Chronology and Locations of Paul’s Letters

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Chronology and Locations of the Writing of Acts and Paul’s Letters
and of Key Individuals and Events Mentioned in them
Rick Aschmann

Last updated:

8-Sep-2018 at 13:13

(See History.)

For the letters explicitly attributed to Paul it is almost always possible to determine where they were written (except Galatians and Titus) and when they were written (except Galatians) based on information provided in the letters themselves. I also include the date of writing of Acts, which was written by Luke, and I often mention Luke’s involvement, since he was a key player in Paul’s life and ministry, and his biographer.

Names of letters and their places of writing are in red and dates and major time periods are in green. The thick horizontal green lines mark the beginnings and ends of Paul’s Missionary Journeys and his Journey to Rome, as well as his three imprisonments (One in Caesarea and two in Rome).

I will also often highlight individuals who are mentioned in Paul’s letters, in boldface, especially those mentioned in more than one context in the life of Paul. For those I have chosen to highlight I have included all references to these individuals in Paul’s letters, and also nearly all occurrences in the relevant part of Acts.

Coauthors of Paul’s letters are listed in column 3 in boldface. These are always mentioned at the very beginning of each letter. Except for 1 Corinthians, coauthored by Sosthenes (see below), only Timothy (6 letters) and Silvanus (Silas) (2 letters) are coauthors with Paul.

(Sometimes a coauthor seems to have had little or no actual part in the writing, but was more in the role of someone who affirmed what Paul had written, since Paul often writes the entire letter in first person singular as if there is no coauthor. For instance, in 1 Corinthians Sosthenes is listed as the coauthor, but is never referred to again, and Paul uses “I” or “me” very often throughout the book. The times he uses “we” or “us” it is clear that he is either including his readers or some other clearly identified leader like Apollos or Barnabas in the “we” or “us”, never Sosthenes. On the other hand, in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, which were coauthored by Timothy and Silvanus (Silas), Paul treats them as genuine coauthors, so that “we” and “us” are the rule, “I” is very rare and “me” never occurs. The other letters will be somewhere in between.)

I also include in column 1 some important events mentioned in Paul’s letters (some only mentioned there). I have also included a few events that are not mentioned directly in Paul’s letters, but which are helpful in providing a context for those that are. These are indicated with a grey background.

Letter, Time
Period,
or Key Event

Where
Written or
Occurred

Date,
coauthor
if any, etc.[1]

Evidence for where and when a letter was written, as well as events that
occurred before and after to show the context in which it was written

External
References

References in
the Letters

Founding of
Antioch church

Antioch
(in Syria)

Paul and Barnabas[2] found the church here.

Acts 11:19-28

Paul’s
celestial
vision

Antioch??

43-44?

Paul has a marvellous vision of heaven in which he “heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter”, which he writes about 14 years later in 2 Corinthians, written probably in Fall 57. If we subtract 14 from 57 we find that this would have occurred in 43, which would put it during Paul’s first year of teaching with Barnabas in the church in Antioch described in Acts 11:26. (See my New Testament chronology page.) However, some commentators would associate it with the trance mentioned by Paul in Acts 22:17, which occurred in Jerusalem, and the time frame would permit this if it occurred during the famine relief visit in 44. However, this assumes that Paul is talking about this visit to Jerusalem in Acts 22:17, whereas it seems more natural to me to assume it occurred on the earlier visit after his conversion in 38 mentioned in Acts 9:26-30 and Galatians 1:18-19. (Search for Acts 22:17 on this page to see arguments for and against this theory.)

2 Cor. 12:2-4

Collection
for Judea
famine and
Jerusalem visit

Antioch,
Jerusalem

Paul and Barnabas visit Jerusalem with a collection for the famine there.

Acts 11:27-30

Death of James

Jerusalem

The Apostle James is killed by Herod (Agrippa I).

Acts 12:1-2

Miraculous escape of Peter, first mention of John Mark.

Acts 12:3-19

Death of Herod (Agrippa I).

Acts 12:19-24

Paul and Barnabas return home to Antioch, taking John Mark with them.

Acts 12:25

First

Missionary

Journey

Cyprus,
Pamphylia,
Galatia

Time
unknown

Paul and Barnabas set out on their First Missionary Journey into Asia Minor, taking John (Mark) (Acts 13:5) with them. However, John (Mark) abandons them in Pamphylia and returns to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13), which becomes an issue later on.

Acts 13

Acts 14

Problem about
circumcision

Antioch

Early 49?

