1 Thessalonians
Corinth · 50
Accepted by almost all scholars as one of Paul's own letters; written c. 50 CE from Corinth, it is probably the earliest surviving Christian writing.
P
Paul the Apostle
Paul the Apostle
c. 5 CE–c. 67 CE · Tarsus (Cilicia)
Birth year unknown (early 1st century CE). Tradition places his death in Rome under Nero, c. 62–67 CE.
Paul of Tarsus, originally named Saul, was a first-century Jewish-Roman apostle and theologian whose letters constitute the earliest extant Christian writings. A Pharisee by his own account (Philippians 3:5), born in Tarsus of Cilicia and a Roman citizen according to Acts, he first persecuted followers of Jesus before experiencing a dramatic conversion near Damascus. He subsequently undertook at least three major missionary journeys throughout the eastern Mediterranean, establishing communities in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece, and his letters to those communities shaped Christian theology for two millennia. Seven of the letters that bear his name are accepted by almost all scholars as his own; the authorship of six others is disputed, and Hebrews, long grouped with them, is anonymous. Arrested in Jerusalem and held in Caesarea, he appealed to Caesar as a Roman citizen, as Acts relates, and was taken to Rome, where tradition holds he was martyred under Nero.
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Stop 1 of 75–44Birthplace, Early Formation
Tarsus (Cilicia)
What they did here
Paul was born in Tarsus, a prominent city of Cilicia, and identifies it himself as his hometown (Acts 21:39); he lived there before his studies in Jerusalem, and returned again after his conversion — Acts 9:30 records the brethren sending him to Caesarea and then Tarsus, and Acts 11:25 records Barnabas seeking him out there around 44 CE (cf. Galatians 1:21).
Tarsus (Cilicia) in this era
In the 1st century CE Tarsus was the capital of Roman Cilicia and a centre of Greek learning with a Jewish community. According to Acts, Paul was born here and was a citizen of the city, and he returned to Tarsus for some years after his conversion.
About Tarsus (Cilicia)
Tarsus, on the Cydnus River in Cilicia (southern Turkey), is one of Anatolia's oldest cities. Under the Persians it was the seat of the local Cilician rulers, and under Rome (from the 60s BCE) the capital of the province of Cilicia and a renowned centre of Greek learning, home of the Stoic Athenodorus, tutor of Augustus. The Book of Acts names it as the apostle Paul's home city. After the Arab conquests it became the chief Abbasid fortress on the Byzantine frontier (rebuilt 787-788) until Byzantium retook it in 965; it was later ruled by Armenian, Mamluk and Ottoman powers.
In the same place & time
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Sages whose lives overlapped with Paul the Apostle’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
Across the traditions
- Yonatan ben Uziel· Jerusalem
- Shammai HaZaken· Jerusalem
- Akavya ben Mahalalel· Jerusalem
- Rabban Shimon ben Hillel· Jerusalem
- Rabban Gamliel HaZaken· Jerusalem
- Seneca, Lucius Annaeus· Rome
- Dosa ben Harkinas· Jerusalem
- Columella, Lucius Junius Moderatus· Rome
- Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel I· Jerusalem
- Curtius Rufus, Quintus· Rome
- Pliny, the Elder· Rome
- Silius Italicus, Tiberius Catius· Rome
- Petronius Arbiter· Rome
- Berenice· Jerusalem
- Musonius Rufus· Rome
- Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai· Jerusalem
- Persius· Rome
- Quintilian· Rome
In the same tradition
Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary, mother of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, Peter the Apostle, Barnabas, Philip the Apostle, Matthias the Apostle, Bartholomew the Apostle, Thomas the Apostle, Mary Magdalene, James, son of Zebedee, Andrew the Apostle, John the Apostle, Aquila, Priscilla, Silas, Apollos
The world in their lifetime
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Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Paul the Apostle’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Works(14)
2 Corinthians
Philippi · 56
Accepted by almost all scholars as one of Paul's own letters; written c. 55–56 CE from Macedonia; many scholars think it joins more than one letter.
Titus
Ephesus · 100
One of the three 'Pastoral' letters, on church order and leadership. Traditionally Paul's; most modern scholars think a follower wrote them in his name, c. 80–110 CE.
Romans
Corinth · 57
Accepted by almost all scholars as one of Paul's own letters; written c. 57 CE from Corinth, before his last journey to Jerusalem.
Philemon
Rome · 61
Accepted by almost all scholars as one of Paul's own letters; written from prison, either at Ephesus c. 55 CE or at Rome c. 61–62 CE.
1 Timothy
Ephesus · 100
One of the three 'Pastoral' letters, on church order and leadership. Traditionally Paul's; most modern scholars think a follower wrote them in his name, c. 80–110 CE.
Ephesians
Rome · 90
Traditionally Paul's, written from prison. Most modern scholars think a follower wrote it in his name, c. 80–100 CE.
Philippians
Rome · 61
Accepted by almost all scholars as one of Paul's own letters; written from prison, either at Ephesus c. 55 CE or at Rome c. 61–62 CE.
2 Thessalonians
Corinth · 51
Traditionally Paul's, written soon after 1 Thessalonians (c. 51 CE). Scholars are divided: many think a follower wrote it in his name later in the 1st century.
1 Corinthians
Ephesus · 54
Accepted by almost all scholars as one of Paul's own letters; written c. 54 CE from Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8).
Galatians
Ephesus · 54
Accepted by almost all scholars as one of Paul's own letters; written c. 54–55 CE, probably from Ephesus or Macedonia.
Hebrews
Rome · 80
An anonymous sermon-like letter presenting Christ as the great high priest. Long counted with Paul's letters, especially in the East, it names no author; ancient readers already doubted Paul wrote it, and modern scholars regard it as anonymous, written c. 60–90 CE.
2 Timothy
Rome · 100
One of the three 'Pastoral' letters, framed as Paul's farewell from prison. Traditionally Paul's; most modern scholars think a follower wrote them in his name, c. 80–110 CE.
Colossians
Rome · 80
Traditionally Paul's, written from prison. Scholars are divided: if by Paul, c. 55–62 CE; many think a follower wrote it in his name, c. 70–90 CE.