Corpus-Paul

[Robert Kraft <kraft AT ccat.sas.upenn.edu>]

I hope I can be excused for finding this discussion interesting, moving as it
does beyond "Pauline studies" strictly speaking into the wider Greco-Roman
worlds and beyond. May I suggest that there are simple ways to determine what
sort of relevant evidence might exist in the Greek literature. Since one of 
the
operative connectors is the participle of kaloun, searching the TLG corpus for
[N] "ton kaloumenon" [N] or [N] "o kaloumenos" [N] is a simple matter, for 
those
who have access to the TLG corpus. Unfortunately, since this connecting
construction also can be used to mean "so called" in various connections other
than proper names, this gets hundreds of hits of which only a small percentage
is useful. Modifying the search to something like "o kaloumenos Q" (theta) 
will
have more success in picking out names that begin with theta (actually, there
weren't many with this formula, but 1 Macc 2.3 was worth the trouble; check it
out), and so on.

Identifying other similar formulae (o kai, o estin, etc.) should bring 
similar 
results (or frustrations). My point is that there may be simple ways to 
arrive 
at answers to the general question of whether the multiple naming practice 
was 
widespread, and under what conditions with what results (don't forget Judas 
Thomas Didymus in all this). If a classicist would be dismissive, it might be 
because she/he hasn't checked the evidence. On the other hand, it is a bold 
theory that certainly requires stronger contextualization.

Bob  

>    1. Re: Names, Nickname, and the Like (Richard Fellows)
>    2. Titus/Timothy (Sheila E. McGinn, Ph.D.)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 22:20:32 -0800
> From: Richard Fellows <rfellows AT shaw.ca>
> Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] Names, Nickname, and the Like
> To: Corpus-Paul <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> 
> Concerning the theory that Titus and Timothy were one and the same person
> Edgar wrote:
> > Titus is a Latin name. Why, when, and how would a Greek get such a Latin
> name?
> 
> [snipping lots]
> 
> > Why would Timothy need or want a Roman name?
> 
> Edgar, you are right to say that it is unlikely that someone called Timothy
> would later take the name "Titus". But I am no longer suggesting that
> Timothy was renamed "Titus". I am proposing the reverse: someone called
> Titus was given the name "Timothy" by Paul. Titus was the name that his
> parents gave him from birth, whereas the name "Honouring God" was given to
> him only after he became Paul's son in the faith. Is that clear? Please
> re-read my last email to the list, where I explained this.
> 
> 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, and
> Ignatius-Theophorus? I believe that they do. In all these examples the new
> name is in the language of the relevant community, and has a meaning that
> reflects the role of the individual in the church. "Timothy" and "Sosthenes"
> mean something like "honouring God" and "saving strength" respectively.
> Timothy's role was to honour God. Sosthenes, as an archisynagogos had the
> power and influence to bring many to the faith (see Acts 18:8 and previous
> emails), hence "saving strength". It is instructive to look through a list
> of NT personal names and see if you can find one with a meaning that matches
> what we know about Titus/Timothy and Crispus/Sosthenes better than the names
> "Timothy" and "Sosthenes". I was not able to find any.
> 
> In the ancient world, including the OT and NT a name is given by one who has
> authority over the person named. Thus Adam names the animals, God names
> Abraham, Jesus names Peter, the apostles name Barnabas, and so on. Could
> Paul, then have named Timothy and Sosthenes? Yes, absolutely. He baptized
> Crispus personally, and he described Timothy as his son in the faith (1 Cor
> 4:17) This is just the sort of exclusive fatherly authority that might well
> result in the giving of a new name.
> 
> The fact that "Titus" and "Timothy" are near homophones can only increase
> the probability that they were one and the same person. Jews had a tendency
> to choose similar sounding names when selecting bi-names. Consider
> Saul-Paul, Silas-Silvanus etc..
> 
> Edgar, do you still feel that Titus-Timothy is onomastically difficult? If
> so, in what ways do you think it does not fit the pattern of the attested
> cases of renaming in the first century church. If not, do you have any
> concerns about the Titus-Timothy theory?
> 
> Richard.
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 09:07:50 -0500
> From: "Sheila E. McGinn, Ph.D." <smcginn AT jcu.edu>
> Subject: [Corpus-Paul] Titus/Timothy
> To: Corpus-Paul <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> 
> Richard, I, for one, think you are beating a dead horse. 
> >From the start I have thought your speculation highly 
> improbable, at best, for the reasons Edgar recently has 
> articulated, but did not deem it a serious enough suggestion 
> to merit a rebuttal. I think you have gone well beyond the 
> central expertise of this list and, again as Edgar has 
> suggested, you should float your proposition on the Classics 
> list to get their response. If you can come back and tell us 
> that they supported your proposal, that might be of 
> interest; but I think the probability of that happening 
> approaches 0. If you are not willing to go to the experts on 
> this, then I personally (as a list-membe here, not as 
> moderator) wish you would move on to another topic that is 
> more directly related to our proper subject. Sheila McGinn
> Sheila E. McGinn, Ph.D.
> Professor of Biblical Studies
>  & Early Christianity
> Department of Religious Studies
> John Carroll University
> 20700 North Park Boulevard
> University Heights, OH 44118
> 
> tel. 216-397-3087
> fax: 216-397-4518

-- 
Robert A. Kraft, Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania
227 Logan Hall (Philadelphia PA 19104-6304); tel. 215 898-5827
kraft AT ccat.sas.upenn.edu
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.html