The Workshop as a Social Setting

for Paul's Missionary Preaching

RONALD F. HOCK
School of Religion
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90007

IN ONE of his political tractates Plutarch criticizes certain philosophers

for refusing to converse with public officials and rulers because of the fear
of being considered ambitious or obsequious. If such a situation were to
become widespread, Plutarch suggests, the only recourse open to a publicminded man who wanted the teaching of philosophy would be to wish that
he could become an artisansay, a shoemakerso that he might then
have a chance to sit down and converse with a philosopher, as Simon the
shoemaker had done with Socrates. '
This suggestion of Plutarch, that the workshop may have served as a
social setting for intellectual discourse, is intriguing because it raises the
question of whether other workshopsespecially those used by Paul the
tentmaker on his various missionary journeyswere also so used. This
paper seeks to argue that Paul's workshops were in fact used as settings for
his missionary preaching and attempts to interpret this fact by placing it in
the larger context of Paul's missionary activity and in the still larger context
of intellectual activity roughly contemporary with Paul.
1

Plutarch, Maxime cumprinc. phil. diss. 776B. For the tendency in Plutarch's time to
withdraw from public affairs, see F. Wilhelm, "Plutarchos ,'* Rheinisches
Museum 73 (1924) 466-82. For Plutarch's own view, see now C. P. Jones, Plutarch and Rome
(Oxford: Clarendon, 1972) 110-30. For Simon and the workshop as an alternative setting to the
households of kings and other men of power, see my article, "Simon the Shoemaker as an
Ideal Cynic," GRBS 17(1976)41-53.

438

PAUL'S MISSIONARY PREACHING 439

Two initial comments may help to identify the significance and implications of this thesis regarding the workshop. First, scholars have occasionally suggested that the workshop was used by Paul for his missionary
activity,2 but the thesis has never been developed in detail. Even the form
critics' theoretical commitment to positing and describing a Sitz im Leben
as part of a form-critical analysis has not led to interest in this thesis. Form
critics have in practice given almost exclusive attention to form, which has
meant a corresponding neglect of function. Consequently, statements about
the function of a tradition are often too vague and abstract to identify any
life-like setting that the phrase Sitz im Leben would lead us to expect.3 And
yet form criticism is not simply a method of literary analysis; it also has a
sociological concern. This paper, therefore, is intended as a contribution
toward becoming more definite and concrete about the social settings of
early Christian preaching and teaching.4
The second comment has to do more directly with the scholarly discussion of Paul's tentmaking. That discussion has almost invariably considered
his trade as part of his Jewish heritage. Paul's trade is spoken of as a vestige
of his former life as a Pharisee and is understood in terms of a rabbinic ideal
of combining study of Torah with the practice of a trade.5 The emphases of
this paperPaul's use of the workshop for missionary purposes and especially his use of the workshop in terms of the intellectual life of the cities
of the Greek Eastare thus intended to move the discussion beyond a
strictly Jewish focus. The reference to Plutarch at the beginning of this
paper was deliberate: to signal an attempt to place Paul's tentmaking and

2
E.g., T. G. Soares, "Paul's Missionary Methods," Biblical World 34 (1909) 326-36,
esp. 335: Paul's workshop acquaintance with Aquila and Priscilla "may very well suggest the
constant personal evangelism that Paul must have carried on during his hours of labor with the
various fellow-workers with whom he was thrown into companionship" (my italics). See also
E. Haenchen, The Acts of the Apostles: A Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971)
512.
3
This criticism is not new; cf. J. Z. Smith, "The Social Description of Early
Christianity," Religious Studies Review 1 (1975) 19-25, esp. 19.
4
Form critics have not merely neglected questions about Sitz im Leben. The lack of any
previous study of the workshop as a setting for missionary activity suggests that they have also
tended to conceive of Sitz im Leben too narrowly. The concept is often used (probably
unintentionally) with modern notions of the church in mind that restrict our thinking about the
settings of Paul's preaching to the contemporary setting for preaching: liturgical proclamation.
Thus to argue that Paul's preaching was done in part from behind a workbench may keep us
from picturing him too readily as preaching solely from behind a pulpit.
s
Recent examples: G. Bornkamm, Paul (New York: Harper, 1971) 12, and F. F.
Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977) 107-108, 220.