Paul and Barnabas are involved in a sharp dispute with some Jews from Judea who said that believers must be circumcised to be saved. The church sends them to Jerusalem to a council.

Acts 15:1-3

Council in
Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Early 49?

This was the first church council, and Paul and Barnabas attended from Antioch. See also the comment on Galatians 2:1-10 in the discussion of the date of writing of Galatians below. Peter (Cephas) and James (the brother of Jesus) confirmed that they should not put a heavy yoke on the Gentiles.

Acts 15:4-35

Gal. 2:1-10

Galatians 2:1-3 is the earliest mention of Titus, who surprisingly is never mentioned by name in Acts, though other important disciples and companions of Paul, like Timothy, figure largely there.[3] Thus the only information we have about him is found in Paul’s letters. He does not appear again for another 8 years, when he is mentioned repeatedly in 2 Corinthians (see multiple references in the year 57 below). He was evidently a Greek, possibly from Antioch, and was apparently never circumcised (as this passage shows), unlike Timothy (Acts 16:3).

Gal. 2:1-3

This event is also the earliest mention of Silas (called Silvanus in Paul’s letters and in 1 Peter 5:12), not yet as a companion of Paul, but as one of two delegates sent by the council from Jerusalem to Antioch with the results of the council. They apparently return to Jerusalem as stated in Acts 15:33, but Silas reappears in Antioch a few months later as Paul’s companion on his Second Missionary Journey a few months later.[4]

Acts 15:22,

27,32,(33,34)

Visit of Peter
to Antioch

Antioch

49??

Peter visits Antioch, acts hypocritically with respect to the principles resolved in the Council in Jerusalem (and which had already been established in part in Acts 11:1-18), because of the arrival of some brothers from James (the brother of Jesus) in Jerusalem, and leads many other Jews astray, including Barnabas, but is confronted by Paul. This event is only mentioned in Galatians. Most commentators take the natural sequence of events in Galatians and place this event after the Council in Jerusalem. It looks a bit like what happened in Acts 15:1-3, but is clearly a distinct event. I have placed it here, but it could have occurred later, any time before the writing of Galatians, which itself is quite uncertain.

Gal. 2:11-14

Start of
Second
Missionary
Journey

Antioch
(in Syria)

Late 49?

Paul and Barnabas prepare to leave again on a Second Missionary Journey, but have a serious disagreement about whether to take along his cousin John Mark, who had abandoned them in the middle of the First Missionary Journey (Acts 13:13), and part company. Barnabas and John Mark set out for Cyprus, whereas Paul sets out for Syria, accompanied this time by Silas.

(However, this rift between Paul and Barnabas and John Mark turns out not to have been permanent: Barnabas is mentioned several times in Paul’s letters (see endnote 2), always positively, and John Mark is similarly mentioned quite positively, in Colossians 4:10 as someone to be welcomed, in 2 Timothy 4:11 as someone useful to Paul for ministry, and in Philemon 24 as sending greetings to Philemon. And John Mark was apparently Peter’s companion later on, as is suggested in 1 Peter 5:13.)

Acts 15:36-40

Derbe &
Lystra

Timothy joins them in Lystra (his hometown) and is circumcised. Paul had probably met him several years earlier on his First Missionary Journey (see NT Chronology expanded).

Acts 16:1-3

Iconium &
Antioch
(in Pisidia)?

They travel from town to town, strengthening the churches. (The only other churches we know to have existed in the area then were those in Iconium and Antioch.)

Acts 16:4-5

Phrygia
& Mysia

They continue travelling, but the Holy Spirit forbids them to preach the word in the province of Asia.

Acts 16:6-8

Troas

Paul receives the “Macedonian call”.

Acts 16:9

Luke apparently meets Paul and his companions in Troas (possibly for the first time), joins their group from that point on, as evidenced by his suddenly beginning to use the pronoun “we” and its corresponding verb forms, and travels with them to Philippi. (See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.)

Acts 16:10-17

Philippi

Paul and Silas are arrested in Philippi (and plant the church there). (Their companions Timothy and Luke are not arrested with them.)

Acts 16:12‑40

1 Thess. 2:2

(Luke may have remained in Philippi for the next nine years, until April 58, since the next time he travels with Paul they leave from Philippi. See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.)

(Acts 20:5-6)

Thessalonica

Paul and Silas plant the church in Thessalonica.

Acts 17:1‑9

1 Thess. 1:4‑2:16, 3:4

Berea

Paul and Silas are forced to leave Thessalonica (for Berea).

Acts 17:10-13

1 Thess. 2:17

Athens

Paul reaches Athens, waits for Silas and Timothy.

