Paul worked as a tent maker while in Corinth.
Acts 18:3 says Paul abode with Aquila and Priscilla because he was of the same craft, and by their occupation they were tentmakers. Paul did not rely on great wealth; he labored with his own hands to meet his personal needs. Les Feldick pictures Paul teaching Aquila and Priscilla while they sewed the tough canvas together.
Acts 18:1-3 — This passage directly identifies the trade Paul shared with Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 4:12 — Paul later reminds the Corinthians that he laboured with his own hands, which Les Feldick connects to his tent-making work.
After Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth, he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla. Because they were of the same craft, Paul abode with them and worked, for by their occupation they were tentmakers (Acts 18:1-3). Paul did not depend on his former status or on accumulated wealth. In 1 Corinthians 4:12 he tells the Corinthians, "And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it." This is consistent with the Acts record of his manual trade as a tentmaker.
Les Feldick highlights that Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla were tentmakers by occupation and that they worked together in Corinth. He compares their time of sewing to women gathered around a quilting frame: while their hands are busy, they are talking, visiting, and discussing. Les says this is exactly what happened with these three believers. As they sewed the tough canvas, Paul was teaching them—just laying it out on them. Les also stresses that Paul labored with his own hands to get enough cash to take care of his personal needs. Paul had evidently left behind his previous wealth and prestige to become the apostle to the Gentiles. And in the daily time they spent at their trade, Paul constantly talked about his Gospel—"that's all Paul could talk about."
Acts 18:2-3 says Paul found Aquila and Priscilla and, because he was of the same craft, abode with them and worked; by their occupation they were tentmakers. Les Feldick points out that the shared trade was the reason Paul stayed, and it also created time for conversation while they sewed together.
Paul did not live off a large ministry income. He labored with his own hands, and Acts 18:3 identifies the work as tent making. Les Feldick says Paul worked to get enough cash to take care of his personal needs, and he connects this to the hardship Paul described in 1 Corinthians 4:12.
Les Feldick imagines the scene like women at a quilting frame: while hands are busy, people talk. He says Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla did the same thing. As they sewed, Paul was teaching them, and the subject was always his Gospel—"that's all Paul could talk about."
Paul's Gospel of Grace: From Acts to Romans Explained
Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
Paul's Trade and Teaching
Les highlights that Paul stayed with Aquila and Priscilla because all three were tentmakers, and that the shared hand-work created an opportunity for Paul to teach them the Gospel.
Tentmakers in Corinth
Les repeats the Acts account showing Paul abode and worked with Aquila and Priscilla because they were of the same craft—tentmakers.
Working With His Own Hands
Les notes Paul labored with his own hands as a tentmaker to take care of his personal needs, rather than depending on wealth or a ministry income.
Constantly Speaking the Gospel
Les says that as Paul and his coworkers spent time at their trade, Paul constantly talked about his Gospel—the only topic he could talk about.
Why Paul Called Himself the "Chief of Sinners" — 1 Timothy 1:15 Explained
He went to the synagogue where at least he would have a halfway civil hearing, and when the Jews would reject it, then of course he'd go out into the Gentile area, the marketplace and whatever. But wherever he went there was that constant slur on the man that he was an imposter.
What Most Christians Miss About Grace — 1 Corinthians Explained
But our guide, when we were there in Corinth and were going through the ruins, made them known the fact that at the height of Corinth, this temple up there on the hill to which they worshiped the Athenian goddesses, up to 1,000, sometimes Merlin and I have been trying to remember whether it was 1,000 or 10,000, but it makes no difference. For a city that size, it was a humongous number.
Why Paul Said "We Are Not Ignorant of Satan's Devices" — 2 Corinthians 2:11
As we saw earlier in the program, he did not come with fickle language, but everything he said was prompted by the Holy Spirit, and he was here for the love of Christ, as we�re going to see in chapter 5. The love of Christ is what constrained him, and so he was able to suffer all the privations that he will list a little later in this II Corinthians letter, and how he went through privation after …
Acts 18:1: After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
Establishes that Paul came directly from Athens to Corinth, the setting for the tentmaker story.
Acts 18:2: And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
Introduces Aquila and Priscilla, the Jewish couple with whom Paul stayed.
Acts 18:3: And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
The direct statement that Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla were tentmakers by occupation.
1 Corinthians 4:12: And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
Paul's later reminder that he laboured with his own hands to meet his needs.
Paul made tents. Acts 18:3 identifies the craft he shared with Aquila and Priscilla: "for by their occupation they were tentmakers."
Because they were of the same craft. Acts 18:2-3 says Paul found them, abode with them, and worked; the shared trade made it natural for them to live and labor together.
Les likens the scene to ladies around a quilting frame—working hands while talking. He says Paul used those hours to teach Aquila and Priscilla his Gospel, and that Paul labored with his own hands to meet personal needs.
Watch the Teaching: Paul's Gospel of Grace: From Acts to Romans Explained