Acts 13:7

King James Version (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.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

The deputy of the country - Ανθυπατῳ, The proconsul. Rosenmuller and others remark, that in those days the Romans sent two different kinds of governors into the provinces. Some of the provinces were Caesarean or imperial, and into those they sent propretors; others belonged to the senate and people of Rome, and into those they sent proconsuls. Cyprus had formerly been an imperial province; but Augustus, who made the distinction, had given it to the people, whence it was governed by a proconsul. See Dion Cass. Hist. Rom. lib. iv. p. 523. (Edit. Leunclav.)

Sergius Paulus - This proconsul is not mentioned any where else: he became a Christian, had his name written in the book of life, and, probably on that very account, blotted out of the Fasti Consulares.

A prudent man - Ανδρι συνετῳ, A man of good sense, of a sound understanding, and therefore wished to hear the doctrine taught by these apostles; he did not persecute the men for their preaching, but sent for them that he might hear for himself.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

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. The first of these names was “Praetor”; the other was “Consul.” What is to be accounted for here is that the latter is the name given by Luke to Sergius Paulus, as if he derived his authority from the senate. The difficulty in the ease is this: that Augustus told the senate and the people of Rome that he would resign to them those provinces where soldiers were unnecessary to secure a peaceful administration, and that he would himself take the care and risk of the other provinces where the presence of the Roman legions would be necessary.

Hence, in the time of Augustus, and in the subsequent reigns of the emperors, the provinces were divided into these two classes; the one governed by men who went forth from the senate, and who would be styled Proconsul, ἀνθύπατος anthupatos- the term used here; and the other those sent forth by the emperor, and who would be styled Procurator, Ἐπίτροπος Epitroposor Proproetor, Ἀντιστράτηγος AntistratēgosBoth these kind of officers are referred to in the New Testament. Now we are told by Strabo and Dio Cassius that “Asaia” and “Achaia” were assigned to the senate, and the title, therefore, of the governor would be Proconsul, as we find in Acts 18:12; Acts 19:38. At the same time, Dio Cassius informs us that Cyprus was retained by the emperor for himself, and the title of the governor, therefore, would naturally have been, not “Proconsul,” as here, but “Procurator.” Yet it so happens that Dio Cassius has stated the reason why the title “Proconsul” was given to the governor of Cyprus, in the fact which he mentions that “Augustus restored Cyprus to the senate in exchange for another district of the empire.” It is this statement which vindicates the strict accuracy of Luke in the passage before us. See Life and Epistles of Paul, vol. 1, pp. 142-144, and also Lardner‘s Credibility, part 1, chapter 1, section 11, where he has fully vindicated the accuracy of the appellation which is here given to Sergius by Luke.

Sergius Paulus, a prudent man - The word here rendered “prudent” means “intelligent, wise, learned.” It also may have the sense of candid, and may have been given to this man because he was of large and liberal views; of a philosophic and inquiring turn of mind; and was willing to obtain knowledge from any source. Hence, he had entertained the Jews; and hence, he was willing also to listen to Barnabas and Saul. It is not often that men of rank are thus willing to listen to the instructions of the professed ministers of God.

Who called for Barnabas and Saul - It is probable that they had preached in Paphos, and Sergius was desirous himself of hearing the import of their new doctrine.

And desired to hear … - There is no evidence that he then wished to listen to this as divine truth, or that he was anxious about his own salvation, but it was rather as a speculative inquiry. It was a professed characteristic of many ancient philosophers that they were willing to receive instruction from any quarter. Compare Acts 17:19-20.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Satan is in a special manner busy with great men and men in power, to keep them from being religious, for their example will influence many. Saul is here for the first time called Paul, and never after Saul. Saul was his name as he was a Hebrew; Paul was his name as he was a citizen of Rome. Under the direct influence of the Holy Ghost, he gave Elymas his true character, but not in passion. A fulness of deceit and mischief together, make a man indeed a child of the devil. And those who are enemies to the doctrine of Jesus, are enemies to all righteousness; for in it all righteousness is fulfilled. The ways of the Lord Jesus are the only right ways to heaven and happiness. There are many who not only wander from these ways themselves, but set others against these ways. They commonly are so hardened, that they will not cease to do evil. The proconsul was astonished at the force of the doctrine upon his own heart and conscience, and at the power of God by which it was confirmed. The doctrine of Christ astonishes; and the more we know of it, the more reason we shall see to wonder at it. Those who put their hand to the plough and look back, are not fit for the kingdom of God. Those who are not prepared to face opposition, and to endure hardship, are not fitted for the work of the ministry.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

7. Deputy. Gr. anthupatos, the Greek equivalent of the Roman title “proconsul.” The provinces of the Roman Empire, under the organization of Augustus (27 b.c.), were divided into two classes. Those needing military control were placed under the emperor as commander of the legions, and were governed by propraetors, and procurators. The more peaceful provinces were left to the rule of the Senate and were under the government of proconsuls. Cyprus had been an imperial province (see Strabo Geography xiv. 6. 6), but later it was reassigned to the Senate (Dio Cassius Roman History liii. 12. 7), and consequently in Paul’s day it was ruled by a proconsul. The existence of proconsular government there is proved also by the fact that extant from the time of Claudius are coins of Cyprus that give the title of proconsul to the local ruler, Cominius Proclus. Luke here, as elsewhere, is careful to use correct titles for the various officials who appear in his narrative (see on Acts 23:24; cf. on Matt. 27:2).

Sergius Paulus. A Latin inscription from a.d. 35, listing a group of the Arval Brethren, priests who served as curators of the Tiber, contains the name “L[ucius] Sergius Paullus.” Although no positive identification of this man with the proconsul in the present narrative can be made, it is not impossible that they are the same person, and that Sergius Paulus had been a priest at Rome before being sent to Cyprus. Another inscription, from Soli in Cyprus, declares itself to be from the time of “Paulus, proconsul.” Scholars have sought repeatedly to identify this proconsul with the Sergius Paulus of Acts, but the best opinion is that the date of this inscription cannot be reconciled with the time of the First Missionary Journey. It probably refers to a proconsul who ruled Cyprus several decades earlier. Pliny the Elder, writing c. a.d. 90, has been thought to name a Sergius Paulus as his chief authority for the facts in certain portions of his Natural History, but a critical study of the manuscript evidence indicates that the man mentioned there was rather one Sergius Plautus. Consequently nothing certain is known concerning the Sergius Paulus of Acts beyond that recorded by Luke.

A prudent man. The adjective describes intelligence and discernment, as in Matt. 11:25; Luke 10:21; 1 Cor. 1:19. The presence of Elymas with Sergius Paulus shows that the proconsul was a man of inquiring mind. He certainly displayed this characteristic when he asked to hear Barnabas and Saul. He showed his prudence when he came to recognize the higher type of character presented by the missionaries. He can scarcely have been dominated by the sorcerer.

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Ellen G. White
The Acts of the Apostles, 166-9

This chapter is based on Acts 13:4-52.

“Sent forth by the Holy Ghost,” Paul and Barnabas, after their ordination by the brethren in Antioch, “departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.” Thus the apostles began their first missionary journey. AA 166.1

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Cross References

the deputy

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Paul's Journeys

The First Missionary Journey of Paul

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