“So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.”
The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed to Cyprus — Luke traces the journey from Antioch northwestward to the port of Seleucia, then west to Cyprus (Barnabas's homeland, 4:36). The formula sent on their way by the Holy Spirit (ekpempo hupo tou Pneumatos) emphasizes that human commissioning and divine empowerment work in concert. Cyprus as the first stop recalls Barnabas's connection while establishing the strategy of beginning in Jewish communities before expanding to Gentiles.
Church Fathers on Acts 13:4
As soon as they were ordained they went forth, and hasted to Cyprus, that being a place where was no ill-design hatching against them, and where moreover the Word had been sown already. In Antioch there were (teachers) enough, and Phœnice too was near to Palestine; but Cyprus not so. However, you are not to make a question of the why and wherefore, when it is the Spirit that directs their movements: for they were not only ordained by the Spirit, but sent forth by Him…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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