When was sauls name changed to paul

Having different names for different cultures was a somewhat common practice. And several examples can be found in non-biblical accounts from the time, such as Josephus. While Paul was in his early phase of ministry, it would have been more beneficial to use his Jewish name, Saul.

Even when he ministered in mainly Gentile Antioch, he joined a team of leaders that was almost all Jewish Acts , and so using his Jewish name would have been more natural. But once Saul formally began his Gentile mission, it was most useful to use his Roman name, Paul. Is this claim, that Paul always had both names, some crazy new idea? All the Acts commentaries on my shelf agree with this evaluation see the excellent commentaries by Craig Keener, Darrell Bock, F.

Bruce and I. Howard Marshall, for example. And it is not a new claim at all. In AD , in the oldest surviving commentary on Romans, Origen said this:. From Origen: A New Translation, transl. Thomas Scheck Catholic University of America, , To those outside the law I became like one outside the law.

To the weak I became weak to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it. Download Share. We know from the study of Acts that Paul spends the rest of his life trying to go to Rome to preach the gospel — often to the highest Roman authorities. The name Paulus undoubtedly helped him to gain access to Roman circles. It is likely that Paul changed or started using the Roman name of Paulus in order to be a more effective witness to the Roman world he was trying to reach.

I have become all things to all men, so that by all means I might save some. Bob is the creator of this site and a disciple of Ray Vander Laan. He is also an avid hunter and fisher. Ido thank you for clearing all this up………….. Blessings, jeanie. Well Saul ,in 1Samuel never changed his namea despite being new man accordind to Samuel 11