What did Paul do after his conversion?

1. Sources
2. The Book of Acts
   2.1. Three Possible Positions
       2.1.1. General Unreliability
       2.1.2. General Reliability
       2.1.3. Complete Reliability
   2.2. Paul’s Speeches in the Book of Acts
3. Pauline Chronology
   3.1. After Conversion and the "Silent Years"
   3.2. The "First Missionary Journey"
   3.3. The Jerusalem Council
   3.4. The "Second Missionary Journey"
   3.5. The "Third Missionary Journey"
   3.6. Roman Imprisonment
   3.7. After Paul’s First Roman Imprisonment
       3.7.1. 1 Tim 1:3
       3.7.2. Titus 1:5; 3:12

       3.7.3. 2 Tim 4:20
   3.8. Paul's Death
       3.8.1. 1 Clement 5
       3.8.2. Muratorian Canon and Acts of Peter 1.3
       3.8.3. Eusebius
4. Dating Paul's First Visit to Corinth

 

 

1. Sources

Sources for a reconstruction of Paul’s career as an apostle come from the Book of Acts and references in Paul's letters. In addition, there is some probably reliable information about Pauline chronology outside of the New Testament found in the church fathers (1 Clem. 5; Eusebius, HE 2.25-3.1). It should be noted that dating events in Paul’s apostolic career is precarious, since there are only a few events in Paul's career that we can date absolutely. Thus, often we must be content with understanding Paul's activities in their relative chronological sequence.

2.  The Book of Acts

2.1. Three Possible Positions

There are three possible positions regarding Luke's reliability for information on Paul's career as an apostle.

2.1.1. General Unreliability

One could assume that Luke—or the author of the Book of Acts—is generally unreliable because he is motivated by apologetic interests and/or is separated temporarily from the events he purported to describe.   Methodologically, on this view, one could not trust what Luke affirms in the book of Acts, unless, in his letters, Paul provides evidence for the truth of Luke’s assertions. An older proponent of this view was John Knox.(1) More recently, Gerd Luedmann has argued for this position.(2)

2.1.2. General Reliability

One could also adopt the point of departure that Luke is almost as reliable as Paul in providing biographical information about Paul; scholars who hold this position still allow for the possibility that Luke has made errors, but they do not consider the Book of Acts unreliable—owing to apologetic motives—until proven otherwise.(3) Methodologically, these would assume that information about Paul from the Book of Acts is reliable unless there is contrary evidence from Paul's letters. But one would not give priority to the Book of Acts when reconstructing Pauline biography, given the possibility of error.

2.1.3. Complete Reliability

Finally, one could assume that Luke is as reliable as Paul in his depiction of Pauline biography and theological views.  Methodologically, on this assumption, one would harmonize information on Paul's life and theology found in the Book of Acts with that found in his letters.  In fact, with respect to biographical reconstruction, one would give priority to the Book of Acts, since this has a more complete chronology of Paul's career and attempt to fit in the less precise and less complete biographical references from Paul's letters.

Since Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, was a traveling companion and associate of Paul, what he reports about what Paul did and said is credible (Arguments presented for a post-apostolic date for the book of Acts and its non-Lukan authorship are unconvincing). Thus, it follows that the third position listed above with respect to the reliability of the book of Acts should be adopted. 
 

2.2. Paul’s Speeches in the Book of Acts

It was common for ancient historians to create speeches and place these in the mouths of historical figures. This is not to say necessarily that these speeches were historical fabrications, so that ancient historians must be judged to be writing literature rather than history. In some cases, the speeches created by ancient historians are historically suspect, but this is not universally true.(4) Thucidydes (c. 460-400 BCE) explains that, although neither he nor his sources could always recall the exact words spoken, nevertheless, in the speeches that he created, he attempted to give an accurate rendering of the essence of what was said: "Therefore the speeches are given in the language in which, as it seemed to me, the several speakers would express, on the subjects under consideration, the sentiments most befitting the occasion, though at the same time I adhered as closely as possible to the general sense of what was actually said" (History of the Peloponnesian War, 1.22.1). (Interestingly, Thucidydes claims to be more careful with the "facts of the occurrence of the war" [ta erga ton prachthenton en to polemo].) Similarly, Polybius (c. 200-118 BCE), reflecting upon the discipline of writing history, said that historians "simply record what really happened and what really was said, however commonplace" (Histories, 2.56.10). Now given his actual practice of writing history, clearly, for Polybius, writing speeches that reflect what a historical figure said on a given occasion but are not verbatim transcripts is consistent with the task of recording "what really was said." Closer to home, the Jewish historian Josephus explains that his aim was to write an undistorted account of the Jewish war with Rome in reaction to the many inaccurate and biased accounts of the event (War 1.1-3). Yet he also created speeches for various historical figures. In one case, he creates two different versions of the same speech delivered by Herod the Great (War 1.373-79; Ant. 15.127-46). Although the later version of Herod's speech in Antiquities is longer than its earlier counterpart in War, nevertheless, the same basic points are made in both. It is clear that he is accurately reflecting the contents of Herod's speech, although not providing a verbatim transcript of what said on the occasion in either version. (Josephus does not provide information on his sources for Herod's speeches, but he rarely does identify his sources.) Thus, von Ranke's now famous dictum that the historical task is to reconstruct “how it actually happened” (wie es eigentlich gewesen ist) did not form part of the ancient historian’s understanding of his task. With respect to the reporting of speeches, the ancient historian is content to give the essence of what was said, not a verbatim account, contrary to the stricter standards of modern historiography, which would judge the speeches in ancient sources to be not history proper.