Acts 17:14‑34

(1 Thess. 3:1)

Silas and Timothy arrive in Athens, and Timothy (and Silas) are immediately sent back to Thessalonica to see how the church is doing and to strengthen and encourage them.

1 Thess. 3:1‑5

Corinth

50, January

Paul moves on to Corinth, and meets Aquila and Priscilla, who had recently come from Rome because of the expulsion of the Jews by Claudius, which some external evidence suggests occurred in 49, which fits perfectly into the time frame.

Acts 18:1‑4

Silas and Timothy arrive in Corinth.

Acts 18:5

1 Thess. 3:6‑10

1 Thessalonians

Corinth

50
Timothy
& Silvanus
(Silas)

Paul immediately writes 1 Thessalonians, with Silas (Silvanus) and Timothy’s help. The book itself makes it clear that it was written in this context, since it details almost all of Paul’s itinerary in Europe up to this point, as can be seen in the rightmost column for the events above. This allows us to cross-reference it with Acts. It is this cross-referencing that makes it clear that the letter was written from Corinth, immediately after the arrival of Timothy (and Silas).

1 Thess. 1:1, 3:6

Corinth

Paul plants the church in Corinth,

Acts 18:1-8

1 Cor. 3:6a

and baptizes Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue,

Acts 18:8

1 Cor. 1:14

Gaius, who will be his host for three months 7 years later when he writes Romans,

Rom. 16:23,

1 Cor. 1:14

and the household of Stephanas,

1 Cor. 1:16

who were the very first converts in Corinth. Stephanas later visited him in Ephesus before he wrote 1 Corinthians.

1 Cor. 16:15-18

(See below twice at Winter 57-58 for more on Gaius.)

2 Thessalonians

Corinth

50-51
Timothy
& Silvanus
(Silas)

It is clear that this book was also written during Paul’s stay in Corinth, based on 2 Thess. 1:1 and the subject matter, but after 1 Thessalonians (2 Thess. 2:15). (This is the last information we have about Silas / Silvanus travelling with Paul. He may have returned to Antioch, his home church, since he apparently does not accompany Paul when he leaves Corinth. He is mentioned one more time by Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:19 in 57 (as Silvanus), but only looking back at this period. Peter later refers to a Silvanus in 1 Peter 5:12, who may have been the same person.)

Corinth

Paul remains in Corinth for more than 1½ years, establishing the church there.

Acts 18:11

1 Cor. 3:6a

Fall 51

Final legal attack on Paul by the Jews before the proconsul Gallio. It ends with Sosthenes the synagogue ruler being beaten by his fellow Jews. He may later have become a believer and been the same Sosthenes who coauthored 1 Corinthians with Paul 6 years later.

Acts 18:12-17

End of
Second

Ephesus

Late 51?

Paul leaves Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila and goes to Ephesus, ministering briefly and leaving Priscilla and Aquila there. They probably began the planting of the church that met in their home (mentioned 5½ years later by Paul in 1 Cor. 16:19) as early as this, though Paul would not rejoin them to help expand the work until ~~, which was the very beginning of the church-planting work there, though the real planting of the church would apparently not begin for another~~ 2 or 3 years later.[5]

Acts 18:18-20

Missionary
Journey

Antioch

Late 51?

Paul leaves Ephesus and returns to Antioch, apparently alone, completing the Second Missionary Journey.

Acts 18:21-22

In Antioch

Antioch

Late 51?-
Late 53?

“After spending some time there…” Paul continues to minister in Antioch some two years.

(This two-year figure for Paul’s stay in Antioch is not provided in the text of Acts. Instead, I calculated it from both ends, from the two known dates of Gallio in 51 and Porcius Festus in 60, both known from extra-biblical sources and shown in lavender on the New Testament chronology page), and then using other clues in the text to work towards the middle. Thus, the date of the end of the Second Missionary Journey depends on when Gallio was proconsul in Achaia in mid 51, whereas the start of the Third Missionary Journey depends on when Porcius Festus became procurator of Judea in mid 60, and is then calculated back to late 53 by using all of the other figures provided in the text of Acts.[6] Another evidence of the reliability of the Bible is that all of these figures fit nicely into the time available.)

Acts 18:23a

Galatians

50’s?

Galatians 2:1-10 is almost certainly (in my opinion, weighing all the evidence) talking about the Council in Jerusalem, which probably occurred in early 49 (see above). If so, then this book must have been written sometime after that, but cannot be pinned down any more than that. (This is the earliest mention of Titus, and one of the few mentions of Barnabas outside of Acts. See the Council in Jerusalem above.)

