Surname It seems probable, as indicated in the art. [Note: rt. article.] Name, that originally a name was the designation of a stock or tribe-like the Grants or Howards-applied by outsiders to a group and subsequently adopted by it. When the stock increased, personal names seem to have been introduced to distinguish the different members. When the number of persons still further increased and intercourse became easier and more common, certain designations derived from some peculiarity were used to distinguish or designate different individuals. All varieties of these may be classed under the general designation ‘surnames.’
An indication of something similar to this in the naming of deities is to be found in the Roman religion. 1 [Note: ERE vii. 413.] Royal personages use only their baptismal name, or the first of these when there are more than one. In Europe surnames became common in the Middle Ages, first of all among the land-owning nobles. 2 [Note: H. Hallam, View of the Stale of Europe during the Middle Ages8, London, 1841, pp. 112, 138; Thomas Carlyle, Frederick the Great, 10 vols., do., 1872-73, i. 67.] Surnames are of rare occurrence in the OT. In the NT when a person is referred to by only one name, especially if that be a common one, identification is difficult if not impossible. Thus of John mentioned in Acts 4:6 we know nothing. At least five persons are called Alexander; and of these the Alexanders referred to in Acts 4:6, Acts 4:19 :33, 1 Timothy 1:20 are names and nothing more.
1. Surnames are to be distinguished from
(a) New names.-Apion, an Egyptian of the 2nd cent. a.d., on entering the Egyptian army, changed his name to Antonis Maximus. 3 [Note: G. A. Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, Eng. tr., London, 1911, pp. 169, 170.] Similar changes are recorded of Abram, Joseph, Jacob, Solomon, Daniel, Pashhur, Tophet, and even of Jahweh Himself. 4 [Note: Gen_17:5; Gen_17:15; Gen_41:45; Gen_32:28; Gen_32:2 S 12:25, Daniel 1:7, Jeremiah 7:32, Hosea 2:16 .]
(b) Explanatory descriptions to designate anyone more clearly, derived from
(1) Trade.-In Nazareth Joseph was known as ὁ τέκτων, 5 [Note: Matthew 13:55 .] and Jesus by the same appellation. 6 [Note: Mark 6:3 .] Alexander, as ὁ χαλκεύς, 7 [Note: 2 Timothy 4:14 .] occupied a similar position in the town in which he lived, while Simon’s designation, βυρσεύς, 8 [Note: Acts 9:43 .] indicates that he was one of many who followed the occupation of a tanner.
(2) Business.-Manaen is designated as Ἡ ρώδου σύντροφος, 9 [Note: Acts 13:1; for meaning See G. A. Deissmann, Bible Studies, Eng. tr., Edinburgh, 1901, p. 310, and Ramsay’s criticism in Exp, 7th ser., vii. [1909] 364.] Matthew as ὁ τελώνης, 10 [Note: 0 Matthew 10:3 .] Chuza as ἐ πίτρο π ος Ηρώδου . 11 [Note: 1 Luke 8:3; Exp, 5th ser., ix. [1899] 118.]
(3) A physical peculiarity.-A certain Simon is differentiated as ὁ λε π ρός, 12 [Note: 2 Matthew 26:8, Mark 14:3 .] another as ὁ καλούμενος Νίγερ, 13 [Note: 3 Acts 13:1 .] while a third the Church has named ὁ μάγος, 14 [Note: 4Ezr :class='bible' href='B:44 8:9'>Act 8:9; Justin, Apol. i. 26, 56, ii. 15, Dial. 120.] though that surname is not given him either in the Acts or in Justin Martyr.
(4) Some outstanding feature in a man’s life, as John ὁ βα π τιστής, 15 [Note: 5 Matthew 3:1 .] Thomas ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος, 16 [Note: 6 John 11:16 .] Simon who was, but is not surnamed, Φαρισα ῖ ος . 17 [Note: 7 Luke 7:40 .]
(5) Names of places.-Cases in which there is annexed to the name a phrase, compounded of ἀ πό with the name of a place, forming a designation given to a person from another town or district to distinguish him from those of the same name in the town, much as we speak of ‘Robertson of Brighton.’ Examples of this are: Jesus ὁ ἀ π ὸ Ναζαρέθ, 18 [Note: 8 Matthew 21:11 .] Joseph ἀ π ὸ Ἀ ριμαθαίας, 19 [Note: 9 Matthew 27:57, Mark 15:43, Luke 23:51, John 19:38 . May ArimathAEa have been the name not of a town but of an estate or even a farm?] Philip ἀ π ὸ Βηθσαιδά, 20 [Note: 0 John 1:45 .] Lazarus ἀ π ὸ Βηθανίας, 21 [Note: 1 Jn 11:1.] Nathanael ἀ π ὸ Καν ὰ τ ῆ ς Γαλιλαίας . 22 [Note: 2 Jn 21:2.]
