![]() The history also states that from this place all of Asia heard the word of the Lord. The handkerchiefs used to wipe the sweat from his brow and the aprons used to hold tools were “carried away” for the purpose of healing the sick and driving out evil spirits. This mid-day break is common in the region even today. Accordingly, we may picture Paul plying his trade wherever he was preaching the Gospel. In Acts 19, we get a fitting picture of Paul teaching in the Hall of Tyrannus in his work clothes during the mid-day break for two years. 9: 15-18) so it is only expected that we may also. Paul generalizes his habit of work to his entire ministry (I Cor. There is no doubt that when he was not in custody there was a high likelihood he was plying his trade of tentmaking as he traveled from city to city and settled in places such as Ephesus, Corinth, and Thessalonica. This trade provided not only his primary means of livelihood, but also opportunity as a missionary. This is my rule in all the churches” (I Cor. “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. Even when he accepted gifts from the church, he did not leave his trade. Rather he used his trade, just as he used his knowledge of the Law, to further his ministry. When Paul converted on the road to Damascus, he did not abandon his skill. ![]() As a light traveler, Paul only carried with him what was useful. The size and weight of these tools would have made his trade quite portable and easy to transport across the world as a missionary. His tools would have fit in a light tool bag rolled up to the size of a modern day Study Bible, which illuminates another point. In honor of finishing his apprenticeship, Paul was presented with his own set of knives and awls perfectly suited to his new profession. The apprenticeship would have been based on strict discipline and demanding standards. This would follow the old rabbinic maxim, “whoever does not teach his son a craft teaches him to be a robber.” Based on apprentice contracts from the 1st century, we learn that he would have been contractually bound to approximately two to three years and working sunrise to sunset in the shop. This skill would have been acquired from an early age and was part of his overall education. ![]() Paul would have learned from an early age the skill of stitching together sections of leather and cloth into a tent with waterproof seams. The skill for this sort of trade would be vested in the cutting and stitching together leather and cilicium to make tents that would hold up to heavy use and hold out moisture. Paul’s trade was not a menial task with little to no skill. The two roles were intertwined, and he was a tentmaker with the intention of the “Great Commission.” Just as Paul did not wander into the marketplace, he did not simply “fall” into tentmaking desperate to pay for his needs. Paul was a missionary, but his trade was not mutually exclusive or compartmentalized from his ministry. The fact that he was a tentmaker and a missionary actually penetrated to the depth of who he was and the efficacy of his ministry.Tentmaking was central to his ministry. However, as you will see in this study, we view his trade as integral to his identity. ![]() Therefore, for many theologians and Bible teachers, his trade is not central to understanding Paul. However, in most of these studies, his trade has been handled as a peripheral need because of his circumstances and lack of resources. “And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers” (Acts 18:3).įor decades and even centuries, studies have been done on the life of the Apostle Paul.
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