How Old was the Apostle Paul when he was converted?

Answer 1

Answer

He was around 50 years old.

Another AnswerAlthough Paul's age upon conversion is not known, it can be estimated. Before his conversion Paul was named Saul, and he was a zealous Pharisee. In the jewish culture a man was not considered an adult until they were 30, and no-one could be a Pharisee unless they were 30. Christ was crucified in 32AD [dated according to Sir Robert Anderson, CI Scofield etc]. The number of followers of Christianity exploded with great impact and force, and this really upset and angered the Pharisees so much that hey tried to exterminate this new religous movement and all its adherents. After all, the Pharisees had crucified its Leader on an official charge of rebellion against Rome, and here He was back again! Because the Pharisees had declared allegiance to Rome they were fearful of Roman retribution upon themselves for not being able to keep things under control.

John 19

15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

When Stephen was stoned to death in 33AD [dated by Scofield] his clothing was laid at Saul's feet. Because Saul was described as a "young man" he must have been less than 30. This means the oldest he could have been then was 29 years old.

Acts 7

58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him [that is, Stephen]: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

Acts 22

20 And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I [now called Paul] also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

According to Scofield, Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus was in 34 AD [Scofield] , making him 30 years old.

Although this seems young, it would have been his first year as a Pharisee and he would have been trying to make as good an impression as possible to his peers. (Of course, different datings and interpretations will give different results.)

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Answer 2

We have two biblical sources that may tell us of Paul's conversion to Christianity - Paul's own account in his epistles, and Acts of the Apostles, written at least 60 years after the event. The two accounts are overall quite contradictory, although Acts goes into some detail that is not in the epistles. Given the considerable delay before Acts was written, it is reasonable to accept Paul's account wherever the two differ in any significant way.
Paul's account: Galatians

Paul did not say how he was converted and did not mention a vision of any sort. However, he unambiguously said that when he became a Christian he did not talk to anyone about it. Galatians provides information to estimate when Paul's conversion may have occurred. Soon after his conversion to Christianity, Paul went to Arabia (Petra), then returned and spent 3 years in Damascus, but escaped the city when the governor under Aretas, king of the Nabateans from 9 BCE to 40 CE, had a garrison deployed to arrest him because of his Christian activities. Paul's conversion could not have occurred later than the mid-thirties and was probably somewhat earlier.
Luke's account: Acts

Acts of the Apostles describes a dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. Either:

• Paul was blinded by a light and fell down, then heard Jesus, who told Paul that he would be told what to do when he was in the city. His men did not see the light, but heard the voice. (9:3-8)
  OR
• Paul was blinded by a light and fell down, then heard Jesus, who told Paul that he would be told what to do when he was in the city. This time, his men saw the light but, unlike Paul, were not blinded, but they did not hear the voice. (22:6-11)
  OR

• Paul saw a brilliant light but was not blinded, then heard Jesus, who gave him his mission, but did not command him to go to Damascus. He fell down, and for some reason, although there is no mention of the men seeing or hearing anything, his men also fell down.

In the first two narratives provided in Acts, the blinded Paul was taken to Damascus to be cured and taught Christianity. The third narrative differs in this regard, saying that he simply told those at Damascus and Jerusalem about his conversion experience; it also differs from Paul's own account because in Galatians he said that he told no one about his conversion experience. Actssuggests that Paul's conversion occurred shortly before the famine that occurred between 44 and 48 CE.

Answer 3

Paul gives us no real information as to his age, but the considerable number of years he spent preaching the gospel suggests he was probably a reasonably young man when he became a Christian.

Acts of the Apostles often contradicts Paul's own account, but is at least in agreement that Paul would have been a young man, since it portrays him as a young man at the time of Stephen's death (Acts 7:58)

Answer 4

On the road to Damscus.

Answer 5

Probably about the year 33 or 34 AD.