Acts 22:3

“I am a Jew, as are all of you. I was born in Tarsus city, in Cilicia province, but I grew up here in Jerusalem. When I was young, for many years I studied the laws that Moses gave to our ancestors. I was taught by the famous teacher Gamaliel [MTY] { The famous teacher Gamaliel taught [MTY] me}. I have carefully obeyed those laws, because I have wanted to obey God. I am sure that many of you also carefully obey those laws.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

In Context

2When the crowd of people heard Paul speaking to them in their own Hebrew language, they became even more quiet and really listened. Then Paul said to them,

4That is why I previously persecuted those who believe the message that people call the Way that Jesus taught. I continually looked for ways to kill them. Whenever I found men or women who believed that message, I commanded that they should be seized and thrown { people to seize them and throw them} into jail.

Read all of Acts 22

Cross References

2 Samuel 21:2The people of Gibeon were not Israelis; they were a small group of the Amor people-group whom the Israelis had solemnly promised to protect. But Saul had tried to kill all of them because he ◄was very zealous/wanted very much► to enable the people of Judah and Israel to be the only ones living in that land. So the king summoned the leaders of Gibeon

Luke 2:46Two days later, they found him. He was in the Temple courtyard, sitting with the Jewish religious teachers. He was listening to what they said, and he was asking them questions.

Luke 10:39Her younger sister, whose name was Mary, sat near Jesus. She was listening to what he was teaching.

Acts 6:9However, some people opposed Stephen. They were Jews from a group that regularly met together in a Jewish meeting place that was { that people} called the Freedmen’s Meeting Place. Those people were from Cyrene and Alexandria cities and also from Cilicia and Asia provinces. They all began to argue with Stephen.

Acts 9:30When the other believers heard that those Jews were planning to kill him, some of the believers took Saul down to Caesarea city. There they arranged for him to go by ship to Tarsus, his hometown.

Acts 15:23Then they wrote the following letter that they asked Judas and Silas to take to the believers at Antioch: “ We(exc) apostles and other leaders who are your fellow believers send our greetings to you as we write this to you non-Jewish believers who live in Antioch and other places in Syria and Cilicia provinces.

Matthew Henry on Acts 22:2-3

Paul's First Defence. 1 Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. 2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) Paul had, in the last verse of the foregoing chapter , gained a great point, by commanding so profound a silence after so loud a clamour. Now here observe, I. With what an admirable composure and presence of mind he addresses himself to speak. Never was poor man set upon in a more tumultuous manner, nor with… Read the whole commentary →

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