Bible Location
Meaning: winged; feathered · 5 cross references · Modern-day map available
Tarsus was the chief city of Cilicia and the birthplace of Paul. It is important because it links Paul's background to a major Hellenistic city and appears repeatedly in the early stages of his ministry story. First appears in Acts 9:11.1
Place meaning
winged; feathered
Coordinates
36.91, 34.90
First appears
Acts 9:11
AI summary: Tarsus matters because it gives Paul a concrete social and cultural origin. Acts names it as his home city, the place to which he returns for a time, and the place from which Barnabas later brings him into wider Antioch ministry. Because Tarsus was a significant center of learning and commerce, it also helps explain the intellectual and geographic breadth of Paul's later work. The cross references present Tarsus as a major Cilician city that forms the background to the apostle's identity and calling.1
Place meaning
winged; feathered
Latitude
36.91
Longitude
34.90
Bible references
5
The chief city of Cilicia. It was distinguished for its wealth and for its schools of learning, in which it rivalled, nay, excelled even Athens and Alexandria, and hence was spoken of as “no mean city.” It was the native place of the Apostle Paul (Acts 21:39). It stood on the banks of the river Cydnus, about 12 miles north of the Mediterranean. It is said to have been founded by Sardanapalus, king of Assyria. It is now a filthy, ruinous Turkish town, called Tersous. (See PAUL.) 3
Source note: this 1893 dictionary language reflects its period and may be culturally insensitive or outdated. It is presented as historical source material, not as ai-BIBLE’s language, interpretation, or endorsement.
AI-assisted summary prepared for ai-BIBLE and stored as page content, based on dictionary material, place metadata, and linked Bible cross references.
Alistair de Blacquiere-Clarkson, “ai-BIBLE Bible Names JSON Factsheet Aggregating Material from Smith’s Bible Dictionary & Hitcocks’s New and Complete Analysis of the Bible.” ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
M.G.Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ai-BIBLE electronic edition, version 1.0.
Robert Rouse, “Theographic Bible Information,” Theographic-Bible-Metadata, 2020, https://github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata.