Joseph for Joses, A.V., as Acts 1:23; Son of exhortation for The son of consolation, A.V.; a man of Cyprus by race for and of the country of Cyprus, A.V. Joseph. In the variation of manuscripts it is difficult to say which is right.
Some (Grotius, Alford, etc.) consider the two forms as mere variations in writing the name Joseph. But it seems more probable that Joses is the same name as Josiah, only without the addition of the Divine Name (Jab) at the end (see Simon, 'Onomast.'
). It is found as a proper name in the T.R. of Matthew 13:55; Matthew 27:56; Mark 6:3; Mark 15:40, Mark 15:47; Luke 3:29 (Jose); and is not likely to have been substituted for the common name of Joseph.
The Codex Sinaiticus has Joses only in Mark 15:40. The R.V. has Joseph in Matthew 13:55, and Joses in Matthew 27:56; Mark 6:3; Mark 15:40, Mark 15:47. In Luke 3:29 the R.V. has Jesus. But Joses is probably right both here and in the above-cited passages.
Barnabas; literally, son of prophecy; i.e. a prophet, as he is called in Acts 18:1. Probably his exhortations under the influence of the Holy Spirit in the Church assemblies were particularly stirring and edifying.
The Greek version of the name, υἱὸς παρακλήσεως, should be rendered, as in R.V., Son of exhortation, for "son of consolation? is a meaning which can hardly be got out of the Hebrew. The apostles seem here to have followed our Lord's example in naming the sons of Zebedee, sons of thunder.
A man of Cyprus by race. The A.V. is less accurate, but it gives the sense better. Cyprus was the country where he was born and lived, as, it is likely, his fathers had done before him. But he was hardly, in our sense of the words, a Cypriot by race.
We know that a great many Jews were settled in Cyprus (Philo, 'Leg. ad Caium.,'§ 36; Josephus, 'Ant.,' 13.4; Alford, on Acts 11:19); and we learn from Acts 13:5 that in Salamis alone there were several synagogues.