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  • From: "Jack Kilmon" <jkilmon AT historian.net>
  • To: "Corpus-Paul" <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] Names, Nickname, and the Like
  • Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 15:58:28 -0600

----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Fellows" <rfellows AT shaw.ca>
To: "Corpus-Paul" <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2005 12:20 AM
Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] Names, Nickname, and the Like



Simon was named "Cephas", Joseph was named "Barnabas", and Ignatius was name
"Theophorus". Some commentators use the term 'nickname' to describe such
cases, but I think this is misleading. A nickname in modern use is an
informal, often humorous name. To describe "Cephas" or "Barnabas" or
"Theophorus" as a nickname tends to trivialize the phenomenon of religious
renaming. As in the equivalent cases in the OT tradition, the new names were
not informal or humorous, but reflected the individual's significance for
the community of faith. The names Cephas, Barnabas, Abraham, Sarah, Israel
etc, are not used mainly in informal contexts.

Do the hypothetical cases of Titus-Timothy and Crispus-Sosthenes fit the
same onomastic pattern as Simon-Cephas, Joseph-Barnabas,

"Barnabas" would not have been a "renaming" or a nick name but the patronymic for Yahosef bar Naba...wouldn't you think?

Jack Kilmon




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