Faith Seeking Understanding
A Possible Chronology of the Apostle Paul’s
Life and Teaching: Introduction
© Ken McDuff, 2008
The historical record has more to say
about the life of the Apostle Paul than any
other early Christian leader. In combination,
the sources available provide clues into Paul’s
theological thought, his pastoral concerns, and
even his personality. Of no other figure in
early Christianity do we learn so many
biographical details and receive so clear a
character sketch, and yet there is much about
the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul that
remains hidden and obscure. His activity as
an apostle spans thirty years, but historical
accounts detail relatively small, fragmentary
portions of his career, focusing on his
missionary work in Asia Minor, Macedonia,
and Achaia during the late 40’s and 50’s C.E.
An understanding of the chronological
order of Paul's life and ministry can be a
valuable tool for the study of Paul’s teaching.
Unfortunately, accurately dating the events in
Paul’s life is not a simple task, and many
attempts have been made to reconcile the
data. Many of the conclusions regarding
Pauline chronology come by inference: this is
why scholarly opinion is so divergent. A full
and certain chronological account is just not
possible. C.J. Cadoux's comment more than
seventy years ago remains true today:
When we try to marshal the arguments
[for a comprehensive chronology of the
New Testament story], we find so many of
them to involve an element of uncertainty
that it is difficult to feel much confidence
in any construction. 1
So I have not sought to create a definitive
chronology, but a possible chronology based on
a variety of sources, with notes regarding
areas of disputed sequence and dating.
Though the primary source is the first-
hand account of Paul’s letters, 2 it must be
remembered that they are occasional letters,
falling far short of providing a comprehensive
view of Paul’s career. A secondary source,
Luke’s account of the early church (Acts),
provides a fuller and more detailed account of
major portions of Paul’s life, but the validity
of the Acts account in regards to chronological
accuracy is often challenged by contemporary
scholars. For my purposes, I have chosen to
trust the Acts account, although I have noted
some areas of concern related to Lukan
chronology. It is also necessary to draw from
the limited historical records that tie to the
Biblical accounts.
In this introduction, I summarize the
primary data (historical anchors and
timeframes) that contribute to the compilation
of a chronology of Paul's life. I will begin with
a few comments about the structure of the
chronology before moving into an
identification of the pertinent data. The
chronology itself is located in a separate
document.
Faith Seeking Understanding

ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE HISTORICAL ANCHORS

CHRONOLOGY
The chronology is presented in outline
form. In addition to the basic chronological
outline, six additional columns are included:
Timeframe, Date, People, Acts Source, Epistles
Source, and Notes & Reference. The
chronology includes four types of events,
indicated by color:
1. the bulk of the outline, outlining the
specific events in Paul's life, are indicated
by black text;
2. the writing of Paul's letters are
highlighted in red;
3. historical anchors (events related to the
life of Paul which can be accurately dated
and, therefore, assist in determining the
dating of the events of Paul's life) are
indicated using blue text;
Accurately placing the life of Paul in
history depends on anchoring historically-
dated events to events in the Apostle's life that
are not often easily datable. The following
seven pieces are data are the glue that holds a
Pauline chronology together:
Datum 1: Paul's3 Conversion
Paul's conversion is dated in reference to
two other events. The conversion event took
place three years before his first visit to
Jerusalem to meet with Peter and James, and
fourteen years4 before the second visit to
Jerusalem, which I take to be the famine visit
(Acts 11:29-30; 12:24-25; Gal. 1:18; 2:1). So
accurately dating the famine visit (see Datum
3) helps to identify both the time of conversion
and the time of the first Jerusalem visit.

4. observations that fit into a particular Datum 2: Paul's escape from Damascus
timeframe but are unrelated to specific
events are indicated with a green text. In 2 Corinthians 11:32-33,5 Paul briefly
recounts his escape from a hostile governor 6 in
The chronology was created with an
Damascus responsible to King Aretas IV of
outlining program (OmniOutliner) that allows
Nabataea by means of being lowered from an
each level of the outline to be expanded or
opening in the city’s wall by basket; Luke
collapsed, providing freedom to present the
describes the incident in Acts 9:23-25.7 A
chronology in a variety of ways. Two
variety of possibilities have been offered as to
appendices are attached. The first, a
when this event may have occurred: my
“Comparison of Selected Pauline
chronology adopts Douglas Campbell’s
Chronologies,” show the dates assigned to
proposal regarding the timing of Aretas’
various events in the life of Paul by six
control of Damascus: “Aretas seized
different sources for the purpose of
Damascus in the immediate aftermath of his
comparison. I used this information to help
successful war with Herod Agrippa and
analyze the data from the perspective of
appointed an ethnarch to govern it, although
timeframes. The second appendix is a “List of
he did not long enjoy his control of the city." 8
Sources Used.” In the chronology, I reference
Josephus provides a detailed account of
sources based on the numbers shown in this
relevant events, beginning with Antipas’
appendix.

