the Phrygia and
Galatia region," by which Luke seems to mean the ethnic regions
of Phrygia and Galatia considered as one region from the point of view
of the journey (Acts 16:6). Highlights of Second Missionary Journey
Upon his return to Antioch,
after an unspecified period of time, Paul and his associates set out
on what is known as his Third Missionary
Journey, described in Acts 18:23-23:35. (See also Rom 15:19,
23-32; 1 Cor 16:1-9; 2 Cor 1:8-11, 1:15-16; 1:23-2:1; 1:12; 7:5-7; 9:1-5,
which refer to events in the last year of this Third Missionary Journey.)
Beginning from Antioch again, Paul and others traveled overland westward
through Galatia and Phrygia to Ephesus, where he stayed for three years
(see Acts 20:31) (Acts 18:23-19:1). Luke describes Paul as traveling
"in one place after another in the region of Galatian and Phrygia"
(dierchomenos kathexes tên Galatikên choran kai Phrugian);
it seems that “the region of Galatia and Phrygia” means the ethnic regions
of Phrygia and Galatia (Acts 18:23). Paul left Ephesus for Troas
(Acts 20:1; 2 Cor 2:12-13; 7:5-7; 9:1-5; 12:14; 13:1). He expected to
meet Titus there, who should From Caesarea, Paul and his
associates traveled to Jerusalem, where he was the focus of a riot in
the Temple, and was arrested (Acts 21:15-17; 27-36); because of a threat
against his life he was transferred to Caesarea (Acts 23:12-35). Paul
spent the last two years of Felix's procuratorship in prison (Acts 24:7).
Felix was succeeded by Festus (War 2. 271; Ant. 20.
182). There is uncertainty about which year Festus replaced Felix
as procurator. Paul founded the church in Corinth between 50-52. It
seems that a span of five to six years is required for all the subsequent
events to occur, so that Paul could not have been arrested before 55-58,
which means that Festus must have replaced Felix as procurator between
57 and 60. Highlights of the Third Missionary Journey
 6.
First Roman Imprisonment
Because he appealed to Caesar, Paul was sent off to Rome to stand trial. His journey to Rome as a prisoner is described in Acts 27. (Luke's use of the first plural plural implies that he accompanied Paul on his journey to Rome.) Paul set out from Caesarea to Sidon, sailed around Cyprus to Myra in Lycia, where he changed ships. The new ship sailed to Crete (where those in charge decided not to spend the winter) and then towards Rome, but was shipwrecked off the island of Malta. All hands survived and they spent the winter on the island. On the island of Malta, Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake, but did not die; for this reason, the inhabitants acclaimed him a god (Acts 28:1-6). Paul healed the father of the proconsul of Malta, Publius, along with other sick people on the island (Acts 28:7-10). After three months on Malta, Paul and his entourage set out for Rome, landing in Syracuse and then traveling to Rome (stopping along the way in Rhegium, Puteoli, the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns). In Rome, Paul was under house arrest (Acts 28:16, 30); the references in Paul's letters to his being under arrest—with the exception of 2 Timothy—(Eph 3:1; 4:1; Phil 1:7, 12-14, 17; 2:19-29; 4:15-18, 22; Col 4:3, 18; Philemon 1:10) likely date from his time, although some could date from his Caesarean imprisonment (except for the letter to the Philippians, in which Paul refers to the praetorian guard [1:13] and those from Caesar's household [4:22], implying that he is in Rome). Sometime during his imprisonment, Paul most likely wrote letters to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and a letter to Philemon. He also wrote a now lost letter to the Laodiceans (see Col 4:16). The Book of Acts leaves Paul alive in Rome after having spent two years under house arrest (Acts 28:30).
