In this book, therefore, I rely mainly on Paul’s seven authentic letters. There is a great deal that will always remain obscure: We will never learn whether Paul, who made a point of emphasizing his single status, was ever married. We know nothing about his childhood or education, have no details about the five occasions when he was flogged in synagogues, his three shipwrecks (including a night and a day when he was adrift on the open sea), the time he was stoned, or his dangerous encounters with brigands.42
