BARSABBAS

(Barʹsab·bas).

The meaning of the name is uncertain: Bar, “son of”, sab·basʹ, variously interpreted as “oath,” “conversion,” “captivity,” “quiet,” “rest”; hence the suggestion, “born (son) on the sabbath.”

It may have been a family name, or just an added name given to two individuals: Joseph, surnamed Justus, who was the rejected candidate for the apostleship vacated by Judas Iscariot; and Judas, who accompanied Paul, Barnabas and Silas from Jerusalem to Antioch in 49 C.E. There is no evidence that the two men were brothers.—Acts 1:23; 15:22; see JOSEPH; JUDAS.