On the assumption that they date from after Paul's release from his first Roman imprisonment, Paul's Pastoral Letters give a few hints about his activities after his release from his (first) Roman imprisonment. It was probably during this time that Paul wrote 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. 7.1. 1 Tim 1:3; 3:14-15; 4:13 In 1 Tim 1:3, Paul indicates that he went on to Macedonia while Timothy was in Ephesus. He planned to go to Timothy in Ephesus. 7.2. Titus 1:5; 3:12 In Titus 1:5; 3:12, Paul says that he left Titus in Crete to put in order what was left unfinished and to appoint elders in every city. Titus was to wait in Crete until Paul sent Artemas or Tychicus to him, after which he was to join Paul in Neapolis. 7.3. In 2 Tim 4:20, Paul implies that he and some of his associates have been to Corinth and Miletus: "Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus." What else Paul does after his release from house arrest in Rome is unknown. At the time of writing 2 Timothy, Paul says that he is imprisoned in Rome, and is pessimistic about his chances of being released (2 Tim 1:8, 15-18; 4:9-16); likely, soon after he wrote 2 Timothy, Paul was executed. Post-New Testament tradition places the death of Paul during the persecution of Nero (64-68), after Paul evangelized in the Western part of the empire. 8.1. 1 Clement 5 1 Clement 5 speaks about Paul's death after he had given testimony in the west (i.e., western part of the empire). 8.2. Muratorian Canon and Acts of Peter 1.3 The Muratorian Canon indicates that Paul left Rome after his imprisonment and went to Spain. Moreover, the Acts of Peter 1.3 says that Paul went back to Rome after his release from imprisonment. 8.3. Eusebius Eusebius stated that Paul
was beheaded by Nero in Rome (H.E. 2.22.2; 2.25-3.1)
(see Jerome, de vir. ill. 11.1).
9.1. Paul wrote letters to churches that he founded and to individuals. The New Testament contains thirteen of Paul's letters, but these are not the totality of Paul's literary output. We know of three of Paul's letters that are no longer extant: Col 4:16 refers to a letter to the church in Laodocia; 1 Cor 5:9 refers to a letter Paul wrote before 1 Corinthians; 2 Cor 2:4 refers to a letter written between 1 & 2 Corinthians and after Paul's painful visit. It is conceivable that Paul wrote other letters about which we know nothing. It is important to note that Paul's extant letters are occasional literature, meaning that Paul wrote them for specific occasions. This means that Paul sometimes presupposes knowledge on the part of his reader to which we do not have access; this fact makes interpretation of his letters difficult at times. 9.2. With respect to the ancient world, a distinction must be made between private and public letters. The former were personal notes, whereas the latter were intended for a larger readership. Most of Paul's letters were intended as public letters. It is also important to keep in mind the epistolary genre of the Greco-Roman world when analyzing the structure of the letters of the New Testament. A letter written in the Greco-Roman world, including Paul's letters, tended to consist of the following parts. (It must be stressed, however, that there are many possible variations on this type.)
Salutation (Sender; receiver; greeting)
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life. (From what Luke records Paul as saying in Acts 22:17, upon falling
into a trance while in the Temple, he was warned by God to leave Jerusalem.)
He escaped to 
The prophet Agabus then came from Jerusalem to Antioch, and predicted
a famine, whereupon the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to
Jerusalem with some money for famine relief (Acts 11:27-30). This event
appears to be the same described in Gal 2:1-2: Paul says in Gal 2:1-2
that fourteen years after his first trip to Jerusalem he went to the
city again with Barnabas in response to a revelation; this revelation
seems to have been Agabus' prophecy of the impending famine. The famine
was probably the one described by Josephus in Ant. 3. 320;
20. 51, 100, and to be dated early into the procuratorship of Tiberius
Julius Alexander (46-48), or spanning the procuratorships of Tiberius
Julius Alexander (46-48) and Crispus Fadus (44-46). (The problem
with determining during whose administration the famine occurred is
that there is a textual problem [Ant. 20.100: epi toutou
or epi toutois] and it is unclear what Josephus meant on either
reading.) Paul's statement in Gal 2:1 that he went up to Jerusalem for
the second time fourteen years later, indicates that Paul spent some
time in Tarsus before going with Barnabas to Antioch. The fourteen years
could date from Paul's previous trip to Jerusalem and return to Syria-Cilicia,
after spending three years in Damascus, or from his conversion. It is
probably the former, since this is the natural reading of Gal 2:1; this
means that Paul's second trip to Jersualem occured about seventeen years
after his converion. Paul explains to the Galatians that while he was
in Jerusalem for the second time since his conversion he took the opportunity
to lay his "good news" (euaggelion) before "those
who seemed to be important' (hoi dokousin) in Jerusalem—probably
identical to the "pillars," James, Peter and John (2:9)—in
order to receive their approval of what he had been preaching in Tarsus
and then in Antioch for the past year (Gal 2:2-3). Paul
was compelled to seek their approval because his opponents, whom he
called "false brothers," were undermining him, presumably claiming the
authority of the Jerusalem church. He was concerned
that without the approval of the Jerusalem church his evangelistic efforts
would be in vain: his work would be hindered by the false perception
of being at odds with the Jerusalem church. (Paul does not
mean that he personally needed approval for the content of his good
news, as if he had had some doubts that what he had been proclaiming
was true.) He
received their approval of his teaching that gentile converts were not
required to obey the Jewish Law. (Also, Titus, a gentile, was not compelled
to be circumcised.)