(6) Names of relatives.-Cases in which one with a common name has annexed the name of another person with whom he is closely connected, as Ἰ άκωβος ὁ το ῦ Ἀ λφαίου, 1 [Note: Matthew 10:3 .] Ἰ άκωβος ὁ το ῦ Ζεβεδαίου, 2 [Note: Matthew 10:2 .] Ἰ ούδας Ἰ ακώβου, 3 [Note: Luke 6:16, Acts 1:3 (John 14:23, Jude 1:1).] Μαρία ἡ το ῦ Κλω πᾶ. 4 [Note: John 19:25 .] This, however, may, in some cases, be a mere explanatory note, more akin to those in which a relationship is actually stated, as James the brother of John, 5 [Note: Acts 12:2 .] Mark ὁ ἀ νεψι ὸ ς Βαρνάβα, 6 [Note: Colossians 4:10 .] Mary the mother of James and Joses, 7 [Note: Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40 .] Mary the sister of Lazarus, 8 [Note: John 11:1 .] Mary the mother of Mark, 9 [Note: Acts 12:12 .] Mary the mother of Jesus. 10 [Note: 0 Acts 1:14 . It is notice able that neither as a title nor as a surname is the word παρθένος ever applied to her. Another Mary is mentioned in Romans 16:6 .]
(c) Names compounded with בַּר .-Closely akin to the foregoing is a group of names whose first component is the Aramaic word בַּר, meaning ‘son.’ These are divisible into three classes:
(1) Those in which only one name is given, represented by Βαρτίμαιος, that is, ‘the son of TimAEus’-a word whose meaning and derivation are both uncertain. 11 [Note: 1 Mark 10:46; HDB i. 248.]
(2) Those in which the name may be a surname.-If Nathanael, mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel, 12 [Note: 2 Jn 1:45, 21:2.] is the Bartholomew mentioned only by the Synoptists, 13 [Note: 3 Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14, Acts 1:13 .] then Nathanael bore the surname ‘son of Talmai.’ Matthias the successor of Judas 14 [Note: 4Ezr :class='bible' href='B:44 1:23'>Act 1:23 .] is called by Aphraates תלמי, and in the Syriac translation of the Church History of Eusebius this is everywhere substituted for Matthias. Nestle therefore suggested that there were two Bartholomews, one known as Nathanael, and the other as Matthias. 15 [Note: 5 ExpT ix. [1897-98] 566; See also Ramsay, Exp, 6th ser., vi. [1902] 291.] but Burkitt 16 [Note: 6 F. C. Burkitt, The Syriac Forms of NT Proper Names, London, 1912, p. 23.] holds that the substitution of תנלמי for Matthias ‘is no mere palaeographical error, but that the Old Syriac Version of the Acts must have had תולמי also. This name occurs as Θολομα ῖ ος in Josephus (Ant. XX. i.), and is, of course, the second part of the name Bartholomew. An obscure name תלמי does occur in Judges and Samuel, but תולמי is nothing more than Ptolemy in a Semitic disguise.… Why the Old Syriac of Acts should have represented Matthias by this name cannot now be ascertained.’ Considerable interest attaches to the name Bar Jesus, a name variously spelt in the Western texts. In the Peshiṭta there is given as an equivalent ברשוטא, Barshuma. This is an old family name in Edessa, but its meaning is quite unknown. The magician is also called Ἐ λύμας, ‘for so is his name translated.’ 17 [Note: 7 Acts 13:6 .] Elymas may be a Greek form of alîmâ, an Aramaic word meaning ‘strong,’ or of ‘alim, an Arabic word meaning ‘wise,’ 18 [Note: 8 See E. Renan, Saint Paul, Eng. tr., New York, 1869, p. 54.] but it cannot be a translation of Bar-Jesus. Codex D reads, instead of Elymas, Ἐ τοιμ ᾶ ς, meaning ‘son of the ready,’ a reading adopted by Ramsay and Blass. Elymas is somewhat akin to Ἀ τόμου, the reading of the Ambrosian MS [Note: S manuscript.] A in a well known passage of Josephus. 19 [Note: 9 Burkitt, p. 22; HDB i. 247a; W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen, London, 1895, p. 73; J. Rendel Harris, Exp, 6th ser., v. [1902] 192; Jos. Ant. xx. vii. 2.]
