Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
Parallel Translations
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Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
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After that I went into the costes of Siria and Cilicia:
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After that, I went into the coastes of Syria and Cilicia: for I was vnknowen by face vnto the Churches of Iudea, which were in Christ.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Galatians 1:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 15:41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the assemblies.
- Acts 6:9 But some of those who were of the synagogue called “The Libertines”, and of the Cyrenians, of the Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia arose, disputing with Stephen.
- Acts 9:30 When the brothers knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him off to Tarsus.
- Acts 11:25-26 Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they were gathered together with the assembly, and taught many people. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
- Acts 13:1 Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
- Acts 15:23 They wrote these things by their hand: “The apostles, the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings.
- Acts 18:18 Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow.
- Acts 21:3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left hand, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for the ship was there to unload her cargo.
- Acts 21:39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”
- Acts 22:3 “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today.
- Acts 23:34 When the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. When he understood that he was from Cilicia, he said,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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Martin Luther 1535 · Public Domain VERSE 21. Afterwards I came into the regions of…
VERSE 21. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
Syria and Cilicia are adjacent countries. Paul traces his movements carefully in order to convince the Galatians that he had never been the disciple of any apostle.
Martin Luther — Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535), English translation by Theodore Graebner (Zondervan, 1939) — public domain (U.S. copyright not renewed). Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 21 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria…
21 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;
Ver. 21. Afterwards I came] He kept, likewise, a diary of his travels, and was able to give a good account of his daily courses. It is not to be doubted, but that our Saviour’s disciples kept a register of his holy oracles and miracles, out of which the history of the gospel was afterwards compiled and composed. Father Latimer did the like, as appeareth by his discourses. Mr Bradford also had a journal or dairy, wherein he used to set down all such notable things as either he did see or hear, each day that passed.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain After that I came from Jerusalem, I came into…
After that I came from Jerusalem, I came into the country of Syria; probably not to Damascus, the chief city of Syria, (where he had so narrow an escape in a basket), but into the country parts of Syria; for Syria lay in the way between Judea and Cilicia. It appeareth by Act 9:30, that Paul was designed for Tarsus, his native place; where we are also told, that the brethren conducted him to Caesarea, which stood upon the confines of Syria. It is probable that he stayed some time at Tarsus; for there Barnabas found him, Act 11:25,26, and brought him to Antioch; so that Paul had but fifteen days at Jerusalem to converse with the apostles, and in that time he saw none of them, but Peter, and James the son of Alpheus.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain The fourth evidence is here produced by St. Paul,…
The fourth evidence is here produced by St. Paul, to prove, that both his ministry and his message, his office and his doctrine, were divine; and that he was so far from learning the Christian religion from the Christian churches in Judea, that he was not by face so much as known to them, or they to him: They had heard, indeed, that one Paul, a persecutor, was become a preacher, but they had never seen him; and accordingly they magnified the grace of God in his conversion, admiring the wonderful change wrought in him.
Observe here, 1. The laborious diligence and indefatigable industry of St. Paul, in planting and propagating the Christian faith throughout the world; he travels, as soon as converted, into Arabia, then into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, thinking he could never do service enough for Christ, who had suffered and done so much for him. Oh, how full of life and zeal are young converts! What activity and industry for Christ and souls is found with them! They despise all dangers, they surmount all difficulties, are above all discouragements, in expressing their love to Christ, and venturing their lives for him: But, alas! as they grow older, their affections are cooler; so that they have many times just cause to say, Oh, that it were with me, as in the months of old, in the day when God converted me, when the secret of God was with me, and when by his light I walked through all difficulties to subserve his interest, and to promote his glory.
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Observe, 2. The great and mighty power of the heart-changing grace of God, which turns the haters and professed enemies of religion into friends, and bitter and bloody persecutors into bold and painful preachers of the gospel: He who persecuted in times past, now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. He that leads captivity captive, can soon make the stoutest enemies of religion to become its strongest friends.