Other events and time spans mentioned in Galatians from the year 35 to the year 49 can best be seen on my New Testament chronology page, and are not included in this chart.

However, I should mention that Galatians is the only place that clarifies that the apostles that Saul was introduced to by Barnabas in Acts 9:27 were actually only Cephas (Peter) and “James the Lord’s brother”

Gal. 1:18-19

Galatia was not a city, but a Roman province (shown in green on the map below). The only places we know of that Paul visited in this province were Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, all in the far south of the province, and he apparently visited these cities on all three of his Missionary Journeys. Evidently this letter was intended to be circulated among all of these churches.

Start of
Third

Antioch

Late 53?

“…he departed…” Paul leaves Antioch to begin his Third Missionary Journey, apparently alone, which was unusual, or else his companions are simply not mentioned.

Acts 18:23b

Missionary
Journey

Galatia &
Phrygia

“…and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples”. The only places we know of where there were believers in Galatia were Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia, where Paul planted churches on his First Missionary Journey and visited on his Second Missionary Journey and again here.

As for where in Phrygia there were believers, this is not clear. On the Second Missionary Journey around 49 he and Silas travelled through Phrygia (Acts 16:6), probably the northern part since they were headed for Mysia, but there is no record of them doing any evangelism there, in fact the verse says that the Holy Spirit had forbidden them to speak in the province of Asia, of which Phrygia formed a part. The cities of Colossae and Laodicea were part of Phrygia, but the evidence suggests that Paul had never met any of the believers there, and it seems likely that the churches there had not yet been planted (see Colossians below). Antioch in Pisidia and Iconium were sometimes considered part of Phrygia, which the Romans had split between the provinces of Asia and Galatia, and it seems likely that the believers in one or both of these towns are the ones referred to.

Acts 18:23c

(Ephesus)

Apollos arrives in Ephesus; Priscilla and Aquila correct his doctrine.

Acts 18:24-26

(Corinth)

Apollos arrives in Corinth and greatly helps the believers. Thus when Paul says “I planted the seed” in 1 Cor. 3:6 he is referring to Paul’s 1½ years in Corinth in 50 and 51, and when he says “Apollos watered it” he is referring to this period of time when Apollos was in Corinth. (Apollos and Paul had evidently not yet met at this point, since Paul will only arrive in Ephesus after Apollos left. See comments in Spring 57 below.)

Acts 18:27-
19:1a

1 Cor. 3:6b

Ephesus

54?

Paul arrives in Ephesus at some time during Apollos’s time in Corinth, and he will stay there for three years., continuing the work of planting a church there that was started by Priscilla and Aquila. They are not mentioned here or again in Acts, but are clearly still there and working with Paul, as 1 Corinthians 16:19 suggests (see more below at 1 Corinthians).[7] (For more details about this time period, see my New Testament chronology page.)

Acts 19:1-720

(earlier letter
to the
Corinthians)

Ephesus??

1 Corinthians was not Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: there was an earlier letter about which we know very little. It may have been written during this time.

1 Cor. 5:9‑10

(earlier letter
from the
Corinthians)

(Corinth)

56??

The Corinthians had also written an earlier letter to Paul, probably after the preceding, raising various questions, which he answers starting in chapter 7. Answers to specific questions are introduced by the phrase “Now concerning…” (in the ESV), in 1 Cor. 7:1, 7:25, 8:1, 12:1, 16:1, and 16:12. It was almost certainly written during Paul’s stay in Ephesus, since he would not likely have waited three years to answer their important questions.

1 Cor. 7:1

Ephesus

Sometime before the writing of 1 Corinthians, Paul is visited in Ephesus by Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus from the church in Corinth, and is encouraged and refreshed by them. Stephanas was one of the few people that Paul had baptized during his initial stay in Corinth in 50-51. They could have brought the letter from the Corinthians to Paul.

1 Cor. 16:15-18,

1:14

Early 57?

Paul’s initial plans were to visit Corinth first after leaving Ephesus, but he changes his mind before writing 1 Corinthians, because of the problems in the church in Corinth, and decides to visit Macedonia first, but to write them a letter (1 Corinthians) first to address the problems.

2 Cor. 1:15‑2:4

1 Cor. 16:6‑8

Paul sends Timothy and Erastus ahead to Macedonia, with the intention that they continue on to Corinth if possible, as he makes clear in two places in 1 Corinthians, their purpose in Corinth being “to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17), and perhaps they were also to take the time to encourage and exhort the churches in Macedonia. However, since Timothy is still in Macedonia at the writing of 2 Corinthians a few months later, and since Paul found it necessary to send Titus to Corinth in the meantime (see below), it seems probable that they never got there.