Numerous times in the Book of Acts, Paul makes speeches, making it probable that Luke followed the method shared by ancient historians of placing speeches in the mouths of historical figures, in this case the mouth of Paul (see Acts 13:16-41; 14:15-17; 17:22-31; 20:18-35; 22:1-21; 23:1-6; 24:10-21; 26:2-23). As with Thucidydes, however, one must conclude that, because Luke followed the convention of creating speeches for Paul that the Pauline speeches in the book of Acts are historically unreliable as sources for reconstructing Pauline theology. Not being a verbatim transcript of what Paul said does not make the Pauline speeches in the book of Acts historical fictions.  Rather, one is justified in taking these speeches as historical reliable summaries of what Paul said, either as Luke himself heard or as reported to him by others.(5)
 

3. Pauline Chronology

The task of the historian is to correlate Luke's description of Paul's activities in the Book of Acts (Acts 9, 11:19-30; 13:1-28:31) with autobiographical material from Paul's letters with Rom 1:10; 15:19, 23-32; 16:1; 1 Cor 16:1-9; 2 Cor 1:8-11, 15-16, 23-2:1, 12; 6:4-10; 7:5-7; 9:1-5; 11:22-28, 32-33; 12:1-6, 18; Gal 1:11-2:16; 3:13; Eph 3:1; 4:1; Phil 1:7, 12-14, 17; 2:19-29; 4:15-18, 22; Col 2:1; 4:3, 18; 1 Thess 1:8-9; 2:1; 3:1-6; 1 Tim 1:3; 2 Tim 1:8, 15-18; 4:6-21; Titus 1:5; 3:12; Philemon 9-10, 13, 22).

3.1. After Coversion 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. Paul was forced to flee Damascus, because Aretas the king had given orders to his ethnarch to arrest Paul (Gal 1:17-18; Acts 9:19-25). He did so by being let down from the city wall 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.

Paul then goes to Jerusalem, escaping from the plot to kill him; there he meets Peter and James for the first time since becoming a believer. He stays for fifteen days during which time Barnabas took Paul to meet the the apostles; Paul also preached the good news in Jerusalem for these few days. (Barnabas or "son of encouragement," whose real name was Joseph, was a Levite from Cyprus [Acts 4:36].) Paul is again forced to flee on account of another plot against his life. (From what Luke records Paul as saying in Acts 22:17, upon falling into a trance while in the Temple, Paul was warned by God to leave Jerusalem.)  He escapes to Caesarea (Maritima) and then goes to his home province—Cilicia-Syria—to his hometown, Tarsus (Acts 9:26-30; Acts 22:17-18; Gal 1:18-20). Some scholars see a contradiction between Luke's description in Acts 9:26-30 and what Paul says in Gal 1:22-23 about not being known in person in the churches in Judea.(6) Since in Acts 9:26-30 Paul apparently interacts extensively with Christians in Jerusalem, it is argued that Paul could not have been unknown to the churches in Judea. It is probable that Paul intends "churches in Judea" to be exclusive of the church in Jerusalem (see Matt 3:5; Ant. 10.184), so that, although he was known in person to the latter, he was not known in person to the former. Those years between Paul's conversion and the events described in Acts 11 represent the "silent years" of his life because little is known about Paul from this period. Paul does relate one event that took place during his time. He explains to the Corinthians that fourteen years earlier he was caught up into the “third heaven” (2 Cor 12:1-6). If one dates 2 Corinthians between 55 and 58, this places Paul's extraordinary experience between 41 and 44.

The next event in Paul's life mentioned in the Book of Acts is 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). (Barnabas or "son of encouragement," whose real name was Joseph, was a Levite from Cyprus [Acts 4:36].) 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. A year after Paul arrived in the cty, Agabus 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.)(7) Paul explains to the Galatians that while he was in Jerusalem 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 have been in vain because his work would be thwarted by not having the approval of 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 the gentiles that they were not required to obey the Law. (Also, Titus, a gentile, was not compelled to be circumcised.)

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)?  But 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 46-47, then his first Jerusalem visit and taking up residence in Syria-Cilicia took place between 32-33, which would place his conversion between 29-30, three years before his time spent in Damascus. This assumes, however, that the three years (1:18) and fourteen years (2:1) are full years.(8) 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 29-32. (This would have to be correlated with Jesus' death and resurrection, which most assume happened between 29 and 33.)
 

3.2. The "First Missionary Journey"

After his return to Antioch from his second trip to Jerusalem, 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 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 southern part of the Roman province of Galatia; these churches were the likely recipients of the Letter to the Galatians. 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 Salamis, where they preached in the synagogues there (Acts 13:5). (Luke notes that John [Mark] was with Paul and Barnabas, helping them [Acts 13:5].) Then, moving westward, they journeyed across the island to Paphos, the seat of the Roman provincial government. From Paphos, Paul, Barnabas and John [Mark] traveled by ship to Perga in the province of Pamphylia and from there to Pisidian Antioch in the Roman province of Galatia. In Pisidian Antioch, Paul spoke in the synagogue on two consecutive Sabbath days. He and Barnabas were forced out the city through the action of some Jews who convinced some leading "worshipping women" (gentile adherents to Judaism) to take official action against the two men. Paul and Barnabas next travel to the city of Iconium, where Paul spoke in the synagogue to both Jews and Greeks, many of whom believed (14:1-3). When a plot was discovered to stone them, Paul and Barnabas moved on to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe (14:4-7), where they successfully evangelized (14:8-20). Paul and Barnabas retraced their steps until they reached Pisidian Antioch; in each city they appointed elders (14:21b-23). The pair traveled through the ethnic region of Pisidia, in the southernmost region of the Roman province of Galatia, and then entered the Roman province of Pamphylia. They proclaimed the good news in Perga, a city in Pamphylia (14:25a). From Perga, Paul and Barnabas went to the port city of Attalia, from where they returned by ship to Antioch in Syria. Luke says that in Antioch they stayed with the disciples "not a short time" (chronon ouk oligon) (14:28). It is probable that during this stay in Antioch Paul became aware of the need to write a letter to his Galatian churches, because false teachers had infiltrated these newly-founded congregations and had almost convinced them that they as gentiles must obey the Law as a condition of being declared righteous (see references to these false teachers in Gal 1:7, 9; 3:1; 4:17-18; 5:7, 12; 6:12-13) (see The Crisis over Gentiles and the Law in the Early Church). He probably sent his Letter to the Galatians before his visit to Jerusalem for the so-called Jerusalem Council.

