Paul the Apostle

6.1

A Christian leader from long ago who wrote many letters in the New Testament

proper noun

: Pablo el Apóstol

Paul the Apostle traveled extensively to spread Christianity.

Examples

Before his conversion, Paul the Apostle was known as Saul of Tarsus.
Paul the Apostle is credited with writing many of the letters found in the New Testament.
Many churches are named after Paul the Apostle due to his influence on Christianity.
Many letters in the New Testament were written by Paul the Apostle.
Paul the Apostle is credited with writing many of the letters found in the New Testament.
Before his conversion, Paul the Apostle was known as Saul of Tarsus.
Many churches are named after Paul the Apostle due to his influence on Christianity.

Synonyms

Paul

vsPaul the Apostle

∞ 3.0

A Christian leader in the New Testament who taught many people and wrote letters to churches

uses the longer, more formal name rather than this shorter personal form

Saul

vsPaul the Apostle

15 6.1

The original name of Paul, a Christian leader

refers to the later, widely used name rather than the original birth name

St. Paul

vsPaul the Apostle

1 5.7

A Christian missionary who spread Christianity across the Roman world and wrote letters in the New Testament

gives the complete name used in the entry rather than the honorific title

Apostle Paul

vsPaul the Apostle

1 7.2

A Christian leader who taught non-Jewish people and wrote letters to early churches

is the specific full name form used by the key concept

Saint Paul

vsPaul the Apostle

1 3.6

A Christian leader who taught people about Jesus and wrote letters in the New Testament

is the specific personal-name form rather than a religiously titled version

Saul of Tarsus

vsPaul the Apostle

8.1

The original name of Paul the Apostle, an early Christian missionary and writer

uses the later, commonly known name instead of the original personal name

Apostle of the Gentiles

vsPaul the Apostle

Formal

8.5

A title for Saint Paul, a Christian leader who spreads Christianity to non-Jewish people

refers to the person generally, not specifically to that mission role

Surface Forms

Paul the Apostle main

Morphology

Paul + the + apostle

This is a compositional proper-name phrase: 'Paul' (a person) combined with the definite article and 'apostle' (an important early Christian teacher) yields 'Paul who is an apostle/early Christian missionary', a meaning directly derivable from the constituents. The pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows 'Paul' and 'apostle' would understand the referent without needing prior exposure.

Etymology

Paul the Apostle was first called Saul, and one famous story says he saw a bright light on the road to Damascus and then changed his life to travel and teach about Jesus. Because he traveled to many places and wrote letters to new churches, people call him an 'apostle' and remember him for those journeys and writings.