440 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 41, 1979

his missionary activity in general within the social and intellectual milieu of
the Greek East of his day.6
IN ORDER to argue the thesis about Paul's missionary use of the workshop, we begin by gathering the evidence that places him in workshops in
the cities of his missionary journeys. Luke mentions Paul as having worked
as a tentmaker only in Corinth and Ephesus (Acts 18:3 and 20:34); but
Paul's letters add Thessalonica (1 Thess 2:9) and, more important, affirm
that Paul's general missionary practice was to work to support himself (so 1
Cor 9:15-18). Accordingly, Paul's reference to Barnabas' working to support himself (1 Cor 9:6) would thus cover the so-called first missionary journey and the stays in Antioch (Acts 13:1-14:25 and 14:26-28; 15:30-35), the
periods when Luke has Barnabas as Paul's travel and missionary companion. Paul's reference to his working in Thessalonica (1 Thess 2:9) and
his confirmation of Luke's statement regarding Corinth (1 Cor 4:12) would
apply to the second missionary journey (Acts 16:1-18:22). Paul's reference
to his working in Ephesus (see 1 Cor 4:11: "up to the present hour"), again
confirming Luke's portrayal, and his insistence on self-support during a
future trip to Corinth (2 Cor 12:14) would carry the practice over to the
third missionary journey (Acts 18:23-21:16). With Acts 28:30 we have Paul
presumably working even later in Rome.7 In short, Paul's letters and Acts
provide good evidence for placing the apostle in workshops wherever and
whenever he was doing missionary preaching and teaching. There is, accordingly, no problem with placing Paul in the workshop. The problems
6

On placing Paul in the Greek East of the early Roman Empire, see the programmatic
essay by E A Judge, "St Paul and Classical Society," JAC 15 (1972) 19-36 Judge is interested in the specific social settings of Paul's mission, though he does not posit the workshop
as one of them Even so, I have found this essay most stimulating and important for Pauline
studies This and other writings of Judge are summarized and assessed by A J Malherbe,
Social Aspects of Early Christianity (Baton Rouge Louisiana State University, 1977) 45-57
and passim
7
That Paul worked even when in custody in Rome is argued by H J Cadbury,
"Lexical Notes on Luke-Acts III Luke's Interest in Lodging," JBL 45 (1926) 305-22, esp 32122 Cadbury renders the obscure phrase en idi misthmati in Acts 28*30 as "on his own
earnings " The phrase "may refer
to what was paid to Paul as wages for his work rather
than to what was paid by Paul for food and lodging" (p 322) Cadbury's interpretation has
been accepted by F F Bruce {The Acts of the Apostles [Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1951] 480),
but rejected m favor of "in his own rented quarters" by H Conzelmann {Die
Apostelgeschichte [7, 2nd ed , Tubingen Mohr, 1963] 96) and Haenchen {Acts, 726 2)
Cadbury's thesis has been argued afresh and persuasively by E Hansack, "Er lebte
von
seinem eigenen Einkommen (Apg 28 30)," BZ 19 (1975) 249-53 The objections of F Saum
{BZ 20 [1976] 226-29) are answered by Hansack in "Nochmals zu Apostelgeschichte 28 30,"
BZ 21 (1977) 118-21

PAUL'S MISSIONARY PREACHING 441

arise when we want to know what, besides his tentmaking,8 Paul was doing
in the workshop. Were the conversations that went on in these shops turned
by him into occasions for missionary preaching?
An affirmative answer to this question seems inherently likely, given
Paul's utter commitment to preaching the gospel. And yet it must be admitted that neither Paul's letters nor Acts says explicitly that Paul so used the
workshop setting. The silence of Paul's letters is not really a problem, since
Paul is usually silent or vague about the settings of his missionary preaching
(see, e.g., 1 Cor 2:1-5). With Acts, however, the situation is different. As we
shall see below, several settings for Paul's preaching are identified by Luke.
His silence on others, therefore, requires an explanation.
Luke's silence may be partially explained by his interest in Paul's experiences in the synagogue.9 Only in Athens, the center of Greek culture and
philosophy, is this interest dropped in deference to Paul's experiences in the
marketplace (Acts 17:17) and specifically to his conversations with Stoic
and Epicurean philosophers (v 18), which led to Paul's speech before the
Areopagus (vv 22-31). Here, if anywhere in Acts, Luke comes closest to
mentioning workshop conversations. But he does not. Rather, the discussions with the philosophers are probably to be placed in the city's stoas,
perhaps the Stoa Attalos.10 It seems that Luke's traditions said nothing
about the workshop as a Pauline missionary setting, though the workshop
at Ephesus was visited by Christians, if only to carry away Paul's aprons
and handkerchiefs for their healing properties.11 At any rate, the mention of
the Athenian discussions at least allows for the possibility of others having
8
That Paul was a tentmaker {sknopoios) we learn only from Luke (Acts 18:3). There
is no reason to doubt Luke at this point (so Haenchen, Acts, 538, and C. Burchard, Der
dreizehnte Zeuge: Traditions- und kompositionsgeschichtliche
Untersuchungen zu Lukas*
Darstellung der Fruhzeit des Paulus [FRLANT 103; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
1970] 39). Nevertheless, the precise nature of Paul's tentmaking is not clear. Of the two options, weaving tentcloth from goat's hair {cihcium) or cutting and sewing leather to make tents,
the latter is to be preferred (see. T. Zahn, Die Apostelgeschichte des Lukas [Kommentar zum
Neuen Testament 5, Leipzig Deichert, 1921] 632-34, and W Michaelis, "sknopoios," TD NT 7
[1971] 393-94). Consequently, we picture Paul sitting in his patrons' workshops cutting and
sewing leather to make tents (and probably other leather goods). For details on the trade of
leatherworking, with special emphasis on shoemaking, see H Blumner, Technologie und
Terminologie der Gewerbe und Knste bei Griechen und Romern (2nd ed.; Leipzig: Teubner,
1912)1.273-92.
9
For the references, see below 443
10
The Stoa Attalos is the suggestion of H. A. Thompson, "Socrates in the Athenian
Agora," a lecture given at Pomona College, Claremont, CA, on April 26, 1978. For Stoics and
Epicureans debating in the stoas, see e.g., Lucan, J. Trag. 4-5,16-18, and 35-51.
11
Acts 19:12 and E. Nestle, "The Aprons and Handkerchiefs of St. Paul," ExpTim 13
(1901-02) 282, and Conzelmann, Apostelgeschichte, 111.