(3) The third class carries us into-
2. Genuine surnames
Among these are (a) patronymics, as those in which there is added to the name another name compounded with בַּר . Joseph the Cyprian Levite is ὁ ἐ πικληθε ὶ ς Βαρνάβας by the apostles, that is, ‘son of Nebo.’ 20 [Note: 0 Acts 4:36; Deissmann, Bible Studies, pp. 187 ff., 307 ff.; ExpT x. [1898-99] 233.] It has been suggested that this surname was given to distinguish him from Joseph ὁ καλούμενος Βαρσαββ ᾶ ς, a name meaning most probably ‘Saturday’s child.’ He had also, according to a common custom, adopted the Roman name of Justus. 1 [Note: Acts 1:23; HDB i. 247; Exp, 6th ser., v. 414, n. 3; Burkitt, p. 6.] He may have been a brother of Judas ὁ καλούμενος Βαρσαββ ᾶ ς . 2 [Note: Acts 15:22; NABCDEL read καλούμενον, but HP ἐ πικαλούμενον.] In this connexion the name Barabbas deserves notice. The Sinaitic (and Palestinian) Syriac version, some good minuscules, and MSS [Note: SS manuscripts.] known to Origen read: ‘Whom will ye that I release unto you? Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?’ 3 [Note: Matthew 27:16-17; HDB i. 245. This reading, which is supported by v. 22, is adopted by R. C. Trench, Studies in the Gospels4, London, 1878, p. 306; E. Renan, Life of Jesus, Eng. tr., do., 1873, p. 279 (who thinks that the correct reading is Bar-Abba, or Bar-Rabban); and J. Moffatt, The NT: A New Translation3, do., 1914. Note the use made of this by J. M. Robertson, Christianity and Mythology2, do., 1910, p. 367, and the reply of C. Clemen, Primitive Christianity and its Non-Jewish Sources, Edinburgh, 1912, p. 185, and J. G. Frazer, GB3, pt. vi., The Scapegoat, London, 1913, p. 419.]
(b) Additional names.-From the want of surnames arises the difficulty of identifying different individuals having the same name, as the various Symeons and Simons mentioned in the NT. שִׁמִעוֹן is translated in the LXX [Note: XX Septuagint.] 4 [Note: Genesis 29:35 .] and the NT by Συμεών . There was a genuine Greek name closely resembling it, Σίμων, and this was often substituted for Συμεών . 5 [Note: Sir 50:1 .] It was one of the commonest names among the Jews, twelve being mentioned in the NT. Of these, we know nothing of Symeon of Luke 3:30, of Simon the brother of our Lord, 6 [Note: Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3 .] or, except one incident, of Symeon of Jerusalem, 7 [Note: Luke 2:25 .] Simon the Cyrenian, 8 [Note: Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26 .] or Simon the Pharisee. 9 [Note: Luke 7:36 .] We have already noticed Simon the tanner, and Simon Magus, but by far the most outstanding bearer of the name was the Apostle. His father was called Ἰ ων ᾶ ς or Ἰ ωάνης . 10 [Note: 0 Matthew 16:17, John 1:42 .] The former may have been a contraction of the latter, or he may have borne a double name, Ἰ ων ᾶ ς -Ἰ ωάνης . The Apostle himself would seem originally to have borne the common Jewish name as transliterated into Greek Συμεών . This is the reading of Acts 15:14; and 2 P 1:1 opens with the words Συμε ὼ ν Πέτρος, which is the reading of א AKLP, Σίμων being found in B 5 . ‘The name of Simon Magus is spelt סימון (Sîmôn) in Syriac, as distinguished from Simon Peter and Simon the Tanner, who are given the same name as Simeon (שמעון, Shim‛ôn) the Patriarch,’ 11 [Note: 1 Burkitt, p. 6.] but owing to Greek influence there is little doubt that Σίμων would be frequently, if not commonly, used. He seems to have been distinguished from other Simons by the name Σίμων ὁ ὑ ι ὸ ς Ἰ ωάννου, 12 [Note: 2 Jn 1:43.] or, more shortly, Σίμων Ἰ ωάννου . 13 [Note: 3 Jn 21:15-17.] In Matthew 16:17 he is called Σίμων Βαριων ᾶ. This form may be either a contraction of the former or an instance of a double name, the Apostle’s father, in accordance with the custom of the time, having added the Greek name Ἰ ων ᾶ ς, as being similar to his own proper name Ἰ ωάννης . 14 [Note: 4 HDB ii. 676.] According to the Fourth Gospel, Jesus on His first meeting with Simeon said to him: ‘Your name is to be Κηφ ᾶ ς ,’ the Evangelist adding ὅ ἑ ρμηνεύεται Πέτρος . 15 [Note: 5 John 1:43 (42)] The Hebrew בֵּף, Chald. בַּיפִא, is in Greek Πέτρος, but neither of these names is borne by any other person in the NT save the Apostle. The Syriac ‘ באפא is not a transliteration at all, but the Syriac for “stone”: the translator, or possibly Syriac Church custom, recognized that S. Peter’s name was Simon Stone, and they called him, where necessary, by this appellative.’ 16 [Note: 6 Burkitt, p. 5.] The name Κηφ ᾶ ς is not used in the Gospels or the Acts. It is used alone by St. Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, 1 [Note: 1 Corinthians 1:12 .] and in Galatians 2 [Note: Galatians 1:18, but àDEFGKLP read Πέτρου; 2:9, but DEFG read Πέτρος; 2:11, but DEFGKL read Πέτρος; 2:14, but DEFGKLP read Πέτρ ῳ.] Hort was of opinion that Κηφ ᾶ ς was a form of Καϊάφας, but that is not the case. 3 [Note: ExpT x. 185.] In the list of the Twelve the Apostle is called Σίμων ὁ λεγόμενος Πέτρος, 4 [Note: Matthew 10:2 .] ἐ πέθηκεν ὄ νομα τ ῷ Σίμωνι Πέτρον, 5 [Note: Mark 3:15 .] Σίμωνα ὃ ν κα ὶ ὠ νόμασεν Πέτρον . 6 [Note: Luke 6:14 .] We find, then, six distinct appellations-Simon, 7 [Note: Matthew 17:25 .] Simeon, 8 [Note: Acts 15:14 .] Simon Barjona, 9 [Note: Matthew 16:17 .] Peter, 10 [Note: 0 Matthew 8:14 .] Simon called Peter, 11 [Note: 1 Matthew 4:18 .] Simon Peter. 12 [Note: 2 Matthew 16:16 .]
