The Mystery of St Paul, the tentmaker.

The ancient biblical texts provide a fertile ground for scholars and ordinary folk to discuss various perspectives and inconsistencies.  One such fact concerns Paul’s status as a Roman Citizen and the extent his family wealth may have funded his numerous journeys abroad.

 

He is described as a Tentmaker and as a Roman citizen. His prior education at the behest of the best scholars leave little doubt he grew up in a very wealthy family of considerable influence.

 

Imagine tent making then would have been one of the largest industries as tents provided the wealthy and traders with the means to relative comfort in what otherwise would be an unduly harsh environment. 

The material was also used as sails so that possibly the extent of its prominence is hard to imagine for us today. 

 

Tents were also used in war and possibly Paul’s family business may have been instrumental in supporting the Romans, who in turn elevated the family and offspring to the status of Roman citizens. In Paul’s letters he makes mention at times to complicated financial arrangements involving guarantees and legal terms which would only be understood by the few of the wealthy class. The fact he was able to defend himself in Roman courts on numerous occasions speak volumes to someone who carried a great deal of influence and who was able to possibly hire what was then the equivalent today of top defence lawyers. 

 

He survived for many years extricating himself from various charges levied against him. Notice that in Luke it is addressed to a single person.  One might speculate it was the equivalent today of a top QC, whose brief was to defend Paul against the charge of insurrection. 

 

That designated person, possibly was a Roman, given the task of preparing the brief, a task that might have involved several years investigatory activities of the complete ministry and background of Jesus, since Paul’s ministry was to establish the new messianic kingdom of the resurrected Christ. That would be a fitting precursor to examining his many missions abroad, where it would be asserted his activities did not involve treasonable offences against Rome. That explains why Luke is so long and its inconsistencies to the other gospels. Luke might have first been written for that official reason, to take on a later revelatory purposes in the future.  

 

The cost of such investigatory work would be huge and one could imagine a massive number of interviews and the copying of manuscripts, letters and notices that could only be contemplated by those of very considerable wealth. 

 

Of course all of this is pure speculation. But Luke, and the following Acts of the Apostles may provide the more comprehensive avenue for biblical study. 

Another interesting text is the very short, but dense letter of Paul to Philemon, whilst he was imprisoned in Rome. We have to understand there were no prisons then in first century Roman Times. Rather, there were designated places you were held, whilst awaiting trial. The Romans used crucifixion and exile for the higher crimes or house arrest for others.  Whilst  under this so called house arrest whilst in Rome, he writes the short letter to Philemon. He implores Philemon to take back his former slave. 'Onesimus'.

 

We also have to understand that slavery then was nothing like the heinous exploitation of which we are familiar. No doubt slaves of course, all wanted to be free, but Roman conquests meant the vanquished all became slaves regardless of prior rank. Some were treated well and some badly at the sole discretion of the owner. But it was also possible for relationships to develop.

 

Additionally Rome specifically made provision for all slaves to be freed after serving a form of apprenticeship in what was then the largest metropolis in the world, of over a million people. Arrests could also be made for debts unpaid and an indebted person, could end up as a slave by way of settlement. So we don’t know how Onesimus became a slave to Philemon, but it could conceivably be he was simply unable to repay a debt. The interesting point is Paul asks Philemon not to take him back as a slave, since any amount owing is for his account. That is just another example of Paul’s wealth, even after all of his costly journeys abroad. 

Paul’s letter to Philemon ends on a positive note, saying that he believes that Philemon will do even more than he suggests.

So that maybe we might conclude Luke, the Acts of the Apostle and the letter to Philemon when he was imprisoned in Rome as an old man, represent the more reliable facts as they relate to that time and provide some valuable insight into the mystery of St Paul the Apostle.