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Acts 13:7

in Acts 13

an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. The same called unto him Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.

KJV

Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

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This verse in Acts 13

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

ON ILLUSTRIOUS MEN 5.4 · Written before 420.

As Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cyprus, was the first to believe in his preaching, he took his name from him because he had subdued him to faith in Christ.

This site's exposition

found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew

on Acts 13:6-8

Working through the isle to Paphos, the missionaries meet a very different kind of religious figure, found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew attached to the court of Sergius Paulus, the Roman deputy of Cyprus, a title an inscription found on the island confirms was the correct one for the office at exactly this period. Sergius Paulus himself is called a prudent man who desired to hear the word of God, a Roman official open to the gospel rather than hostile to it. The sorcerer, known by the Greek name Elymas, withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith, setting magic and message against each other at the very point a ruler was ready to believe.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Which was with the deputy - Or with the proconsul. The exact accuracy of Luke in this statement is worthy of special remark. In the time when Augustus united the world under his own power, the provinces were divided into two classes. Augustus found two names which were applied to public officers in existence, one of which was henceforward inseparably blended with the imperial dignity and with military command, and the other with the authority of the senate and its civil administration.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Which was with the deputy--properly, "the proconsul." This name was reserved for the governors of settled provinces, which were placed under the Roman Senate, and is never given in the New Testament to Pilate, Felix, or Festus, who were but procurators, or subordinate administrators of unsettled, imperial, military provinces.

The words behind it

20 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

14 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Acts 19:38So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.5 worksActs 13:12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.5 worksActs 18:12While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.4 worksProverbs 18:15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.4 worksProverbs 14:15The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.4 worksActs 13:8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.3 works
The other 8 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 14:18The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.2 worksHosea 14:9Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.2 works1 Thessalonians 5:21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.2 worksActs 17:11–12Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.2 worksProverbs 14:8The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.2 worksActs 28:7Nearby stood an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days.2 works1 Corinthians 1:26Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.1 worksLuke 2:2This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.0 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Proverbs 18:15

    The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.

    it leads to

    • James 1:5

      Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

    • Proverbs 15:14

      A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

    • Proverbs 1:5

      let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel

    • Proverbs 9:9

      Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

    • Luke 10:39

      She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message.

  • Through

    Acts 13:8

    But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

    it leads to

    • 2 Timothy 3:8

      Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.

    • 2 Timothy 4:14–15

      Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.

  • Through

    Acts 13:12

    When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

    it leads to

    • 2 Corinthians 10:4–5

      The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Where this verse is studied

What the record shows

1 entry
  • Sergius Paulus — attested in contemporary inscriptionwell-supported

    Latin inscription(s) naming a Sergius Paullus (Rome; and a Cyprus/Soloi fragment, debated)

    Biblical figure (Proconsul of Cyprus, mid-1st c. AD) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.

    Counterpoint: The Cyprus fragment from Soloi names only 'Paulus, proconsul' — no first name, no family name — and Terence Mitford, who had once accepted an identification, later withdrew it. The Rome inscription names a Lucius Sergius Paullus who oversaw the Tiber banks but says nothing about Cyprus. The identification with the man in Acts 13 is plausible, not proven.

About Acts

The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 13 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on Acts; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, ON ILLUSTRIOUS MEN 5.4 and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.

Read on in Acts 13 →