(c) Adjectival names.-These may be still further divided into
(1) Those derived from the name of a place.-In the NT seven persons bear the name of Ἰ ούδας, the Greek equivalent of יְהוּרָה . Among these are an ancestor of Jesus, 13 [Note: 3 Luke 3:30 .] Judas of Damascus, 14 [Note: 4Ezr :class='bible' href='B:44 9:11'>Act 9:11 .] Judas or Jude, a brother of Jesus, 15 [Note: 5 Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3 .] Judas distinguished as ‘not Iscariot,’ 16 [Note: 6 John 14:22 .] probably the same as Judas Ιακώβου, 17 [Note: 7 Luke 6:16, Acts 1:13 .] and Judas Barsabbas, who has already been noticed. but of the seven the most notable is Judas the traitor. In regard to his surname, scholars are now practically agreed that the term translated ‘Iscariot’ is the Greek for אִישׁקְרִיוֹת . 18 [Note: 8 but See W. B. Smith, in HJ ix. [1911] 531, 892.] The reading ἀ π ὸ Καρυώτου 19 [Note: 9 John 6:71, à 12:4, 13:2, 26, 14:22, all of D.] clearly indicates a place. If a place be meant, what is its correct designation? The MSS [Note: SS manuscripts.] oscillate between Σκαρυώθ, 20 [Note: 0 Mark 3:9, Luke 6:16, both in D, and John 6:71 in BCGL.] Ἰ σκαριώθ, 21 [Note: 1 Mark 3:9 in BCL, Luke 6:16 in BL, Matthew 10:4 in C.] Σκαριώτης, 22 [Note: 2 Matthew 10:4 in D.] and Ἰ σκαριώτης, 23 [Note: 3 Matthew 10:4, etc., also the readings in à and D noted under19.] but the reading Ἰ σκαριώτης seems clearly preferable. 24 [Note: 4 E. Nestle and F. H. Chase, ExpT ix. 140, 189, 240, 285.] Kerioth can scarcely be קְרִיוֹת of Moab, 25 [Note: 5 Jeremiah 48:24, Amos 2:2 .] and is much more likely to be ק־חָצְרוֹן of Judah, 26 [Note: 6 Joshua 15:25, HJ ix. 531.] meaning the twin cities or twin fortresses. It is identified with a place variously spelt Kuryetein, 27 [Note: 7 E. Robinson, Biblical Researches in Palestine, 3 vols., London, 1841, ii. 472.] Kuryezein, 28 [Note: 8 E. H. Palmer, The Desert of the Exodus, 2 vols., Cambridge, 1871, map to vol. ii.] and Karjetein, 29 [Note: 9 HDB ii. 836.] 4½; miles to the N.W. of Arad. Conder, indeed, founding upon the reading in D of John 12:4, etc., ἀ π ὸ Καρυώτου, thinks that the place indicated is Ischar, which (according to the Samaritan Chronicle) was the old name of the present Askar, near Jacob’s well, the Sychar of John 4:5 . In that case Judas most probably was a Samaritan. 30 [Note: 0 PEFSt, April 1905, p. 157; HDB iv. 635.] The reference to the Traitor in the Fourth Gospel 31 [Note: 1 Jn 6:71 in àBCGL, 12:4 A(E)IKM, 13:2, 25 BLM.] would indicate that his father bore the surname Ἰ σκαριώτης, which he transmitted to his son.
Another of the disciples of Jesus is designated Σίμων ὁ Κανανα ῖ ος, 32 [Note: 2 Matthew 10:4 BCDL, Mark 3:18 KABCDL.] or Κανανίτην, 33 [Note: 3 Mark 3:18 ATH.] and the same person is designated by Luke 34 [Note: 4Ezr :class='bible' href='B:42 6:15'>Luk 6:15, Acts 1:13 .] Σίμωνα τ ὸ ν καλούμενον Ζηλωτήν and Σίμων ὁ ζηλωτής . Κανανα ῖ ος is the transliteration of the Hebrew קַנְאָנַיָא, ‘the CananAEan,’ and is to be distinguished from, though it may be connected with, the geographical term ‘Canaanite.’ In Syriac this surname ‘is rendered קנניא, and so is properly distinguished from the Canaanite woman (Χαναναία), who is במעניתא . 1 [Note: Burkitt, p. 5.] The CananAEans or Zealots were a well-known Jewish sect. 2 [Note: Schürer, HJP i. [Edinburgh, 1890] ii. 80, 177, 229; HDB i. 348; Jos. BJ iv. iii. 9, 13, 14, iv. 5, v. 1, vi., vii.; ExpT xxvi. [1914-15] 341 f.]