Acts 19:22

1 Cor. 4:17

1 Cor. 16:10-11

1 Corinthians

Ephesus

Spring
57?

Sosthenes[8]

Paul writes 1 Corinthians from Ephesus before Pentecost, planning to spend the winter there. I believe that this is the letter later referred to in 2 Corinthians, though others have assumed an intermediate letter that was even more severe than 1 Corinthians!

1 Cor. 16:6‑8

2 Cor. 2:3‑4, 7:8,12

Apparently Apollos is back in Ephesus from his time of “watering the seed” in Corinth (see above), and evidently he and Paul first meet here at some point during Paul’s three-year stay in Ephesus. According to 1 Cor. 16:12, Paul had wanted to send him back to Corinth “with the other brothers” who were taking this letter, but it was not convenient, and he would come “when he has opportunity”. (Among the Corinthians factions had developed around Paul and Apollos and others like Cephas (Peter), as various passages in the book show, but clearly Paul and Apollos feel no rivalry and are in perfect unity.)

1 Cor. 16:12
(1:12, 3:4-9,22, 4:6)

This letter includes the only confirmation that Jesus appeared separately to Cephas (Peter) after the resurrection, told very briefly in Luke 24:34.

1 Cor. 15:5

It also contains the only indication that Jesus appeared to his own brother James after the resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:7

This letter also includes one of the few mentions of Barnabas outside Acts, where Paul says, “is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?”, as distinguished from others like Cephas (Peter).

1 Cor. 9:5-6

Aquila and Priscilla are ~~apparently now living in Rome, and they and their church send greetings.~~still living in Ephesus,[9] having presumably lived there for the last 5½ years, since around late 51. They were mentioned once in the interim, around late 53, in Acts 18:24-26. Paul says that they and “the church [that meets] in their house” send greetings, which is clearly not the entire Christian church in Ephesus at the time, since the very next verse says “All the brothers [and sisters] send you greetings” (ESV). This might suggest that there were multiple full churches. However, after they leave Ephesus (see Romans below) it appears that “the whole church” was meeting at the house of Gaius, according to Romans 16:23 (ESV), so whether this was more of a Bible study or an official church congregation is unclear. (Similar questions arise in Romans 16:5, Colossians 4:15, and Philemon 2.)

1 Cor. 16:19

At some point after writing 1 Corinthians Paul apparently sends Titus to visit Corinth to see how his letter was received, expecting to meet him later in Troas (see below). This is only the second time Titus appears in the record, after the Council in Jerusalem 8 years earlier.

(2 Cor. 2:12‑13,

7:5‑8, 7:13-15)

May-June
57?

Paul leaves Ephesus for Macedonia at Pentecost, after having gone through serious trials in Ephesus. Acts 20:1 makes it sound like he was alone, but from 2 Cor. 7:5‑8 we know that he was not alone, because of the “we” verb forms used. Who was with him? It was not Luke, who would not rejoin Paul’s party until April 58 when they leave Philippi (see the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded). Nor was it Timothy or Erastus, who had been sent ahead to Macedonia (Acts 19:22). Coneybeare and Howson (page 479) suggest that it was probably Tychicus and Trophimus, since they are with him later in Corinth (Acts 20:4) and were both from the province of Asia, Trophimus specifically from Ephesus (Acts 21:29) and Tychicus probably so. John Phillips also proposes this, and it seems quite likely.

Acts 19:23

‑20:2

1 Cor. 16:8

1 Cor. 1:8‑10

2 Cor. 7:5‑8

Troas

He passes through Troas, expecting to find Titus there with news of his visit to Corinth, and apparently plans to stay there a while, but when he does not find Titus there, he hurries on to Macedonia.

2 Cor. 2:12‑13

Macedonia

He arrives in Macedonia (city not specified), and finds Titus there with good news from Corinth.

Acts 20:2

2 Cor. 7:5‑8, 7:13-15

2 Corinthians

Macedonia
(city not
specified)

Fall 57?
Timothy

Carriers:

Titus

(8:16-17)

& 2 others

(8:18-19,22,

12:18)

Paul writes 2 Corinthians from Macedonia, after experiencing more severe trials there. He apparently sends Titus back to Corinth with the letter, and also to get things moving for the collection for Judea. Two other brothers accompanied him, who are not named. The first of these, described in 2 Cor. 8:18-19 as a famous preacher and companion of Paul, may have been Luke (who may have lived in Philippi from Late 49 until April 58; see the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded), but if so he returned to Macedonia before Paul went there to spend the winter, since he does not travel again with Paul until April 58. However, it could just as easily have been someone else. (See biblehub.com/2_corinthians/8-18.htm, especially Jamieson-Fausset-Brown.) See also endnote 3. The second is similarly unknown; various opinions can be seen at biblehub.com/2_corinthians/8-22.htm.