came through the "prophets and teachers" in Antioch: Barnabas,
Simeon (called Niger), Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (= Manahem) the foster-brother
of Herod the tetrarch (Herod Antipas). During this time, Paul founded
the churches in the southern part of the Roman province of Galatia;
these churches were the likely recipients of the Letter to the Galatians,
sent shortly after Paul returned to Antioch after his first missionary
journey. Paul and Barnabas sailed from Seleucia, the port of Antioch,
to the island of Cyprus. Cyprus
was a Roman province ruled by a proconsul (see Acts 5:7: anthupatos)
since 22 BCE. They traveled to the city of 
the province of Pamphylia and from there to 
but
made their way to the border of the ethnic region of Mysia (kata
tên Musian), wherever this was exactly. (The ethnic region
of Mysia was part of the Roman province of Asia.) They intended to turn
east and go to the Roman province of Bithynia, but "the spirit
of Jesus" (to pneuma tou Iêsou) would not allow them
to do so (how this happened is not explained). Instead of turning east,
Paul and Silas traveled west through the ethnic region of Mysia, in
the province of Asia, until they reached Troas. In a vision, Paul saw
a Macedonian man begging him to come to Macedonia, which he took to
be God's leading (Acts 16:9-10). They traveled by ship to Samothrace
and then on to the port city of Neapolis. (The change of person from
third to first person plural in Acts 16:10-17 indicates that Luke, the
author of the Book of Acts, has joined Paul's entourage and has traveled
with them to Philippi.) From there they went along the 
Some
Stoic and Epicurean philosophers who heard Paul's message arranged
for Paul to speak before the court of the Areopagus that met on the
Timothy
and Silas also brought a good report about the Thessalonian church,
which brought great relief to Paul, for he was concerned that the
Thessalonians might have deteriorated spiritually under the pressure
of persecution (1 Thess 3:6-10). In response, as indicated, Paul
sends two two letters in succession to the Thessalonians. Since
he was in Corinth for eighteen months between 50-53, Paul probably
wrote between 50-52, shortly after his arrival in the city (Acts
18:11). In
Corinth, Crispus, the synagogue ruler, believed along with his household
(18:8). (The term "synagogue ruler" [archisynagogos]
denotes the chief synagogue official; it occurs in elsewhere in
the New Testament [Mark 5:21-43 = Luke 8:40-56; Acts 13:15 and in
the Theodotus Inscription.) Paul says in 1 Corinthians that those
of the household of Stephanus were the first converts in Corinth
(1 Cor 16:15) and that he baptized them (1 Cor 1:16); he also mentions
that he baptized Crispus and Gaius, but stresses that he did not
baptize any more than these in Corinth (1 Cor 1:14-15). Generally,
the Jews in Corinth resisted Paul, however, so that he decided to
turn his attention to the gentiles only, using the house of Titius
Justus (called a "worshipper of God"), next door to the
synagogue, for this purpose (Acts 18:6-7). 
Once,
Paul received a vision, encouraging him not to be afraid, but to
continue speaking, because no one would attack or harm him (Acts
18:9-10). As indicated, Paul stayed in Corinth for eighteen months,
and at one point some Jews dragged him before Gallio, the proconsul
of Achaia, at the location of the bêma. (Corinth
was the capital city of the Roman province of Achaia.)
The charge against Paul was that he was promulgating
an illegal religion, unlike Judaism, which was a religio licita
(a permitted religion). Gallio dismissed the accusation against
Paul as being merely a religious dispute among Jews (Acts 18:12-17). As
a result, Sosthenes became the object of the anger of Paul's accusers:
"And they all took hold of Sosthenes...and began beating him
in front of the bêma.
