In Philippians 3:5 Paul described himself as “a Hebrew of Hebrews.” A Jew would have known exactly what he meant. Virtually nothing but Jewish influence touched him in his early childhood. Unlike the typical family today, the father assumed primary responsibility for training the child. The Code of Jewish Law states, “It is the duty of every father to train his children in the practice of all the precepts, whether Biblical or Rabbinical…It is also incumbent upon the father to guard his children against any forbidden act” (Code, IV, p. 47). As a Pharisee, Saul’s father would have assumed his responsibility with great sobriety. We may have to fight the temptation to automatically attach a negative connotation to the term Pharisee. Read F.B. Meyer’s description:“The word Pharisee is a synonym for religious pride and hypocrisy; but we must never forget that in those old Jewish days the Pharisee represented some of the noblest traditions of the Hebrew people. Amid the prevailing indifference the Pharisees stood for a strict religious life…Amid the lax morals of the time, which infected Jerusalem almost as much as Rome, the Pharisee was austere in his ideals, and holy in life.” *
Some gave the Pharisees a bad name, just as some Christians give Christianity a bad name. Saul’s father was not likely one of them, although a number of scholars wonder if he might have been excessively strict, based on the apostle’s words in Ephesians 4:6.
Jewish parents considered children the utmost blessing from God and loved them dearly. The ancient historian Josephus said of the Jew, “We lay greater stress on the training of the children than on anything else, and regard observance of the Law and a corresponding godly life as the most important of all duties.” Although young Saul grew up in a very strict home, he likely enjoyed the utmost devotion of his father to his godly upbringing.
The rabbinic laws taught father to begin teaching their children the ways of God from the earliest understanding. As little more than a toddler, Saul learned to say the Schmone-Ezre – the primary prayers of the Jews – morning, noon, and night. He learned to prayer before and after every meal. He actively participated in the traditional feasts as soon as he could talk. A child of normal intelligence read Scriptures by five years of age. At six years old Saul began his education at the school of a rabbi. These schools were ordinarily attached to the community synagogue. The Jewish population was large enough to have at least one active synagogue in Tarsus. Lessons were tedious and teachers were strict, but Jewish children were rarely caught roaming the streets.
Soon after his sixth birthday, Paul would have memorized Deuteronomy 6:4-9, the words on the tiny scroll inside the Mesusah on the doorway of his home. Far more impressively, he also memorized Psalms 113-118! Imagine all six Psalms being seared into you as a child. Being a Hebrew wasn’t just a religion. Judaism wasn’t even just a way of life. Being Hebrew defined who you were, how you thought, what you felt. By the time Saul was 10 years old. He would have known the intricacies of the oral law. Young Saul’s mind was thoroughly stretched with constant memorization. He had little choice but to “meditate on the law both day and night” just to prepare for the following days lessons.
The years between 10 and 13 are transforming for any boy, but a particular metamorphosis took place in a Jewish boy’s life. By age 13, for all practical purposes, he was considered a man. Once he reached this gateway he was considered a son of the law. He assumed all the religious responsibilities of the adult Jew. He started wearing phylacteries, called tefflin, during weekday morning prayers. Phylacteries were two black leather cubes with long leather straps. The cubes held certain passages from the Torah written on strips of parchment. Saul wore one of the cubes on the left arm facing his heart wound exactly seven times. The other cube was worn in the center of his forehead.
The Code of Jewish Law prescribed that a Jewish man (13 years or older) was to put on the tefflin at the first moment in the morning when enough daylight shone to recognize a neighbor at a distance of four cubits (Code, I, p. 27). Saul would have performed this ritual in complete silence. If interrupted for even a moment, he would have to start all over, repeating the appropriate benedictions. A Jewish man got up every morning remembering to whom he belonged; the binding tefflin a physical reminder of his binding relationship to God. The law of the Lord was Saul’s life. *
* Excerpts from To Live Is Christ and The Life of Paul
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