Highlights of First Missionary Journey

• In Paphos, Paul encountered the sorcerer and false prophet Bar-Jesus (Elymus), who tried to prevent Paul and Barnabas from proclaiming the word to the proconsul of the Roman province of Cyprus, Sergius Paullus (Acts 13:6-12). Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, pronounced God's judgment against this Jewish sorcerer, which took the form of blindness. Luke records, "But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said, 'You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time'. And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand." (This Sergius Paullus may have been the same man who earlier had been one of the curators of the Tiber during the reign of Claudius [Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum vi, no. 31545].)
  

• John (Mark) left Paul and Barnabas in Perga for reasons that Luke does not disclose (13:13). The issue of John (Mark) was to become a source of contention for Paul and Barnabas (see Acts 15:36-40).
  
  
• It is clear from what Paul says in Gal 4:13, that, at some point during his evangelistic tour of the Roman province of Galatia, he became seriously ill. He says to the Galatians, "It was because of a weakness of the flesh [illness] that I first preached the good news to you." It is not clear how his illness became the occasion of his preaching of the good news to the Galatians. Nevertheless, Paul says that the Galatians treated him exceptionally well, in spite of his illness: "You did not despise or scorn me, but received me as an angel of God and even Jesus Christ himself" (Gal 4:14). From what he writes in Gal 4:15 "For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me," it is possible that Paul's illness may be related to his eyes. In the Book of Acts, however, Luke says nothing about Paul's illness.
  

• Luke records Paul's speech to those gathered in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:13-41, 44-48). Luke provides a summary of Paul's speech in Acts 13:16-41 (See Paul's Speech in the Synagogue at Pisidian Antioch). After the synagogue service was finished, many Jews and "worshippers" (seboumenoi) (of God), by which is meant gentiles who had embraced Jewish monotheism, attached themselves to Paul and Barnabas. On the next Sabbath, Paul spoke again, but found that resistance to him had hardened; according to Luke, the Jews were jealous that so many gentiles had come to the synagogue to hear Paul (Acts 13:44-49). Paul announced that from that time on he would concentrate his evangelistic efforts on the gentiles. He quoted Isa 49:6 "I will also make you a light of the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" to his Jewish detractors to make the point that it was God's will that the gentiles hear the good news.

• In Acts 14:3, Luke says that in Iconium the Lord confirmed the veracity of the preaching of "the word of grace" (or the message that has for its content the grace of God) (see Acts 20:24, 32) by working "signs and wonders" (semeia kai terata) through "them," presumably Paul and Barnabas. In his letter to the Galatian churches, Paul makes reference to the fact that God worked miracles (dunameis) among the Galatians through their faith (and not from the "works of the Law") (Gal 3:5; see also Acts 15:12).
  
  
• 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). Ironically, at the instigation of Jews from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, the crowd turned on the pair and 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).

 3.3. The Jerusalem Council

Between the first and second missionary journeys the so-called Jerusalem council was held, during which the 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 that they must be circumcised (and afterwards keep the Law) or else they could not be saved (from God's eschatological wrath). (Similar false teachers went to the churches that Paul founded in the province of Galatia and and taught the same thing.) 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 return to Antioch (Acts 15:35). (See The Crisis over Gentiles and the Law in the Early Church.) They were given a letter confirming the support of the Jerusalem church for their view of gentiles and the 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 (Peter)—likely occurred after Paul's return to Antioch from his first missionary journey and 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 faction mentioned in Acts 15:2, 5: Pharisaic believers who taught that gentiles must keep the Law as a condition of being saved (from the wrath of God). 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.)
 

3.4. The "Second Missionary Journey"

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).

Paul and Silas were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in the Roman province of Asia, but made their way to the border of the ethnic region of Mysia (kata tên Musian), wherever this was exactly. 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 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 Via Egnatia to Philippi (Acts 16:11-12; 1 Thess 2:1; Phil 4:15-18). They then traveled to Amphipolis to Apollonia and then to Thessalonica. (The reversion back to the third person in the narrative implies that Luke has stayed behind in Philippi [Acts 17:1].) Paul then left Beroea for Athens in the Roman province of Achaia. From there he traveled to Corinth, where he spent eighteen months (Acts 18:11). (It is possible that Paul sailed to Corinth, in which case he would have disembarked at Cenchreae.) Paul's stay in Corinth can be dated c. 50-52 (see below: "Dating Paul's First Visit to Corinth"). Early into his eighteen-month stay in Corinth, Paul sent his two letters to the Thessalonians. From Corinth Paul set sail for Syria with Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:18); en route they stopped at Ephesus, where Aquila and Priscilla remained (Acts 18:19). Paul then traveled from Ephesus to Caesarea. Luke says that upon landing in Caesarea Paul "went up" and greeted the church, implying that Paul visited Jerusalem.  After his fourth visit to the city, he "went down" to Antioch (Acts 18:22).

• Tarsus Mountains and Cilician Gates
  
  

Highlights of Second Missionary Journey

• Paul met Timothy in Lystra, circumcised him, and took him along on his "Second Missionary Journey" (16:1-3). Although his mother was a Jew, Timothy was not raised as a Jew (no circumcision); he was, however, taught the scriptures (see 2 Tim 3:15). Sometime before Paul arrived in Lystra from Derbe during his second missionary journey, Timothy's mother, Eunice, his grandmother, Lois, and he had become believers (see 2 Tim 1:5). Timothy received a spiritual gift through the laying on of the hands of the elders (see 2 Tim 1:6). Also prophecy was spoken over him (1 Tim 1:18-19; 4:14).
  