442 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY I 41,1979

gone on elsewhere in the marketplace and specifically in the workshop, such
as the daily studies of scripture at Beroea.12
The possibility of workshop conversations can also be read out of a
passage from Paul's letters: the detailed summary of the apostle's mission
ary activity in Thessalonica (1 Thess 2:1-12). In 9 Paul's working and
preaching are mentioned together: "For you remember, brothers, our toil
some labor. Working night and day in order not to be a burden on any of
you, we preached to you the gospel of God."
Commentators, however, have not interpreted the juxtaposition of
working and preaching as suggesting that Paul did the latter while doing the
former. In fact, some commentators suggest the opposite; Paul had to work
at night in order to be able to preach during the day.13 Other commentators,
though rightly rejecting this interpretation as contrary to the sense of the
text,14 do not go on to say how they see Paul's working and preaching to
have been related. They assume that Paul could not have preached while
working15 and leave the precise import of the tandem reference to working
and preaching uninvestigated.
Grammatically, this verse can be read as evidence for Paul preaching
while working, for the participle "working" is circumstantial, that is, it
defines the circumstances under which the preaching was delivered.16 Even
so, the participle need not be limited historically to this one circumstance of
social setting,17 so that this verse certainly allows for our thesis, even if it
12

Acts 17:11. Where the Beroean Jews examined the scriptures is not said, but the
workshop is a possibility since synagogue-going was probably confined to sabbaths and feastdays in the first century (so S. Safrai, "The Synagogue," The Jewish People in the First
Century [eds. S. Safrai and M. Stern; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976] 2.908-44, esp. 918) and
since reading was one of the intellectual activities carried on in workshops
13
E.g , E. von Dobschutz, Die Thessalonicher Briefe (MeyerK 10; 9th ed.; Gottmgen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1909) 97. Others holding this view are listed by H. A. W. Meyer, A
Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Thessalonians (New York Funk &
Wagnals, 1884)56
14
E.g., Meyer, Epistles to the Thessalonians, 56; B. Rigaux, Les Epitres aux
Thessaloniciens (EBib; Pans: Gabalda, 1956) 423-24; and E. Best, A Commentary on the First
and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians (HNTC: New York: Harper, 1972) 103.
15
E.g., Best {Epistles to the Thessalonians, 104) has argued that the financial assistance
from Phihppi for Paul while he was in Thessalonica (Phil 4:16) suggests that he did not earn
enough money from tentmaking so as to allow him time off to preach.
16
C. J. Elhcott, A Critical and Grammatical Commentary on St. Paul's Epistles to the
Thessalonians (Andover: Draper, 1884) 37.
17
The circumstances of Paul's working have often been understood to have been the
poverty of the Thessalonians Paul worked because the Thessalonians were poor people,
unable to entertain a traveling preacher like Paul for any length of time (so, e g , J. Frame, A
Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St Paul to the Thessalonians [ICC;
Edinburgh: Clark, 1912] 103). This understanding of the circumstances, however, is made

PAUL'S MISSIONARY PREACHING 443

does not require it. Still, Paul's exhortations to individual Thessalonians (vv
11-12) had to take place somewhere, perhaps at Jason's house (see Acts
17:6) or perhaps in the workshop.18 The plausibility of the latter setting will
become evident from what is said below.

