Lives of Scripture

Bar-Jesus, also identified as Elymas -- "Elymas" apparently a title or nickname meaning "magician" -- was a Jewish false prophet and sorcerer attached to the court of Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul of Cyprus, described as "a man of intelligence" who summoned Paul and Barnabas because he wanted to hear the word of God (Acts 13:6-7). Elymas actively "opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith," recognizing that Paul's message threatened his own influence and position at court (13:8). Paul, "filled with the Holy Spirit," fixed his gaze on him and delivered one of the sharpest personal rebukes recorded anywhere in Acts: "you who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time" (13:9-11). Immediately "a mist and a darkness fell upon him," and he had to grope about seeking someone to lead him by the hand (13:11). Sergius Paulus, witnessing the sudden and public judgment, "believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord" (13:12). The episode is Scripture's clearest instance of temporary physical blindness used as direct, visible judgment against active spiritual opposition to the gospel, and it marks a turning point in Acts where Saul begins consistently being called Paul.