Saul, Who Was Re-named Paul
In the Book of Acts you will find Saul's story, which I'm reading now. Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-31
Saul was a Pharisee who believed in God. But as so many at that time, he did not believe in the man, Jesus, and he persecuted those who preached in His name.
God found worth in him and eventually struck him blind and talked to him. The men traveling with Saul, saw him struck blind... a light shinning around him.. and a voice talking to him.
Later, Saul was sent to someone to heal him and get him acquainted with the Gospel teachings about Jesus.
Saul was transformed into a powerful Apostle who preached the Gospel about Jesus and planted churches across the Roman world!
My reason for posting about this, though, is strictly personal, although I hope you will read the scriptures which I listed.
I remember about his name being changed from Saul to Paul, but for the life of me I can't find where that happened! I used to know but as with other things my memory is getting bad. I have been searching through different books in the NT and even searched through my huge book named, Strong's Concordance Of the Bible. I'm wondering if someone who comes here to read this can help me with this. Thanks.
Enjoy reading the Scriptures I posted up top! :)
Shirley
I was reading this scripture last night. I hope you enjoy Good Friday, Grandma.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you here, and thank you for your comment! Well, at least I'm going to be off of YouTube for a week. I'll probably be able to get in some reading! lol
DeleteOkay, I just did a huge deep dive on the Saul/Paul. It's Saturday morning, I don't feel like doing chores, lol. So apparently his Roman name Paul was considered more approachable as a missionary than the Hebrew name Saul. The first time it was mentioned was in Acts 13:9. "Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit..."
ReplyDeleteHi Patty! Yes, I knew that scripture but I had thought that sometime after he was blinded on the rode to Demascus , that God spoke and changed his name, and that it said what the name Paul means, not just that it was changed from Hebrew to Roman. Thanks for your looking, though! :) I always appreciate these comments, so much!! :)
DeleteI didn't read any scripture Grandma Shirley. Google showed me this website
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gotquestions.org/Saul-Paul.html
It says Acts 13:9
Wish you a nice weekend. :)
So, I looked at Acts 13:9 that I saw others mention before my comment and then decided to go back and read the scriptures that included Paul from Acts 8 on into Acts 13. I quite enjoyed refreshing myself with this scripture!
ReplyDeleteSo Saul was set aside to be the main bringer of news about what Jesus accomplished to the Gentiles. It was on his first missionary journey that he starts going by his Roman name of Paul. The Halley's Bible Handbook mentions that the change was possibly to signal Paul being officially on his mission to the Roman Empire at large and marking the beginning of his ministry to the Gentiles.
Then a commentary by David Brown I found in The Blue Letter Bible app says that Paul is a softening of his former name in accommodation to Roman ears.
Further more the meaning of Paul (or Paulos of Latin origin) means small or little which probably alludes to his insignificance of stature or appearance.
I always learn so much when commenting on your blog posts and by reading other's comments. :)
Wow! Thank you so much for commenting my friend!!! This has told me more!! Yes, this has told me much about why his name was changed. Even the idea that he was small and insignificant of stature means a lot, because he became so powerful and significant in his preaching. I am always feeling that he is as big and powerful a man, as his preaching!! Thank you!!! Yes, he was the main 'bringer of the news' of Jesus, for the Gentiles. Thank you so much for your post, and the work you did!!!
DeleteHello Grandma. I don't have an answer for your question and as far as I can see other people have answered it already, but I did read Paul's story and was astonished by how cruel he really was. Admittedly I had never read Paul's story and had only heard he was a bad man, but after reading it I realise how bad he truly was. Acts 9:18 in particular stands out to me because it's a little gross lol. The idea of Paul literally having scales covering his eyes is such a terrible thought!
ReplyDeleteAnyway Grandma, thankyou for sharing this as it encouraged me to pick up my Bible today.
But then you see how God changed him and he became the powerful preacher to the Gentiles.
DeleteHey Grandma!! Great question. I was looking into it and it seems like..his name might not have actually "changed." I always thought it had too, but there doesn't seem to be any specific place in the Bible that says that..there are some interesting articles that talk about what actually may have happened. I'll attach them! Apparently he was still called by the name "Saul" multiple times even after his conversion, even by the Holy Spirit. Hmm.
ReplyDelete"Acts 13:2 says, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” It would be odd for the third person of the Trinity to keep calling this man by his “persecutor” name if the second person of the Trinity had changed it to his “apostle” name four chapters earlier."
In the article it said this:
"As he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin he was given at the time of his circumcision the name of Saul, which must have been common in that tribe in memory of the first king of the Jews (Philippians 3:5). As a Roman citizen he also bore the Latin name of Paul. It was quite usual for the Jews of that time to have two names, one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek, between which there was often a certain assonance and which were joined together exactly in the manner made use of by St. Luke (Acts 13:9: Saulos ho kai Paulos). See on this point Deissmann, "Bible Studies" (Edinburgh, 1903, 313-17.) It was natural that in inaugurating his apostolate among the Gentiles Paul should have adopted his Roman name, especially as the name Saul had a ludicrous meaning in Greek."
