Editing Language of Jesus (section)

==Aramaic personal names in the New Testament==
Personal names in the New Testament come from a number of languages; Hebrew and Greek are most common. However, there are a few Aramaic names as well. The most prominent feature in Aramaic names is ''bar'' (Greek transliteration βαρ, Aramaic ''bar''), meaning 'son of', a common [[patronym]] prefix. Its Hebrew equivalent, ''ben'', is conspicuous by its absence. Some examples are:
* {{bibleref2|Matthew|10:3}}&nbsp;– [[Bartholomew]] (Βαρθολομαῖος from ''bar-Tōlmay'', perhaps "son of furrows" or "ploughman").
* {{bibleref2|Matthew|16:17}}&nbsp;– Simon bar-Jona (Σίμων Βαριωνᾶς from ''Šim‘ōn bar-Yōnā'', "Simon son of Jonah").
* {{bibleref2|John|1:42}}&nbsp;– Simon bar-Jochanan ("Simon son of John").
* {{bibleref2|Matthew|27:16}}&nbsp;– [[Barabbas]] (Βαραββᾶς from ''bar-Abbā'', "son of the father").
* {{bibleref2|Mark|10:46}}&nbsp;– [[Bartimaeus (biblical character)|Bartimaeus]] (Βαρτιμαῖος possibly from combination of Aramaic ''bar'' and Greek ''timaios'' meaning "honorable" or "highly prized", perhaps "honorable son").
* {{bibleref2|Acts|1:23}}&nbsp;– [[Joseph Barsabbas|Barsabbas]] (Βαρσαββᾶς from ''bar-Šabbā'', "son of the [[wiktionary:Sabbath|Sabbath]]").
* {{bibleref2|Acts|4:36}}&nbsp;– Joseph who is called [[Barnabas]] (Βαρνάβας from ''bar-Navā'' meaning "son of prophecy", "the prophet", but given the Greek translation υἱὸς παρακλήσεως; usually translated as "son of consolation/encouragement", the Greek could mean "invocation" as well).
* {{bibleref2|Acts|13:6}}&nbsp;– [[Bar-Jesus]] (Βαριησοῦς from ''bar-Išo'', "son of Jesus/Joshua").

===Boanerges (Βοανηργές)===
[[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] 3:17
: ''And James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James, and he gave them the name Boanerges, which is Sons of Thunder.''

Jesus surnames the brothers [[James, son of Zebedee|James]] and [[John the Apostle|John]] to reflect their impetuosity. The Greek rendition of their name is Βοανηργές (Boanērges).

The name ''{{linktext|Boanerges}}'' has given rise to much speculation. Given the Greek translation provided by the Biblical text ('Sons of Thunder'), it seems that the first element of the name is ''bnē'', 'sons of' (the plural of 'bar'), Aramaic (בני). This is represented by βοάνη (boanē), giving two vowels in the first syllable where one would be sufficient. It could be inferred from this that the Greek transliteration may not be a good one. The second part of the name is often reckoned to be ''rḡaš'' ('tumult') Aramaic (רגיש), or ''rḡaz'' ('anger') Aramaic (רגז). [[Maurice Casey]], however, argues that ''rḡaš'' is a simple misreading of the word for thunder, ''rḡam'' (due to the similarity of the [[Ktav Ashuri|Square script]] symbols [[samech]] and [[mem]], for the Aramaic [s] and final [m]).<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Casey
 |first1               = Maurice
 |author-link1         = Maurice Casey
 |date                 = 7 January 1999
 |chapter              = The question of Jacob and John: Mark 10.35-45
 |title                = Aramaic sources of Mark's Gospel
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=oxlrUXf7xr4C
 |series               = Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, volume 102
 |publication-place    = Cambridge
 |publisher            = Cambridge University Press
 |page                 = 198
 |isbn                 = 9781139425872
 |access-date          = 24 November 2024
 |quote                = 
}} 
</ref>
This is supported by one [[Syriac language|Syriac]] translation of the name as ''bnay ra‘mâ''. The [[Peshitta]] reads ܒܢܝ ܪܓܫܝ ''bnay rḡešy'', which would fit with a later composition for it, based on a Byzantine reading of the original Greek.

{{anchor|Cephas}}

===Cephas (Κηφᾶς)<!-- This section is linked from [[Peter (name)]] -->===
[[Gospel of John|John]] 1:42
: ''He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John, you shall be called Cephas", which is translated 'Peter'.'' (New International Version)
[[1 Corinthians]] 1:12
: ''But I say that each of you says "I am of Paul", or "I am of Apollos", or "I am of Cephas", or "I am of Christ".''
[[Epistle to the Galatians|Galatians]] 1:18 [[NRSV]]
:''Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days;''

In these passages, 'Cephas' is given as the nickname of the apostle better known as [[Simon Peter]]. The Greek word is transliterated {{lang|grc|Κηφᾶς}} (Kēphâs).

