Bar-jesus

Bar-jesus (meaning son of Joshua or son of Jesus) was the patronymic of Elymas the sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet attached to Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of Cyprus, at Paphos. When Barnabas and Saul arrived at Paphos during the first missionary journey and the proconsul sought to hear the word of God, Bar-jesus opposed them and tried to turn Sergius Paulus away from the faith. Paul fixed his gaze on him, called him a son of the devil and an enemy of all righteousness, and pronounced blindness upon him (Acts 13:6–12).

Bar-jesus was immediately struck blind, and when the proconsul saw what happened, he believed — astonished at the teaching of the Lord. The episode marks Paul's first recorded miracle and the effective beginning of his apostolic authority. The name Elymas is thought to derive from an Arabic word meaning sage or wise man, reflecting his role as a court diviner. His confrontation with Paul represents the recurring clash between apostolic power and the magical arts in Acts.