But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things" (18:17).
Paul left Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, after having taken
a Nazarite vow in Cenchraea (Acts 18:18; see Num 6:1-21 and m.
Nazir).
(Apollos
was in Corinth at this time [Acts 19:1].) During the last of those three
years he sent Timothy to Corinth at least once (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10; Acts
19:22); he also made an emergency visit to the city (2 Cor 1:23-2:1). He
also wrote at least three letters to the Corinthians from Ephesus. The
second of these three letters is now know as 1 Corinthians, whereas
the first letter, known as the "previous letter" no longer
exists (1 Cor 5:9-12). It is possible that during the time spent in
Ephesus the churches in Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea—cities
in the Lycus valley—were founded under Paul's direction and supervision. After
three years, he determined to go to Jerusalem but only after first revisiting
churches in Macedonia and Achaia; he also collected money along the
way for the poor in Jerusalem and Judea (Rom 15:23-32; 1 Cor 16:1-9;
2 Cor 9:1-5). Paul describes a terrible experience in Asia that he underwent
(2 Cor 1:8-11), presumably just prior to his departure, and possibly
this was the reason for his departure. Luke says nothing of this;
he only describes the riot over the cult of Artemis (Diana) (Acts 19:23-41).
have been on his way back from Corinth, having delivered a letter to
the church there, which is known as the "severe letter" or
the "tearful letter," his third letter to the Corinthians,
which no longer exists (2 Cor 2:13; 12:17-18). But Paul did not meet
up with Titus until he was somewhere in Macedonia; Titus gave him some
good news about the Corinthians (2 Cor 7:5-7). He sent Titus and two
other unidentified men ahead to Corinth with the letter that is now
known as 2 Corinthians (2 Cor 8:16-19, 22), which was his fourth letter
to the church, and eventually made his way to the city, probably spending
the winter there (2 Cor 9:4; 12:14; 13:1; Acts 20:2-3; Rom 16:1; see
1 Cor 16:6). According to 1 Cor 16:5-7, Paul originally intended to
visit Macedonia first and then Corinth (1 Cor 16:5-6); he then changed
his mind, and planned to go to Corinth first, then to Macedonia and
then back to Corinth, where he would set sail for Judea (2 Cor 1:15-16). Paul
changed his plans again after he was forced to make an emergency visit
to Corinth and then returned to Ephesus (1 Cor 16:7). He did not want
to revisit the city until the problems were resolved. Sometime later,
after a reconcilation with the Corinthians, Paul visited Corinth again
but after travelling through Macedonia into Achaia, which was his original
plan. While in Corinth, Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans. From Corinth
Paul went to Philippi in Macedonia on account of a plot against him
(in Corinth presumably) (Acts 20:3), where he set sail for Syria (Acts
20:3-6). (At this point, Luke rejoined Paul, as indicated by his
change from the third person to the first person plural [20:5]; the
implication is that Luke was in Philippi.) He sailed to Troas in Asia
(Acts 20:6); then a week later he set sail for 
Paul
laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came upon them, with the
result that they spoke in tongues and prophesied (19:1-7). Paul
spoke for three months "concerning the Kingdom of God" in
the synagogue in Ephesus, but, on account of Jewish resistance ("they
maligned the Way before the masses"), was then forced to relocate
with his disciples from the synagogue to the lecture hall Tyrannus,
where he daily held discussions for two years (Acts 19:8-10). Paul
was known to have done miracles in the city (healings and exorcisms):
"God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to
the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out"
(Acts 19:11-12).
During his time in Ephesus
some Jewish exorcists, seven sons of a man named Sceva, invoked "the
name of Jesus whom Paul preaches" in an exorcism; the demonized man
overpowered them, not recognizing their authority. When this
story became known, the Ephesians were seized with fear (19:13-17). Many
practitioners of sorcery in Ephesus believed and publicly burned their
scrolls relating to their magical practices (19:19-20). A riot broke
out in Ephesus over Paul's negative effect on the sale of idols of
Artemis; the people chanted "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians"
and congregated at the theater. Because of this opposition Paul was
forced to leave Ephesus after a total of three years (Acts 19:23-20:1;
see 20:31). 
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