IF THESE SIX passages from Acts and the letters speak, at least suggestively, of Paul having used the workshops as social settings for missionary
preaching, then we need to interpret this social setting by placing it against
the background of Paul's missionary activity as a whole and against the
background of intellectual life in the cities of Paul's day. Only then will
Paul's working and preaching be seen with greater clarity and in better
perspective.

The general silence of Paul's letters regarding social settings has been
noted; consequently, we are left with the data of Acts. In general, it must be
said that if the workshop was one social setting for missionary activity, it
certainly was only one such setting, for Luke has Paul preaching in a variety
of social settings. Most frequently mentioned, of course, is the synagogue.
Paul is found in synagogues in Damascus (Acts 9:20), Jerusalem (9:29),
Salamis (13:5), Pisidian Antioch (13:14, 44), Iconium (14:1), Thessalonica
(17:1), Beroea (17:10), Athens (17:17), Corinth (18:4), and Ephesus (18:19;
19:8).19
Another important missionary setting is the house, especially the
houses of Lydia in Philippi (16:15, 40), of Titius Justus in Corinth (18:7), of
an unidentified Christian in Troas (20:7-11), and of several persons in
Ephesus (20:20). Other houses should be included, though Luke makes no
explicit mention of missionary activity as having gone on: Jason's house in
Thessalonica (17:5-6); Aquila's and Priscilla's in Corinth (18:3); Philip's in

unlikely by the presence in Thessalonica of persons of substance and status, such as the leading
women (Acts 17:4) and Jason (17:5-9); they could have easily entertained Paul (see H. Alford,
The Greek Testament [Cambridge: Deighton & Bell, 1880] 3.257, and Rigaux, Les Epitres aux
Thessaloniciens, 424). Moreover Paul, as an apostle, could have in any case demanded to be
cared for (see 1 Thess 2:7 and von Dobschutz, Die Thessalonicher Briefe, 97-98).
18
Frame {Epistles to the Thessalonians, 4) picks up on Paul's individual contact with the
Thessalonians that was carried on apart from the Sabbath sermons (cf. Acts 17:2) and says: "It
is quite to be expected that the Apostle would take every opportunity to speak informally about
the gospel to every one he met." But Frame does not go on to suggest where these meetings
took place.
19
Mention should also be made of the proseuch ("place of prayer") by a river outside
Philippi (Acts 16:13).

444 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 41, 1979

Caesarea (21:8); Mnason's, presumably in Jerusalem (21:16-17); and perhaps those of several others (see 16:34; 21:3-5, 7).20
Not customary settings but nonetheless indicating the variety of social
settings for Paul's mission are the following: the residence of the proconsul
of Cyprus, Sergius Paulus (13:6-12); the city gate in Lystra (14:7, 15-18); the
lecture-hall of Tyrannus in Ephesus (19:9-10); and the praetorium in Caesarea (24:24-26; 25:23-27). To repeat: if the workshop was one social setting
for Paul's missionary activity, it was also only one of many. Indeed, the
very variety of settings argues in favor of Paul having used the workshop to
carry out his apostolic commission. Moreover the regularity of Paul's
presence in the workshop would argue that this social setting was as important a place for preaching as the synagogue and house, especially the latter
since the synagogue, though obviously an oft-used setting, was hardly a
permanent one.
HAVING ARGUED the plausibility as well as the relative importance of
Paul's use of the workshop for missionary activity, we look now at this
Pauline practice against the background of intellectual life in the Greek East
of Paul's day. We begin our survey of the social settings for intellectual
discourse m classical Athens because it was during the fifth and fourth centuries that specific settings, including the workshop, became conventional
settings for intellectual activity, conventions that still persisted in the time
of Paul. 21
The opening reference to Socrates in the workshop of Simon the shoemaker already indicates that this social setting for intellectual discourse goes
back to the fifth century. 22 Xenophon portrays Socrates discussing philosophy in a variety of workshops, including those of a saddler, a painter, a
sculptor, and an armorer; 23 Plato mentions the tables of the marketplace as
a customary haunt of Socrates.24 The workshop, of course, was not the only
haunt of Socrates. He could also be found talking in other parts of the