The apostle's given name appears to be Simon, and he is given the Aramaic nickname, ''kēpā'', meaning 'rock' or 'stone'. The final sigma (''ς'') is added in Greek to make the name masculine rather than feminine. That the meaning of the name was more important than the name itself is evidenced by the universal acceptance of the Greek translation, {{lang|grc|Πέτρος}} (Petros). It is not known why Paul uses the Aramaic name rather than the Greek name for Simon Peter when he writes to the churches in [[Galatia]] and [[Corinth]].<ref>Bauer's Lexicon: Gal 1:18; 2:9,11,14; 1Cor 1:12; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5; also 1Clement 47:3</ref> He may have been writing at a time before Cephas came to be popularly known as Peter.

According to [[Clement of Alexandria]], there were two people named Cephas: one was Apostle Simon Peter, and the other was one of Jesus' ''[[Seventy Disciples|Seventy Apostles]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250101.htm|title=CHURCH FATHERS: Church History, Book I (Eusebius)|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> Clement goes further to say it was Cephas of the Seventy who was [[Incident at Antioch|condemned by Paul in Galatians 2 for not eating with the Gentiles]], though this is perhaps Clement's way of deflecting the condemnation from Simon Peter. In 1708, a French Jesuit, [[Jean Hardouin]], wrote a dissertation that argues "Peter" was actually "another Peter", thus the emphasis of using the name [[Aramaic of Jesus#Cephas (%CE%9A%CE%B7%CF%86%CE%B1%CF%82)|Cephas]] (Aramaic for ''Peter'').<ref>Scott, James M. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20050411210807/http://journalofbiblicalstudies.org/issue8/Cephas.pdf A Question of Identity: Is Cephas the Same Person As Peter?]" ''Journal of Biblical Studies'' 3/3 October 2003.</ref> In 1990 [[Bart D. Ehrman]] wrote an article on the ''[[Journal of Biblical Literature]]'', similarly arguing that Peter and Cephas should be understood as different people, citing the writing of [[Clement of Alexandria]]<ref>[[Eusebius]], ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Church History]]'', Book I</ref> and the [[Epistula Apostolorum]] and in support of his theory;<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ehrman|first=Bart D.|date=1990|title=Cephas and Peter|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3267052|journal=Journal of Biblical Literature|volume=109|issue=3|pages=463–474|doi=10.2307/3267052|jstor=3267052|issn=0021-9231|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Ehrman's article received a detailed critique by [[Dale Allison]], who argued that Peter and Cephas are the same person.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Allison|first=Dale C.|date=1992|title=Peter and Cephas: One and the Same|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3267263|journal=Journal of Biblical Literature|volume=111|issue=3|pages=489–495|doi=10.2307/3267263|jstor=3267263|issn=0021-9231|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Ehrman later retracted his proposal, deeming it "highly unlikely".<ref>{{Cite web|last=BDEhrman|title=Was Cephas Peter? The Rest of the Argument|url=https://ehrmanblog.org/was-cephas-peter-the-rest-of-the-argument/|access-date=2021-07-30|website=The Bart Ehrman Blog|date=15 December 2016 |language=en-US|quote="Since it wasn’t actually a name anyone ever had, it seems unlikely that two people were independently given it as a nickname."}}</ref>

In Aramaic, it could be כיפא.

===Thomas (Θωμᾶς)===
[[Gospel of John|John]] 11:16
: ''Then Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to his co-disciples, "Now let us go that we might die with him!"''

[[Thomas (Apostle)|Thomas]] ({{lang|grc|Θωμᾶς}}) is listed among the disciples of Jesus in all four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. However, it is only in John's Gospel that more information is given. In three places (John 11:16, 20:24 and 21:2), he is given the name Didymus ({{lang|grc|Δίδυμος}}), the Greek word for a twin. In fact, "the Twin" is not just a surname, it is a translation of "Thomas". The Greek {{lang|grc|Θωμᾶς}}—Thōmâs—comes from the Aramaic ''tōmā'', "twin". Therefore, rather than two personal names, Thomas Didymus, there is a single nickname, the Twin. Christian tradition gives him the personal name Judas, and he was perhaps named Thomas to distinguish him from others of the same name.

In Aramaic, it could be ܬܐܘܡܐ.

===Tabitha (Ταβιθά)===
[[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 9:36
: ''In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha, which is translated [[Dorcas]].''

The disciple's name is given both in Aramaic (Ταβιθά) and Greek (Δορκάς). The Aramaic name is a transliteration of ''Ṭḇīthā'', the female form of {{lang|he|טביא}} (''Ṭaḇyā'').<ref>[http://cal1.cn.huc.edu The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018045941/http://cal1.cn.huc.edu/ |date=2013-10-18 }}&nbsp;– Entry for "ṭbyʾ"</ref> Both names mean 'gazelle'.

It may be just coincidence that [[Saint Peter|Peter]]'s words to her in verse 40, "Tabitha, get up!" ({{lang|grc|Ταβιθᾶ ἀνάστηθι}}), are similar to the "[[#Talitha kum (Ταλιθὰ κούμ)|talitha kum]]" phrase used by Jesus.

In Aramaic, it could be טביתא.