Bible Location

Cyprus

Cyprus is a large island in the eastern Mediterranean with ancient cultural and commercial connections to the Levant, Anatolia, Greece, and Egypt. It became an important location in the earliest expansion of Christianity beyond Judea.

Barnabas was a native of Cyprus, and believers from Cyprus were among those who carried the Christian message to Antioch. Paul and Barnabas later crossed the island during Paul's first missionary journey.

The biblical island is unquestionably modern Cyprus, although the political and cultural organization of the island changed considerably through antiquity.

Biblical Significance

Acts 4:36 identifies Barnabas as a Levite from Cyprus. His connection with the island later became important in the missionary activity of the early church.

Acts 11:19-20 records believers from Cyprus and Cyrene preaching in Antioch. During Paul's first missionary journey, Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark sailed to Cyprus and proclaimed the word in the synagogues at Salamis before crossing the island to Paphos.

At Paphos Paul confronted Elymas the magician and encountered the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus. Acts 15:39 later records Barnabas and Mark returning to Cyprus after Barnabas and Paul separated.

Historical Background

Cyprus possessed a long history of settlement and became especially important because of its copper resources and strategic position in the eastern Mediterranean. Phoenician, Greek, Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman influences all shaped the island.

Rome annexed Cyprus in the first century BC, and during the New Testament period it was administered as a Roman senatorial province under a proconsul. This agrees with the title used for Sergius Paulus in Acts 13.

Salamis was the principal city of eastern Cyprus, while Paphos served as the Roman administrative capital in the west. Paul and Barnabas therefore traveled across much of the island during their mission.

Modern Identification

The Cyprus of the New Testament is the modern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Its identification is certain.

Important New Testament sites can also be identified archaeologically, particularly ancient Salamis near modern Famagusta and Nea Paphos on the southwestern coast.

Scripture References

Acts 11:20 Acts 15:39

Related Resources

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Sources

Bible: Acts 4:36, Acts 11:19-20, Acts 13:4-13, Acts 15:39; archaeological and historical studies of Roman Cyprus, Salamis, and Paphos; Roman provincial records and inscriptions