Person New Testament
Barnabas
Also known as Joseph called Barnabas, Son of Encouragement
Barnabas was a Levite from Cyprus named Joseph, whom the apostles called Son of Encouragement. He sold a field for the church, vouched for the newly converted Saul in Jerusalem, was sent to Antioch, brought Saul there to teach, and traveled with him on the first missionary journey.
Why it matters. Without Barnabas the church might never have trusted Paul; his encouragement opened the door to the mission to the Gentiles.
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
Connections
Barnabas participates in The conversion of Paul
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe text names Barnabas in this event at the cited verses.
Evidence:Barnabas participates in The church at Antioch
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe text names Barnabas in this event at the cited verses.
Evidence:Barnabas participates in The council at Jerusalem
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceThe text names Barnabas in this event at the cited verses.
Evidence:
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Siblings
- Mary
Appears in Scripture
Named in 28 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.