Bar-jesus Βαριησοῦς
A Jewish sorcerer who opposed Paul and Barnabas.
Who is Bar-jesus in the Bible?
Bar-Jesus, also called Elymas, was a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet who opposed Paul and Barnabas during their missionary work on the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:6-12). He served as a magician in the court of Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, and attempted to prevent the apostles from sharing the gospel with his employer. When Paul rebuked him for his deception and obstruction of God's truth, the apostle declared that Elymas would be struck blind, and the sorcerer immediately lost his sight. Witnessing this miraculous judgment, Sergius Paulus believed in the Lord and was astonished by the teaching of Christ. Bar-Jesus's encounter with Paul demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome spiritual opposition and the consequences of resisting God's message.
Biography
Bar-Jesus, also called Elymas, was a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet encountered by Paul and Barnabas during their missionary journey on the island of Cyprus (Act.13.6-12). He was associated with Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of the island, who had summoned Paul and Barnabas to hear the word of God. However, Elymas opposed the apostles and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, rebuked Elymas for his deceit and obstruction of the truth, declaring that he would be temporarily blinded. Immediately, Elymas lost his sight, and the proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed and was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. The name "Elymas" is said to mean "magician" or "sorcerer," while "Bar-Jesus" means "son of Jesus" or "son of Joshua." This incident demonstrates the power of the gospel over spiritual opposition and the consequences of resisting God's message.
In Scripture
1 biblical book ; 1 with study contentActs 2 verses
- Acts 13:6
"They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,"
Study Acts → - Acts 13:8
"But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith."
Study Acts →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Named | Greek | Βαριησοῦς |
| Named | Greek | Ἐλύμας |
Bar-jesus
c 13:6 ff). The proconsul was "a man of understanding" (literally, a prudent or sagacious man), of an inquiring mind, interested in the thought and magic of his times. This characteristic explains the presence of a magos among his staff and his desire to hear Barnabas and Saul. Bar-Jesus was the magician's Jewish name. Elymas is said to be the interpretation of his name (Ac 13:8). It is the Greek transliteration of an Aramaic or Arabic word equivalent to Greek magos. From Arabic `alama, "to know" is derived `alim, "a wise" or "learned man." In Koran, Sur note 106, Moses is called Sachir `alim, "wise magician." Elymas therefore means "sorcerer" (compare Simon "Magus").
The East was flooding the Roman Empire with its new and wonderful religious systems, which, culminating in neo-Platonism, were the great rivals of Christianity both in their cruder and in their more strictly religious forms. Superstition was extremely prevalent, and wonder-workers of all kinds, whether imposters or honest exponents of some new faith, found their task easy through the credulity of the public. Babylonia was the home of magic, for charms are found on the oldest tablets. "Magos" was originally applied to the priests of the Persians who overran Babylonia, but the title degenerated when it was assumed by baser persons for baser articles Juvenal (vi.562, etc.), Horace (Sat. i.2.1) and other Latin authors mention Chaldean astrologers and impostors, probably Babylonian Jews. Many of the Magians, however, were the scientists of their day, the heirs of the science of Babylon and the lore of Persia, and not merely pretenders or conjurers (see MAGIC). It may have been as the representative of some oriental system, a compound of "science" and religion, that Bar-Jesus was attached to the train of Sergius Paulus.
Both Sergius and Elymas had heard about the teaching of the apostles, and this aroused the curiosity of Sergius and the fear of Elymas. When the apostles came, obedient to the command of the proconsul, their doctrine visibly produced on him a considerable impression. Fearing lest his position of influence and gain would be taken by the new teachers, Elymas "withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith" (Ac 13:8). Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, worked a wonder on the wonder-worker by striking him blind with his word, thus revealing to the proconsul that behind him was Divine power. Sergius Paulus believed, "being astonished at the teaching of the Lord" (Ac 13:12).
S. F. Hunter
bar-jo'-na (Bar-ionas): Simon Peter's patronymic (Mt 16:17). Bar is Aramaic for "son" (compare Bar-timaeus, Bartholomew, etc.), and corresponds to Hebrew ben. Thus we are to und