Elymas is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Elymas was a sorcerer encountered by Paul and Barnabas during their missionary journey on the island of Cyprus. He is also called Bar-Jesus, and the text of Acts identifies him plainly as “the sorcerer.” He appears in a scene where the Roman deputy, Sergius Paulus, had summoned Barnabas and Saul because he desired to hear the word of God. Elymas stood in the way of that desire.
What Scripture records of him is opposition. Acts 13:8 says that “Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.” He did not merely decline to believe; he actively worked against the messengers and against the deputy’s turning to the faith. The verse sets him in direct conflict with the preaching of Paul and Barnabas.
The account presents him as a man whose influence depended on keeping another person from the truth. He is named only once in the King James Bible, and that single mention fixes his identity: a sorcerer who resisted the word and tried to pull a seeking man away from faith in Christ. Everything Scripture says of him is bound up in that one act of withstanding the apostles and seeking to turn the deputy aside.
The Name
The name Elymas is given in the text itself with a note of interpretation: “for so is his name by interpretation.” The word is understood to be a Greek form related to a term for a sorcerer or magician, which is why the verse pairs the name with the plain description “the sorcerer.” He also bears the name Bar-Jesus, a Semitic name meaning “son of Jesus” or “son of Joshua.” The precise sense of Elymas is not fully recoverable from the text alone, but Scripture supplies its practical meaning by identifying him directly as the sorcerer.
A Closing Thought
Elymas stands as a warning about the danger of using influence to keep others from Christ. He had position and a voice, yet he spent them resisting the word and turning a seeking man away from faith. It is a sobering picture, and an honest one: opposition to the gospel is not always loud or violent; sometimes it is simply a person standing between a hungry soul and the truth. May we be the kind of people who remove obstacles rather than place them, pointing others toward the Savior instead of away from Him.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Acts 13:8 — But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.