Observe, 3. Paul, before his conversion, is said to destroy the faith, because he intended it, and endeavoured it, though he could not actually effect it, and accomplish it. Sin and evil, intended by a determinate resolution, are as good as acted, in God’s account. Bloody persecutors design no less than a total extirpation of the truth, to destroy the faith; which though it be out of their reach to effect, yet having deliberately resolved it, it is as actually accomplished in the account of God; He now preacheth the faith that once he destroyed.
Observe, lastly, to whom the glory and praise of converting grace is due, namely, to God, and to God alone; They glorified God in me; that is, they owned and admired the grace of God bestowed upon me, which wrought such a glorious and blessed change in me. The converting grace of God, wrought either in ourselves, or others, is matter of admiration, and calls for thanksgivings and acknowlegments unto God; They glorified God in me.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and…
Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. For having disputed against the Grecians at Jerusalem, and being too hard for them, it so irritated them, that they were going to murder him; which being known to the brethren there, they got him out of the way, and had him down to Caesarea, and so to Tarsus, a city in Cilicia; where he was born; in which places and in the countries about he preached the Gospel of Christ; to Tarsus, Barnabas went for him seeking him, and finding him brought him to Antioch in Syria; and both in Syria and Cilicia he preached, no doubt with success, since we read of believing Gentiles and churches in those parts he afterwards visited; being sent along with others, with the letter and decrees of the synod at Jerusalem to them, and whom he confirmed; See Gill on Act 15:23,
See Gill on Act 15:41, in the Greek text these countries are called "climates"; a climate in geography is said (y) to be a part of the surface of the earth, bounded by two circles parallel to the equator, and of such a breadth as that the longest day in the parallel nearer the pole, exceeds the longest day in that next the equator, by some certain space, viz. half an hour--. The beginning of the climate is the parallel circle wherein the day is the shortest, the end of the climate is that wherein the day is the longest;--each climate only differs from its contiguous ones, in that the longest day in summer is longer or shorter by half an hour in the one place than in the other:--vulgarly the term climate is bestowed on any country or region differing from another, either in respect of the seasons, the quality of the soil, or even the manners of the inhabitants, without any regard to the length of the longest day; in which sense it seems to be used here, as also in Rom 15:23. Of the country of Syria; see Gill on Mat 4:24. Cilicia is a country of Asia Minor, now called Caramania; it had its name of Cilicia, as Herodotus says (z), from Cilix, the son of Agenor, a Phoenician: though Bochart (a) derives it from Challekim or Challukim, which signifies stones, it being a stony country; and so Herodotus (b) calls it "mountainous" Cilicia; it is said to have Pamphilia on the west, the tops of Mount Taurus on the north, Mount Amanus on the east, and the Cilician sea on the south; Jerom says (c), Cilicia is a province of Asia, which the river Cydnus cuts in the middle, and Mount Amanus, of which Solomon makes mention, separates it from Syria-Coele.
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(y) Chambers's Cyclopaedia in the word "Climate". (z) L. 7. Polymnia, c. 91. Solinus, c. 51. (a) Canaan, p. 376. (b) L. 2. Euterpe, c. 34. (c) De locis Hebraicis, fol. 95. M.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. Afterwards I came into the regions of…
Verse 21. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria, c.] The course of the apostle's travels, after his conversion, was this: He went from Damascus to Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem into Syria and Cilicia. "At Damascus the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket and when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples;" Ac 9:25-26. Afterwards, when the brethren knew the conspiracy formed against him at Jerusalem, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, Ac 9:30. This account in the Acts agrees with that in this epistle.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Afterward I came ... - In this account be…
Afterward I came ... - In this account be has omitted a circumstance recorded by Luke Act 9:29, of the controversy which he had with the Grecians (Hellenists). It was not material to the purpose which he has here in view, which is to state that he was not indebted to the apostles for his knowledge of the doctrines of Christianity. He therefore merely states that he left Jerusalem soon after he went there, and traveled to other places.
