ELYMAS

(Elʹy·mas) [Sorcerer].

The professional name or title of “a certain man, a sorcerer, a false prophet,” named Bar-Jesus, a Jew who lived on the island of Cyprus in the first century C.E. (Ac 13:6-8) When Luke says “sorcerer . . . is the way his name is translated,” the reference is to the assumed name Elymas, not Bar-Jesus. It was not uncommon for Jews of the time to indulge in magical arts and sorcery, nor, when living in Greek society, to assume a Greek name.​—Ac 8:9-11; 19:17-19; see BAR-JESUS.