Aretas

Aretas was a Nabataean king whose governor controlled Damascus at the time of Paul's escape from the city.

King Whose Governor Controlled Damascus

The name Aretas appears in Paul's recounting of the dangers he endured. In 2Co 11:32 Paul writes: "In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to take me." The following verse describes his escape by basket through a window in the city wall (2Co 11:33). Aretas exercised political authority over Damascus through an appointed governor, and that official's attempt to arrest Paul became part of the record of Paul's sufferings catalogued in 2 Corinthians 11.