Mentioned in the Bible by name

Joses Barnabas

Word of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. [Barnabas was a suitable candidate, as he knew the area well because he was born in Cyprus, see Acts 4:36.].

[Barnabas now thinks of Saul, who is not far from Antioch in his hometown of Tarsus, see Acts 9:30; Gal. 1:21. The road there takes five days, the sea route twelve hours. This event probably took place in the early 40s AD.]
Barnabas then went to Tarsus to try to find Saul. [The word indicates that some effort was involved in the search.]

They did so and sent the aid with Barnabas and Saul to the elders [church leaders in Jerusalem].
[Claudius was the fourth emperor of the Roman Empire and reigned from 41 to 54 AD. Several extra-biblical sources confirm that there were several years of poor harvests in the Roman Empire during his reign. In Judea, there was a famine in 46 AD. Egyptian documents also confirm a great famine around the Nile due to floods in 45-46 AD. Agabus is also mentioned in Acts 21:10–11, where he prophesies that Paul will be imprisoned in Jerusalem.]

[Barnabas and Saul had returned to Antioch after leaving the collected funds in Jerusalem, see Acts 11:29-30. They also brought with them Barnabas' cousin, John Mark, see Acts 12:25; Col. 4:10. The Acts of the Apostles now shifts its focus from Peter and the church in Jerusalem to Saul (who will soon be called Paul) and his missionary journeys to the Gentiles.
About ten years earlier, the first Christians had come to Antioch because of the severe persecution in Jerusalem, see Acts 11:19. Many had since come to faith, and Barnabas had been sent there to help, see Acts 11:22–24. Due to the rapid growth, more teachers were needed, so Barnabas sought out Saul in Tarsus, see Acts 11:24-26. Eight years had passed since Saul's dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. It is therefore in this large church in Antioch that people now gather for prayer and fasting.]
But in Antioch [in Syria], in the church that was there, there were [active] prophets and teachers:
both (Gk. te) Barnabas [who had come from Jerusalem to help the new congregation, see Acts 11:22–30]
and Simeon,
who was called Niger [meaning black/dark in Latin and probably indicating that he was from North Africa – may have been the same Simeon who carried Jesus' cross, see Mark 15:21], and Lucius from Cyrene [who was probably among the first to come to Antioch, see Acts 11:20],
[in addition] Manaen
who had grown up with [who was foster brother/childhood friend of] the tetrarch Herod [Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded (Mark 6:14–29), ruled over Galilee from 4-39 AD], and Saul.
[The grammar in this verse, the word for "and" (Gk. kai) between the first three and last two names, suggests that the first three were prophets and the last two were teachers. These five people from very different backgrounds formed a shared leadership in the church. Saul's Hebrew name was Saul, which means "asked for in prayer," but from Acts 13:9 onwards and throughout the rest of the New Testament, he is referred to by his Greek name Paul, which means "the little one."]

They were in holy service before the Lord and fasted. [The basic text's leitourgounton has been translated as "holy service". Our word "liturgy" comes from this Greek word, which is composed of two words: "public" and "service." The word is used to describe the temple service of the Old Testament priests, see Luke 1:23. Here, the word is used to refer to Christian worship and seems to mean that the five worshipped God in prayer and praise, but also that they used their gifts to prophesy and teach.]
Then the Holy Spirit said [through one of the prophets], "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

He was close to [associated with] Cyprus's proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was a sensible (intelligent) man.
[Sergius Paulus held the highest Roman office on the island. Luke uses the exact Roman terms that varied from place to place and from decade to decade. Cyprus had become a proconsular province with a proconsul during the reign of the fourth Roman emperor, Claudius, from 41 to 54 AD. Previously, the island had been ruled by a propraetor.]
Sergius Paulus summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.

When they left the synagogue, many Jews and devout proselytes [those who had converted to Judaism] followed Paul and Barnabas. They spoke to them and urged them to remain in God's grace (power).

Then Paul and Barnabas answered boldly: "It was necessary that the word of God [about salvation through Jesus] be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we turn to the Gentiles.

But the Jews incited respected godly women and the leading men of the city. They started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their area.

They called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, since he was the one who spoke. [Paul and Barnabas did not yet understand what the people were saying because they spoke in their own language.]