  
• In Philippi, Lydia was converted. On a Sabbath, leaving the city through a gate that led to the River Gangites, Paul spoke to Lydia, who was from Thyatira and described as a "worshipper of God," among other women. (Presumably Jews and "worshippers of God" gathered at this place on the Sabbath; this implies that there was no synagogue in the city.) She believed and was baptized along with her household (Acts 16:13-15).On his way to the place of prayer, Paul also exorcized a demon from a slave-girl that gave her ability to tell fortunes. Luke says that she "had a pythonic spirit" (pneuma puthona), or a spirit of divination (a person inspired by Apollo associated with the "Pythian" god at Delphi) (Acts 16:16-18). Luke writes, "Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, 'These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation'" (Acts 16:17). Why the demon in her did this or at least allowed her to do so is difficult to determine. Perhaps the demon was compelled to do so. Luke describes Paul's response, "Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her'." What annoyed Paul about the situation is also unclear, and whether the slave-girl subsequently believed the good news after her exorcism is not indicated. As a result of Paul's exorcism of her, the slave-girl's masters filed a legal complaint, and Silas and he were ordered beaten by the Roman magistrates (Gk. stratêgos = Lat. praetor) and put into prison; beating a prisoner was a means of obtaining the truth from them (16:19-40). Those who beat Paul and Silas were the lictors, the officials in attendance on a Roman magistrate; they would have used the rod of the lictor to beat the pair.) The prison where Paul and Silas were kept was shaken by an earthquake, the prison doors were thrown open and the chains of the prisoners were broken. Paul prevented the Philippian jailer from killing himself (because he wrongly thought that all his prisoners had escapted and therefore would be executed for dereliction of duty), and led him and his household to faith in Jesus. Paul and Silas were released from prison when it was discovered that they were Roman citizens; the magistrates requested that they leave the city. During his time in Philippi, Paul founded the church in that city.
  
  
• In Thessalonica, Paul spoke in the synagogue for three consecutive Sabbaths, with some success among not only Jews but also "worshippers" [of God], i.e., gentiles who had attached themselves to the synagogue (Acts 17:1-9). These gentiles includes "not few prominent women" (Acts 17:4). There were Jews in the city, however, who resisted Paul and Silas, created a disturbance and sought to drag Paul and Silas before the city authorities. When they could not find Paul and Silas, they accused Jason, in whose house Paul and Silas were staying, before the city authorities. (The magistrates in Thessalonica were called "politarchs.") Paul founded the Thessalonian church, which was almost entirely gentile. (In 1 Thess 1:9, he refers to the Thessalonians as having turned from idols, which is not an appropriate epithet for Jewish converts. Similarly, in 1 Thess 2:14, Paul refers to the Thessalonians' own "countrymen," in contrast to the Jews who are persecuting the churches in Judea.)
   
  
• In Beroea, Paul spoke in the synagogue in the city, where he found a receptive audience; many of the Jews there believed and also "not a few prominent Greek women and not a few Greek men" (Acts 17:12). Paul's Jewish opponents from Thessalonica, however, came to the city and stirred up the crowd against them. Paul was forced to move on to Athens, whereas Silas and Timothy stayed behind in Beroea with instructions to join Paul as soon as possible (Acts 17:10-15).
  

• Upon arriving alone in Athens, Paul was grieved over the idolatry prevalent in the city (Acts 17:16) (see Letter of Aristeas 134-41 for typical Jewish polemic against polytheism and idolatry). He spoke in the synagogue in Athens to Jews and "worshippers" [of God], and in the agora. 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 Areopagus, a rocky hill in Athens, northwest of the Acropolis. Luke records Paul’s speech (17:16-34). Paul tailored his message to the philosophically-sophisticated Athenians, but made few converts in Athens. He began his address by recalling that he had seen an altar (bômos) inscribed with "To an unknown god" (agnostô theô). He then announced that he would now declare to them this unknown God. That there was such an altar is supported by two literary references. In his Life of Apollonius of Tyana, it is said that there are "altars to unknown gods" (agnostôn daimonôn bomoi) in Athens (6.3); likewise, Pausanias describes how he observed on the road from the harbor at Phaleron Bay into the city "altars of unknown gods and of heroes" (bomoi de theôn te onomazomenôn Agnostôn kai heroôn) (Description of Greece 1.1.4). (He also refers to "an altar of unknown gods" in Olympia [5.14.8].) No such altar remains in Athens, but a similar one was discovered in the temple of Demeter in Pergamum; a Latin version of this inscription exists on the Palatine Hill in Rome.(9) It is possible that the inscription that Paul read was "To unknown gods," but he changed it to "To an unknown God" in order to make it useful as the opening of his address. He explained to them the Jewish view that there was one God who did not dwell in temples, nor derived any benefit from human beings; rather this one God created all human beings from one man and determined the times and boundaries of all nations. According to Paul, God in his forbearance purposed that human beings should seek for him and, if they did, they would find him (Acts 17: 24-27; see Acts 14:16-17). This is why he said, "He [God] is not far from each of us" (Acts 17:27). He then cited parallels between the Jewish view of God and statements from two Stoic philosophers, in order that his hearers could have a frame of reference by which to understand his teaching. He quoted from a quatrain of Epimenides: "In him we live and move and are" (see Diogenes Laertius, Lives, 1.112). The second quotation was an adaptation from the Stoic poet Arastus: "We are his offspring" (Phaenomena, line. 5).(10) Paul viewed Stoic pantheism as conceptually close to the Judaism, insofar as both agree that all things have their origin in one divine source. He therefore drew the conclusion that idolatry was absurd, for, on the assumption that all things originated from God, God could not be depicted as one or more of those things (Acts 17:29b). He added that God was now prepared to overlook such ignorance and commanded all gentiles to repent (Acts 17:30). He then mentioned the uniquely Jewish idea of a final judgment and identified Jesus as the one through whom God would execute that judgment (Acts 17:31). He also said that God had given proof of final judgment by raising Jesus from the dead (thereby vindicating him) (Acts 17:31). Only a few residents of Athens believed Paul's message; most were scandalized by Paul's statement that Jesus was raised from the dead (Acts 17:32-34).
  

