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  • From: rfellows AT intergate.ca
  • To: <corpus-paul AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Paul and Barnabas
  • Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2002 13:36:52 -0700


Kym,

Interesting.

Somewhere between Antioch in Syria and Paphos on Cyprus, Saul seems to have
increased in status. You allude to the fact that it is in exactly this time
period that Luke switches from "Saul" to "Paul", and I wonder whether the two
observations are related.

Perhaps the name "Paul" was seen (by Paul or Luke or both) as appropriate to
his higher status. It is worth noting that "Paul" was a Latin cognomen, and
that the cognomen was the most honourable of the three Latin name types.
J.N.Adams writes, "Noui homines [meaning upstarts] attached value to address
by cognomen, because that form of address (particularly if the cognomen were
preceded by the praenomen) was an additional mark of membership of the
highest social class. Those with social ambitions might be expected to change
the names which they employed as they rose in status." (1)

Saul's missionary success would certainly have increased his status relative
to Barnabas. Perhaps his new-found success prompted him to acquire a new name.

Richard Fellows.

(1) J.N. Adams, ‘Conventions of Naming in Cicero’, The Classical Quarterly NS
28 (1978), pp. 146-66.




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