Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 1:21

"Then I came unto the regions of Syria and Cilicia." — Galatians 1:21 (ASV)

Strict chronology is certainly not the main concern in this verse; if it were, the correct order of the areas Paul visited would be Cilicia and then Syria (11:25–26). Actually, he is merely indicating that in the next period of his life he worked, not in Jerusalem and Judea, where one could argue he was under the authority of the other apostles, but far away in the regions of Syria and Cilicia where he was on his own. Tarsus, Paul’s hometown, was in Cilicia. Barnabas went there to get Paul when he needed his help for the work in Antioch (Acts 11:25), the capital of Syria. There Paul carried on a long and fruitful ministry.