Acts 13:4

Confronting a Magician on Cyprus

4 Therefore, sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed away to Cyprus.

Acts 13:4 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 13:4

So they being sent forth of the Holy Ghost
This is said, lest it should be thought they were sent by men; it was the Holy Ghost that moved the prophets at Antioch to separate them from them, and to send them away; and who inclined their minds to go, and directed them what course to steer: and accordingly they

departed to Seleucia;
which was a city of Syria, called by Pliny, Seleucia Pieria F4; it had its name from Seleucus Nicanor, king of Egypt, who was the builder of it: it was not far from Antioch, it is said to be twenty four miles from it; it is the first city of Syria from Cilicia, and was situated at the mouth of the river Orontes; wherefore Saul and Barnabas made no stay here; and it seems that their coming hither was only in order to take shipping for the island of Cyprus; for Seleucia was upon the sea coast, as appears from:

``King Ptolemee therefore, having gotten the dominion of the cities by the sea unto Seleucia upon the sea coast, imagined wicked counsels against Alexander.'' (1 Maccabees 11:8)

and was the proper place to set sail from to Cyprus. So we read of Apollonius Tyaneus and his companions F5, that

``they went down to the sea by Seleucia, where having got a ship, "they sailed to Cyprus:" and so it follows here,''

and from thence they sailed to Cyprus;
an island in the Mediterranean sea, the native country of Barnabas, ( Acts 4:36 ) (See Gill on Acts 4:36)


FOOTNOTES:

F4 L. 5. c. 12, 21.
F5 Philostrat. Vita Apollon. l. 3. c. 16.

Acts 13:4 In-Context

2 And [while] they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
3 Then, [after they] had fasted and prayed and placed [their] hands on them, they sent [them] away.
4 Therefore, sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed away to Cyprus.
5 And [when they] came to Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they also had John [as] assistant.
6 And [when they] had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name [was] Bar-Jesus,
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.