Tarsus

How Nave’s arranged it

• (The capitol of Cilicia in Asia Minor)
• Paul' s birthplaceActs 9:11Acts 21:39Acts 22:3
• Paul sent to, from Jerusalem, to avoid assassinationActs 9:30
• Paul brought from, by BarnabasActs 11:25Acts 11:26

The passages, in Bible order (6)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 6 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Acts 9:11

   “Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.

   ›Commentary on Acts 9:112 voices

   “THESE words are the hallmark of genuine conversion. "Behold, he prays" is a surer witness of a man's conversion than, "Behold, he sings," or, "Behold, he reads the Scripture," or, "Behold, he preaches." These things may be admirably done by men who are not regenerate! But if, in God's sense of the term, a man really prays, we may know for sure that he has passed from death unto life.

   “It was situated on the river Cydnus, was a "large and populous city" (says XENOPHON, and see Ac 21:39), and under the Romans had the privilege of self-government. behold, he prayeth--"breathing out" no longer "threatenings and slaughter," but struggling desires after light and life in the Persecuted One.

   Everything gathered on Acts 9:11→

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2. Acts 9:30

   When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

   ›Commentary on Acts 9:302 voices

   "Brethren, having learned of this, sent him off to Caesarea." Frightened by what had happened to Stephen, they send him to Caesarea, and then also to Tarsus, so that he might both teach there and be safe, as in his own homeland, because the Jews …

   “Which when the brethren knew,.... When the members of the church heard of it, by some means or another: they brought him down to Caesarea; not that which was before called Strato's tower, the same as in Act 8:40 but Caesarea Philippi, mentioned in Mat 16:13 the Syriac version adds, "by night", and some copies, "and sent him forth to Tarsus"; a city of Cilicia, his own native place, where he might be more safe, and also useful among his friends and acquaintance; Gal 1:21.

   Everything gathered on Acts 9:30→

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3. Acts 11:25

   Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

   ›Commentary on Acts 11:252 voices

   “Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus,.... "In Cilicia" to seek Saul; who had been sent thither by the brethren that he might escape the rage of the Grecians, who sought to slay him, Act 9:29.

   “Then departed ... - Why Barnabas sought Saul is not known. It is probable, however, that it was owing to the remarkable success which he had in Antioch. There was a great revival of religion, and there was need of additional labor. In such times the ministers of the gospel need additional help, as men in harvest-time need the aid of others. Saul was in this vicinity Act 9:30, and he was eminently suited to assist in this work.

   Everything gathered on Acts 11:25→

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4. Acts 11:26

   and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

   ›Commentary on Acts 11:262 voices

   “And the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch - Here it was that they first received this standing appellation. They were before termed Nazarenes and Galileans.

   Let us not, therefore, be insensible to His kindness. For were He to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be. For "if Thou, Lord, shalt mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" Let us therefore prove ourselves worthy of that name which we have received. For whosoever is called by any other name besides this, he is not of God; for he has not received the prophecy which speaks thus concerning us: "The people shall be called by a new name, which the Lord shall name them, and shall be a holy people."

   Everything gathered on Acts 11:26→

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5. Acts 21:39

   But Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Now I beg you to allow me to speak to the people.”

   ›Commentary on Acts 21:392 voices

   “A Jew of Tarsus - A Jew by birth. Of no mean city - Not obscure, or undistinguished. He could claim an honorable birth, so far as the place of his nativity was concerned. See the notes on Act 9:11. Tarsus was much celebrated for its learning, and was at one time the rival of Alexandria and Athens. Xenophon calls it a great and flourishing city. Josephus (Antiq., book 2, chapter 6, section 6) says that it was the metropolis, and most renowned city among them (the Cilicians).

   “Art not thou that Egyptian, &c.--The form of the question implies that the answer is to be in the negative, and is matter of some surprise: "Thou art not then?" &c.

   Everything gathered on Acts 21:39→

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6. Acts 22:3

   “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today.

   ›Commentary on Acts 22:32 voices

   “Born in Tarsus - See the notes on Act 9:11. Brought up in this city - In Jerusalem, sent there for the advantage of more perfect instruction in the Law. At the feet of Gamaliel - As a scholar or disciple of Gamaliel. The phrase to sit at the feet of one is expressive of the condition of a disciple or learner. Compare Deu 33:3; Luk 10:39. It is probable that the expression arose from the fact that the learners occupied a lower place or seat than the teacher.

   “Unsanctified learning made his bonds strong, and furnished him with numerous arguments against the Gospel. Yet when the grace of God had changed his heart, and turned his accomplishments into another channel, he was the fitter instrument to serve God's wise and merciful purposes, in the defense and propagation of Christianity.

   Everything gathered on Acts 22:3→

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