When and why was Saul’s name changed to Paul? | GotQuestions.org

Today's question is, when and why was Saul's name changed to Paul? In this video

I'll answer that question from a biblical perspective. Then afterwards, as always,

I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end. One of the often -thought -of name changes in the

Bible is that of Saul to Paul. The change is commonly linked to Saul's conversion on the

Damascus Road, when the Lord Jesus commissioned him to take the gospel to the

Gentiles. However, at the time of Saul's conversion, Jesus still addressed him as Saul.

Later, Jesus told Ananias to find Saul in Damascus and restore his sight.

Acts 9 goes on to describe Saul as increasing in spiritual strength and understanding of Jesus as the

Messiah. So, it was not Jesus who changed his name on the road to Damascus.

If it wasn't Jesus' doing, how did the change from Saul to Paul happen, and when?

The answer is that Saul's name was also Paul. The custom of dual names was common in those days.

Acts 13, verse 9 describes the apostle as Saul who was also called

Paul. From that verse on, Saul is always referred to in Scripture as Paul.

Paul was a Jew born in the Roman city of Tarsus. He was proud of his Jewish heritage, as he describes in Philippians 3, verse 5, circumcised on the eighth day of the race of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a

Hebrew of Hebrew parentage in observance of the law of Pharisee. So zealous and devout was he that persecuting

Christians was the natural way for him to show his devotion. He chose to use his

Hebrew name, Saul, until sometime after he began to believe in and preach Christ.

After that time, as the apostle to the Gentiles, he used his Roman name, Paul. It would make sense for Paul to use his

Roman name as he traveled further and further into the Gentile world. It is interesting that Paul began using his

Roman name on Cyprus when the Roman proconsul on that island was converted. This was during Paul's first missionary journey and involved a high -ranking idolatrous

Gentile coming to faith in Christ. The fact that the proconsul's name was Sergius Paulus had led some to think that Saul took the name

Paulus or Paul as a reminder of this event, but the apostle's name being the same as the proconsul's is most likely a coincidence.

Using his Roman name was fitting for the man who proclaimed that he would become all things to all people—a

Jew to the Jews in order to win the Jews, a weak to the weak in order to win the weak, etc .—all

for the sake of the gospel, 1 Corinthians 9, verses 19 -23.

Adopting his Roman name would also allow Paul to approach the Gentiles to whom he was sent and speak to them in their own language, becoming as one of them and setting them at ease.

It is also possible that Paul gave up the use of his Hebrew name Saul with its regal connotation and chose to use his

Roman name Paul, meaning little or small, because he desired to become smaller in order to present

Christ as greater. Unlike the changing of Simon's name to Peter, which

Jesus did for a specific purpose, there is no reference in the Bible to Jesus' changing

Saul's name to Paul. Want to learn more? Subscribe so you don't miss the next video! Visit GotQuestions .org

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