The name Mary, in Hebrew מִרְיָם, in Greek Μαρία or Μαρίαμ, seems to be used in the NT of eight persons. 3 [Note: Exp, 7th ser., viii. [1909] 58, 307; HDB iii. 278.] Of these Mary the mother of James, Mary of Clopas, ‘the other Mary,’ are generally admitted to be the same person indicated by different designations. Mary the sister of Lazarus, Mary the mother of Mark, Mary saluted by St. Paul, Mary the mother of Jesus, have been already referred to. There remains the eighth, Mary of Magdala, Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνή . This is the form found in Mt., 4 [Note: Matthew 27:55 .] Mk., 5 [Note: Mark 15:40 .] and Jn., 6 [Note: John 19:25 .] while Lk. uses the form Μαρία ἡ καλουμένη Μαγδαληνή, 7 [Note: Luke 8:2 .] and ἡ Μαγδαληνή Μαρία . 8 [Note: Luke 24:10; there is a difference in the MSS, some reading Μαρία, others Μαρίαμ; some also read Μαγδαλίνη.] Most probably she got this surname from being a native or resident in Magdala, or Magadan, now Mejdel, a short distance from Tiberias. 9 [Note: but See HDB iii. 202.]
Mention is made in Acts 5:37 of Ἰ ούδας ὁ Γαλιλα ῖ ος, Judas the GalilAEan, a surname derived from the fact that he was a native of that province, 10 [Note: 0 Jos. Ant. xviii. i. 1-6, xx. v. 2, BJ ii. viii. 1, xvii. 8, 9, vii. viii. 1.] though Josephus in one passage rather indicates that he came from Gamala, which lies east of Galilee. 11 [Note: 1 Jos. Ant. xviii. i. 1; Schürer, HJP i. ii. 4, 80.]
In Acts 13:1 among the teachers and prophets of Antioch mention is made of Λούκιος ὁ Κυρνα ῖ ος . He may or may not have been the same person as is mentioned in Romans 16:21, but at any rate he was a fellow-countryman of Σίμων Κυρηνα ῖ ος . 12 [Note: 2 Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26; some MSS have in the latter case Κυρηναίου; R. C. Trench, Studies in the Gospels4, p. 144.]
The purple-seller whom St. Paul met at Philippi was named Λυδία . 13 [Note: 3 Acts 16:14 .] That may have been the woman’s proper name, but was most probably, as Ramsay hints, a designation from the district of Lydia, of which Thyatira was an important town. If this be so, it accounts for the fact that in his Epistle to the Philippians St. Paul does not mention her, though it is possible that she was Euodia or Syntyche. 14 [Note: 4 HDB iii. 176 f.]
(2) Those derived from other sources.-Various explanations have been given of a surname Boanerges given by our Lord to James and John, and applied to them but once. 15 [Note: 5 Mark 3:17 .] None of these is very satisfactory, but by far the most likely is that the two were not merely brothers but twins, and that, since the superstitions attached to twins and the worship of the Dioscuri were well known, something in character, conduct, or appearance caused Jesus to give them the surname ‘sons of the Sky.’ 16 [Note: 6 Exp, 7th ser., iii. [1907] 146; ExpT xxv. [1913-14] 100 f., xxvi. 45 f., 236 f.] The strange ideas associated with twins remind us of another disciple whose name we do not know, though we know his surname. In three passages in the Fourth Gospel 17 [Note: 7 John 11:16 .] reference is made to an apostle Θωμ ᾶ ς ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος . Thomas is not, as it has become, a personal name; it is simply the Aramaic word for twin. תְּאוֹם is transliterated into Greek as Θωμ ᾶ ς, and Δίδυμος is a Greek translation of the word. In the Acta ThomAE he is called Judas Thomas, and very early 18 [Note: 8 in the Sinaitic Syriac Gospels, discovered by Mrs. Lewis, Judas, the brother of our Lord, and Thomas are identified in John 14:22; HDB iv. 753; Exp, 7th ser., iii. 381; ExpT xiv. [1902-03] 397 ff., xvii. [1905-06] 338.] a legend arose that he was the twin brother of Jesus.
In Matthew 10:3 a disciple is named Θαδδα ῖ ος according to NB, but C 2 EFGHKLM have Λεββα ῖ ος ὁ ἐ πικληθε ὶ ς Θαδδα ῖ ος . Mark 3:18 has Θαδδα ῖ ον, D reading Λεββα ῖ ον . Luke 6:16, Acts 1:13 have Ἰ ούδαν Ἰ ακώβου . There seems, from a collocation of these passages, to be only one person meant, but, the meaning of the two names being at present quite doubtful, the reason of the triple name is impossible to determine. He may be the ‘Judas not Iscariot’ of John 14:22 .John 14:1 [Note: HDB iv. 741.]
