- BAREFOOT To go barefoot was a sign of great distress (Isaiah 20:2, 3,
4), or of some great calamity having fallen on a person (2 Samuel 15:30). - BARIAH fugitive, one of Shemaiah’s five sons. Their father is counted
along with them in 1 Chronicles 3:22. - BAR-JESUS son of Joshua, the patronymic of Elymas the sorcerer (Acts
13:6), who met Paul and Barnabas at Paphos. Elymas is a word of Arabic
origin meaning “wise.” - BAR-JONA son of Jonah, the patronymic of Peter (Matthew 16:17;
John 1:42), because his father’s name was Jonas. (See PETER.) - BARKOS painter, (Ezra 2:53; Nehemiah 7:55). The father of some of the
Nethinim. - BARLEY a grain much cultivated in Egypt (Exodus 9:31) and in Palestine
(Leviticus 27:16; Deuteronomy 8:8). It was usually the food of horses (1
Kings 4:28). Barley bread was used by the poorer people (Judges 7:13; 2
Kings 4:42). Barley of the first crop was ready for the harvest by the time
of the Passover, in the middle of April (Ruth 1:22; 2 Samuel 21:9).
Mention is made of barley-meal (Numbers 5:15). Our Lord fed five
thousand with “five barley loaves and two small fishes” (John 6:9). - BARN a storehouse (Deuteronomy 28:8; Job 39:12; Hag. 2:19) for grain,
which was usually under ground, although also sometimes above ground
(Luke 12:18). - BARNABAS son of consolation, the surname of Joses, a Levite (Acts
4:36). His name stands first on the list of prophets and teachers of the
church at Antioch (13:1). Luke speaks of him as a “good man” (11:24). He
was born of Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi. He was a native of
Cyprus, where he had a possession of land (Acts 4:36, 37), which he sold.
His personal appearance is supposed to have been dignified and
commanding (Acts 14:11, 12). When Paul returned to Jerusalem after his
conversion, Barnabas took him and introduced him to the apostles (9:27).
They had probably been companions as students in the school of
Gamaliel.
The prosperity of the church at Antioch led the apostles and brethren at
Jerusalem to send Barnabas thither to superintend the movement. He
found the work so extensive and weighty that he went to Tarsus in search