'Means' in the Bible

One man, Joseph, a descendant of Levi and a native of Cyprus, who was named Barnabas by the apostles (the name means "a son of encouragement"),

For that is what the Lord ordered us to do: "I have made you a light to the gentiles to be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth.'"

It sounds rather strange to our ears, and we would like to know what it means."