20
When cataloguing Paul's missionary activity m houses, we should also include
references to "churches," since they were house-churches Thus, note the missionary activity
m the house-churches of Antioch (Acts 11 26, 13 1, 14 27-28, 15 30-35) and of Lystra,
Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch (14 21-23)
21
For classical Athens, see especially R E Wycherley, "Penpatos The Athenian
Philosophical Scene, Parts I and II," Greece & Rome 8 (1961) 152-63 and 9 (1962) 2-21
22
For Socrates m Simon's workshop, see Plutarch, Maxime cum princ phil diss 776B,
and Diogenes Laertius, 2 122
23
Xenophon, Mem 4 2 1-39, 3 10 1-15
24
Plato, Apol 17C, and Hipp Min 368B Cf Wycherley, "Athenian Philosophical
Scene, Parti," 157-58

PAUL'S MISSIONARY PREACHING 445

marketplace, such as the stoas and other public buildings, in the gymnasia
and in the houses of friends.25
In one sense Socrates' practice was typical for his day, given the custom
of men to frequent the shops and tables of the marketplace.26 And yet in
another sense Socrates' practice was atypical, not only because of the obviously higher intellectual content of his conversations,27 but also because
of the limited effect his practice had on later philosophers. To judge from
Diogenes Laertius, Socrates' disciples were not to be found discussing
philosophy in the workshop, even though some of them as students had accompanied him, for example, to the saddler's shop.28
Plato and Antisthenes preferred the gymnasia, which in fact became
the sites for their schoolsthe Academy for Plato, the Cynosarges for
Antisthenes, and later the Lyceum for Aristotle.29 Other Socratics, especially Aristippus, but also Aeschines, Xenophon, and Plato went to the courts
of kings, a social setting Socrates is widely reported to have avoided.30
In other words, these followers of Socrates, by choosing the gymasium
or the royal household, made philosophy less public than it had been with
their master.31 More Socratic in this sense are the Cynics and Stoics. Philosophy is once again public with them. To be sure, Stoics are sometimes
found at court,32 but their very name derived from their lecturing in the
25

On the ubiquity of Socrates' philosophical discussions, see Wycherley, "Athenian

Philosophical Scene, Part I," 157-61.
26
See especially Lysias, Orat. 24.19-20, and H. A. Thompson and R. E. Wycherley, The
Agora of Athens (Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1972) 170-74.
27
For a list of the topics of Socrates' workshop discussions, see Diogenes Laertius,
2.122-123.
28
Xenophon, Mem. 4.2.1.
29
On the educational and intellectual activities in the gymnasia, see Wycherley,
"Athenian Philosophical Scene, Part II," 2-15. Cf. further C. A. Forbes, "Expanded Uses of
the Greek Gymnasium," Classical Philology 40 (1945) 32-42, esp. 33-37, and J. P. Lynch,
Aristotle's School: A Study of a Greek Educational Institution (Los Angeles: University of
California, 1972)32-83.
30
For Aristippus, see Diogenes Laertius, 2.67-68, 73, 77-80, 82. For Aeschines: 2.61-63;
Xenophon: 2.50; Plato: 3.18-23 and 36. For more evidence on the popularity of the ruler's
household as a social setting for intellectual discourse, see my article: "Simon the
Shoemaker," 43-46. On Socrates' refusal to converse with kings, see Diogenes Laertius, 2.25,
and J. Sykutris, Die Briefe des Sokrates und der Sokratiker (Paderborn: Schningh, 1933) 1326.
31
Also reclusive were Epicurus (so Diogenes Laertius, 10.10) and the Epicureans (so
Diogenes Laertius, 10.119 and 143, and Philodemus, Oec. col. 23 [p. 63, 9-18 Jensen]). Cf.
further Wycherley, "Athenian Philosophical Scene, Part II," 15-16, and "The Garden of
Epicurus," Phoenix 13 (1959) 73-77.
32
Stoics at court: Persaeus and Philonides (Diogenes Laertius, 7.9) and Sphaerus
(7.177). Zeno declined the invitations of kings, but King Antigonus visited him (7.6 and 15).

