A.T. Robertson Commentary Acts 13:6

"And when they had gone through the whole island unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus;" — Acts 13:6 (ASV)

Unto Paphos (αχρ Παφου). The new Paphos at the other end of the island, reached by a fine Roman road, some eight miles north of the old Paphos famous for the worship of Venus.

A certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew (ανδρα τινα μαγον ψευδοπροφητην Ιουδαιον). Literally, "a certain man" (ανδρα τινα) with various descriptive epithets. The word μαγον does not necessarily mean "sorcerer," but only a μαγυς (Matthew 2:1,7,10 which see). The bad sense occurs in Ac 8:9,11 (Simon Magus) and is made plain here by "false prophet." In verse 8 here Barjesus (Son of Jesus) is called "Elymas the sorcerer (or Magian)," probably his professional title, as Luke interprets the Arabic or Aramaic word Elymas. These Jewish mountebanks were numerous and had great influence with the uneducated. In Ac 19:13 the seven sons of Sceva, Jewish exorcists, tried to imitate Paul. If one is surprised that a man like Sergius Paulus should fall under the influence of this fraud, he should recall what Juvenal says of the Emperor Tiberius "sitting on the rock of Capri with his flock of Chaldaeans around him."