The regions of Syria - Syria was between Jerusalem and Cilicia. Antioch was the capital of Syria, and in that city and the adjacent places he spent considerable time; compare Act 15:23, Act 15:41.
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Cilicia - This was a province of Asia Minor, of which Tarsus, the native place of Paul, was the capital; see the note at Act 6:9.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain I came into . . . Syria and Cilicia--"preaching…
I came into . . . Syria and Cilicia--"preaching the faith" (Gal 1:23), and so, no doubt, founding the churches in Syria and Cilicia, which he subsequently confirmed in the faith (Act 15:23, Act 15:41). He probably went first to Cæsarea, the main seaport, and thence by sea to Tarsus of Cilicia, his native place (Act 9:30), and thence to Syria; Cilicia having its geographical affinities with Syria, rather than with Asia Minor, as the Tarsus mountains separate it from the latter. His placing "Syria" in the order of words before "Cilicia," is due to Antioch being a more important city than Tarsus, as also to his longer stay in the former city. Also "Syria and Cilicia," from their close geographical connection, became a generic geographical phrase, the more important district being placed first [CONYBEARE and HOWSON]. This sea journey accounts for his being "unknown by face to the churches of Judea" (Gal 1:22). He passes by in silence his second visit, with alms, to Judea and Jerusalem (Act 11:30); doubtless because it was for a limited and special object, and would occupy but a few days (Act 12:25), as there raged at Jerusalem at the time a persecution in which James, the brother of John, was martyred, and Peter was m prison, and James seems to have been the only apostle present (Act 12:17); so it was needless to mention this visit, seeing that he could not at such a time have received the instructions which the Galatians alleged he had derived from the primary fountains of authority, the apostles.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. Syria and Cilicia—He was driven from Jerusalem by…
21. Syria and Cilicia—He was driven from Jerusalem by plots of the Jews, Act_9:29-30, and so was beyond the reach of apostolic teaching.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21. In the Acts we are told that when…
21. In the Acts we are told that when the brethren knew of the plot against St Paul’s life, they “brought him down to Cæsarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus”. This is in agreement with the statement of the text. Cæsarea was the port from which in all probability St Paul sailed to Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia. The expression “the regions of Syria and Cilicia” must not be pressed as describing the order in which he visited the two countries. We learn from Act_11:25-30 that Barnabas went to Tarsus, and, having found Saul, brought him to Antioch, the capital of Syria, where he continued teaching for a whole year.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria…
(21) Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.—We gather from the parallel narrative in Act_9:30; Act_11:25-26, that the course which the Apostle followed was this:—He was first conveyed secretly by the disciples to the sea-port Cæsarea Stratonis; there he took ship and sailed for Tarsus. Here he was found, somewhat later, by Barnabas, and taken to Antioch, where he remained a year. It would thus appear that the order in which the two names, Syria and Cilicia, occur does not represent the order in which the two provinces were visited. The Apostle, reviewing his past career at a distance of time, and with a certain special object in view, which is not affected by the geographical direction of his movements, speaks in this general way. It hardly seems necessary to suppose an unrecorded visit to Syria on the way to Tarsus, though that, of course, is possible. Still more gratuitous is the supposition that there is any contradiction between the historical narrative and our Epistle, for such generalities of expression are what most persons may constantly detect themselves in using. The accuracy of the pedant neither belongs to St. Paul’s Epistles nor to real life.