446 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 41, 1979

stoas or public thoroughfares of the marketplace. Thus, Zeno, the founder
of Stoicism, lectured in the "Painted Stoa" of Athens, and Chrysippus is
reported to have taught in the Odeum, another public building of Athens.33
The Cynics were virtually ubiquitous. Diogenes, for example, is found
in a variety of settings: the marketplace (Diogenes Laertius 6.35, 46, 61),
gymnasia (6.38, 77), public baths (6.40, 46, 47), tavern (6.66), the Olympic
games (6.43, 60, 61)in a word, everywhere (6.22). His public life was
followed by many later Cynics, though most dramatically by Crates who
lived with his wife Hipparchia in public buildings (6.97).34
Interestingly, no Cynic is placed by Diogenes Laertius in the workshop.
And yet, given the Cynics' presence in the marketplace, it should not be surprising, if we look elsewhere, to find them in workshops and so make them,
or at least the more ascetic among them, the sole heirs of Socrates' practice.
A perusal of Cynic sources shows that Crates can be placed, according
to early tradition, in the workshop of a shoemaker, a certain Philiscus, and
that Crates' student Metrocles ate in a smith's shop.35 Eventually, tradition
placed Antisthenes, like Socrates, in the workshop of Simon.36 Lucan
paired his ideal Cynic, Cyniscus, with a shoemaker named Micyllus.37 Finally, other passages in Lucian, especially those that identify Cynics as former
artisans, presuppose frequent contacts between philosophers and artisans,
perhaps in the latter's shops.38
But if Cynics can be found in workshops, can we also point to Cynics
who were themselves artisans and who used their workshops for discussing
philosophy and so have a precise parallel to Paul? At first one might be inclined to say no, for the simple life they advocated made work unnecessary.
The necessities of life were easily procured; nature provided vegetables,
springs, and leaf-covered ground for food, water, and bedding. Cities provided baths and temples for the Cynic to wash and live in.39 What was not
33

Zeno in the Painted Stoa: Diogenes Laertius, 7.5; Chrysippus in the Odeum: 7.184.
Cf. further Wycherley, "Athenian Philosophical Scene, Part II," 16-17, and "The Painted
Stoa," Phoenix 1 (1953) 20-35.
34
On Diogenes and the Cynics, see Wycherley, "Athenian Philosophical Scene, Part I,"
161-162, and E. Zeller, Die Philosophie der Griechen in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung (5th
ed.; Leipzig: Reisland, 1922) Vol. 2, Pt. 1, 317.
35
For Crates and Metrocles, see Teles,/r<7g. IVB (p. 48, 21-31 O'Neil) and frag. I V A (p.
42, 125-127).
36
Ps.-Socrates,?p. 13.1 (p. 26, 10 Khler).
37
Lucian, Cat. 14-29. Cf. Lucian, Demon. 63, which has Demonax frequenting the
breadsellers.
38
Lucian, Fug. 12-13, 17, 28, 33; bis ace. 6; and Icar. 30-31.
39
On the Cynics' simple life, see Diogenes Laertius, 6.104, and Zeller, Philosophie der
Griechen, Vol. 2, Pt. 1, 314-321. On necessities provided by nature and the cities, see Teles,
frag. II (p. 8,30-44 0'Neil).

PAUL'S MISSIONARY PREACHING 447

ready to hand could be purchased with money received from begging.40
Consequently, Cynics could counsel artisans to leave their workbenches41
and to stand aloof from the economic life of the city. Thus the following
anecdote:
Crates, having entered the marketplace and having seen some people
selling and others buying, said: "These people, because they do a complementary transaction with one another, deem themselves happy. But I deem myself
happy because I have freed myself from both, in that I neither buy nor sell."42

Other traditions, admittedly few, show that Cynics were not unalterably opposed to work. There is, for example, Simon the shoemaker, who
by the time of the early empire has been turned into an ideal Cynic philosopher, demonstrating by his working the Cynic virtue of self-sufficiency and
attracting to his workshop other philosophers as well as aristocratic youth
and men of wealth and power. Obviously, this ideal of the "workingphilosopher" was not widely accepted, even among Cynics.43 But the ideal
was occasionally embodied, most notably by Dio Chrysostom and Musonius
Rufus. Dio, when exiled by Domitian, led the life of a wandering Cynic
and, according to later tradition, worked at several menial jobs, though it is
not reported that he taught while doing so.44 It is said, of Musonius, however, that when he was exiled by Nero to Gyara, he worked with his students
on a farm and lectured them in the fields on sound judgment, justice, and
perseverance.45 More generally, we can point to Philiscus the shoemaker
who in Crates' eyes was an ideal candidate for philosophy because his
stitching did not distract him from listening to Crates read Aristotle's Protrepticus.46 Lastly, Lucian's conception of the Cynic lifestyle as especially
suited to artisanstanners, carpenters, etc.presupposes the ideal of the
40

On Cynic begging, see Diogenes Laertius, 6.29, 33, 37, 40, etc., and Zeller,
Philosophie der Griechen, Vol. 2, Pt. 1, 317.
41
See the references in n. 38.
42
Stobaeus, Flor. 3.5.52. Cf. a similar aloofness on the part of Diogenes in Lucian, Hist,
conscr. 3.
43
On Simon as an ideal Cynic and the intra-Cynic debate over him, see my article,
"Simon the Shoemaker," 44-45 and 50-53.
44
For Dio's working, see Philostratus, V. Soph. 488, and H. von Arnim, Leben und
Werke des Dio von Prusa (Berlin: Weidmann, 1898) 246-48.
45
Musonius, frag. XI (p. 82, 31-33 Lutz).
46
Teles,/r<7g. IVB (p. 48, 21-31 O'Neil) and W. G. Rabinowitz, Aristotle's Protrepticus
and the Sources of its Reconstruction (Los Angeles: University of California, 1957) 28-34, esp.
29.