A Possible Chronology of the Apostle Paul’s Life and Teaching 2

Faith Seeking Understanding
divorce of his first wife, the daughter of
Aretas, in favor of Herodias. Eventually,
territorial disputes with Antipas and Aretas’
desire to avenge the insult of his daughter’s
rejection resulted in an open war, with Aretas’
troops prevailing in battle. 9 Working
backwards from subsequent events, Campbell
dates the battle to around October 36 C.E.,
concluding that “it is therefore most likely that
Aretas’ control over Damascus coincided with
his successful defeat of Antipas and probable
annexation of the Decapolis region,” including
Damascus. 10
It is reasonable to assume that Aretas’
desire to seize Paul was connected to a conflict
caused by Paul’s evangelistic efforts in
Nabataea, and that efforts to do so began soon
after Aretas gained control of the city in late 36
C.E. Campbell suggests that the terminus ad
quem for Paul's flight was not long after
Passover in 37 C.E., when King Agrippa’s rule
over Decapolis had taken effect.11 Therefore,
Paul’s flight from Damascus can be dated
from late 36 to mid 37 C.E.—likely sooner
rather than later. Campbell offers a skeleton
chronology from this datum, as follows:
1. Paul's conversion/call on the road to
Damacus — 33 (mid to late) to 34 C.E.
(mid)
2. first visit to Jerusalem "after three
years" (Gal. 1:18) — 36 (late) to 37 C.E.
(mid)
3. second visit to Jerusalem "after fourteen
years" (Gal. 2:1) — 50 (late) to 51 C.E.
Obviously, Campbell is dating the second visit
fourteen years from the date of the first visit,
but I understand Paul to be saying that the
second visit occurred fourteen years after his
A Possible Chronology of the Apostle Paul’s Life and Teaching
3
conversion and call, and I believe this is
justifiable and fits better with subsequent
data. So, the second visit would have taken
place in 47-48 C.E.
Datum 3: The death of Herod Agrippa
Luke and Josephus12 describe the death of
Herod Agrippa 1. They agree that that he was
wearing a brilliant robe and cheered by the
people in Ceasarea before sudden death came
upon him. Josephus states that the death
occurred in the seventh year of his reign and
in the third year of his rule over Judea. His
reign began soon after the accession of
Caligula and Agrippa’s subsequent release
from prison. He was given the tetrarchies of
Phillip and Lysanius (c.f. Luke 3:1) in 37 C.E.,
and he received Judea and Samaria after the
accession of Claudius in 41 C.E. His death and
the events of Acts 12, then, can be dated to
spring or summer 44 C.E.. This piece of data
does not fit well with the other details of
Luke’s account related to Paul. We must
consider that Agrippa’s death is loosely
related to a story about Peter that interrupts
the account of Paul’s famine visit (Acts
11:31-12:24), and that it is likely that Luke did
not intend to present it chronologically.
Datum 4: The great famine in Judea
In Acts 11:28, Luke recounts the prophesy
of Agabus regarding a great famine during the
reign of Claudius. The church in Antioch
determined to send aid to the churches in
Judea, and Barnabus and Saul were selected to
head up the initiative, leading to Paul’s
second visit to Jerusalem (anticipated in Acts
11:29-30 and concluded in Acts 12:25, with the
Faith Seeking Understanding
story of Peter’s arrest and Agrippa’s death in
between). Dating of this famine serves as one
of the primary historical anchors on which to
determine a Pauline chronology.
Pliny gives evidence to conditions
conducive to a famine: an unusually high Nile
during Claudius’ reign (46-48 C.E.) flooded the
fields far beyond the customary planting
season, leading to a poor harvest. 13 Josephus
notes as well that Queen Helena of Adiabene
sought to provide relief for famine-stricken
Jews following a visit to Jerusalem during the
time of Claudius, purchasing dried figs and
grain in Cyprus and Egypt. Josephus places
the famine during the years that Alexander
was procurator of Judea (46-48 C.E.). 14 Cadoux
dates the famine of Acts 11 as beginning in
late 47 and continuing through Spring 49, 15
and Bruce places the date not later than 48 C.E.
Datum 5: The Edict of Claudius
We are told by Seutonius that the Jews
were expelled from Rome because of
disturbances caused by their leader,
Chrestus.16 A later Christian historian,
Orosius, dates the expulsion to the ninth year
of Claudius’ reign, or 49 C.E. According to
Luke’s account, Aquila and Pricilla traveled to
Corinth following the expulsion and met Paul
there (Acts 18:1-2). Combined with
information about Gallio's proconsulship, this
datum places Paul in Corinth in 50 C.E.
Datum 6: The Gallio Inscription
The Jews brought Paul before Gallio, the
proconsul of Achaia, during Paul's extended
stay in Corinth (Acts 18). We learn from an
inscription discovered in the 1880’s that Gallio
A Possible Chronology of the Apostle Paul’s Life and Teaching
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was in Achaia as proconsul from May 51 to
