Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Acts 22:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Identifies Paul as a Tarsus-born Jew educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel.
Read It With
- Acts 22:1–22:5
Acts 22:3 identifies Paul as a Tarsus-born Jew educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel; within Acts 22:1–22:5, the controlling movement is that Addressing brothers and fathers, Paul identifies his Jewish birth, Jerusalem education under Gamaliel, zeal for God, persecution of the Way, and authorization from priestly leaders.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Identifies Paul as a Tarsus-born Jew educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. This precise contribution belongs inside “Paul establishes his Jewish formation and former violence” because Addressing brothers and fathers, Paul identifies his Jewish birth, Jerusalem education under Gamaliel, zeal for God, persecution of the Way, and authorization from priestly leaders.
What Remains True
Because Acts 22:3 identifies Paul as a Tarsus-born Jew educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel, faithful witness must preserve the verse's speaker, narrated setting, people affected, and the full movement of Acts 22:1–22:5 before drawing an enduring claim.
How It Can Shape Life
- For Acts 22:3, first identify this verse role—identifies Paul as a Tarsus-born Jew educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel; then explain the contextual meaning in Acts 22:1–22:5; preserve the proportionate truth about accountable witness; finally apply this boundary: The testimony does not authorize antisemitism, romanticize persecutor credentials, or make religious education responsible for violence as such.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Acts 22:1–22:5 — Paul establishes his Jewish formation and former violenceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Exact location: Acts 22:1–22:5, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text, Acts 22:1-22:5
Open the Acts Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 22:1-22:5
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Acts
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 22:1–22:5
Open source ↗