EL'YMAS (Lat., from Gk. 'EX6pac) . A Jew ish sorcerer and prophet, who, according to Acts xiii. 6-12, opposed Paul before the proconsul Sergius Paulus at Paphos in Cyprus, and was smitten with temporary blindness. There are two difficulties connected with his personality, one concerning his name, the other his historical character. In verse 6 he is called Bar Jesus, in verse S Elymas, which is there explained as meaning 'Magian,' or sorcerer. A possible explanation is that two recensions of the story, each with its peculiar name, have been united. Some scholars think Bar Jesus was the original name, and explain Elymas by an Arabic root as 'The Wise Man.' Others prefer Elymas, and re gard Bar Jesus as a Christian name designating him after the passing of his blindness and his consequent conversion as a 'follower of Jesus.' In the latter case Elymas should probably be understood as a contraction of Elymaios. 'the Elamite,' which might have been interpreted vaguely as 'A wise man from the East.' or 'Magian,' and originally have been a proper name, Elam. (See ELAm.) The close similarity
of this story to that of Simon Magus in Acts viii. has led many to see in it a defense of Paul against the identification of this apostle with the Magian so common among Judaizing Chris tians. There are numerous signs that the elabo ration of the story followed such motives. Yet it myins quite po-l-ible that, as in the case of Simon, so in this instance, an actual historic personage has been seized upon, first by the opponents of Paul as the basis of a caricature, and then by his friends to set forth his equality with those ac counted preeminent both in confutation of error and in miraculous deed. His temporary blind ness, his friendship for a Roman official, his opposition to the true gospel, have apparently been borrowed from the story of Paul. The his torical Elam-Elymas may, like Simon of (iitta, have been a Gnostic thinker and a student of occult science. Consult Krenkel, Josephus und Lukas (Leipzig, 1894).