2 Cor. 2:13,

7:5, 8:6, 8:16‑24,

12:18

Corinth

Winter
57-58?

Paul arrives in Corinth in Achaia, stays three months, and receives from them the collection for Judea.

Acts 20:2‑3

1 Cor. 16:1‑7

2 Cor. 8‑9

He is the guest of Gaius, whom he had baptized there 7 years earlier. (See more below.)

Rom. 16:23

1 Cor. 1:14

This was Paul’s third visit to Corinth. The first visit was clearly the one in Acts 18, because that was when the church was planted, but when the second one occurred is not known. The second visit was apparently a painful one, since Paul wanted to avoid “another painful visit” (2 Cor. 2:1) before writing 2 Corinthians. Some (e.g. the New Bible Dictionary, 1960 edition) have suggested that this first painful visit was after writing 1 Corinthians, but this would be hard to fit into the tight time frame. Others (e.g. Expositor’s Greek Testament) suggest that it was during Paul’s 3-year stay in Ephesus.)

2 Cor. 12:14, 13:1,
2:1

Romans

Corinth

Winter

Paul writes Romans from Corinth. This is suggested by the following facts:

57-58?

1. Paul asks the Roman Christians to give Phoebe a good reception. She was from the church in Cenchreae, a town near Corinth. This letter may have been delivered by her.

Romans 16:1‑2

Carrier:

Phoebe?

(Rom.

16:1‑2)

Amanuensis
or personal

2. The Gaius in Corinth whom Paul had baptized is likely the same Gaius who provided hospitality to Paul and many others mentioned in Romans. He seems to be a native of Corinth whom Paul met there, and who remained there for at least the next 7 years. So he would probably not be the same as Gaius the Macedonian who was with Paul in Ephesus in Acts 19:29. Nor would he be the same as Gaius of Derbe who was actually with Paul in Corinth in Acts 20:4 at the same time that Paul would have baptized this Gaius, or at least was there at the end of Paul’s time in Corinth, because he then left Corinth with Paul (Acts 20:4-5), whereas this Gaius apparently stayed.

1 Cor. 1:14

Romans 16:23

secretary:

Tertius
(Rom.
16:22)

3. Erastus, the “city treasurer” (ESV) or “city’s director of public works” (NIV) (ὁ οἰκονόμος τῆς πόλεως) mentioned in Romans, is likely the same Erastus that Paul will leave behind in Corinth a decade later. He is also likely mentioned in the Erastus Inscription (with pictures here), found in Corinth in 1929.[10] (I personally doubt that he was the same Erastus as mentioned in Acts 19:22 as being Paul’s helper who was sent from Ephesus to Macedonia, since he would have been an important official in Corinth.)

2 Tim. 4:20

Romans 16:23

4. Timothy and Sosipater are with Paul as he writes, and Timothy and Sopater (similar though not identical name, but evidently the same person) accompanied Paul to Jerusalem right at the end of his Third Missionary Journey, soon after his departure from Corinth.

Acts 20:4

Romans 16:21

5. He expects to visit Rome after he delivers the collection for Judea from the Macedonian and Achaian churches, after which he plans to go to Spain. This clearly puts the date at the end of the Third Missionary Journey.

Acts 19:21

Romans 15:23‑29

Priscilla and Aquila are evidently now ~~still~~ living in Rome again, having moved back there in the last few months, since they were still in Ephesus at the writing of 1 Corinthians in Spring 57, and Paul greets them and “the church [that meets] in their house”. Claudius died in 54 (see NT Chronology expanded), so presumably his expulsion decree was no longer in force, and Rome may have been their home town (or at least Priscilla’s, since Acts 18:2 says Aquila was from Pontus).

Romans 16:3-5

Macedonia

Early 58

Paul returns to Macedonia.

Acts 20:3b‑5

End of
Third

(specifically
Philippi)

58, April

He leaves Philippi (after Unleavened Bread), accompanied again by Luke, who had not travelled with him since Late 49, and who may have remained in Philippi during the intervening nine years. Luke may have remained with him for the rest of his life. See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.

