Picture of apostle paul making tent

In today’s post (part 1), I will try to answer the question of whether Paul literally sewed tents. It turns out that this is a disputed question.

Picture of apostle paul making tent for sale

In a follow-up post (part 2, which can be read here), I will try to answer the question of whether Paul was a metaphorical tentmaker, that is, whether he worked with his hands to pay his own way, or whether he received financial support for his missionary work.

This also is disputed.

So, did Paul sew literal tents? Was Paul literally a tentmaker?

The entire question hinges upon the meaning of the Greek word σκηνοποιός, which is found in its plural form in Acts 18, “And he [Paul] found a Jew named Aquila … with his wife Priscilla … And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade” (Acts 18:2-3, ESV, italics mine).

If you divide the Greek word σκηνοποιός into two parts, it ends up as “tent” + “maker.