What was the Apostle Paul's education?

Answer 1

Paul's education prepared him to be an effective speaker and gave him the knowledge to use a particular group's own cultural background as a starting point to show how Jesus fit in with their philosophy. For example, his extensive knowledge of the Torah and rabbinical writings allowed him to argue that Jesus was the fulfillment of Messianic prophesies. His knowledge of Greek culture and philosophy allowed him to point out that Jesus was the ideal towards whom their philosophers had been striving, and that in fact the Greeks had already been worshiping Him as "the unknown God." Read Acts chapter 17 for more details.

Answer 2

Acts 22:3 says that Paul was brought up in Jerusalem and educated by Gamaliel I the Elder, who flourished in Jerusalem around 20-50 CE. This suggests a privileged upbringing, as does the claim made by Paul in Acts that he was a Roman citizen.

However, Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament) says this probably needs qualification. He points out that nothing in Paul's letters suggests that he had seen Jesus during the public ministry or at the crucifixion, implicitly casting doubt on Paul's continuous presence in Jerusalem in the years 26-30/33.

Stanley E Porter (As It Is Written) says Paul clearly had a sound grounding in Greek and appears to have completed the second level of the Greek education system, schola grammatici.