Elymas

Biblical Account

Elymas appears only in Acts 13:6-12. Paul and Barnabas encountered him during their first missionary journey, after they had traveled across the island of Cyprus and reached Paphos. The text introduces him as "a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus" (Acts 13:6). The Korean Revised Version renders the word for "sorcerer" as baksu, a Korean term for a male shaman, while the New Korean Revised Version translates it as "magician."

He was in the company of the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus. When the proconsul summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wished to hear the word of God, Elymas "withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith" (Acts 13:8). Then "Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost," rebuked him and declared that he would be blind, "not seeing the sun for a season." Immediately "there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand." When the proconsul saw what had happened, he "believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord" (Acts 13:9-12). The text does not say what became of Elymas afterward.

Significance Within Scripture

In this episode Acts refers to Saul as "Paul" for the first time, and it uses that name consistently thereafter. Because the account describes a high-ranking Gentile official receiving the gospel, it is also read as an episode in the mission to the Gentiles. Together with the account of Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8, it is frequently treated as an example of the gospel confronting the magic and sorcery of the period.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• The name: Scholars offer various explanations of whether the remark "for so is his name by interpretation" refers to the name "Elymas" or to "Bar-Jesus," and of the linguistic origin of "Elymas." Some ancient manuscripts are reported to give the name in a different form.
• Temporary blindness: Some interpreters understand the phrase "for a season" to indicate a discipline that left room for repentance, although the text does not say whether he repented. Others read the scene alongside Paul's own blinding on the road to Damascus (Paul's conversion).
• Saul and Paul: Some interpreters see a connection between the proconsul's name and the name Paul, since both appear together in this scene, but the text does not explain why the name changes.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Elymas is usually presented as part of the ministry on Cyprus in sermons and Sunday school lessons on Paul's first missionary journey. The passage is used to contrast the forces that hinder the spread of the gospel with the power of the Holy Spirit.