Acts 20:5-6

Missionary
Journey

Jerusalem

58, May-
June

He arrives in Jerusalem, probably by Pentecost. This completes the Third Missionary Journey.

Acts 21:15

Acts 20:16

Imprisonment
in Caesarea

Caesarea

Summer 58-
Summer 60

Paul is arrested in Jerusalem and imprisoned for two years in Caesarea. The second “we” section of Acts ends with Acts 21:25 (21:18 is the last usage of “we” or “us”, but Luke was clearly there for the rest of the meeting), but this does not prove that Luke left him at this point, simply that he had no occasion to use a first-person plural pronoun or verb again until chapter 27. The great detail of the intervening chapters suggests to me that he was present. See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.

Acts 21:16-

26:32

Journey to Rome

Summer 60-
January 61

Paul is sent to Rome by ship, again accompanied by Luke (see the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded), and is shipwrecked on the way.

Acts 27:1-

28:16

Start of First
Roman
Imprisonment

Rome

January 61

Paul arrives in Rome, where he will be imprisoned for two years, his First Roman Imprisonment. The four letters written during this time are commonly called the Prison Epistles. (He was also in prison when he wrote 2 Timothy, but it is not normally included in this group, forming instead a part of the Pastoral Epistles.)

Acts 28:16-31

Ephesians

Rome

61-63

Carrier:

Tychicus

(Eph.

6:21-22)

Paul is in prison, which makes Rome the likely place of writing. It makes no mention of Paul’s imminent death, suggesting the first imprisonment. Tradition concurs with this.

A few manuscripts, including some of the oldest, omit “in Ephesus,” but the vast majority includes this phrase, and the claim that it was not sent to Ephesus seems to have been started by the heretic Marcion. The problem with this idea is that the Greek seems to require an expressed location:

…

τοῖς

ἁγίοις

τοῖς

οὖσιν

[ἐν

Ἐφέσῳ]

καὶ

πιστοῖς

ἐν

Χριστῷ

Ἰησοῦ·

…

to the

saints

the

(ones)

who are

[in

Ephesus]

and /

also

faithful (ones)

/ believers

Christ

Jesus:

…

If “in Ephesus” was not in the original it would leave the phrase “to the saints who are” incomplete! The footnote in the ESV suggests that the phrase that follows would complete it: “to the saints who are also faithful in Christ Jesus,” and the Greek certainly allows this, but it seems an odd thing to say. Which saints who are also faithful? All of them? It still seems incomplete. And it is unlike the salutation in any other letter Paul wrote, and Paul is clearly the author (1:1, 3:1), something no one has disputed, except some liberal scholars since the 19^th century. So I am convinced that it was indeed addressed to the saints in Ephesus.

However, the lack of any personal comments, again something all of Paul’s other letters have, and the fact that Paul writes as if he had not met at least some of his readers but had only heard about them (1:15) and they about him (3:2), makes it probable that it was intended to be circulated among various churches near Ephesus, including Colossae and Laodicea and probably also Hierapolis,[11] after the Ephesians had read it, like the letter to the Galatians. In fact, it is quite possible that this is “the letter from Laodicea” (i.e. the letter that would come to them by way of Laodicea) referred to in Col. 4:16.

Ephesians 3:1,

4:1, 6:20

Philippians

Rome

Late 62-
Early 63
Timothy

Carrier: Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25, 4:18)

Paul is in prison (1:7,13,14,17), but expects to be released soon (2:24). This clearly places it as written from Rome in late 62 or early 63. He hopes to send Timothy to them soon (2:19-23), though evidently later than Epaphroditus who carried the letter.

Colossians

Rome

Late 62-
Early 63
Timothy

Carriers:

Onesimus

(Phm.

10‑21,

Col. 4:9)

& Tychicus

(Col. 4:7-8).

These two letters were evidently written at the same time, and delivered together to Colossae, the first to the church in general, and the second personally to Philemon (and Apphia and Archippus in Philemon 2, presumably members of his family, perhaps wife and son, the latter also mentioned in Colossians 4:17), by his runaway slave Onesimus, who had run away to Rome, and there met Paul and became a Christian. He is accompanied by Tychicus. The two letters mention a number of the same people. Paul is in prison (Col. 4:3,10,18, Phm. 9,13,23), but expects to be released soon (Phm. 22). This clearly places these letters as written from Rome in late 62 or early 63, around the same time as Philippians.

