Who Was Bar Jesus (Acts 13,6-12)? 75 was like the ‘sons of’ Scaeva (a term which also might refer to Scaeva’s students or apprentices rather than to his biological sons) who exorcised in the name of Jesus even though, in Luke’s judgment, they did not belong to him (19,13-15). In other words, Bar Jesus claimed to be a follower of Jesus and to operate in his name and with his authority, but from Luke’s perspective, he has perverted the truth. Just as the sons of Scaeva had no authority to exorcise in the name of Jesus (19,13-16), so also this man has no authority to call himself a son of Jesus. That the very name Bar Jesus could mean ‘a disciple of Jesus’ is not a new suggestion. According to Schmiedel, W.C. van Manen suggested it over one hundred years ago (28). However, it seems that van Manen argued on the assumption that the name Bar Jesus first appeared in a primary document available to Luke that did not include the qualifiers, ‘Jew’, ‘false prophet’ and ‘magos’. That speculation certainly weakened, rather than strengthened, his argument, and, I suggest, such an uncontrollable theory was unnecessary. As I have already indicated, one could claim to be a ‘disciple of Jesus’ and also be a Jew and a prophet. It is well known that the expression ‘son of’ does not always refer to one’s paternity. It is often used idiomatically in Hebrew, Aramaic, and in Greek to indicate that one belongs to a particular group, or that one has particular characteristics (29). The expressions ‘sons of God’ or ‘sons of Israel’ are obvious examples. Joseph, who was given the name Barnabas, which Luke interprets as ‘son of encouragement’ (Acts 4,36), is an example of the association of name and character, as also is the name Boanerges, ‘the sons of thunder’ (Mark 3,17). Bar Cochba, the name taken by the Jewish revolutionary of about 120CE, is an example of the name indicating what was expected or hoped. It is possible that Bar Jesus derived his name from an eponymous use of Jesus’ name. A group of singers might call themselves ‘sons of Korah’ or ‘sons of Asaph’ (Ps 42,1; 44,1; 2 Chr 35,15, for example), and priestly groups might call themselves ‘sons of Aaron’ or ‘sons of Zadok’ (Lev 1,5; 2 Chr 35,14; Ezek 40,46, for example). The Jewish Scriptures also occasionally refer to the ‘sons of the prophets’, meaning a group of (28) P. SCHMIEDEL, “Barjesus”, Encyclopedia Biblica. A dictionary of the Bible (London 1899) 478-483; here, 480. (29) See, for example, F. BROWN – S. DRIVER – C. BRIGGS, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford 1962) 120-121; J.A. PAYNE SMITH, Compendious Syriac Dictionary. Founded upon the Thesaurus Syriacus of R. Payne Smith (Oxford 1903) 53.