• In Corinth, Paul met Aquila and his wife Priscilla, who had been expelled from Rome by the emperor Claudius along with other Jews. At first, he worked in Corinth as a tentmaker with Priscilla and Aquila, and spoke in the synagogue every Sabbath, addressing Jews and gentiles.
   

  The emperor Claudius (41-54) expelled all Jews from Rome probably c. 49. Suetonius, the Roman historian, explains, "Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (impulsore Chresto) he expelled them from Rome" (Life of Claudius, 25.4). By Chestus, it seems, Suetonius meant Christ (Christos), so that Jews in Rome were disputing about Christ, that is to say, Jews who had not accepted Jesus as the Christ were vigorously disputing with Jews who had to such an extent that it came to the notice of the emperor. Dio Cassius explains further that, because the Jewish population in Rome was so large, Claudius could not actually expel the Jews from Rome; rather, he forbade them from practicing their religion collectively, but the effect was the same as expulsion, since few Jews would agree to live under that condition. He writes, "As the Jews had again increased in numbers, but could hardly be banished from the city without a tumult because of their great numbers, he did not actually expel them but forbade them to meet in accordance with their ancestral customs" (History, 60.6). Dio Cassius dates this event to the beginning of Claudius's reign, but this seems less likely because, at that time, he made pro-Jewish edicts and a expulsion of the Jews from Rome is hardly consistent with this generally favorable policy towards Jews (see Josephus, Ant. 19.5.2-3; 278-91). Aquila and Priscilla were part of this forced exodus of Jews from Rome. The death of Claudius in 54 allowed Jews to return to Rome; it seems that Priscilla and Aquila, perhaps after a long sojourn in Ephesus (Acts 18:19), returned to Rome, for Paul sends greetings to them in his Letter to the Romans (Rom 16:3-4).

  
  When Silas and Timothy rejoined Paul in Corinth (from Macedonia), Paul devoted himself full time to preaching to the Jews (Acts 18:1-5). The probable reason that Paul ceased working as a tentmaker was that Timothy and Silas brought money to Paul from the Philippian church, so that Paul could now afford to proclaim the good news on a fulltime basis (2 Cor 11:8-9; Phil 4:15). 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. 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 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). Paul stayed in Corinth for eighteen months, and at one point some Jews dragged him before Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia in the city 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).
  
  
  
  
  

• In Ephesus, Paul proclaimed the good news in the synagogue in the city; those in attendance asked him to remain longer, but Paul could only promise that he would return to the city. After Paul's departure, Apollos, an Alexandrian, came to Ephesus and taught accurately about Jesus in the synagogue. He knew only the baptism of John, however, so Aquila and Priscilla, who had remained behind in Ephesus, explained "the way of God" to him more completely. Apollos went on to Achaia (including Corinth), where he evangelized among the Jews, proving from scripture that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:24-28). Later some of the Corinthians would interpret Apollos as a type of wisdom teacher and take pride in identifying themselves with him to the exclusion and denigration of Paul and other church leaders (see 1 Cor 1:12; 3:3:3-9, 21-22; 4:60).
   

3.5. The "Third 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, as 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 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). (Apollos was in Corinth at this time [Acts 19:1].)  During the last of those three years he sent Timothy to Corinth (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10; Acts 19:22-23), and 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).

 

In 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to a previous letter that he wrote to the Corinthians, in which he instructed them not to associate with immoral believers (1 Cor 5:9); he probably wrote this letter during his three-year stay in Ephesus, more than likely towards the end of this period. At the time of his writing of 1 Corinthians, Paul planned to leave Ephesus and to visit Corinth within the year, after Pentecost, and perhaps to spend the winter there (1 Cor 16:5-8); this implies that he wrote this letter in the last year of his three years in the city. His letter apparently was not well-received by the Corinthians.  (Probably Timothy, whom he had sent to Corinth about the same time that he sent 1 Corinthians [1 Cor 4:16-17; 16:10-11], had returned to Ephesus and had told Paul that his letter was ineffectual.)  When he heard about this, Paul made a second visit to Corinth in the third year of his stay in Ephesus; this is usually referred to as the "painful visit," because the Corinthians treated him abusively (2 Cor 2:1, 13:2).  (Part of the reason for their contempt of Paul was the presence in the church of “super-apostles,” whom most of the Corinthians considered far superior to Paul with respect to apostolic qualifications [2 Cor 10-13].) Upon his return from his "painful visit" to Ephesus, Paul wrote another letter to the Corinthians, usually called the "severe letter," in which he took the Corinthians to task (2 Cor 2:3-4).  He sent this letter with Titus (2 Cor 12:17-18), and at first regretted sending it, thinking that it was too harsh (2 Cor 7:8). Paul then left Ephesus and met up eventually with Titus in Macedonia, where he received good news about the Corinthians (2 Cor 7:5-7, 13).  In response to this good news, Paul wrote the letter now known as the 2 Corinthians. Probably, Paul writes his four letters to the Corinthians c. 54-58.

