TedM

I'm trying to find a resource that shows the meaning of names found in the NT. It's confusing to me because I'm not sure which names are Hebrew, which are Greek, etc.. For example, a site I found that shows Hebrew names lists James, Simon, Nathaniel, John, Judas, and Joshua, but it doesn't list Andrew, Philip, Bartholemew, Peter, or Jesus.

Can someone help clear this up please?

What I am trying to do is figure out how unusual it is that Jesus' name in Hebrew meant something that is related to his theological significance. Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus means "God is Salvation"). So, I thought it might be of some value to look at other common Hebrew names of the time.

thanks,

ted

Chris Weimer

Andrew comes from the Greek word for man (ανηÏ?, ανδÏ?ος), Peter for the Greek word for stone (πετÏ?ος, πετÏ?ου), and Jesus is a derivative of the Hebrew Joshua.

Toto

Google turned this up: Semantic Bible but I don't know if it has what you want.

Chris Weimer

Somehow I don't think that's what he was looking for... TedM, are there any other names you wanted to know?

TedM

The Semantic Bible looks like an interesting project, but I couldn't make sense out of it..

Ideally I am looking for the most popular names of the day among Jews, their degree of popularity, and their meanings. Something like a top 10 list would do just fine.

I'm trying to determine what value to place on the fact that Jesus' name means "God is salvation", when there are other names that mean things like "gift from God" and "God is my Father".

thanks,

ted

Chris Weimer

Theodore means gift from God in Greek, and Theophilus is friend of God. I don't know of any such sites though...

Vorkosigan

Ted,

in Slaughterhouse-Five the main character's name is Billy Pilgrim. Although that is a very possible English name, do you think that it doesn't signify? In The Stars My Destination, Gulliver Foyle -- a VERY signifying albeit possible name -- is being awaited at the end of the book by two men named Saul and Peter. Common enough names....sure names have meaning, but in context, "Jesus" appears to signify.

Vorkosigan

TedM

If I get what you are saying, it is that the meaning of Jesus' name is evidence of creation of myth. I have no problem with that. I'm trying to determine how strong that evidence is by comparing to other common names of the time. If, for example, 5% of the people of the time had a name that is strongly Messiac in meaning, then the evidence for mythical creation is much stronger than if it is 95%.

I"m not sure even what the name "Joshua" really meant. I see "Salvation", "Savior", "God's salvation", and "God is salvation". The last meaning, to me, is not nearly as significant as the 3 former ones. Can someone clear this up for me?

ted

pharoah

Maybe this site may be helpful.

Amaleq13

I think he is suggesting that calculations of name frequency are less significant than the context in which the name occurs. The fact that a name is appropriate for the role does not require fabrication but makes it possible. The fact that a name was common really tells us absolutely nothing about whether the author deliberately chose it.