📖 Biblical Definition
Bar-Jesus — also called Elymas the sorcerer — was a Jewish false prophet attached to the household of the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus on Cyprus (Acts 13:6-12). When Sergius Paulus, "a prudent man", called for Barnabas and Saul to hear the word of God, Bar-Jesus resisted them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Saul, "filled with the Holy Ghost", set his eyes on him and pronounced judgment: "O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind". Bar-Jesus was struck blind; the proconsul believed. From this scene forward, Luke calls the apostle by his Roman name: Paul.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
BAR-JESUS — a transliterated Aramaic name (“son of Jesus”) borne ironically by a sorcerer struck blind for opposing the gospel.
expand to see more
Webster 1828 does not list this proper name. The narrative is its own definition: a man whose name claimed sonship to a savior was unmasked as a son of the devil. The first apostolic conflict on a Roman senator's soil ended in the proconsul's conversion and the false prophet's blindness — the gospel's opening salvo into the Greco-Roman world.
📖 Key Scripture
Acts 13:6 — "Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus."
Acts 13:8 — "But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith."
Acts 13:10 — "O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?"
Acts 13:12 — "Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The name is sacred; the man was satanic. False prophets often wear holy labels.
expand to see more
Bar-Jesus means “son of Jesus,” yet Paul calls him son of the devil. Names do not save; profession does not save; even attachment to a Roman governor does not save. The modern church is full of Bar-Jesuses — Christianized branding wrapped around occult practice and resistance to the apostolic word.
The corruption is the assumption that a Christian-sounding name guarantees a Christian heart. Paul's test was simple: did the man advance or oppose the gospel? When the answer was opposition, the verdict followed. Holy labels do not protect unholy hearts.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Aramaic bar (son) + Yeshua (Jesus); paired with magos (G3097, sorcerer) and pseudoprophētēs.
expand to see more
G919 — Bariesous — Bar-Jesus; the Cyprian Jewish sorcerer
G3097 — magos — magus, sorcerer
G5578 — pseudoprophētēs — false prophet
Usage
"You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness (Acts 13:10)."
"Then the proconsul believed (Acts 13:12)."
"A holy name on an unholy man is no protection from the apostolic word."