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 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 (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). Paul sent Titus and two other unidentified men ahead to Corinth (2 Cor 8:16-19, 22), 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). Before his arrival in Corinth, he wrote what is now called 2 Corinthians, which was his fourth letter to the church. 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 for the winter, 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 Miletus in the Roman province of Asia—passing through Assos, Mitylene, Chios, Samos. In Miletus Paul sent for the Ephesian elders. (Acts 20:13-38). It is clear from what Luke says in Acts 20:4-5 that Paul was accompanied by many men, including Sopater, son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, Luke (of course) and unnamed others (i.e., those who were with Luke in Philippi, for whom the group mentioned in Acts 20:5 was waiting). From Miletus he and his company went by ship to Cos, to Rhodes and to Patara (Acts 21:1-2), where they found a ship traveling to Syria. They landed in Tyre, where they stayed seven days (Acts 21:3-4); they then sailed to Ptolemais and then to Caesarea (Acts 21:7-8).

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.(11) Paul founded the church in Corinth between 50-52. After this, he spent eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 18:11), traveled back to Antioch (Acts 18:22-23), went to Ephesus and spent three years there (Acts 20:31), and went to Corinth where he spent the winter (2 Cor 9:4; 12:14; 13:1; Acts 20:2-3; Rom 16:1; see 1 Cor 16:6). He then went to Philippi and then traveled to Jerusalem. It seems that a span of five to six years is required for all these events to take place, 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

• In Ephesus, Paul encountered twelve disciples (mathêtas) who had not yet received the Holy Spirit, but had only undergone John's baptism; 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).
  

• In Troas, on his way to Jerusalem, Paul raised Eutychus from the dead; he had fallen from an upper window (Acts 20:7-12).
  
  
• In Miletus, Paul called the Ephesians elders to join him there; he wanted to avoid a long layover in Ephesus, because he intended to arrive in Jerusalem before Pentecost (late spring) (Acts 20:16) (Paul and his entourage left Philippi some time after the Feast of Unleavened Bread in early spring [Acts 20:6]). (Interestingly, Paul called the elders so assembled "overseers," implying that the two were interchangeable [Acts 20:28].) Luke records Paul's speech to the Ephesian elders while in Miletus (20:18-35). Paul summarized what he had preached in Ephesus during his years in the city: "I declared to Jews and Greeks the need for repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus" (Acts 20:21). Paul told his audience that he was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem, even though he knew that there were dangers for him there (Acts 20:22-24). He then added that the Ephesians would not see him again (Acts 22:25, 28) (Paul did send Timothy [1 Tim 1:3] and Tychius [2 Tim 4:12] to Ephesus at different times; whether he himself revisited the church after his release from his Roman imprisonment is unclear, although it may be implied by 1 Tim 1:3.) He also warned the Ephesians that false teachers would arise from their midst and seek to lead the Ephesian believers astray. What Paul predicted would happen did happen, for, after his release from Roman imprisonment, he wrote to Timothy: "As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith" (1 Tim 1:3-4; see also 1:19-20; 4:1-8). In response to accusations from his opponents, Paul defended his behavior in Ephesus as exemplary (Acts 20:26, 33-35). To conclude his address, Paul quoted from a otherwise unknown saying of Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than receive" (Acts 20:35).
  
  
• In Tyre, there were believers who we told Paul under the inspiration of the Spirit that he ought not to go to Jerusalem: "They kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem (21:4). Likewise in Caesarea (Maritima), Agabus the prophet came to Paul to warn him not to go to Jerusalem. But Paul was convinced that the Holy Spirit was directing him to go there (Acts 21:10-14), even though he expected imprisonment and hardship in Jerusalem (Acts 20:22-23).
  
  
• In Jerusalem, for the purposes of public relations, James advised Paul to underwrite the cost of sacrifices for some Jews under a Nazarite vow in order to demonstrate to Jewish believers "zealous for the Law" (21:20) that he was not advocating that Jews must abandon obedience to the Law (Acts 21:20-25). Paul agreed to this and did what was necessary to bring their Nazarite vows to an end, a process that required seven days (Acts 21:26-27). Some Jews from Asia saw Paul in the Temple during this period and claimed wrongly that he had taken the gentile Trophimus (from Ephesus) beyond the barrier separating the older courts from the inner courts (Acts 21:27-29; see Acts 19:9; 20:19). Paul became the focus of the anger of a riotous mob, which dragged him "out of the Temple" (exo tou hierou) i.e., the inner courts, into the outer courts of the Temple and began to beat him; were it not for the intervention of Roman troops, Paul would have been killed (Acts 21:30-36). The commander (chiliarch = Latin tribunus) wrongly concluded that Paul was "the Egyptian," a messianic pretender who led a group of 4,000 sicarii out to the desert to begin a revolt against Roman rule (Acts 21:38). (Josephus says that "the Egyptian" led 30,000 to the Mount of Olives, where he said that he would command the walls of Jerusalem to fall down, whereupon they would enter the city and conquer the Roman garrison stationed there [War 2. 261-63; Ant. 20. 167-72].) At first, he planned to flog and then question Paul, but Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship. Luke records Paul's speech delivered to the rioters in the Temple, which was the story of his conversion (22:1-21), and his speech before the Sanhedrin (23:1-10). As soon as Paul began his defense before the Sanhedrin, the High Priest ordered that Paul be struck on the mouth (Acts 23:1-2). The High Priest, the leader of the Sanhedrin, was Ananias (probably Annas [John 18:13; Acts 4:6]), son of Nedebaeus. He was appointed to the office in 47 by Herod, king of Chalcis (brother of Herod Agrippa I) (Josephus, Ant. 20.5.2; 103; see 20.6.2; 131; War 2.12.6; 243); he had a reputation for corruption and avarice (Ant. 20.9.2; 206-13). (He was executed by the revolutionaries at the onset of the war with Rome [War 2.17.6; 429; 2.17.9; 441-42].) Paul was righteously indignant at being struck before his guilt was proven, but he withdrew his protest when he realized who Ananias was (Acts 23:1-5). Paul's strategy in his address to the Sanhredrin was to appeal to the Pharisees on the council for support, because they, like him, believed in the resurrection. The end result was that the session end in dissension and even violence (Acts 23:6-10). When a plot was uncovered to assassinate him, Paul was transferred from Jerusalem to Caesarea for safekeeping (Acts 23:12-35).
  

