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Bruce, F.F. (1988). "Cyprus "(13:4-12)." In The Book of Acts (Revised). (246-249). William B. Eerdmans Publishing,
As Barnabas and Saul go toward Cyprus in Acts 13:4, Bruce observes that the location has been documented as early as the 18th century B.C., called Elishah (Genesis 10:4) (Bruce 1988, p. 246). The area was colonized by Greeks as well as Phoenicians before becoming a Roman territory in 57 B.C. At the time of Acts, it was a separate province. Baranabas and Saul were accompanied by John Mark (v. 5), who may have been helpful as an eyewitness of the events of Jesus' passion. Barnabas and Saul first preached in Salamis, on the east coast, where there seem to be multiple synagogues. Bruce notes that though Paul was considered the apostle to the Gentiles, he regularly started his ministry in synagogues, where the God-fearing Gentiles would be gathered (Bruce 1988, p. 247).
The city Paphos served as the seat for the provincial government. Paul and Barnabas went from Salamis, on the east coast, to Paphos, on the southwest coast. Bruce notes that there are two cities called Paphos (New and Old) on Cyprus. This city is New Paphos (Bruce 1988, p. 248). There was an active cult of a goddess who is similar to Aphrodite in that location. The proconsul, Sergius Paullus, as well as the sorcerer Bar-jesus are introduced to us in Acts 13:6-8. Bruce observes that Bar-jesus may have taken an interest in the interview between the proconsul and Saul and Barnabas, as if the proconsul were to believe what Paul and Barnabas taught it would endanger Bar-jesus' reputation.
In verses 9-11 Saul rebukes Bar-jesus forcefully. He does not show himself as a son of Jesus, as his name would indicate, but is rather a child of the devil. Paul's rebuke leads to Bar-jesus' becoming temporarily blind, which is symbolically consistent with his spiritual blindness. Bruce notes that here, for the first time, we are introduced to Saul by his Roman cognomen, Paullus (Bruce 1988, p. 249). This event certainly was persuasive to the proconsul, as reflected in verse 12. Brue questions what the outcome of the proconsul's "belief" might have been. It is not clear whether the proconsul was converted to lasting faith in Jesus or whether he was simply struck by the power of the message but did not pursue lasting change.