When the apostles (messengers) Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes [to show grief and horror, see Matt. 26:65, they grabbed the collars of their tunics with their hands and tore them a few inches] and ran out among the crowd, shouting:

But when the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the city.
[One might think that the people of Lystra were wide open to the gospel since they had received the apostles as gods, but crowds are fickle. Perhaps Christianity did not meet their expectations. However, the visit was not entirely fruitless. Timothy, who would later travel with Paul and to whom two letters are addressed, was from this city. His mother was Jewish and his father was Greek, see Acts 16:1.]
[After being stoned but surviving, Paul and Barnabas continue eastward from Lystra to Derbe, a distance of ten miles. The city became part of the Roman province of Galatia in 25 BC. The name of the city may come from the local word for the Juniper Tree.]
The next day, Paul and Barnabas went on to Derbe.

This led to Paul and Barnabas getting into a not insignificant dispute with them, and the subject was debated vigorously (intensely, without leading to any solution). It was therefore decided that Paul and Barnabas and some others among them [in the church in Antioch] should go up to the apostles and elders (church leaders) in Jerusalem with this question.

The whole assembly fell silent. [In contrast to the lively debate that began the meeting, see verse 7. Barnabas and Paul had already shared their experiences from their missionary journey with the leaders in Jerusalem, see verse 4. Now they stand up and share this with everyone gathered.] They listened carefully to Barnabas and Paul as they told of the great signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

Then the apostles, the elders, and the whole assembly decided to appoint some men from among themselves and send them to Antioch [in Syria] together with Paul and Barnabas. They chose two leading men from among the brothers: Jude, called Barsabbas, and Silas [Silvanus].
[This is the only time Jude Barsabbas is mentioned. He may be the brother of Joseph Barsabbas, see Acts 1:23. The name "Bar-sabbas" literally means "born on a Sabbath." Silas is also known as Silvanus, which is the longer Latin form of his name, see 1 Pet. 5:12. He later accompanies Paul on his second journey, see Acts 15:32, 41; 16:25. Judas was a Jew from Judea and Silas was Greek. One person from each side of the conflict was chosen to accompany Paul and Barnabas and confirm the decision.]

Therefore, we have unanimously decided to appoint some men and send them to you along with our dear brothers Barnabas and Paul,

But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they taught and preached the word of the Lord together with many others.
[Verse 34 is an example of how a comment was accidentally included when the text was copied. Since comments were written in the same style and ink, there was a risk that they would be included when the text was copied. Often, the original text is the shorter version, but each difference must be examined and compared between different manuscripts. It should be mentioned that, compared to other ancient literature, the Bible has very few differences in manuscripts, and those that exist are often comments that have been included. The person who added the comment here wanted to solve the problem that Silas is mentioned again in Antioch in verse 40. However, the assumption that Silas remained creates an even greater conflict with verse 33, which clearly states that "they," both Jude and Silas, return to Jerusalem. There is really no problem with verse 40 to begin with. Verse 36 states "after some time." The events in verse 40 take place a few months later, and there is plenty of time for Silas to return to Antioch from Jerusalem, a distance of about 700 km (435 miles).]

Or is it just Barnabas and I who are not entitled to be free from work?

[Paul continues his story as he began in Gal. 1:11. Sometimes the events here in Gal. 2:1–10 have been associated with the apostolic council in Acts 15, but the apostolic council took place during the third of the five visits to Jerusalem mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. It is more likely that this was the second visit for the delivery of funds collected during the prevailing famine in the area, see Acts 11:27–30. If the meeting described in Acts 15 had already taken place, Paul would have referred to the decision and the letter written at that time, which he does not do here in the Epistle to the Galatians.
Paul's five visits to Jerusalem mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles:
Short visit after his conversion in Damascus, see Acts 9:26–30. Corresponds to Gal. 1:18-20. Journey from Antioch with financial support, see Acts 11:27-30. The Apostolic Council in Jerusalem, see Acts 15:1-30. Visit at the end of the second missionary journey, see Acts 18:22. The last visit resulting in Paul's imprisonment in Caesarea Maritima, see Acts 21:15–23:35. The fourteen years mentioned in verse 1 may refer to the earlier visit to Jerusalem, three years after his conversion. However, the Greek word dia is used here, not meta as in Gal. 1:18, which means that the fourteen years can also be counted from his conversion, not after the three years.]
Then, after [an interval of – Gk. dia] fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem together with Barnabas, and I also took Titus with me.

When James, Cephas (Peter), and John, who were known as (had a reputation for being) pillars [in the Jerusalem church], felt (understood, had a personal experience of) the grace of God that I had received, they extended their hands to me and Barnabas in cooperation. We agreed that we [Barnabas and I] would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised (Jews).

The other believing Jews joined him and pretended (played along with this false game). As a result, Barnabas was also drawn into their hypocrisy.