Corpus-Paul

["Jack Kilmon" <jkilmon AT historian.net>]

----- 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