What was pauls name before his conversion?

Answer 1

A:Mentioned only in Acts of the Apostles, Saul is the name of the Apostle Paul before his conversion and his first missionary journey. Tarsus is also given in Acts as the home town of Saul.

In his own epistles, Paul never mentions having been called Saul, or having come from the city of Tarsus. In spite of this, it is certainly possible that he had been called Saul and that he was from Tarsus. However, we can never be certain whether the author of Acts of the Apostles, writing several decades after the death of Paul, was mistaken in those attributions. Some of the key passages regarding Saul in Acts of the Apostles have parallels to a Saulus whom Josephus mentions in Antiquities of the Jews, a book with which the author of Acts is known to have been familiar. Josephus even talked of a riot in Jerusalem, led by Saulus after the stoning of James. Although this Saulus could have inspired the author of Acts, he could not really have been the same person as Paul.

Answer 2

Paul, prior to his conversion. was known as 'Saul' or 'Saul of Tarsus.' After his conversion, Paul was known as simply 'Paul' or 'Paul of Tarsus.' He is also known as the Apostle Paul. Paul, meaning 'little', most likely signified Paul's new desire to be humble in Christ's service.

Another theory, which seems to make sense, is that Paul's conversion had little to do with his name change. Paul was also a Roman citizen as well as a Jew, by right of birth, and therefore on embarking on his missionary journeys became known as Paul, the Graeco/Roman version of the Jewish Saul. Though a Jewish Pharisee schooled by the great Gamaliel, and hence had a superb pedigree, Saul regarded himself first and foremost as a missionary to the Gentiles, hence his possible name change to a more "acceptable" name across the Empire. The meaning of 'Paul' as 'little' is also in accordance with the custom of the day that people should have two (or more) names (eg, Simon/Peter the rock, John/Mark, Matthew/Levi, Jacob/Israel... even Jesus/Emmanuel). Paul's stature, so tradition says, was a short, bald man with bow legs and so 'Paul' his nickname meaning 'little' or 'shorty' - or even 'titch' would have been very apt.

Answer 3

Acts of the Apostles says that St Paul had been called Saul prior to the first missionary journey. However, Paul's own account of his travels conflict with the "first missionary journey", suggesting a problem with this change of name. Paul himself never mentioned having been called 'Saul'.

The Jewish historian Josephus described a member of the Herodian family - a clear contemporary of Paul - named "Saulus" (Saul). Directly following the stoning of James, Josephus described Saulus and Costobarus leading a band of thugs in rioting in Jerusalem, which seems to have involved stealing the tithes of the Poorer Priests on behalf of the Rich High Priests. Robert Eisenman (The Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians) believes that Saulus and Paul were the same person, or that Acts gave Paul the name 'Saul' in order to associate him with Josephus' Saulus.

Answer 4

Paul was Jewish and his name before he was converted on the road to Damascus was Saul.

Answer 5

Jesus did not change Paul's name. Paul changed his name from Saul.

Answer 6

Paul was known as Saul of Tarsus prior to his conversion. Found in Acts 7:58.