• Acts 18:18 NASB - Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.

Just what was Paul’s vow? The majority of commentators say that it is unknown and was probably a vow he had made “in one of his seasons of difficulty or danger” (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary) or the suggestion that we shouldn’t conjecture at all because “where nothing is recorded, conjecture is useless” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible).

However, I do not believe that “nothing is recorded” regarding Paul’s vow. In fact, I believe that Paul’s vow is revealed in context, in that very chapter.

Acts 18:1 tells us that Paul is now in Corinth. Verse 4 tells us that he was going to the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks. After the arrival of Silas and Timothy, Paul began concentrating on convincing the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

  • Acts 18:4-5 NASB
    (4)  And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
    (5)  But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

But in verse 6 we find out that the Jews resisted Paul’s testimony and blasphemed. It is here where Paul makes his vow to God:

  • Acts 18:6 NASB  - But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.“

Paul went from visiting the synagogue every Sabbath to vowing to avoid them altogether and concentrate on the Gentiles. Verse 7 tells us that after making this vow, he went to the house of a man named Justus (or Titius Justus; some translations), “a worshiper of God.” This man was a Gentile, whose house was next to the synagogue.

  • Acts 18:7 NASB  - Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue.

After being assured in a vision that he would not be harmed, Paul remained in Corinth for a year and six months (Acts 18:9-11). But eventually the Jews rose up against Paul, attempting to convict him before Gallio, a Roman leader of the province. When Gallio refused to take action against Paul, the Jews turned their anger against a synagogue leader. Shortly after this incident, Paul chose to leave Corinth and head for Ephesus. This brings us to the verse where we learn that Paul was keeping a vow:

  • Acts 18:18 NASB -  Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.

The cutting off of his hair signifies the end of the vow (see Numbers 6:5). Now notice the very next verse:

  • Acts 18:19 NASB - They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

This is a reversal of his vow earlier where he said that he would from then on go to the Gentiles. There is no record between that time and this that he had entered a synagogue to proclaim the word to the Jews.

Sometimes the best explanation goes unseen right in front of our eyes.