The modern city of Antakya, Turkey, was once known as Syrian Antioch. The church in Antioch, which launched Paul into his missionary journeys, became hugely influential in the early Christian world. They sent out Barnabas to travel as far as Antioch (11:22). Whenever Barnabas (Joseph) appears in the book of Acts, he is building bridges of understanding and bringing people together (4:36–37; 9:27; 11:22–26, 30; 13:2; 15:37). He certainly is true to his Aramaic nickname, which means “son of encouragement.”