May 52 C.E. Following this event, Luke tells us
that Paul stayed “many days longer” (Acts
18:18). To what length of time might “many
days” refer? “[A]ll we can say with confidence
is that Gallio was not proconsul when Paul
began his work in Corinth, and that it is
probable that [“many days”] does not mean
more than a month or two, and that the scene
before Gallio probably occurred toward the
end of Paul's total stay.”17 Cadoux concludes
that Paul arrived in Corinth in the summer of
50 C.E., was brought before Gallio late in 51
C.E., and left Corinth in Spring 52 C.E.
Datum 6: The Procuratorship of Festus
The date Festus succeeded Felix as
procurator is important for determining
Pauline chronology since we learn from Luke
that it occurred two years after Paul’s arrest
(Acts 24:27). The date is disputed, but it seems
likely that Festus arrived in Caesarea as
proconsul in the summer of 59 C.E., indicating
that Paul’s trouble in Jerusalem likely took
place in the summer of 57 C.E., and his voyage
to Rome occurred in the winter of 57/58 C.E.
COMMENTS ABOUT THE YEARS AFTER
PAUL'S RELEASE
Luke's account of the early church ends
abruptly with a brief comment about Paul’s
final two years under house arrest in Rome.
Some scholars suggest that Paul was executed
at that point, but early church tradition and
the fact that Paul mentions travels in his
pastoral letters that cannot be accounted for
within Luke’s chronology lead to the
conclusion that Paul was indeed released and
spent at least the next two years traveling the
Faith Seeking Understanding
Roman empire before meeting his death at the
hand of Nero. The fact of his release is
attested, even though the events following the
release are confused and obscured.
Based on reports from Dionysius of
Corinth, Eusebius infers that both Peter and
Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome,18 but
neither he nor Clement link Paul’s death
directly to Nero's persecution of 64 C.E.
following the great fire. Both Eusebius and
Jerome date Paul’s martyrdom to the
fourteenth year of Nero’s reign, which puts it
between October 67 and June 68 C.E.. Scholars
are agreed that an accurate chronology of the
years following Paul's release is not possible,
but I have attempted to construct a possible
scenario based on the following assumptions:
1. Paul was indeed released from prison
after two years, either because the Jews
failed to appear to press their charges
against him or because Paul was exiled
and released on account of time served;
2. Paul fulfilled his desire to evangelize
Spain, as Clement suggests, and
3. Paul's death did not come in connection
with Nero's persecution related to the fire
in Rome, but three to four years later.
The details of this later chronology are purely
speculative, but attempt to take into account
(and make some sense of) Paul's comments in
his prison and pastoral epistles—perhaps not
helpful, but a fun exercise anyway!
_____________________
1C.J. Cadoux, “A Tentative Synthetic Chronology of
the Apostolic Age” in Journal of Biblical Literature
56:3 (September 1937), p.177.
A Possible Chronology of the Apostle Paul’s Life and Teaching
5
2 I assume all canonical Pauline epistles to be truly
from Paul's hand.
3I will refer to Paul throughout, rather than using
Saul, although the chronology uses Saul until the
period of time that his Greek name came into
common use.
4Due to the ancients’ tendency to reckon odd
portions of years as whole years, it is possible that
the actual lengths of time are closer to two years
and thirteen years, respectively.
5“At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas
was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize
me, but I was let down in a basket through a
window in the wall and escaped his hands.” (ESV)
6 Literally, “ethnarch.”
7 “When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to
kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They
were watching the gates day and night in order to
kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let
him down through an opening in the wall,
lowering him in a basket.” (ESV)
8Douglas A. Campbell, “An Anchor for Pauline
Chronology: Paul's Flight from ‘The Ethnarch of
King Aretas’ (2 Corinthians 11:32-33)” in Journal of
Biblical Literature, vol. 121, no. 2 (Summer 2002), pp.
279-302.
9 Josephus, Antiquities 18,109-125.
10C.J. Cadoux agrees with this dating (“A Tentative
Synthetic Chronology of the Apostolic Age” in
Journal of Biblical Literature 65:3 (September 1937), p.
181.
11 Campbell, p. 299.
12 Josephus, Antiquities 19.8.2.
13Pliny, Natural History, v. 58; English translation by
H. Rackman (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1938), xviii. 167- 169.
14 Josephus, Antiquities, xx. 2. 5; xx. 5. 2.
15 Cadoux, p. 185.
16 Seutonius, Divus Claudius 25.4.
Faith Seeking Understanding

17 Cadoux, p. 187.

18 Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History ii. 25; iii. 1.

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