448 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 41, 1979

working-philosopher, especially since he regarded artisans who left their
workbenches for Cynic mendicancy as frauds.47
To summarize our discussion thus far regarding the various social settings for intellectual discourse, we can say that the settings used in classical
Athens the gymnasium, the king's court, the house, the public buildings
and workshops of the marketplacehad become traditional social settings
long before the time of Paul, with some settings more identified with certain
"schools" than with others: Platonists in the Academy, Aristotelians in the
Lyceum, Stoics in the stoas, Epicureans in the Garden, and Cynics in the
marketplace. To be sure, by the time of Paul things were not quite so neat
because of the destruction of the Academy and Lyceum a century earlier48
and the usual practice of philosophers to mingle and debate with one
another.49 Nevertheless, we can still point to intellectual discourse going on
in these settings, especially in gymnasia and in the houses of the rich and
powerful or those of the philosophers themselves.50 The setting of the workshop also became conventional, though as we have seen, only among certain
Cynics. This intellectual activity in workshops provides further evidence for
arguing that the workshops were used by Paul for his preaching and teaching, especially if Paul's dependence on other Cynic traditions is kept in
mind.51
HAVING LEARNED that Cynics were sometimes to be found in workshops, we must now go on to say something about what might have typically gone on in this social setting. We shall use this evidence to portray more
clearly Paul in his workshop.

47
For artisans suited for Cynic philosophy, see Lucian, Vit. auct. 1 and 11. Cf. also
Lucian, Timon 7, and Merc. cond. 6. For Lucian's view that artisans who left their workbenches for Cynic philosophy were frauds, see the references in n. 38. For his praise of the
Cynic Demetrius of Sunium, who worked as a porter, see Lucian, Tox. 31.
48
This is the thesis of J. Lynch, Aristotle's School, 163-207.
49
Note, e.g., the visit of an Epicurean to Epictetus' school (Epictetus, Diss. 3.7.1) and
the debate between an Epicurean and a Stoic in the Painted Stoa (Lucian, J. Trag. 4-5, 16-18,
35-51).
50
On the importance of the gymnasium as a social setting for intellectual discourse in the
early empire, see Epictetus, Diss. 3.16.14; 4.1.113; Plutarch, Non posse suav. vivi 1086D; and
Dio, Orat. 13.31. On the houses of the rich and powerful, see Dio, Orat. 77/78.34-36; Lucian,
Philops. 6 and 14; Pise. 11-13; Vit. auct. 15; and Philostratus, V. Soph. 520-21 and 600. On the
philosophers' own living quarters for teaching, see Seneca, ep. 76.1-4; Epictetus, Diss. 4.1.177;
Dio, Orat. 15.1; Plutarch, Consol, adux. 609C; Lucian, Nigr. 1-7; Aulus Gellius, N. A. 2.2.12and 12.11.1.
51
The Socratic-Cynic character of Paul's preaching in the workshop fits in well with
other Cynic features in his missionary practice, as identified by A. J. Malherbe, "Gentle as a
Nurse: The Cynic Background of 1 Thes 2," NovT 12 (1970) 203-17.

PAUL'S MISSIONARY PREACHING 449

Typical of the activities in the workshop was discussion. For example,
Socrates is said to have discussed with Simon.52 But we should also note that
Crates, when in Philiscus' workshop, is depicted as reading, which Euthydemus was presumably doing when Socrates joined him in the saddler's
shop.53 Finally, Simon is said to have taken notes of his discussions with
Socrates and to have used them to write Socratic dialogues.54
The number of people participating in these workshop discussions
cannot have been large. Often only two are involved: Socrates with Simon55
and Crates with Philiscus.56 Xenophon, however, has included several of
Socrates' students in his discussion with Euthydemus S1 But especially instructive is the Cynic epistle that gathers at least seven persons around
Simon in his shop: Socrates; the youths Alcibiades, Phaedrus, Euthydemus,
and Char mides; and politicians like Epicrates and Euryptolemus.58 This list
also points out that persons of substance and status could be found in workshop discussions as well as the poor worker(s), thus indicating the variety of
social classes that might be found in this social setting.
The subjects treated in these discussions are many. There are discussions related to the artisans' trades,59 but also many other topics, to judge
from the list of Simon's conversations with Socrates: the gods, justice,
virtue, courage, law, good eating, love, music, to name just a few.60
It should now be clear that the evidence of philosophers in the workshop can help us to reconstruct Paul's parallel practice more clearly and
surely than is possible on the basis of NT texts alone. Consequently, we may
picture Paul in one of his patrons' workshopssay, Jason's in Thessalonica61as follows: During the long hours at his workbench cutting and
52

