01 — Foundations
Who Barnabas was before he becomes the apostle of the great mission: Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles surnamed Barnabas, “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36) — and who proved the name by selling a field he owned and laying the price at the apostles’ feet (Acts 4:37). These files establish his name, his Levitical and Cypriot origins, his place among the Seventy in Orthodox tradition, and the character that made him the man Jerusalem could trust and the man who could be sent to Antioch.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
Barnabas belongs to the first generation of the Church — a man already present in the Jerusalem community of Acts 4, before Saul of Tarsus is ever named, and one whom Orthodox tradition counts among the Seventy whom the Lord sent ahead of Him (Luke 10:1). He is introduced not by a deed of preaching but by a deed of generosity, and the Church remembers him above all for the quality the apostles read into his renaming: encouragement, consolation, the gift of standing surety for others and of seeing the grace of God where others see only risk (Acts 4:36–37; 11:23–24). This section sets the context of his name and origins — the meaning of Barnabas, his identity as a Levite of the Cypriot diaspora, and his standing in the apostolic community — on which his whole subsequent career rests.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Son of Encouragement | The renaming of Joseph as Barnabas, “son of encouragement / consolation” (Acts 4:36); the meaning and etymology of the name; his gift of the field (Acts 4:37); his place among the Seventy in Orthodox tradition; and the character of encouragement that runs through every later episode of his life. |
| The Levite of Cyprus | Barnabas as a Levite of the Cypriot Jewish diaspora (Acts 4:36); what his Levitical descent and his Cypriot homeland meant; the Jewish community of Salamis and Cyprus in the first century; and how his origins prepared him to be the bridge-figure between Jerusalem, Antioch, and the Gentile world. |
See Also
- Vouching for Saul — the first great exercise of his gift of standing surety
- The Apostle to Antioch — where his character of encouragement is named again (Acts 11:23–24)
- The Apostle of Cyprus — how his Cypriot origin became the foundation of a Church
- Holy Scripture — the Acts of the Apostles as the primary witness to Barnabas
References
- The Acts of the Apostles, chapters 4, 9, 11, 13–15. (Cited by chapter and verse throughout.)
- The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version (RSV) and King James Version (KJV), consulted for the English renderings of Acts 4:36–37.
- Bruce, F. F. The Book of the Acts. Rev. ed. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
- Keener, Craig S. Acts: An Exegetical Commentary. 4 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012–2015. (On Barnabas in Acts 4.)