Regions.—The Greek word here is the same as that which is translated “parts” in Rom_15:23, where see the Note.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and…
Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia (epeita hlqon eijv tamata thv Suriav kaiav); then I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. St. Luke tells Us (Act_9:30) that "the brethren brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus." The verb "brought down" of itself indicates that the Caesarea here mentioned was Caesarea Stratonis, the seaport of Jerusalem, and not Caesarea Philippi towards Damascus (see Bishop Lightfoot on (Gal_1:21) When, later, Barnabas required Saul"s help at Antioch, it was to Tarsus that he went to seek him. It is, therefore, probable that, in mentioning "Syria" with "Cilicia" as containing "regions" (cf. 2Co_11:10) in which, after this departure from Jerusalem, he was actively engaged in ministerial work, he is thinking of the northern part of Syria, as in "Cilicia" he is thinking of the eastern portion of Cilicia about Tarsus; northern Syria and eastern Cilicia having a great geographical affinity (see Conybeare and Howson, vol. 1. pp. 26, 130). It thus appears that the Epistle is in perfect harmony with the Acts. To the apostle"s labours during this period that he was making Tarsus his head-quarters, was most probably due in no small measure the founding of the Churches in Syria, and especially in Cilicia, which are referred to in Act_15:23, Act_15:41.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
Gal_1:21
I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
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Christian service
I. Its sphere.
1. Among strangers--Syria.
2. Friends--Cilicia.
II. Its nature.
1. Not
(1) the propagation of philosophic dogmas;
(2) the practice of mere philanthropy;
(3) the gathering of a personal following.
2. But preaching the faith once destroyed.
(1) The unconverted destroy the faith by opposition or neglect--He that is not for Me, etc.
(2) It is the duty of the converted to repair the injuries they have inflicted on the faith.
III. Its fame. Strangers hear of it.
1. Not trumpeted by self or interested friends.
2. Not secured by unworthy arts.
3. But by words which, like light, cannot be hid. This is true popularity, and has been won by Carey, Judson, Hunt, Moffat, Ellis, etc.
IV. Its Result: Gods glory.
1. This was what Paul wished.
2. His apostleship was not of man but of God. God, therefore, deserved the praise. All ministerial and Church gifts from Him, therefore to Him the glory.
Apostolic labours
I. The work to which Paul was devoted was preaching the faith. The preaching of the faith signified--
1. The declaration of the whole gospel. He had been subdued by the gospel, and what he had felt of the word of life that he declared unto others.
II. Pauls labours were exercised in different places. In Damascus and Jerusalem, and now in various parts of Cilicia as well as Syria, Paul preached the gospel. His message was the same in substance in every place, be-cause--
1. All men needed salvation; and,
2. A salvation was provided for all.
III. Pauls labours were extensive in their influence. Even those who had not seen his face heard of him, and of the grace of God which was manifested by him. Many of them in Judaea who once dreaded his name were now cheered and blessed, and their faith was strengthened by what they heard of him.
IV. Pauls labours exalted the glory of God. It is of Gods grace when, from a persecutor and misleader, a man becomes a true teacher and confessor. O wonder! Is not that as much as if a dead man were raised to life? And it serves to the praise of the Divine confession that the Lord does not destroy His enemies, but wins them over, and converts them to His service. Lessons:
1. The religion of Jesus Christ inspires a man to active service. His love constrains every believer to do something in His cause.
2. A holy and zealous life is a confirmation of the truth. Hence Paul introduced the text as an argument to show that the mission entrusted to him was of God. (Richard Nicholls.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 21. Afterwards I came into … Syria and Cilicia.…
21. Afterwards I came into … Syria and Cilicia. See Acts 9:30. He was forced to leave Jerusalem by the attempt of the Hellenistic Jews to kill him.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Then I came into the regions of Syria and…
Then I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 regions of
regions of
"part of the world called"
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They only heard it being said
"but they only knew what they heard others saying about me"
I was still not personally known to the churches of Judea that are in Christ
"None of the people in the churches of Judea that are in Christ had ever met me"
translationWords
Syria
Cilicia
church
Judea
in Christ
persecute
preach
faith
glory
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:21-22 Paul was not working under the supervision of…
1:21-22 Paul was not working under the supervision of the apostles in Jerusalem nor of the churches . . . in Judea.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.