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Acts 22 · a question people ask

In the temple, Paul "saw him saying to me" (22:18). Who is "him"?

In the text

Paul tells it in his own words: "When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance" (22:17) "and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’" (22:18). Paul answers him as "Lord": "I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you." (22:19) "When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’" (22:20). The one who speaks says me (22:18), and Paul speaks to him of "those who believed in you" (22:19) and "Stephen, your witness" (22:20). Earlier in the same telling, on the road, Paul had asked, "Who are you, Lord?" (22:8), and heard, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute." (22:8). These notes say only what these verses say.

The verses

““When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’ I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you. When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’”
Acts 22:17-20 · World English Bible
“I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.’”
Acts 22:8 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Acts 22

Acts 22: Brothers and fathers, listen

Paul began his defense with the words Stephen began with, "Brothers and fathers" (7:2, 22:1), and they listened as he told of the light, the voice and "I am Jesus of Nazareth" (22:8), until he told them what he was told in the temple: "Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles." (22:21).

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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions