Barsabas

Barsabas (meaning son of rest or son of return) is the surname of two men in the New Testament. The first was Joseph Barsabas, also called Justus, who was one of the two candidates proposed by the Jerusalem church to replace Judas Iscariot as the twelfth apostle (Acts 1:23). He had been with Jesus from John's baptism to the ascension — meeting the qualification stated in Acts 1:21–22 — and was thus a companion of Jesus throughout his ministry. The lot fell on Matthias rather than Joseph, but Barsabas disappears from the narrative without any indication of disappointment or diminishment.

The second Barsabas was Judas Barsabas, one of the leading men chosen by the Jerusalem council to accompany Paul and Barnabas to Antioch with the letter settling the circumcision controversy (Acts 15:22, 27, 32). He is described as a prophet who exhorted and strengthened the Antiochene believers. The surname Barsabas suggests a family or clan name, and the two men may have been brothers.