Around the inner court of the Jerusalem was a balustrade three cubits high, called the soreg; the soreg was probably a free-standing structure, separating the outer court from the inner court, and had warning signs regularly spaced along it warning gentiles that entrance into the inner court was forbidden on pain of death (War 5.193; m. Mid. 2.3) (see also Josephus, War 6.2.4; 124-26; Ant. 15.11.5; 417; Philo Leg. ad Gaium 212). The signs reads in translation: "No foreigner is to enter within the balustrade and embankment around the sanctuary.  Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his death which follows" (CIJ 2.1400). On the inside of the soreg would be found stairs leading up to a terrace (called the chel in m. Kelim 1.8), ten cubits wide, which was bounded by the walls of the inner court. According to Josephus, there were fourteen steps leading up to the terrace, while the Mishnah states that there were only twelve steps (m. Mid. 2.3).

• In Caesarea (Maritima), Paul appeared first before the procurator Felix; five days later a delegation sent from the Sanhedrin—including the High Priest Ananias—arrived in Caesarea to bring to Felix accusations against Paul (Acts 24:1-9). (On Antonius Felix, see Tacitus, Annals, 12.54; Josephus, War 2.12.8-13.7; 247-66; Ant. 20.7.1-8.9; 137-84.) A certain Tertulus (identified as an "attorney" [rêtôr]) spoke on behalf of Paul's accusers from the Sanhedrin, charging Paul with inciting public disorder among the Jews insofar as he was "the leader of the sect of the Nazarenes." More specifically, Paul was accused of having started a riot in the Temple (Acts 24:2-8). (It seems that the early Jewish believers identified their movement as "the Way," whereas their opponents called it "the sect of the Nazarenes.") Paul responded by conceding that he was a "follower of the Way" (kata tên hodon), but denying that he was the cause of public disorder, especially the incident in the Temple that led to his arrest. In conclusion, he again appealed to the Pharisees among the members of the Sanhedrin by claiming that he was on trial for his belief in the resurrection, by which he meant his belief in the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 24:10-21). Felix postponed his decision on the case. Later Paul spoke before Felix and his Jewish wife Drusilla; Felix had hoped to receive a bribe from Paul to be releasded (Acts 24:26) (On Drusilla, see Josephus, Ant. 19.9.1; 354-55; 20.7.1-2; 137-44). Paul had spent two years as a prisoner in Caesarea when Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus, who decided to leave Paul in prison as a favor to the Jews (Acts 24:27; see Ant. 20.8.10; 185). (Felix was recalled after of his extreme suppression of a Jewish uprising in Caesarea sparked by a conflict between them and Syrians in the city [War 2.13.7; 266-70; Ant. 20.8.7, 9; 173-78, 182-84].) Paul's accusers among the Jews petitioned Festus to allow Paul to be transferred to Jerusalem, because they planned to ambush him along the way and kill him. Paul apparently was aware of this plot and Festus' complicity in it and so "appealed to Caesar," i.e., appealed to have his case heard in Rome (ad Caesarem provoco) (Acts 25:1-12). After Paul appealed to Caesar, (Herod) Agrippa (II) came to Caesarea with his wife Berenikê, and Paul was allowed to address them (Acts 26). He said that he was a prisoner because "for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers, the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain," by which he meant the resurrection (26:6-7). His point was that he was a prisoner because he believed that God raised Jesus from the dead. He told Agrippa how he was converted and related events subsequent to that. He also explained that some of his fellow Jews were offended with him because of his liberal attitude towards gentiles, since he was proclaiming to them "that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance (26:20). At the conclusion of the address, Agrippa said, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian" (26:28).

 
3.6. 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).

• The Via Appia

3.7. After Paul's First Roman Imprisonment

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.

3.7.1. 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.

3.7.2. 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.

3.7.3. 2 Tim 4:20

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.

3.8. Paul's Death

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.

3.8.1. 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).

3.8.2. 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.

3.8.3. Eusebius

Eusebius stated that Paul was beheaded by Nero in Rome (HE 2.22.2; 2.25-3.1) (see Jerome, de vir. ill. 11.1).

 

Source

Mamertine Prison   At the base of the Capitoline Hill in Rome is the Mamertine Prison, known in Paul's day as the Tullianum. This is where Paul may have been kept during his second Roman imprisonment, where he awaited execution.  Access to the prison was through a hole in the ceiling—visible above; above the prison was a room for the prison guards.

4. Dating Paul's First Visit to Corinth

It is possible to date Paul's stay in Corinth by a reference Luke makes to the proconsul at the time of Paul's stay in Corinth, Gallio (Acts 18:12). An inscription discovered at Delphi—a copy of a letter sent from Claudius—allows one to date the time of Gallio's proconsulship, and therefore the time of Paul's first visit to Corinth. There have been different reconstructions of the inscription; it is advisable to be very conservative and base any conclusion on what all would accept.

Claudius wrote this letter to someone in order to solve some problem related to the city of Delphi (The key word in the inscription has been reconstructed as erides and eremos). The two data important for dating Paul's time in Corinth are: 1. That Claudius says in the letter that the problem was communicated to him by L. Iunius Gallio (Gallion), the proconsul ([anthu]patos) of Achaia at the time of the communication; whether Gallio is still proconsul when the letter is received is unknown;  2. The letter is dated from the 26th acclamation of the emperor ([autokrator t]oK )  (The year since Claudius' accession to tribunician power (demarchikesexousias) was also included as part the inscription, but is no longer in tact.)

