community
'Arabia' of Galatians 1:17
Nabataea (most likely), or Sinai, Jordan / Saudi Arabia / Egypt · Arabia & Arab frontier
30.345, 35.383
Approximate location. The map shows a region, not a pin.
Overlaps the bridge run's node 'paul-in-arabia' (place_id 'nabataea').
Disputed. DISPUTED. Nabataea reading: Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (Bible Review, 1994); Martin Hengel ('Paul in Arabia', BBR 12, 2002); this is the majority view, with Petra or the Hauran as candidates. Sinai/Elijah reading: N. T. Wright ('Paul, Arabia, and Elijah', JBL 115, 1996). Hegra or the northern Hijaz is sometimes suggested as a Nabataean destination, but no evidence places Paul there.
'Arabia' of Galatians 1:17
Nabataea (most likely), or Sinai
Paul says that after his call he 'went away into Arabia' and returned to Damascus (Gal 1:17). Most scholars read Arabia as the Nabataean kingdom: Jerome Murphy-O'Connor and Martin Hengel see a period of preaching that drew the hostility of King Aretas (2 Cor 11:32). N. T. Wright argues instead for a retreat to Mount Sinai on the model of Elijah, citing Gal 4:25 ('Sinai is a mountain in Arabia').
Source stance: insider. Paul's own letter (insider); scholarly interpretation (neutral).
People and groups named here
- Paul
- Aretas IV
Sources
- Paul, Arabia, and Elijah (Galatians 1:17)
N. T. Wright, Journal of Biblical Literature 115 (1996), author's site. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Paul in Arabia
Martin Hengel, Bulletin for Biblical Research 12 (2002). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- What Was Paul Doing in 'Arabia'?
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, Bible Review (1994), BAS Library. Accessed 2026-11-11.
Councils here
None in this list.