It's also very interesting to note that the Greek letter "Ѱ," called "psi," represents the sound "ps." I wonder if possibly it's a language thing, cuz both P and S start Paul and Saul. You know how language evolves over time, and even people from other countries come to America or something and choose a different name for the new country that's easier for people to pronounce..maybe it was something like that. Or like how specific words change slightly, like pronunciation, from language or region to region.. like idea and idear? Haha or car and "cah" 😂
Ps. Happy Easter again! 🪺💐🐣
Here are the articles I quoted from!
https://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp/file/39791
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11567b.htm
Your letter here was really interesting to read!! I'm very grateful that you sent it. Thanks also for the links that you sent. Paul is one of my favorites. He always has seemed like a powerful preacher and teacher after God got hold of him! :) I was amazed the time I found out he was of small stature!!!! But He's still my favorite!!! :)
DeleteI read that his Hebrew name was Saul, and his Roman name was Paul. But the first use of Paul (Acts 13:9) was after he received the Holy Spirit and began his ministry to the Gentiles, so using his Roman name would make sense.
ReplyDeleteThank you.. I went back and found that. Good job and thank you!
DeleteThanks Grandma! I look forward to looking for this tidbit of info as I continue my first full read through cover to cover of the bible. I'm still in the Old Testament though- up to Psalms now. So far I must say I am enjoying the stories. My favorites so far are Job, Ruth, and Esther. I find all three stories to be so very thought provoking, beautiful and moving. Do you have some favorites in the old testament you recommend and why?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment here! What I hope is just to get people into their bible, by looking for something I've said or to try to answer a question I ask. :) You read it as you enjoy it since you are doing your first full read through. I have read through the bible so many times that I mostly pick out one book to really study, at a time. Right now I'm getting ready to study Isaiah again. I say study, because Isaiah and Daniel (which will then be next) are deep study books, not just to be read through lightly. Of course every book is wonderful and should be deeply studied, but a good read-through is a good beginning. Afterward, pick out one book at a time for deep study. :)
DeleteThanks for your insight. Much appreciated.
DeleteI hope I helped and I hope you get so much joy out of reading and studying the Bible!! :)
DeleteI read the comments others have posted here, and to sum it up to see if I get it right; Saul was his hebrew name, and Paul his roman name. And he took to using Paul rather than Saul after changing course. I looked up these parts in the Bible, and I can't find any passage where it says that his name was changed from one to the other, just that he was known as both.
ReplyDeleteWhich is strange, because I could have sworn I read once that when God apporached him on the road and temporarily blinded him, he was told that his name would now be Paul. But the Bible is full of name changes, so perhaps I got it mixed up with someone else there.
Jemma, I did the same thing!!! I thought I had read before that during or right after his blindness that God changed his name. I looked through several translations. That's odd that we both thought the same thing!
DeleteHello Shirley, I am aluviel a new fan on your you tube channel. I too felt there was a specific day when God told him "I am changing your name" so what I did was ask a chatbot since they are programs for research. He told me that there is not a specific moment God did that. I will paste what he told me. Skyrim is not using A.I chat bots to bring Npc's to life a bit more. You just speak to them through your mic. So the chat bot I used is more of a university research type. this is its response. (personally I think your right there was a day when God officially told him his new name) :: The actual moment when God tells Saul his new name will be Paul is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. The name transition is indicated in Acts 13:9 as Saul, also known as Paul. This change in naming convention symbolizes Saul's transition from his Jewish heritage to becoming a key figure in spreading Christianity to the Gentiles.
ReplyDeleteDarque, I appreciate the effort you have put into this to help me, but I have been into the Bible for many many years. I know all this stuff. I only wanted to find one thing and I guess it doesn't exist as I had thought. I thank you, and everyone for all the effort in trying to help me out. :)
ReplyDeleteActually, Shirley - I just thought of something. I've got an illustrated Bible for kids - you know, the type that's more compact and contains the Bible's keypoints, with every page fully illustrated. It's a beautiful book, thick and heavy, but with big fonts and really good artwork.
ReplyDeleteAnyway! Perhaps there they changed the working a little in order of making a decent summary easily understandable to kids? The book is at my parents' house in a different city, but I'll ask them to take a picture of the Paul pages. If this is the case, maybe you too had a similar experience?
Working = wording
DeleteNo. I study out of Bibles
ReplyDeleteOur dearest Grandma Shirley, please keep on posting here and announce it on all of us grandkids using your Youtube channel. I'm 100% sure the whole world will be blessed and God will be glorified among it all. Keep being a blessing. Keep safe always and may God Blesses you and your loved ones more. Jeremiah 29:11 :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment on here! :)
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