nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.
World English Bible
Galatians 1:17
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Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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Did Paul go to Jerusalem from Damascus immediately after his conversion?
Acts 9:26 says that when Saul came to Jerusalem after his conversion he tried to join the disciples, and the Lukan narrative places this trip very close to the Damascus event. Galatians 1:16-17, written by Paul himself, flatly denies it: he says immediately after his calling he did *not* go up to Jerusalem to confer with anyone, but went into Arabia and back to Damascus first, only going up to Jerusalem three years later (1:18).
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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"Galatians 1:17 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/galatians/1/17?version=WEB (retrieved 26 August 2026).