Paphos

Biblical Text

Paphos is a place name that appears in the New Testament only in Acts 13. Its Greek form is Paphos (Πάφος).

The church at Antioch set apart Barnabas and Saul and sent them out (Acts 13:2–4). Taking John (Mark) along as their assistant, the two landed at Salamis on the eastern side of Cyprus. They then crossed the island, and the text says that they "had gone through the isle unto Paphos" (Acts 13:6).

There the party encountered two men. One was the proconsul Sergius Paulus, whom the text describes as "a prudent man." The other was a Jewish sorcerer named Bar-jesus, also called Elymas, who was with the proconsul. When the proconsul sought to hear the word of God, Elymas tried to prevent it. Then "Saul, (who also is called Paul,)" was "filled with the Holy Ghost" and rebuked him, and Elymas was struck blind for a season. Seeing this, the proconsul "believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord" (Acts 13:7–12).

Afterward the party set sail from Paphos and crossed to Perga in Pamphylia. At that point John left them and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).

Background

Two places bore the name Paphos:

• Old Paphos: A city situated farther inland, renowned for its sanctuary of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
• New Paphos: A port city founded on the coast to the northwest, which served as the seat of government for Cyprus in the Roman period.

Because the Paphos of Acts was where the proconsul resided, it is generally identified with New Paphos.

At the time, Cyprus was a senatorial Roman province. The governor of such a province was called an anthypatos (proconsul). Luke's accurate use of this title is frequently cited in discussions of the historical reliability of Acts. Inscriptions bearing names that may be connected with Sergius Paulus are also sometimes mentioned, but scholars have not reached agreement on whether they refer to the same person.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The episode at Paphos belongs to the opening stage of the first of Paul's missionary journeys and is noteworthy in three respects:

• A change of name: From this point in Acts onward, the name "Paul" is used instead of Saul.
• A change of order: Earlier the text speaks of "Barnabas and Saul" (Acts 13:2), but on the departure from Paphos it refers to "Paul and his company" (Acts 13:13). Many interpreters read this as a sign that leadership of the group had passed to Paul.
• The expansion of the gospel: The scene depicts a high-ranking Roman official, a Gentile, receiving the gospel, and it fits the broader progression of the Gentile mission portrayed in Acts.

Interpretation and Issues

The reason for the name change: Opinions differ on why the name changed.

• A view dating back to antiquity holds that Paul adopted the name as a result of his encounter with the proconsul Sergius Paulus.
• Another view holds that he bore both the Jewish name Saul and the Roman name Paul from the beginning, and that the Roman name simply came into use once the mission to Gentile regions began. The text itself does not give a reason.

The proconsul's faith: Views also diverge on how to understand the proconsul's faith. Some interpreters, noting that the text contains no account of his baptism, question whether his was a full conversion. Others take the word "believed" at face value as indicating conversion.

Extrabiblical tradition: In present-day Paphos, Cyprus, "St. Paul's Pillar," where Paul is said to have been scourged, is known as a pilgrimage site. This, however, is a later tradition; Acts does not record that Paul suffered persecution at Paphos.