Apostle Paul's Hometown Tarsus Significance
The Significance of Tarsus as Apostle Paul's Hometown
Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, was the birthplace and early residence of the Apostle Paul [1]. This city, located on the banks of the river Cydnus in southeastern Asia Minor, was renowned for its wealth, commercial significance, and educational institutions, rivaling Athens and Alexandria [2, 1].
As a major commercial center, Tarsus was strategically positioned for trade with various countries along the Mediterranean and central Asia Minor [3]. The city's cultural and economic significance is underscored by its status as a "free city" under the Romans, a privilege granted by Augustus [1].
Paul's connection to Tarsus is significant not only because of his birth there but also due to the city's influence on his background and identity. As a native of Tarsus, Paul was exposed to both Jewish and Gentile cultures, having been born to Jewish parents in a Gentile city [4]. This unique cultural context likely shaped his understanding of the gospel and his mission to the Gentiles.
The educational institutions of Tarsus were highly regarded, with Strabo comparing them to those of Athens and Alexandria [1]. Although there is no direct evidence that Paul attended school in Tarsus, his later education under Gamaliel in Jerusalem is well-documented [4]. Nevertheless, his Tarsian background may have contributed to his broad cultural and linguistic competence.
Some traditions associate Tarsus with the Tarshish of the Old Testament, although this connection is not universally accepted [6, 9]. Regardless of this etymological link, Tarsus played a significant role in Paul's life, as he revisited the region on his missionary journeys, confirming the churches in Cilicia and Syria [5, 10].
Paul's Roman citizenship, which he claimed during his arrest in Jerusalem, may have been acquired through his birth in Tarsus or through his father's service to Rome [7]. The exact mechanism of his citizenship is debated among scholars, with some arguing that Tarsus was a city that granted Roman citizenship to its inhabitants by virtue of a charter from Julius Caesar [7].
The historical significance of Tarsus as Paul's hometown underscores the complex interplay between Jewish identity, Hellenistic culture, and Roman citizenship in the early Christian era. As a city that embodied these diverse influences, Tarsus provides a rich context for understanding Paul's background and the development of his theology.
The legacy of Tarsus continues to be felt in the biblical narrative, as Paul's connection to the city informs his self-identity and missionary endeavors. As the apostle navigated the complex cultural landscape of the Mediterranean world, his Tarsian heritage remained an integral part of his story [8, 11, 12].
Sources
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Tarsus — the chief town of Cilicia, "no mean city" in other respects, but illustrious to all time as the birthplace and early residence of the apostle Paul. (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3) Even in the flourishing period of Greek history it was a city of some considerable consequence. In the civil wars of Rome it took Caesar's aide, sad on the occasion of a visit from him had its name changed to Juliopolis. Augustus made it a "free city." It was renowned as a place of education under the early Roman emperors. Strabo compares it in this respect to Athens unto Alexandria. Tarsu”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Tarsus — The chief city of Cilicia. It was distinguished for its wealth and for its schools of learning, in which it rivalled, nay, excelled even Athens and Alexandria, and hence was spoken of as "no mean city." It was the native place of the Apostle Paul (Acts 21:39). It stood on the banks of the river Cydnus, about 12 miles north of the Mediterranean. It is said to have been founded by Sardanapalus, king of Assyria. It is now a filthy, ruinous Turkish town, called Tersous. (See [622]PAUL.)”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Paul — =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name. He was a native of Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, a Roman province in the south-east of Asia Minor. That city stood on the banks of the river Cydnus, which was navigable thus far; hence it became a centre of extensive commercial traffic with many countries along the shores of the Mediterranean, as well as with the countries of central Asia Min”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Paul — (small, little). Nearly all the original materials for the life St. Paul are contained in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. (It is not improbable that he was born between A.D. and A.D. 5.) Up to the time of his going forth as an avowed preacher of Christ to the Gentiles, the apostle was known by the name of Saul. This was the Jewish name which he received from his Jewish parents. But though a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was born in a Gentile city. Of his parents we know nothing, except that his fathe”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Cilicia — A maritime province in the south-east of Asia Minor. Tarsus, the birth-place of Paul, was one of its chief towns, and the seat of a celebrated school of philosophy. Its luxurious climate attracted to it many Greek residents after its incorporation with the Macedonian empire. It was formed into a Roman province, B.C. 67. The Jews of Cilicia had a synagogue at Jerusalem (Acts 6:9). Paul visited it soon after his conversion (Gal. 1:21; Acts 9:30), and again, on his second missionary journey (15:41), "he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches."”