Albert Barnes Commentary Galatians 1:17

"neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus." — Galatians 1:17 (ASV)

Neither went I up to Jerusalem. That is, I did not go there at once. I did not go to consult with the apostles there, or to be instructed by them regarding the nature of the Christian religion. The purpose of this statement is to show that in no sense did he derive his commission from man.

To them which were apostles before me. This implies that Paul then regarded himself as an apostle. They were, he admits, apostles before he was; but he also felt that he had original authority with them, and he did not go to them to receive instruction or to derive his commission from them. Several of the apostles remained in Jerusalem for a considerable time after the ascension of the Lord Jesus, and it was regarded as the principal place of authority. See Acts 15.

But I went into Arabia. Arabia was south of Damascus and at no great distance. Indeed, the line between Arabia Deserts and Syria is not very definitely marked, but it is generally agreed that Arabia extends a considerable distance into the great Syrian desert. To what part of Arabia Paul went, and for what purpose, is wholly unknown. Nothing is known of the circumstances of this journey, nor is the time he spent there known. It is known, indeed (Galatians 1:18), that he did not go to Jerusalem until three years after his conversion; but how large a part of this time was spent in Damascus we have no way of ascertaining. It is probable that Paul was engaged during these three years in preaching the gospel in Damascus, the adjacent regions, and Arabia. (Compare Acts 9:20, 22, 27).

The account of this journey into Arabia is wholly omitted by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles. This fact, as Paley remarked (Horae Paulinae, chapter 5, No. 2), demonstrates that the Acts and this epistle were not written by the same author, or that one is independent of the other. Paley's reasoning is that, "if the Acts of the Apostles had been a forged history, made up from the epistle, it is impossible that this journey should have been passed over in silence; if the epistle had been composed out of what the author had read of St. Paul's history in the Acts, it is unaccountable that it should have been inserted." Regarding why Luke omitted to mention the journey into Arabia, nothing is known.

Various conjectures have been entertained, but they are mere conjectures. It is sufficient to say that Luke has by no means recorded all that Paul or the other apostles did, nor has he pretended to do so. He has given the leading events in Paul's public labours, and it is not at all improbable that he has omitted not a few short excursions Paul made for the purpose of preaching the gospel.

The journey into Arabia probably did not furnish any incidents in regard to the success of the gospel there that required particular record by the sacred historian. Nor has Paul himself referred to it for any such reason, or intimated that it furnished any incidents or facts that particularly required the historian's notice.

He has mentioned it for an entirely different purpose—to show that he did not receive his commission from the apostles and that he did not go at once to consult them. He went directly the other way. Since Luke, in Acts, had no occasion to illustrate this or to refer to this argument, it did not align with his purpose to mention the fact.

Nor is it known why Paul went into Arabia. Bloomfield supposes that it was to recover his health after the calamity he suffered on the way to Damascus. But everything regarding this is mere conjecture. I would rather think it was more in accordance with Paul's general character that he made this short excursion for the purpose of preaching the gospel.

And returned again unto Damascus. He did not go to Jerusalem to consult with the apostles after his visit to Arabia, but returned again to the place where he was converted and preached there, showing that he had not derived his commission from the other apostles.