Appendix 2. Chronology of Paul's Life


Dates are approximate, drawn from the work of evangelical Bible scholars.[553]

Birth in Tarsus 5-10 AD
Public Ministry of Jesus ca. 28-30
Conversion ca. 33
First Post-conversion Visit to Jerusalem 35
Paul in Cilicia and Syria 35-46
Caligula plans to erect his statue in Jerusalem 40
Caligula assassinated 41
Joins Barnabas at Antioch 45
Famine-Relief Visit to Jerusalem 46
First Missionary Journey. Accompanies Barnabas to Cyprus and South Galatia 47-48
Paul in Antioch, crisis in Galatia, Letter to the Galatians ?48
At the Council of Jerusalem 49
Claudius expels Jews from Rome 49
Second Missionary Journey. 49-52
Journey with Silas to Philippi, Thessalonica, and Corinth 49-50
Letters to the Thessalonians 50
In Corinth 50-52
Paul's third Jerusalem visit Summer 52
Third Missionary Journey 52-57
In Ephesus 52-55
Imprisonment in Ephesus (NT Wright) 55-56?
Captivity Letters (NT Wright) 55-56
Letters to the Corinthians 55-56
At Troas (2 Cor. 2:12) Autumn 55
In Macedonia and Illyricum 55-56
Letter to the Romans early 57
In Corinth winter 56-57
Arrival and Arrest in Jerusalem May 57
Imprisonment in Caesarea, hearings 57-59
Voyage to Rome begins, shipwreck on Malta Sep 59
Paul's arrival in Rome Feb 60
House Arrest in Rome 60-62
Captivity Letters (FF Bruce) ?60-62
Further travels, either to Spain or East, or both (NT Wright) 62-64
Outbreak of Neronian Persecution, fire at Rome Jul 64
Paul visits Spain (FF Bruce; NT Wright, after 62 AD) ?65
Pastoral Letters ?
Last Imprisonment, Trial, and Execution (or later, NT Wright) 65
Roman-Jewish War 66-70
Death of Nero 68
Fall of Jerusalem 70

[553] Drawn from F.F. Bruce, ISBE 3:709 (1979), Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (1977), p. 475. NT Wright, Paul: A Biography (2018), pp. 433-434.

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