Conversion of Paul the Apostle

A journey that did not end as planned

According to Acts 9, Saul obtained authorization from the high priest to seize followers of “the Way” in Damascus and return them to Jerusalem in chains. No ancient source supplies a calendar date for what interrupted that errand, and the year is not securely fixed — the Cambridge Companion to St Paul offers 32/33 CE as an illustrative rather than definitive reconstruction.

Pauline chronologies commonly differ by several years. The 37 CE attached to this entry is possible in some reconstructions, but it is not independently attested as the year of the event.

Three days in the dark

As Saul approached the city, Acts says a light flashed around him; he fell, heard a voice identifying itself as Jesus, and was left unable to see. His companions led him by the hand into Damascus, where he remained blind and neither ate nor drank for three days.

Ananias, a local disciple who knew Saul’s reputation and protested that he had harmed believers, then entered the house and greeted him as “Saul, my brother.” Saul regained his sight, was baptized, ate and recovered his strength; within days Acts has him proclaiming Jesus in the city’s synagogues.

What Paul himself reports

Paul’s own account says God revealed his Son to him and commissioned him to proclaim to Gentiles. It does not mention the road, the light, the blindness, Ananias or baptism — all of which come from Acts, written later.

Acts tells the story three times, in chapters 9, 22 and 26. The accounts agree on the central encounter but differ in details, including what Saul’s companions perceived.

He also did not become “Paul” on that road. Acts keeps calling him Saul until 13:9, which says “Saul, also known as Paul” — two names rather than a renaming.