For discussing, see Diogenes Laertius, 2 122, and Xenophon, Mem 3 10 1 and 6 Cf
Plutarch, Maxime cum princ phil diss 776B, Diogenes Laertius, 2 21, and ps -Socrates, ep
13 l ( p 26, 10 Khler)
53
For Crates, see Teles, frag IV B (p 48, 21-22 O'Neil), for Euthydemus, see Xenophon,
Mem 4 2 1
54
Diogenes Laertius, 2 122-123, and my article, "Simon the Shoemaker," 41 2 and
42-43
55
Diogenes Laertius, 2 122 Cf Plutarch, Maxime cum princ phil diss 776B
56
Teles,//Og IVB(p 48, 21-32 O'Neil)
57
Xenophon, Mem 4 2 1-2
58
Ps -Socrates, ep 13 1 (p 26, 3-7 Khler), Cf Sykutns, Brief e des Sokrates, 54 and
59
Xenophon, Mem 3 10 1-15
60
Diogenes Laertius, 2 122-123
61
We do not know, of course, whether Paul worked m Jason's workshop or even
whether Jason was a tentmaker like Paul, but both assumptions are often made (see, e g ,
Zahn, Apostelgeschichte, 634, and Haenchen, Acts, 512) In any case, the shop was not
Paul's own nor one operated by an independent artisan, since he would have worked

450 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 41, 1979

sewing leather to make tents, Paul would not only have been supporting
himself, but he would also have had opportunities to carry on missionary
activity (see 1 Thess 2:9). Sitting in the workshop would have been his
fellow-workers and perhaps one or more visitors, perhaps customers or
perhaps someone who has heard of this tentmaker-''philosopher'' newly
arrived in the city.62 In any case, they would have been listening to, or debating with, Paul, who had raised the topic of the gods and was exhorting
them to turn from idols and to serve the living God (1:9-10). Some of those
who listeneda fellow-worker, a customer, an aristocratic youth, or even
a Cynic philosopherwould want to know more about Paul, about his
churches, about his Lord and would return for individual exhortation
(2:11-12). From these workshop conversations some would eventually
accept Paul's word as the word of God (2:13).
To SUM UP: we have argued on several grounds that it is plausible to
portray Paul as using the workshop as a social setting for missionary activity. We have tried to interpret this activity by showing that the workshop,
along with the synagogue and house, was an important social setting in this
regard and by showing that the workshop was a recognized social setting in
Paul's day for intellectual discourse, a setting recognized as such by many
(e.g. Plutarch) but used only by certain Cynics. Finally, evidence from the
latter's discussions the numbers involved, the activities pursued, the subjects raised, the kinds of people present-helps us to reconstruct with more
detail and confidence a picture of Paul in his workshop, busy at tentmaking
and busy at preaching the gospel.

alone or with one assistant, perhaps his son. Rather, we should assume a workshop of a
relatively wealthy person, whose shop employed many workers, mostly slaves, and thus
could accommodate Paul as well.
62
Note, e.g., that Epictetus was visited on occasion by people who had heard of his
reputation (Epictetus, Diss. 3.9.11-14). Note also the excitement caused by the arrival in
Ephesus of a celebrity like Apollonius of Tyana (Philostratus, V. Apoll. 4.1).

^ s
Copyright and Use:
As an ATLAS user, you may print, download, or send articles for individual use
according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international copyright law and as
otherwise authorized under your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement.
No content may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the
copyright holder(s)' express written permission. Any use, decompiling,
reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a
violation of copyright law.
This journal is made available to you through the ATLAS collection with permission
from the copyright holder(s). The copyright holder for an entire issue of a journal
typically is the journal owner, who also may own the copyright in each article. However,
for certain articles, the author of the article may maintain the copyright in the article.
Please contact the copyright holder(s) to request permission to use an article or specific
work for any use not covered by the fair use provisions of the copyright laws or covered
by your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. For information regarding the
copyright holder(s), please refer to the copyright information in the journal, if available,
or contact ATLA to request contact information for the copyright holder(s).
About ATLAS:
The ATLA Serials (ATLAS) collection contains electronic versions of previously
published religion and theology journals reproduced with permission. The ATLAS
collection is owned and managed by the American Theological Library Association
(ATLA) and received initial funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.
The design and final form of this electronic document is the property of the American
Theological Library Association.