# How Tall was Paul?



## sastark

Matthew Henry, in his commentary on Acts 9 writes, 



> one of the ancients call him, Homo tricubitalis--but four feet and a half in height



Can anyone on the Board tell me who Henry is citing here?


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## torstar

The Acts of Paul and Thecla, apparently


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## shawnanderson

Try here: [Fwd: Homo tricubitalis] 

I think this is the book he is referring to: The Messiah Jesus and John the Baptist according to Flavius Josephus' recently rediscovered 'Capture of Jerusalem' and other Jewish and Christian sources


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## Rufus

So, basically, according to some ancient source, St. Paul was four foot five


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## Berean

I couldn't resist...


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## Frosty

Whew! 4'6''! Just tall enough for Paul to ride his favorite ride all by himself! Now THAT would have been embarrassing!


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## Kevin

Craig Evans, in a class thtat I took a few years ago on NT backgrounds said that the average hight for a man at the time of Christ was 5'2". For women it was around 4'10".

So in that context 4'6" is not as short as it would be today.


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## E Nomine

Paul was less tall than king Saul.
That is all.


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## MarieP

Frosty said:


> Whew! 4'6''! Just tall enough for Paul to ride his favorite ride all by himself! Now THAT would have been embarrassing!


 
Yes, the Galatian Gyrotron was his favorite ride. He and Peter rode it together often. Unfortunately, one time Peter had stopped by to visit some new Gentile converts on the way, and he didn't sit down to eat with them because he didn't want to lose his lunch. Let's just say Paul was not happy...


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## Rufus

Berean said:


> I couldn't resist...


 
[video=youtube;kk1u-5mNmZQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk1u-5mNmZQ[/video]

Same thing?


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## Berean

Rufus said:


> Same thing?




Same thing, Sean. I lived through it.


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## Rufus

Berean said:


> Same thing, Sean. I lived through it.


 
I can not begin to understand your pain.


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## Peairtach

> But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 9Acts 13:9, ESV)



So why did Paul change his name from Saul, or did he always have the two names?



> 3972. Paulos pow'-los of Latin origin; (little; but remotely from a derivative of 3973, meaning the same); Paulus, the name of a Roman and of an apostle:--Paul, Paulus.





> 7586 Sha'uwl shaw-ool' passive participle of 7592; asked; Shaul, the name of an Edomite and two Israelites:--Saul, Shaul.



There is a description of Paul in the apocryphal "Acts of Paul and Thecla":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_Paul_and_Thecla

Not a source one could have any confidence in even regarding the physical description of the Apostle.


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## seajayrice

Hard to imagine Paul so short, by all accounts he was a reputable person.


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## Pergamum

The calling of God as an apostle fell on him last because it had further to travel maybe.


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## MarieP

Pergamum said:


> The calling of God as an apostle fell on him last because it had further to travel maybe.


 
Well, he was less than the least of all the saints...


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