 

Source

Gallio Inscription from Delphi

Although there is no source providing information on when Claudius' 26th acclamation occurred, the time period can be narrowed down sufficiently.  Claudius' 27th acclamation occurred before August 1, 52. (Emperors were acclaimed at irregular intervals, usually after some significant military victory.)  Frontius writes that Claudius completed two aqueducts begun by Gaius (Caligula) on August 1, 803 years after the founding of Rome (Aqueducts of Rome, 1:13) in the consulships of Sulla and Titianus. The year 803 ( = 50) is probably a scribal error because Sulla and Titianus held office in 52. This is confirmed by a dedicatory inscription found on one of these aqueducts: at the time of the dedication Claudius is said to be in the 12th year of his tribunician power (the 12th year since his first acclamation of emperor, which in Claudius' case was Jan 25, 41). This makes the twelve-month period during which the aqueduct was dedicated between Jan 25, 52 to Jan 24, 53.  Stated also on this dedication was the fact that at the time Claudius had been acclaimed emperor for the 27th time. This means that Claudius' 27th acclamation must have taken place before August 1, 52, since this was when the aqueducts were completed.

From other inscriptions discovered, it can be determined that Claudius' 22nd 23rd and 24th acclamations took place between Jan 25, 51 to Jan 24, 52, his 11th year of accession to tribunician power.(12)  What needs to be determined now is when the 25th and 26th acclamations occurred.  It is possible that both occurred in the 11th year of accession to tribunician power or in the 12th year; or the 25th could have been in 11th year and the 26th in the 12th year. But if the 26th was in the 11th year, it was towards the end of it, since four other acclamations preceded it. Thus, the range for the 26th acclamation is late in the 11th year (in 51 or sometime before Jan 25, 52) to sometime before August 1, 52.
 

Jan 1, 51                               Jan 1, 52              Aug 1, 52        Jan 1, 53   Jan 25, 51 (11th yr. trib)        Jan 25, 52 (12th yr. trib)              Jan 25, 53     22 Acc, 23 Acc, 24 Acc   25 Acc? 26 Acc?    27 Acc

Since Claudius responds to Gallio's communication during Claudius' 26th acclamation, Gallio wrote sometime well before August 1, 52. Proconsuls usually began their tour of duty on July 1 (Dio Cassius, History 57.14.5); the appointment was usually for one year. This means that if Gallio served as proconsul sometime before Claudius sent this letter during his 26th acclamation as emperor, he probably assumed office no later than July 51, because there would not be enough time for Gallio to write and for Claudius to respond before his 27th acclamation, if Gallio assumed office in July 52. Thus, assuming that Gallio's appointment lasted for a year and that Claudius responded promptly to the communication sent to him by Gallio, Paul must have been in Corinth between July 1, 51-June 30, 52.

But if Gallio's appointment was for two years, then it is possible that Paul appeared before him earlier or later than the period of July 1, 51-June 30, 52.  Gallio could not have assumed the office of proconsul later than July 1, 51. But if his appointment lasted two years, he could have been in Corinth as proconsul as early as July 1, 49 and as late as June 30, 53.  (It does not seem, however, that Gallio could have been appointed before 49, because until that time his family—in particular his brother, the Stoic philosopher, Seneca—was out of favor with the emperor.(13)

Gallio is said, however, not to have served his full term, whatever length it was supposed to have been (Seneca, Letters 104.1).  In fact, it is likely that Gallio left within a year of assuming his appointment of proconsul, because the reason given for his leaving was that being in Corinth did not agree with him:  this is something that one discovers about a place shortly after arriving. This precludes the possibility, it seems, of a multiple-year residence in Corinth.

If Claudius delayed in responding to Gallio's communication, Gallio's appointment could have been a year earlier (July 1, 50), so that he was no longer in office when Claudius sent his letter.  Paul would have appeared before Gallio sometime between July 1, 50 and the time when Gallio left office, probably in 50.  Although this possibility seems less likely, it is not excluded.  The unknown in this equation is how long it took for Claudius to respond to the communication sent by Gallio.(14)

Footnotes

(1) J. Knox, Chapters in a Life of Paul (rev. ed.; Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1987).

(2) G. Luedmann, Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles: Studies in Chronology (Minneapolis: Fortress; London: SCM, 1984).

(3) See, for example, R. Jewett, A Chronology of Paul’s Life (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979); R. Riesner, Die Frühzeit des Paulus. Studien zur Chronologie, Missionsstrategie und Theologie (WUNT 71; Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1994); M. Hengel, The Pre-Christian Paul (Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1991).

(4) See A.W. Mosley, "Historical Reporting in the Ancient World," NTS 12 [1965-66] 10-26; W. C. van Unnîk, "Luke’s Second Book and the Rules of Hellenistic Historiography," in Les Actes des Apôtres, 37-60.

(5) See D. Guthrie, New Testament Introduction (rev. ed.; Downer’s Grove: IVP Press, 1990) 378-82.

(6) See H. Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975) 624.

(7) See F. J. Foakes Jackson and K. Lake, The Acts of the Apostles (5 vols.; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979) 5.454-55.

(8) J. A. T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (London: SCM, 1976) 37; C. J. Hemer, "Observations on Pauline Chronology," Pauline Studies. F. F. Bruce FS (ed. D. A. Hagner; M. J. Harris; Grand Rapids. MI: Eerdmans, 1980) 3-18; R. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians (NICNT; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1988) 18.

(9) J. Finegan, Light from the Ancient Past (2 ed.; 2 vols.; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1956), 2.357.

(10) F. F. Bruce, Commentary on the Book of Acts (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979) 359.

(11) See E. Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (ed. G. Vermes, F. Millar and M. Goodman; 3 vols.; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1987) 1.465-66.

(12) J. Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archaeology (GNS 6; Wilmington: Glazier, 1983) 143; Jackson and Lake, The Acts of the Apostles, 5.462.

(13) Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archaeology, 146.

(14) Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archaeology, appendix (Greek text). Murphy-O’Connor is dependent on A. Brassac, "Une inscription de Delphes et la chronologie de saint Paul," RB 10: 36-53.

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