Historical context of Paul and his letters

Letters ascribed to the Apostle Paul comprise about half the writings (13 out of 24) of the New Testament and a quarter of its volume. More than half of the story of early Christianity in the Acts of the Apostles deals with Paul's efforts to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul stemmed from an upper-class Jewish family living outside the Jewish land, far to the north in Tarsus in the region of Cilicia in the south-eastern corner of modern-day Turkey.

Form his father he inherited Roman citizenship, wich gave him certain valuable privileges as far as legal and criminal procedures were concerned. Paul could demand to be respected as a Roman citizen when he was being treated unjustly (see Acts 16:37 and 21:39). Eventually, he used this right to appeal to the Roman emperor (Caesar) when he was jailed in Caesarea and was in danger of losing his life (Acts 25:10,11).

According to the narrative in Acts, Paul was a Pharisee who studied the Jewish law (Torah) and knew a trade: he was a qualified ‘tent maker’ who could support himself with linen and leather work, as he did, for instance, in Corinth and Thessalonica (see Acts 18:3,2; Thom 3:7-9). Acts 23:23 discloses that Paul had a sister living in Jerusalem, confirming the bond of his family with Jerusalem. The rabbinic master under whom he claimed to have studied, Gamaliel, was a grandson of the famous Hillel (60 BCE-20 CE), who had a freer view of the rule of Jewish law than his contemporary, Shammai. Hillel saw a place for the nations in God's purpose and was in favour of winning the pagans for Judaism. According to his self-testimony, Paul was a zealous promoter of Judaism to the point of persecuting Christians.

It is related that Paul at first persecuted his fellow Jews who believed in Christ as the long-awaited Messiah, but then had first-hand experience of the risen Christ (1 Cor 9:1, see 2 Cor 5:16) at Damascus and became one of the most influential figures in the Christian religion.