Social and Cultural Context of the Apostle Paul

The apostle Paul lived in the Greco-Roman milieu: he spoke and wrote in Greek while being a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28). Furthermore, Paul was a "Hebrew of Hebrews," belonging to the tribe of Benjamin (circumcised the eighth day), and he was trained at the feet of the Jewish rabbi, Gamaliel (Philippians 3:4-6; Acts 22:3). Paul's status as a Roman citizen, his upbringing as a Jew in a 1st century Greco-Roman world ultimately shaped his personality, writing style and way of communicating. Of course, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jehovah God also imparted special wisdom to this man by means of the holy spirit. As Peter wrote, "just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom that was given to him" (2 Peter 3:15 LEB), that is, the wisdom was granted to him by God.

Like other people, Paul had his own idiolect and spoke and wrote according to a particular sociolect. All of these factors must be taken into account when reading Paul or any other Bible writer.