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 8: Augustine — Exposition on Psalms — PSALM XLVIII.[5] (part 5): history is mentioned the overthrowing of the pride of the nations? Because of "the ships of Tarshish." Learned men have enquired for Tarshish a city, that is, what city was signified by this name: and to some it has seemed that Cilicia is called Tarshish, because its metropolis is called Tarsus. Of which city was the Apostle Paul, being born in Tarsus of Cilicia.[1] But some have understood by it Carthage, being haply sometimes so named, or in some language so signified. For in the Prophet Isaiah it is thus found: "Howl”
- Acts (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Acts 22:28: With a great sum obtained I this freedom - So it appears that the freedom, even of Rome, might be purchased, and that it was sold at a very high price. But I was free born - It has been generally believed that the inhabitants of Tarsus, born in that city, had the same rights and privileges as Roman citizens, in consequence of a charter or grant from Julius Caesar. Calmet disputes this, because Tarsus was a free not a colonial city; and he supposes that Paul's father might have been rewarded with the freedom of Rome for some military services, and that it was in conse”
- Acts (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Acts 21:39: But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus,.... And not that Egyptian; he was not of that country, much less that man; but a Jew, both by birth and religion; he was born of Jewish parents, and brought up in the Jewish religion; though his native place was Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, where it is placed by Pliny (n), Ptolomy (o), and Mela (p); and is by some thought to be the same with the Tarshish of the Old Testament: a citizen of no mean city; Pliny (q) calls it a free city, and Solinus (r) says it is the mother, or chief of cities, and Curtius (s) speaks of ”
- Jonah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Jonah 1:3: But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord,.... He was not obedient to the heavenly vision; he rose up, but not to go to Nineveh, but to Tarshish, the reverse of it; to the sea, as the Targum, the Mediterranean sea, which lay west, as Nineveh was to the east. Tarshish sometimes is used for the sea; see Psa 48:7; he determined to go to sea; he did not care where, or to what place he might find a ship bound; or to Tarsus in Cilicia, the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, Act 22:3; so Josephus (q) and Saadiah Gaon; or to Tunis in Africa, as R. Melas”
- Acts (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Acts 15:40: And he went through Syria and Cilicia,.... Antioch was the metropolis of the former, and Tarsus, the apostle's native place, was in the latter; and in both these countries he had been before, and had been the instrument of converting many souls, and of planting churches, which he now visited, as he proposed to Barnabas to do: for it follows, confirming the churches; in the Gospel, and the truths and ordinances of it, he had before instructed them in: of the church at Antioch; see Gill on Act 11:26. And that there were also churches in Cilicia, is very manifest; and p”
- Acts (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Acts 9:11: Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight - How very particular is this direction! And it was necessary that it should be so, that he might see the whole to be a Divine communication; the house was probably one in which Saul was accustomed to reside when at Damascus; and where he was known as a native of Tarsus. Tarsus was a city of Cilicia, seated on the Cydnus, and now called Tarasso. It was, at one period, the capital of all Cilicia, and became a rival to Alexandria and Athens in the arts and sciences. The inhabitants, in the time of Julius Caesar, hav”
- Acts (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Acts 9:11: go into the street . . . called Straight--There is still a street of this name in Damascus, about half a mile in length, running from east to west through the city [MAUNDRELL]. and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus--There is something touching in the minuteness of these directions. Tarsus was the capital of the province of Cilicia, lying along the northeast coast of the Mediterranean. It was situated on the river Cydnus, was a "large and populous city" (says XENOPHON, and see Act 21:39), and under the Romans had the privilege ”