Elymas

Elymas /ˈɛlɪməs/, (ca. 1st century AD) also known as Bar-Jesus (Ancient Greek: Βαριεσοῦ, Aramaic: Bar-Shuma‎, Latin: Bariesu), is a Jew described in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 13,[1] in the New Testament. Acts of the Apostles calls him a magus, which the King James Bible translates as "sorcerer." "Elymas the Sorcerer Struck with Blindness" is the title of a famous cartoon by Raphael, which served as the inspiration for woven tapestries in the Vatican.[2]

Elymas
Elymas Struck Blind (La ceguera de Elymas) (Raphael, 1519)
NationalityPaphos, Roman Cyprus
OccupationSorcerer

In the Bible

Elymas is represented as opposing Paul the Apostle in 45 AD,[3] who is called at this point for the first time with his Roman name, and Barnabas in the city of Paphos on Cyprus, when Sergius Paulus, the Roman Proconsul, wishes to hear Paul and Barnabas speak about Jesus.

Because of this opposition, Paul claims that God had decided to make him temporarily blind. A cloud of darkness immediately begins blocking his sight;[4] after this Sergius Paulus is converted to Christianity.[5]

Elymas's intentions for Sergius are unclear, only that he was desperate to keep him from receiving the word about Jesus. Perhaps he had the proconsul's ear and was his advisor on matters of faith. This would make sense as Sergius is obviously learned about Jewish teachings and Elymas is Jewish.

The message Paul and Barnabas bring threatens the false-prophet's usefulness to the island's most powerful administrator.

Bar-Jesus received the same curse that Paul himself did: temporary blindness.[6] It is clear from the passage that Bar-Jesus had the ear of the proconsul and was well known throughout the region. He was a self-proclaimed prophet of God[7] who may have had his own religious agenda.

According to The Golden Legend, Elymas stirred up a riot of Jews and pagans in Salamina (Salamis) against Barnabas.[8]

Name

Acts 13:8 says "Elymas the Magus (for so his name is translated) opposed them". "Elymas" is possibly derived from the Arabic ‘alīm "learned" or "wise", and may be used to translate magos.[9] Bar-Jesus means "Son of Joshua" or "Son of Jesus" in Aramaic.

See also

References
  1. Acts 13
  2. "Raphael Tapestry: The Blinding of Elymas ‹ Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums | Michigan Chapter". Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  3. Tatton-Brown, Veronica (1997). Ancient Cyprus. London: British Museum Press. pp. 12–18.
  4. "Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand;" Acts 13:11
  5. "When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord."Acts 13:12
  6. Acts 9:8
  7. Acts 13:6
  8. The Golden Legend, Jacobus de Voragine, p. 307
  9. Ernest Haenchen, The Acts of the Apostles: A Commentary, Philadelphia: The Westminister Press, 1971, pg. 398; ISBN 0-664-20919-X


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