3. The surnames of our Lord. -These are of special interest and of special difficulty. (a) Those derived from some word like Nazar.-(1) One theory connects this word with the place-name variously spelt Ναζαρ ὰ, Ναζαράτ, Ναζαράθ, Ναζαρέτ, Ναζαρέθ . Matthew 4:13 and Luke 4:16, where Ναζαρά has the support of א B, are not in Mk., and therefore are most probably taken from Q. If that be so, Ναζαρά was most probably the spelling of Q. The note of universality in our Lord’s teaching and His freedom from the restrictions of Jewish legalism have naturally raised questions as to His nationality and descent. Renan, in pointing out that the GalilAEans were a mixed race, declares it impossible ‘to ascertain what blood flowed in his veins,’ 2 [Note: Quoted by David Smith in Religion and the Modern Mind, London, 1908, p. 171.] while Gwatkin cautiously says, ‘The Gospel sprang up on Jewish soil, its Founder was a Jew, though only a Jew of Galilee.’ 3 [Note: H. M. Gwatkin, The Knowledge of God2, Edinburgh, 1908, ii. 55.] It has been suggested that Nazareth, or, better, some name which underlies that corrupt form, is an old synonym of Gâlîl, i.e. Galilee, but that supposition is contradicted by the fact that it is clearly stated that Nazareth was a town in Galilee, situated on a hill. 4 [Note: Matthew 2:23, Mark 4:29; cf. John 1:45-46; HJ ix. 892; Burkitt, p. 17.] The effort to find a more probable solution has led to a discussion of the connexion of Jesus with Nazareth, along two lines. One set of scholars, anxious to prove Jesus an Aryan, insist that He was born in Nazareth. 5 [Note: ExpT xxii. [1910-11) 4, xx. [1908-09] 531. This was the view of Joseph Priestley; See H. McLachlan, The NT in the Light of Modern Knowledge, London, 1914, p. 229.] That He was not a Jew was argued by Emile Burnouf. 6 [Note: Transactions of the Third International Congress for the History of Religions, Oxford, 1908, i. 304.] Ihering says, ‘From the very commencement there is a touch of the Aryan in him. Some have tried to account for this link between him and the Aryans by accepting his descent from an Aryan father.’ 7 [Note: Rudolph von Ihering, The Evolution of the Aryan, London, 1897, p. 241.] Cheyne quotes with approval the words of Percy Gardner, ‘According to all historical probability, Jesus of Nazareth was born at Nazareth.’ 8 [Note: EBi ii. 1631.] Very strong support has been given to this in various papers by Paul Haupt. 9 [Note: ExpT xx. 531, xxii. 4; Transactions, p. 303.] Evidence in its favour is found in the fact that on one occasion, we are told, Jesus went and preached ε ἰ ς τ ὴ ν πατρίδα α ὐ το ῦ. 10 [Note: 0 Matthew 13:54, Mark 6:1 .] This is rendered in AV [Note: V Authorized Version.] and RV [Note: V Revised Version.], English and American, ‘into his own country’; in the 20th Century NT (2 London, 1904), ‘his own part of the country’; in R. F. Weymouth’s translation (The NT in Modern Speech, London, 1903), ‘His own country,’ with this added note, ‘literally, “fatherland”; while J. Moffatt in his Historical NT (2 Edinburgh, 1901) translates accurately ‘his own native place.’ and in his translation of the NT ‘his native place.’ The words of Mk. are very significant, as in the Second Gospel no account is given of our Lord’s birth, and no mention is made of Bethlehem; and this significance is intensified if the passage was taken by the writer of the First Gospel from Mark. If Jesus was born in Nazareth, His surname with ἀ πό gains significance and force, as Ἰ ησο ῦ ς ὁ ἀ π ὸ Ναζαρέθ . 1 [Note: Matthew 21:11 (cf. John 1:45-46), Acts 10:33; D omits ὁ, àBCDEHK read Ναζαρέθ, FGLM Ναζαρέτ, Δ Ναζαράθ.] but this connexion of Jesus and Nazareth must not be held as settled, for another group of scholars take quite a different view and carry on the discussion along another line. (See W. M. Ramsay, Was Christ born at Bethlehem?, London, 1898.)
