After almost two years in Corinth, Paul left the city by sea, sailing first to Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila, and then on to Caesarea by himself. The church in Corinth was located in the harbour area of Cenchreae (see Romans 16:1). No mention is made here of Silas or Timothy, so perhaps they stayed on in Corinth or went elsewhere. Timothy would travel later with Paul.
Often, images of Paul depict him as bald, which he could have been. Luke tells us though that Paul had enough hair to cut it off in connection with a vow he had taken. His cutting off his hair indicates he had taken a Nazarite vow, perhaps as an expression of gratitude for a blessing he had received or a deliverance he had experienced. He would take the cut hair with him to the temple in Jerusalem as evidence he had taken such a vow, and there the hair would be burned along with a sacrifice.
Perhaps we are surprised that Paul did this after him rebuking those who had insisted that Gentiles should keep the ceremonial law. Paul did not approve of that teaching, but he had no objection to a Jew doing so for personal reasons. He may have decided to use this method to reassure Jews that he was not antagonistic to them. After all, he did say that sometimes he behaved like a Jew in order to win some of them to Christ.
In Ephesus, Paul had time to visit the synagogue and interact with the Jews about Jesus, who wanted to know more. Although he did not stay long in Ephesus, he promised to return there if God allowed it. Any questions those Jews had could be dealt with by Aquila and Priscilla, who stayed on in Ephesus.
After arriving in the port of Caesarea, Paul went up to the church in Jerusalem before going to Antioch. We can imagine the report that he gave about the spread of the gospel in old and new places. The older churches would have rejoiced at the formation of new ones as the kingdom of Jesus spread.
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