Paul benefited from a long and serious intellectual training which enabled him to fight against narrow-mindedness and petty bigotry!
Particularly interesting and very instructive!
In the Greek environment - this is the case in Tarsus - education was accompanied by the learning of languages!
This is what the humanists took back!
Humans do not invent anything, they only copy or repeat the ideas of others!
You have to know how to recognize it!
But for some it is difficult!
They must think they're too smart for that!
Only, there is intelligence and intelligence!
Paul's epistles manifest a good knowledge of the categories of Greek rhetoric, especially in the use of antithesis and diatribe!
They also testify to his great ability to apply the Scriptures to new situations in daily life!
Paul was able to take advantage of the teaching of Gamaliel!
The attitude of the latter towards the other members of the Sanhedrin is also traced in the Acts!
Thus, the synagogues were not only places of prayer, preaching and teaching, some offered premises with bathrooms for foreigners passing through!
They could even contain prisons where one made undergo the synagogal sorrows, especially that of the whip!
What will happen 5 times to Paul!
The Pharisee tradition prescribed a father to teach his son a manual activity!
Paul's father insisted that he learn the trade of tentmaker!
And Paul will exercise this manual activity so as not to be a burden for the other disciples!
Ancient society had a great need for canvases and tents. It was needed in all circumstances of life: shelter for a single person or for a family, tarpaulins for carts and boats, and huge ceremonial tents, similar to our capitals, which could shelter up to four hundred people!
It is therefore easy to understand the interest of this manual activity!
Paul had a promising future ahead of him and the prospect of a brilliant career!
The irruption of Jesus in his life will upset this privileged situation!
Another reason that allows the judicious choice of Jesus to make Paul the apostle of the nations!
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8- Paul's education
Paul benefited from a long and serious intellectual training which enabled him to fight against narrow-mindedness and petty bigotry.
Paul attended Bible school in the synagogue from his childhood.
First of all, he received a biblical education not only within his family, but also in the school of the synagogue. In the Greek environment - this is the case in Tarsus - education was accompanied by the learning of languages. Paul had the mental categories to make himself understood in this very diverse world. In his first epistle to the Corinthians (14,11) he will write: “If I did not know the value of language, I would have the effect of a Barbarian on whoever spoke to me”.
Paul's epistles manifest a good knowledge of the categories of Greek rhetoric, especially in the use of antithesis and diatribe. (Romans 2, 1-6 and 10, 6-8). They also testify to his great ability to apply the Scriptures to new situations in daily life.
Paul continued his religious training in Jerusalem under the direction of Gamaliel, the greatest Jewish teacher of his time,
The first cycle of his education completed, his father sent him to Jerusalem to pursue religious studies there under the direction of the greatest Jewish master of his time, Gamaliel the Elder. It is he who makes a brief appearance in the story of Saint Luke, preaching moderation to the great council of the Sanhedrin, which was preparing to annihilate the Christian movement: "Israelites, be careful what you are going to do in the case of these people... I tell you, don't bother about them and let them go! If it is from men that their resolution or their enterprise comes, it will disappear of itself; if it's from God, you can't make it go away. Do not risk finding yourself at war with God!” (Acts 5, 35-39) Paul's fanaticism towards the first Christians therefore did not come from his revered master!
Paul will later recall his years of apprenticeship in Jerusalem: “It is here, in this city, that I was brought up and that I received at the feet of Gamaliel a formation strictly conforming to the Law of our fathers. (Acts 22:3)
In Jerusalem, Paul probably lived with his sister. We know that she had a son who, when the time comes, will come to the aid of his uncle in danger. (Acts 23, 12-22)
Thanks to his studies in Tarsus and Jerusalem, Paul became a great connoisseur of the Bible
Every Saturday, the Sabbath day, Paul attended the synagogue. In the first century, there were reportedly 480 synagogues in Jerusalem. Each region of the world had its own, much like in Rome today, where each country has its national church. Synagogues were places of prayer, preaching and teaching. Some offered rooms with bathrooms for visiting foreigners. In some of them there were underground prisons where the synagogical punishments, especially that of the whip, were inflicted. During his missionary journeys, Paul was sentenced five times to "39 lashes" in Jewish prisons. In all the synagogues, especially in that of Cilicia where Paul went every Sabbath, there was regular discussion of Jesus of Nazareth and his followers.
Thanks to his studies in Tarsus and Jerusalem, Paul had become a great connoisseur of the Bible. He quotes it more than two hundred times in his letters. After his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, knowledge of the Scriptures will allow him to reinterpret the history of salvation and to accept Jesus Christ as Messiah and Saviour.
For the Jews, the Scriptures were most precious. During the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by the soldiers of Titus, in the year 70, the Jews abandoned the gold and silver utensils used for the sacrifices, the lamps and the candelabras, and many other precious objects, for save the scripture scrolls. The Bible was for them the true treasure of the Temple and it was the only one that escaped the flames and destruction.
Training in the trade of tentmaker (his father's trade) will allow him
to earn a living
In addition to his academic studies, Paul received from his family and according to Jewish tradition, a manual training that will allow him to earn a living. Among the Jews, unlike the Romans and Greeks, manual labor was valued and respected. The Pharisee tradition prescribed a father to teach his son a manual activity. Paul's father insisted that he learn the trade of tentmaker. It was a very fashionable profession in Tarsus and his father probably wanted to prepare his son to take over the small family business. The prosperity of Tarsus came from the textile trades. Along with embroidered fabrics, coarse goat hair fabrics were one of the specialties of Cilicia.
Ancient society had a great need for canvases and tents. It was needed in all circumstances of life: shelter for a single person or for a family, tarpaulins for wagons and boats, and huge ceremonial tents, similar to our capitals, which could shelter up to four hundred people.
In his youth, Paul could not foresee that he would one day have to practice his trade as a tentmaker in order to survive. This kind of work will allow him to meet many of his future co-workers in the gospel. During his missionary journeys, he will come into contact with many craftsmen and textile merchants: Lydia, purple merchant in Philippi, Aquila and Prisca in Corinth, and in Ephesus, dyers or wool merchants.
Fortunately, this Pharisee's son had applied himself from his youth to learn the trade of weaver. He was able to exercise it in Arabia, as he would later do throughout his missionary journeys. This will make it independent of any foreign aid.
In his youth, Paul therefore benefited from a solid education. Citizen of Tarsus, connoisseur of the Bible, speaking several languages, experienced weaver, disciple of Gamaliel, leader by birth, active member of his community, trained to succeed his father, all this places him among the elite of society. in terms of education, power and authority. In a world where the vast majority of people could neither read nor write, he belonged to a class apart. Paul had before him a promising future and the prospect of a brilliant career. The irruption of Jesus in his life will upset this privileged situation. He himself will say later: "Because of him I accepted to lose everything, I consider everything as waste, in order to win Christ and be found in him." (Philemon 3.8).