One set are doubtful if any such place as Nazareth existed. They point out that no town bearing that name is mentioned in the OT or Josephus, and that, although the Talmud mentions sixty-three towns in Galilee, it mentions none bearing that name till as late as a.d. 900. 2 [Note: HJ ix. 867; EBi iii. 33:60; ExpT xxii. 4.] If there be left ‘out of consideration the narrative of the address at the opening of the Ministry in the Synagogue at “Nazara,” a narrative peculiar to S. Luke, and apparently composed by him out of Mark 6:1-5 together with some very probably genuine sayings of our Lord which he took from another source, there is nothing whatever in the New Testament to individualize Nazareth at all beyond the mere letters of its name.… the fact is, that the identification of the Gospel Ναζαρέτ or Ναζαρά with a place spelt נצרת … is a piece of early Christian archaeology, rather than of primitive tradition.’ 3 [Note: Burkitt, p. 17.] Burkitt further points out in regard to the wce pronounced on Chorazin, Bethsaida, Tyre and Sidon, and Capharnahum, that, while Bethsaida and Capharnahum were the centres of our Lord’s ministry, no mention is made of any work in Khorazin, while in Nazara Jesus had actually been rejected; and ‘with some misgivings’ he ventures ‘to suggest 4 [Note: Pp. 17-18; HJ ix. 892; Luke 10:13-15, Matthew 11:20-24 .] that the name “Nazareth” … may have arisen from a literary error,’ and that ‘we ought to consider the possibility that the city of Joseph and Mary, the πατρίς of Jesus, was Chorazin.’
W. B. Smith, founding on the fact that the Tell el-Amarna tablets and the Annals of Tiglath-Pileser III. mention a town, Hinatuni, which means ‘defence,’ ‘protection,’ argues that to this ancient town a new name Nazareth, also meaning ‘defence,’ was given; and, as Nazareth did not, as we shall see, yield the requisite adjective, it was written Nazara. 5 [Note: HJ ix. 541, 865.] Cheyne (who identifies Hinatuni with Hannathon) denies that either name means ‘defence,’ and Conder identifies Hannathon with Kefr ’Anân in Upper Galilee. 6 [Note: Ib., p. 892; HDB ii. 299.] but from a place Ναζαρέθ or Ναζαρά the adjectival surnames of Jesus- Ναζαρηνός and Ναζωρα ῖ ος 7 [Note: Ναζαρηνός in Mark 1:24 (àAC read Ναζωρα ῖ ος) 14:67, 16:6, (LAK read Ναζωρα ῖ ον), Luke 4:34 (with D) 24:19 (ADIP read Ναζωρα ῖ ον). John 18:5 (with D); Ναζωρα ῖ ος in Matthew 2:23, Luke 18:37 (D reads Ναζαρηνός), John 18:5 (D reads Ναζαρηνόν) 18:7, 19:19, Acts 2:22 (with A CE) 24:5.] -cannot be derived. Burkitt says, 8 [Note: Burkitt, pp. 18, 21, 24.] ‘it is not easy to understand the form Ναζωρα ῖ ος in any case, but the difficulty is greater if we have to make it an adjective denoting an inhabitant of Nazara or Nazareth.’ The name of the place in the Syriac Texts is written נצרת, vocalized Nâṣrath in the Peshiṭta, the adjectives Ναζαρηνός and Ναζωρα ῖ ος being rendered by נצריא . Here it is to be noted that ζ stands for צ, but in hardly any other instance is this the case; the equivalent of ζ is not צ but 1. 9 [Note: Nestle says ‘all examples for the transition of ö into ζ = 1 … are not to the mark’ (ExpT xix. [1907-08] 524); E. A Abbott (The Fourfold Gospel: the Beginning, Cambridge, 1914, p. 324) differs.] If, then, the town was נצרת, the Greek should be Νασερέτ or Νασαρά .
(2) This fact has given rise to two theories.
(i.) The theory which connects the word with נָזִיר (from נָזַר, ‘to separate,’ ‘consecrate,’ ‘purify’), meaning ‘the consecrated one.’ The Nazirites were a Jewish sect. 1 [Note: HDB iii. 497 ff.; Numbers 6:1-21; Jos. BJ ii. xv. 1; W. R. Smith, Romans 2, London, 1894, pp 332, 482; H. Schultz, OT Theology, Edinburgh, 1892, i. 161, 401; Abbott, p. 311.] John the Baptist was a Nazirite; Jesus was not a full Nazirite. 2 [Note: Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34, a passage not in Mk.] Burkitt throws out the suggestion 3 [Note: P. 18.] ‘that “NazorAEan” was a nickname, meaning possibly “this odd sort of Nazarite”-one who calls for repentance, and yet eats and drinks like other folk.… the true origin of nicknames is easily lost, and it may have been supposed that the name referred to some place in Galilee.’ Abbott, while unable to support Burkitt’s idea that ו is made to represent the Semitic צ, heartily agrees with his dictum that ‘the ordinary view of Nazareth’ is ‘wholly unproved and unsatisfactory.’ 4 [Note: Burkitt, p. 18; Abbott, p. 324.] He favours another solution-
