Paul

Paul, a Jew, is the best known preacher of the gospel from the first century AD. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he came from the city of Tarsus and was a Roman citizen.

Like many Jews of that time, Paul had both a Greek and a Hebrew name. In the New Testament, he is generally known by his Greek name, Paul. This name means “small” or “tiny”. Paul himself also wrote letters using this name.
At the beginning of the book of Acts, the apostle Paul is called by his Hebrew name, Saul. From Acts 13:9 onwards, that is shortly after his conversion, the writer of Acts prefers to use the name “Paul”.
In Acts 9:4-7, Jesus and Ananias address Paul directly using his Hebrew name, Saul. This name means “he who was asked for”, and it was also the name of the first king of Israel (1 Samuel 9).

Not much is known about Paul’s origins, his parents or his family. He was in any case a Jew, from the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5). According to Acts 23:16, he had a sister, who in turn had a son. He saved Paul from a dangerous situation.
We can deduce from 1 Corinthians 7:7 that he was unmarried when he wrote this letter. Whether he remained unmarried or not for his whole life, we cannot say for certain.

Paul was probably born shortly before our era. According to Acts 22:3, he was born in the city of Tarsus. This city was situated in Asia Minor and was, at that time, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia.
There was a Jewish community there which Paul and his family probably belonged to.

The writer of Acts tells us that Paul was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25-29; Acts 23:27). This meant that he had certain rights. This explains why he was not, for example, imprisoned without a proper trial, whipped or crucified. Paul never writes in his letters about his status as a Roman citizen.