Cilicia

Biblical Text

In the New Testament, Cilicia appears mainly in connection with Paul.

• Acts 6:9: Jews from Cilicia, Asia, and elsewhere disputed with Stephen in the synagogue.
• Acts 21:39; 22:3: Paul introduces himself as a man of "Tarsus, a city in Cilicia." Tarsus was the principal city of the region.
• Acts 23:34: The governor Felix asks what province Paul is from and learns that he is "of Cilicia."
• Acts 15:23, 41: The letter sent by the Council of Jerusalem was addressed "unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia." Paul afterward traveled through the region, "confirming the churches."
• Acts 27:5: The ship carrying Paul as a prisoner to Rome sailed over "the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia."
• Galatians 1:21: Paul writes that after his conversion, "I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia."

Background

Cilicia lies between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Its western part is rugged mountain country and its eastern part a fertile plain, so from ancient times the region was divided into two distinct districts. The Cilician Gates, a pass through the mountains, were located here, making the region a key route linking the interior of Asia Minor with Syria. Some scholars trace the name to "Hilakku," a place name found in ancient Assyrian records.

Rome took control of the region in the first century BC, prompted by its campaigns to suppress piracy. In Paul's day, eastern Cilicia is understood to have been administered together with Syria. Some interpreters see the phrase "Syria and Cilicia" in Galatians 1:21 as reflecting this administrative arrangement.

Biblical Significance

Cilicia attests that Paul came from the Diaspora (the Jewish communities scattered outside Palestine). It was also a setting for the early mission to the Gentiles. Since Acts 15 indicates that churches already existed in the region, it is evident that the gospel spread early beyond the vicinity of Antioch.

Interpretation and Issues

• According to Acts 9:30 and 11:25, after his conversion Paul stayed in Tarsus until Barnabas sought him out and brought him to Antioch. Many hold that the churches of Cilicia were founded through Paul's ministry during this period, although the text does not say so explicitly.
• Interpreters differ on whether Acts 6:9 refers to a single synagogue or to several. Some have speculated that Paul, being from Cilicia, attended this synagogue, but the text contains no such statement.
• Cilicia is said to have been famous for cloth woven from goat hair. For this reason some connect it with Paul's trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3), but Scripture does not make this connection directly.
• In 1 Kings 10:28, a Hebrew word that the New Korean Revised Version renders "in droves" (KJV "linen yarn") is read by many scholars and some translations as the place name "Kue." On this reading, Kue is understood to refer to eastern Cilicia.