THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES - Chapter 21 - Verse 39
Verse 39. A Jew of Tarsus. A Jew by birth. See Barnes "Ac 9:11".
Of no mean city. Not obscure, or undistinguished. He could claim an honourable birth, so far as the place of his nativity was concerned. See Barnes "Ac 9:11".
Tarsus was much celebrated fro its learning, and was at one time the rival of Alexandria and Athens. Xenophon calls it a great and flourishing city. Anabasis. Josephus (Antiq. b. i. chap vi & 6) says that it was the metropolis and most renowned city among them. [the Cilicians.]