Paul goes to 'Arabia' after his conversion
c. c. 34 – c. 37
Place: nabataea
30.328, 35.444 · On the map
The trip is attested in Paul's own letter (insider source); what 'Arabia' meant and what he did there is a scholarly question. Coordinates are Petra, the Nabataean capital, as a placeholder for the region.
Paul says that after his conversion he went 'into Arabia' and then back to Damascus (Gal 1:17), and Acts lists 'Arabs' among the Pentecost crowd (Acts 2:11). It is the earliest written link between the Jesus movement and Arabia, then the Nabataean kingdom.
People named here
- Paul of Tarsus
- Aretas IV
Where scholars disagree
For
- N. T. Wright — 'Paul, Arabia, and Elijah' (JBL 1996): reads 'Arabia' as a Sinai/Elijah-type retreat rather than a mission
Against
- Martin Hengel & Anna Maria Schwemer — Paul Between Damascus and Antioch (1997): read it as early activity in Nabataean territory (named here from the Wikipedia summary; not re-checked in the book)
Links
Place
Out
Paul's Arabia is the Nabataean kingdom (Petra and the Hawran).
located_at
attested
Influence
In
Jesus of Nazareth (crucifixion in Jerusalem)
Paul's conversion led to his stay in 'Arabia' (Gal 1:17).
influenced
attested
Sources
- Galatians 1 (KJV, PD)
Bible Gateway. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Acts 2 (KJV, PD)
Bible Gateway. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- N. T. Wright, 'Paul, Arabia, and Elijah (Galatians 1:17)', Journal of Biblical Literature 115.4 (1996), 683–692
SBL / JSTOR. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Wikipedia: Nabataean Kingdom
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.