The adjective Damaskēnos means 'of Damascus' or 'Damascene,' referring to someone from or associated with the ancient city of Damascus. It appears in 2 Corinthians 11 where Paul describes his dramatic escape from Damascus.
Damascus — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world — holds a unique place in Paul's biography. It was on the road to Damascus that he was struck down and transformed by the risen Christ (Acts 9). It was from Damascus that he made his first escape in a basket, lowered over the wall. The Damascene governor's attempt to arrest Paul mirrors the pattern of Acts: persecution scatters the gospel. Every attempt to stop the message only spreads it further.