Damascus from the ethnarch of Aretas, king of the Nabateans (2 Cor 11:32–33), which we have reckoned to the year 36,9 most likely occurred after the Nabatean defeat of Herod’s army. Whether before or after, however, we may assume that Jews in general were vulnerable in Aretas’s kingdom, especially someone like Paul who was proclaiming the Jewish Messiah. Did this influence the timing of Paul’s decision to return to Jerusalem (Gal 1:18)? It is possible that Paul’s first return visit to Jerusalem