Paul did not apparently plant the churches in Colossae and Laodicea, nor had he apparently ever visited them (Col. 1:4,7-9, 2:1), though he would probably have passed through both cities around 53 on his Third Missionary Journey, since both were on the main road from Antioch in Pisidia to Ephesus. Those churches, and apparently a third one in nearby Hierapolis,[12] were apparently planted by Paul’s colleague Epaphras (Col. 1:7-8, 4:12-13, Phm. 23), who was apparently from Colossae (Col. 4:12). When they were planted is unknown, but it was probably after Paul passed through there, which would explain why he hadn’t met the believers. It may have been shortly after that: the New Bible Dictionary suggests that it was during Paul’s 3-year stay at Ephesus from 54 to 57. Thus Epaphras may have been sent by the Ephesian church back to his home to evangelize and plant the church.

But Paul clearly knows Philemon and his family (Phm. 1-2,7,17,22), had evidently led him to the Lord (19), and had worked together with him (1,17), perhaps in Ephesus or in Rome.

The letter to the Colossians was also intended to be read by the church in Laodicea, and a letter he sent to Laodicea was to be read also in Colossae (Col. 4:15-16). This is either a lost letter, or quite possibly it was the letter to the Ephesians (see discussion above). One interesting thing that makes this more likely in my mind is that both Colossians and Ephesians were delivered by Tychicus. If this is true, then all four of the Prison Epistles would have been written in late 62 or early 63.

Luke is mentioned in Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24 as being with Paul at this time and sending greetings, confirming the evidence of Acts. (See the “we” sections of Acts in NT Chronology expanded.) John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, is also mentioned in Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24 as being with Paul and sending greetings.

Philemon

End of First
Roman
Imprisonment

Rome

Early 63

Paul is evidently released from prison, since Luke suggests in Acts 28:30 that he was released after a two-year imprisonment.

(Acts 28:30)

Acts
(written by
Luke)

63?

This is the obviously the earliest possible time for the writing of the book of Acts, because of Acts 28:30. The simple fact that the book ends at this point suggests that the book was written soon after, explaining why Luke omits the remainder of Paul’s life, even though he probably remained with him until the end, as is evidenced by the fact that he is with Paul at the writing of 2 Timothy (2 Tim. 4:11). Further evidence is found here: carm.org/when-was-acts-written.

Various
locations

Paul’s travels after this point are difficult to follow, but see Paul’s Life After his First Imprisonment. The letters he wrote from this point on are known as the Pastoral Epistles, since he sent them to pastors rather than churches.

1 Timothy

Macedonia

64-66?

Paul is not in prison, but is evidently in Macedonia (1:3), having recently left Timothy in Ephesus. This is evidently later than the events in Acts, so it falls in the years between his two imprisonments.

Titus

64-66?

Paul is not in prison, having recently left Titus in Crete (1:5) to organize things, and is making plans to spend the winter in Nicopolis (3:12), but it is not known where he is when he writes the letter. Again this is later than the events in Acts, so it falls in the years between his two imprisonments.

Several things seem to suggest that Titus’s assignment in Crete was not permanent: first that Paul summons him to winter with him at Nicopolis (3:12), being replaced either by an otherwise unknown Artemas or by Tychicus who is well known in other contexts, and second that Paul later sends him to Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10). However, church tradition (which must be taken with a grain of salt) suggests instead that these travels were temporary, and that he returned to Crete and remained there until his death.

In Titus we have the last reference to Apollos (3:13), whose ministry had been so important in Corinth. He apparently was in Crete along with an otherwise unknown lawyer Zenas. He may just have been visiting, or he may have been helping Titus in the churches there and was now ready to move on. Either way Paul again heartily endorses him.

2 Timothy

Rome

67-68?

Paul is again in prison (1:8, 2:9), his Second Roman Imprisonment, and expects to die soon (4:6-8), which makes it clear that this was written during his final imprisonment in Rome, during the persecution under Nero, probably near the end of Nero’s life. His only companion at this time is Luke (4:11).

Apparently Timothy is still in Ephesus, as various things in the letter suggest (1:15-18, 4:19). We know nothing about his later life except that Paul asks him to come to him in Rome (4:9) because he has no companions left except Luke. Paul asks him to bring John Mark with him (4:11), so apparently he is also in Ephesus at this time. 4:12 suggests that perhaps Tychicus replaces him (as he may have done with Titus). However, again church tradition (for what it is worth) suggests that he remained in Ephesus until his death.

Priscilla and Aquila have ~~apparently~~evidently moved back to Ephesus from Rome, where we last saw them 10 years earlier, and Paul greets them.

2 Tim. 4:19

We also get a last glimpse of Trophimus, whom Paul left sick in Miletus.

2 Tim. 4:20