One of the profiles in People of the Bible, with every point tied to a chapter and verse you can check.
What Paul is known for
- Persecuting the early church, then encountering the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus
- Three long missionary journeys around the eastern Mediterranean
- Writing letters such as Romans, Galatians and Corinthians that shaped Christian teaching
- Arguing that non-Jewish believers did not need to keep the whole Jewish law
- His voyage, shipwreck and arrival in Rome as a prisoner
Paul’s life in order
At the stoning of Stephen
Acts 7:58–8:3
Saul first appears as a young man guarding the coats of those who stone Stephen, and he approves of the killing. He then goes from house to house in Jerusalem, dragging believers off to prison.
The road to Damascus
Acts 9:1–19
On his way to arrest believers in Damascus, Saul is stopped by a blinding light and hears Jesus speaking to him. Led into the city unable to see, he is visited by a disciple named Ananias, regains his sight and is baptized.
From persecutor to preacher
Acts 9:20–30
Saul begins preaching about Jesus in the synagogues of Damascus, to the astonishment of those who knew him. After escaping a plot by being lowered over the city wall in a basket, he goes to Jerusalem, where Barnabas vouches for him.
The first missionary journey
Acts 13:1–14:28
Sent out from Antioch with Barnabas, he travels through Cyprus and southern Asia Minor, now called Paul. The pair plant communities of believers among both Jews and Gentiles and face fierce opposition, including a stoning at Lystra.
The council in Jerusalem
Acts 15:1–35
A dispute arises over whether Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. Paul and Barnabas take the question to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, who agree not to place that burden on Gentile converts.
The second journey
Acts 15:36–18:22
With Silas, and later Timothy, Paul crosses into Europe for the first time. He is imprisoned in Philippi, speaks to philosophers in Athens and spends about a year and a half in Corinth.
The third journey and Ephesus
Acts 18:23–21:16
Paul strengthens existing churches and stays more than two years in Ephesus, where his work leads to a riot among the silversmiths. He then heads for Jerusalem, saying a moving farewell to the Ephesian elders on the way.
Arrest and trials
Acts 21:27–26:32
In the temple courts a crowd accuses Paul of bringing Gentiles inside, and Roman soldiers take him into custody. He defends himself before the Jewish council, the governors Felix and Festus, and King Agrippa, and as a Roman citizen appeals to Caesar.
Voyage to Rome
Acts 27:1–28:31
Sent to Rome by sea, Paul survives a violent storm and shipwreck on Malta. Acts ends with him living in Rome under guard for two years, welcoming visitors and teaching openly.
What does the name Paul mean?
Saul and Paul were both his names from early on. Saul is a Hebrew name shared with Israel's first king, who also came from the tribe of Benjamin. Paulus was a Roman family name, and in Latin the word means small.
Acts 13:9 simply notes that Saul was also called Paul, and from then on Acts uses the Roman name as he works mainly among Gentiles. Contrary to a popular idea, the Bible does not describe God renaming him at his conversion.
Key verses
““Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.”
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.”
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Verse text: Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain.
What Paul’s story shows
No one is beyond change
Paul went from approving of violence against believers to giving his life to the same message. His story is often told as an example of how deeply a person's direction can change.
Faith worked out in letters
Much of what Paul taught came in letters written to real communities with real problems. Reading them as correspondence, with a setting and a purpose, often makes them easier to understand.
Perseverance through hardship
Paul lists beatings, shipwrecks, hunger and imprisonment in 2 Corinthians 11. He kept working anyway, and some of his most hopeful letters are thought to have been written from prison.
Opening doors to outsiders
Paul argued that Gentiles could belong fully to the people of God without first becoming Jewish. That conviction shaped the early church and the way Christianity spread.
Which letters did Paul write?
Thirteen New Testament letters open with Paul's name: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
Many modern scholars regard seven of these as certainly his and debate whether the others were written by Paul or by later followers writing in his name. Many Christian traditions hold that Paul wrote all thirteen. Hebrews does not name its author; it was sometimes linked to Paul in the past, but most today treat it as anonymous.
- Widely accepted by scholars: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon
- Authorship debated: Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus
How did Paul die?
The Bible does not record Paul's death. Acts ends with him still alive in Rome, and 2 Timothy 4:6-8 presents him as expecting to die soon. Early Christian tradition holds that he was executed in Rome under Emperor Nero, usually placed in the mid-60s AD.