Elymas
In its own language: Ἐλύμας
Greek Ἐλύμας, perhaps from Arabic ‘alīm, wise; the byname Bar-Jesus is Aramaic for son of Joshua
A sorcerer in Acts who stood against Paul and lost his sight
Elymas is a figure in chapter 13 of the Acts of the Apostles, met on Cyprus, where the text gives him the Greek label mágos and the King James Bible calls him a sorcerer. He is also named a false prophet, and he is remembered for opposing Paul and Barnabas before a Roman proconsul and being left blind for a time.
- Chapter 13 of Acts calls him a mágos; the King James Bible says sorcerer
- He opposed Paul and Barnabas at Paphos and lost his sight for a time
- His other name, Bar-Jesus, reads in Aramaic as son of Joshua
- The Golden Legend says he stirred a riot at Salamis against Barnabas
- Raphael's design of the blinding was used for Vatican tapestries
What it is
Elymas belongs to chapter 13 of the Acts of the Apostles, one of the people Paul and Barnabas meet on Cyprus. The text gives him the Greek word mágos, which the King James Bible renders as sorcerer, and also calls him a false prophet. He is a figure inside a sacred story rather than a man documented from other records. At Paphos he stands against the two preachers in front of Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul, who had asked to hear them speak. Paul, given his Roman name here for the first time, answers him, sight is said to leave Elymas for a period, and the proconsul becomes a Christian.
Where it comes from
Two names belong to the figure. The first is Greek, Ἐλύμας; the second, Bar-Jesus, is Aramaic, and Latin texts write it Bariesu. Aramaic also gives Bar-Shuma. Where Elymas comes from is not settled: it has been connected with the Arabic ‘alīm, meaning wise, and read as a Greek way of expressing mágos. In Aramaic the byname reads as son of Joshua, also given as son of Jesus. Later storytelling adds to him: The Golden Legend says he stirred a riot of Jews and pagans at Salamis against Barnabas, and that Barnabas died because of it.
Elymas, drawn and placed
- Living
- Revived
- Fading
- Historical
- Legendary
- Performed
- Lineage
- Acts of the Apostles, chapter 13
Peoples and places
Cyprus is the country the story assigns him. The encounter happens at Paphos, a city on the island, and the later legend sets his trouble-making at Salamis, also on Cyprus. In The Golden Legend the crowd he rouses there is made up of Jews and pagans together. Around him stand a Roman official, Sergius Paulus, and two travelling Jewish preachers, Paul and Barnabas, so the scene is set among the mixed peoples of a Roman province.
At a glance: who, where and when
Belief worlds
What people believe
The account moves in a world where God acts openly in public view. Paul does not put a curse on Elymas by his own power: he declares that God means to take the man's eyesight for a while, and darkness follows immediately. Blindness functions as a sign, and it lands on the watcher: the proconsul, who had sent for the preachers, answers by taking up their faith. The episode also separates a prophet it calls false from preaching it treats as true. The loss of sight is described as lasting only a time, not as a final sentence.
Compare and confuse
The same figure is carried under several names: Bar-Jesus in Greek and Aramaic, Bar-Shuma in Aramaic, Bariesu in Latin. The related figures listed alongside him are Simon Magus, another sorcerer of early Christian writing, Apollonius of Tyana and John the Baptist. The Greek term applied to him, mágos, appears in the King James Bible as sorcerer, and that is the label English readers most often meet.
Today
Elymas has had a second life in art. Raphael produced a celebrated cartoon, meaning a full-size design made for weavers, titled Elymas the Sorcerer Struck with Blindness. Tapestries made for the Vatican took their pattern from that design. A picture of the scene, captioned La ceguera de Elymas, is credited to Raphael and dated 1519.
Questions people ask about Elymas
Who is Elymas?
He is a figure in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 13, called a mágos (rendered sorcerer in the King James Bible) and a false prophet. He meets Paul and Barnabas on Cyprus and opposes them in front of the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus.
Where does the story come from?
From Acts, chapter 13, which places the meeting at Paphos on Cyprus. A later telling, The Golden Legend, adds an episode at Salamis where he is said to have raised a riot against Barnabas, leading to Barnabas's death.
What does mágos mean?
It is a Greek word applied to Elymas in the text. The King James Bible translates it as sorcerer. The passage also calls him a false prophet, a term for someone who claims to speak for God but is held not to.
What happens to him in the story?
Paul says that God means to remove his sight for a period. Darkness is described as blocking his view at once, and after this the proconsul Sergius Paulus becomes a Christian. The loss of sight is presented as temporary, not permanent.
Good reading and sources
- Elymas on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Elymas", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryJaadu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Names and customs differ from one community to the next, and some knowledge is closed to outsiders and left out here. This page describes belief and practice. It does not say that any of it works, it is not a how-to, and it is not medical advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-18.
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