The name Elymas appears in Acts 13 as the name of a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet who opposed Paul and Barnabas before the proconsul Sergius Paulus on Cyprus. The name is likely derived from an Arabic word meaning 'wise man' or 'sorcerer.'
Elymas Bar-Jesus ('Son of Jesus/Joshua') is a striking figure: a Jew who has become a sorcerer, attached himself to a Roman official, and actively opposes the proclamation of the gospel (Acts 13:8). When Paul confronts him, he speaks with prophetic authority: 'You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?' (Acts 13:10). Paul then strikes him temporarily blind — a dramatic judgment that causes the proconsul to believe. Theologically, Elymas represents the counterfeit wisdom that uses spiritual vocabulary and proximity to power to obstruct the genuine work of God. The blindness Paul pronounces on him echoes his own temporary blindness on the Damascus road — suggesting that even judgment can be a prelude to grace.