What was the original name for St Paul?

Answer 1

No before he was a christian Paul persecuted the Christians. Paul talks about himself in the book of Philippians:

Php 3:5 I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew. As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee,

Php 3:6 and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.

He could only be an apostle after he became a christian.

Answer 2

AnswerAccording to Acts of the Apostles, Paul's name was Saul before he became a Christian. However, Paul never mentions that name in his epistles nor gives any suggestion that he had ever changed his name.

Acts, written some decades after the time of St Paul, is regarded by some scholars as being subtly anti-Paul. If so the name, that the author of Acts attributed to Paul in his early years, may be based on another person mentioned by the Jewish historian, Josephus. In his Antiquities of the Jews,Josephus talked of a riot in Jerusalem, led by a 'Saulus', after the stoning of James. Elsewhere, Josephus portrayed this Saulus as a collaborator with the Romans and the Herodians.

Thus, without risking a charge of character assassination, Luke could have been implying an ill-deserved history for the otherwise saintly Paul, among the early Christians who knew of the notorious 'Saulus'.

In summary, Acts of the Apostles says that Paul's original name was Saul, but Paul's own epistles give no hint of this and scholarly analysis disputes the claim made in Acts.

Answer 3

According to Acts of the Apostles, Paul's name was Saul before he became a Christian. However, Paul never mentions that name in his epistles nor gives any suggestion that he had changed his name.
Acts, written some decades after the time of St Paul, is regarded by some scholars as being subtly anti-Paul. If so the name, that the author of Acts attributed to Paul in his early years, may be based on another person mentioned by the Jewish historian, Josephus. In his Antiquities of the Jews,Josephus talked of a riot in Jerusalem, led by a 'Saulus', after the stoning of James. Elsewhere, Josephus portrayed this Saulus as a collaborator with the Romans and the Herodians.

Thus, without risking a charge of character assassination, Luke could have been implying an ill-deserved history for the otherwise saintly Paul, among the early Christians who knew of the notorious 'Saulus'.

Answer 4

Paul before meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus , was on the way to prosecute and kill as many christians as possible.

Answer 5

Saul (Acts 13:9) "But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,"

Answer 6

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

Answer 7

he Apostle Paul's original name was Saul of Tarsus.

Answer 8

Paul (formerly known as Saul) was once a Jew who persecuted Christians for what he believed was heresy. Often quite brutally.

Answer 9

Paul was known as Saul of Tarsus before he became a Christian.