Acts 13:4-12
You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy… (v. 10) I chuckle every time I read Paul’s description of Elymas. I’m sure Paul was referring to his deeds, not his actual person, but he has harsh words, nonetheless! Recall that Peter had met up with a magician/sorcerer named Simon back in chapter 8 and Peter had properly chastised him – much less harshly than Paul’s words to Elymas. And with Simon we saw some hint of repentance; we don’t see any of that with Elymas. He is struck blind and that’s where the text leaves him, being led about by the hand. But Sergius Paulus, the proconsul believed, and Elymas was his friend; maybe Elymas also turned to faith. We can only hope!
But Saul, who was also called Paul… (v. 9) Here we have the first occurrence of Saul’s name being changed to Paul – and Paul never again being referred to as Saul. We also see a change from here on (except while in Jerusalem) of the listing of “Barnabas and Saul” changing to “Paul and Barnabas”. Paul, in fact, is the lead figure for the entire rest of the book of Acts. The proconsul may have been Paul’s first convert – and that conversion may have forever changed Paul. GLORY!
Slava Bohu!
Interesting change in the name order!
Does your study bible have a note about the difference—perhaps in meaning? Obviously, Saul was the first king of Israel, but that’s all I found out about either name…