The Early Years

A look at Paul’s background as a Jew, a Roman, and a Pharisee

Beshert is a Yiddish word meaning “fate” or “destiny.” My late mother used it frequently when she said, “What’s beshert is beshert,” meaning, “what will be, will be.” Nothing is more beshert than when God says He chose someone from the womb.

Only a few individuals can claim such standing. Among them are the Messiah (Isa. 49:1), the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5), John the baptizer (Lk. 1:15), and the apostle Paul (Gal. 1:15). At first, Paul vehemently opposed Jesus and persecuted Christians. Then, he literally heard God call him one day on the road to Damascus; and his whole life changed.

It is fascinating to see how God used Paul’s heritage, training, status—and his initial hatred of believers in Christ—to transform this man into an apostle to the Gentiles and the author of Bible epistles that are as relevant today as they were when he wrote them 2,000 years ago.

His Paternity

I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today (Acts 22:3).

If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews (Phil. 3:4–5).

Paul was Jewish, from the tribe of Benjamin, whose allotted land lay slightly north of the territory given to the tribe of Judah. (See Joshua 13—17.) After the Babylonian Captivity, some Benjamites returned to Israel and settled in Jerusalem (Neh. 11:7).

Fourth-century Bible scholar Jerome said Paul’s parents came to Tarsus from the town of Gischala in Israel. At his brit milah (Hebrew for “circumcision”) held on the eighth day after his birth, Paul would have received his Hebrew name, Saul. For a Benjamite, there could be no better name than that of the most famous of all Benjamites, King Saul.

But this Saul was born a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25–28), so he also received the name Paul. It is common for Jewish people to have two names: one religious and Jewish and one secular. For example, my Hebrew name given at my circumcision is Yisrael Ruben; while my secular name is Steven Edward. Thus, the Roman citizen was Paul; the Jewish Benjamite was Saul.

Paul also distinguished himself as a “Hebrew of the Hebrews,” emphasizing that he primarily spoke Hebrew, in contrast to many Hellenistic Jews who assimilated into the Greek culture and spoke primarily Greek.

Because he was born in Tarsus (located today in Turkey), a city renowned for its Greco-Roman culture and learning, Paul undoubtedly learned much about the pagan Greek culture. This knowledge manifested itself in the content of his speech at the Areopagus in Athens when he addressed the philosophers (Acts 17).

Tarsus was a cosmopolitan city, and it is fair to surmise that Saul’s parents probably were concerned about nurturing their son’s Jewish identity and training him accordingly. So, they sent him to the best place for a Jewish education: Jerusalem.

His Preparation

I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law (22:3).

A Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, . . . commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while (5:34).

Paul sat under the tutelage of one the most respected teachers in all of Jerusalem. Gamaliel was a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law, and a member of the Sanhedrin (Jewish high council). He was so highly respected that when he died, “the glory of the Torah ceased,” claims the Jewish Mishnah (a written collection of the Jewish oral tradition).

It was Gamaliel who advised the Jewish council on how to deal with the apostles: “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God” (vv. 38–39).

Shortly afterward, Gamaliel’s prime student, Paul, ignored this advice and consented to stoning to death the Jewish believer Stephen (8:1).

His Position

For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers (Gal. 1:13–14).

Concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Phil. 3:5–6).

Saul was a Pharisee. What exactly does that term mean? Who were the Pharisees? Simply put, the Pharisees were among the strictest, most religious groups in Judaism. The word pharisee comes from the Hebrew perusim, which means “separatists,” that is, separate from the secular world.

The Pharisees traced themselves back to the days of the prophet Malachi, who wrote of “those who feared the LORD.” Malachi said these men “spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name” (Mal. 3:16). Their primary focus was allegiance to both the Mosaic and Oral Laws.

Today, we would liken the Pharisees to the Jewish people who belong to the Hasidic community and separate themselves from the worldly system around them. Wrote Dr. Doug Bookman, “Many Pharisees became arrogant and prideful about their rigid commitment to Moses’ laws. They identified with the common man, which was a contrast to the Sanhedrin who identified themselves with the aristocracy of Jerusalem, aloof from the common man.”¹

According to the ancient historian Josephus, the Pharisees constituted the largest sect within Judaism at the time, numbering around 6,000. Their primary domain was the synagogue, whereas the Sanhedrin’s jurisdiction was the Temple. There were many synagogues in Paul’s day, and each one would have had a copy of the Torah, which means each had a scribe, most likely a Pharisee, to copy the Scriptures and teach them.

Doctrinally, the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees of the Sanhedrin concerning angels, spirits, and the resurrection of the dead: The Pharisees believed in all three; the Sadducees believed in none. The Pharisees also were evangelistic, encouraging assimilated Jews to return to the Law of Moses and the traditions of the Jewish people.

Saul was extremely zealous for the Law and traditions, so much so that, unlike his mentor, Gamaliel, who wanted to wait out the followers of Jesus, he wanted to see them dead. Believers, in fact, feared Saul’s name because, as he later confessed, “I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them” (Acts 26:11).

It is no wonder that, near the end of his life after serving Jesus faithfully from the time he met Him on the Damascus road, Paul regarded himself as the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). Yet, his family, his training, and even his station as a young man were all in God’s plan.

It was beshert for Paul to serve Jesus, even from his mother’s womb. Praise the Lord that God’s grace extends to all who put their trust in Him.

ENDNOTE

1. 1. 1. 1. Dr. Doug Bookman, “Life of Christ Study Trip to Israel,” unpublished notes, June 1999, 10–11.

      Photo: Adobe Stock

      

      Steve Herzig is the retired Vice President of North American Ministries for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.