The surname of Joses, a Levite of Cyprus, who, early converted to Christianity, sold his land, and laid the price at the feet of the apostles (Acts iv. 36, 37).  Removing from Jerusalem to Damascus, he became convinced of the sincerity of Saul (afterwards St. Paul), and when the Christians of Jerusalem were afraid to receive the new convert, spoke on his behalf, and removed their apprehensions (ix. 27).  Afterwards he was dispatched to Antioch, to aid in important work there in progress, and having laboured for a time, went to Tarsus and brought back Saul to be his coadjutor (xi. 22-26).  A year later the two were dispatched to carry alms to their brethren at Jerusalem, then suffering from famine (27-30).  Returning with John Mark to Antioch (xii. 25), they separated from the Church by Divine direction to go on a missionary expedition to the Gentiles (xiii. 2), and departing, visited Salamis and Paphos in Cyprus, Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.  At Lystra the simple inhabitants mistook Barnabas, who seems to have been of imposing appearance, for their supreme god Jupiter.  Then returning by the way of Attalia, the evangelists again presented themselves at the Syrian Antioch from which they had set out (xiii. 3-xiv. 28).  At the first Council of Jerusalem Barnabas spoke, as did Paul (xv. 1, 2, 12), and at the close the two were commissioned to carry the decrees of the Council to the churches in Syria and Asia Minor (22-31).  After further labours at Antioch (35), Paul proposed a second missionary journey.  Barnabas was quite willing, but desired to have with him his young relative, John Mark.  To this Paul objected, as John Mark had lost heart and gone home from Perga on the former tour.  Each maintained his view so pertinaciously that the two evangelists separated and went different ways, Barnabas with Mark sailing again to Cyprus, while Paul went on to Asia Minor (36-41).  But their mutual affection did not cease.  Paul, in his epistles, speaks quite in a friendly way of Barnabas (1 Cor. ix. 6; Gal. ii. 1, 9, 13; Col. iv. 10), and yet more so of John Mark, about whom the quarrel arose (2 Tim. iv. 11) [Mark, Paul]. (The Sunday School Teacher's Bible Manual, Hunter, 1894)