(ii.) The theory which connects the word with a root, נָצַר, meaning ‘flowering,’ ‘growing.’ Matthew 2:23 says that Joseph came and dwelt in a town called Ναζαρέθ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet ‘he shall be called Ναζωρα ῖ ος .’ but Ναζωρα ῖ ος cannot be derived from Ναζαρέθ . Before the age of Jesus there was a belief that the Messiah would be נֵצֶר or Rod of Jesse of Isaiah 11:1 . The Targum paraphrases נֵצֶר, ‘branch,’ as Messiah, so that ‘it need not surprise us if among the Messianic names in the first century the Branch of the Tree of Jesse became familiar and popular so that the Messiah might be hailed as Nêtzer.’ 5 [Note: Abbott, pp. 309, 315.] Hence when Jesus became famous as a healer the people began to play on the words Nazarene and NazorAEan, and His disciples, who felt His residence from childhood in Nazareth had been ordained to fulfil a Messianic prophecy that He should be called a NazorAEan, connected some form of Nazareth or Nazara with a form of Nêtzer, a word used in prophecy to indicate the Messiah. Thus Jesus the Nazarene, i.e. the man of Nazareth, became known as Jesus the NazorAEan, i.e. the Nêtzer, the Lifegiver and Healer. 6 [Note: Ib., p. 309.] Abbott supports this by several lines of evidence. Taking such passages as Mark 1:24 = Luke 4:34, where the demoniac addresses our Lord as Ἰ ησο ῦ Ναζαρηνέ, he contends that NazorAEan in a Messianic sense is much more appropriate than Nazarene, a name referring to an obscure place Nazareth, and that this was used by the demoniac, but wrongly rendered by Mark 7 [Note: P. 310.] Mark 14:67 reads σ ὺ μετ ὰ το ῦ Ναζαρηνο ῦ ἦ σθα το ῦ Ἰ ησο ῦ. 8 [Note: Matthew 26:69 reads Ἰ ησο ῦ το ῦ Γαλιλαίον.] Matthew 26:71 reads Ἰ ησο ῦ το ῦ Ναζωραίου . 9 [Note: Mark 14:69 reads ο ὖ τος ἒ ξ α ὐ τ ῶ ν ἐ στιν.] Abbott argues: ‘if “NazorAEan,” meaning Nêtzer, was regularly used about Jesus by His Galilean followers in Jerusalem, it would naturally be repeated by the Roman soldiers, and afterwards by Gentiles in general, as a mere place-name-“NazorAEan” being regarded by Mark and other Greek writers as an inaccurate form of “Nazarene.” ’ 10 [Note: 0 Abbott, p. 314.] Again, the Talmud calls Jesus or His followers Nôtzri. This does not resemble Nazara. but it closely resembles a form of ‘branch’ (Nôtzer) extant in the text of Ben Sira-‘the branch of violence shall not be unpunished.’ And it is easy to believe that the Jews parodied a form of Nêtzer, to distinguish the Branch of the Christians from that true Nêtzer of Jesse which God might call ‘the branch of my planting.’ Thus the Talmud, as far as it goes, favours Nêtzer, not Nazara. 11 [Note: 1 Ib., p. 318.] Again, while Jesse in Jewish mystical thought is typical of old age, the shoot growing up from the root of Jesse indicates life and vigour, and would suggest thoughts of strengthening, healing, vivification, resurrection; and it is most significant that the first proclamation of the gospel concerns Ἰ ησο ῦ ν τ ὸ ν Ναζωρα ῖ ον, the first miracle is done ἐ ν τ ῷ ὀ νόματι Ἰ ησο ῦ Χριστο ῦ το ῦ Ναζωραίον, and the title which our Lord used when He spoke to St. Paul on the Damascus road was Ἰ ησο ῦ ς ὁ Ναζωρα ῖ ος . 1 [Note: Abbott, pp. 315, 320; Acts 2:22 .] ‘Most readers-if they approach these stirring announcements with a desire to realize them as if hearing them for the first time-will feel (I think) that there would be something flat in the mention of “the NazorAEan” if it only meant “born at Nazara,”-a name suggesting “Where is it?”-but that it would sound an inspiriting and stirring note if it also alluded to “the ever-living Prince of Life, the Nêtzer, the Branch of the Lord’s Planting.” ’ 2 [Note: Ib., p. 320.] Finally, Abbott argues that, when Nazara, Nêtzer, Nazîr were transliterated into Greek in Mark’s Gospel, they were inevitably confused. Eusebius did confuse them, Jerome actually indicates that ‘Nazirite’ was an early interpretation of Matthew’s ‘NazorAEan,’ while Tertullian takes Ναζαρηνέ as applied to Jesus in Luke 4:34 to mean Nazirite and then applies that term, in this sense, to the Christians. 3 [Note: Ib., p. 311.] In this connexion the words of the demoniac (Mark 1:24, ὁ ἅ γιος το ῦ θεο ῦ) are significant. The Holy One of God (Judges 13:7, Judges 16:17) is rendered ἅ γιος Θεο ῦ. The words of the demoniac may ‘indicate a tradition that called Jesus Nazir instead of Nêtzer and that took Nazir to mean “holy one of God,” ’ and in recording the words ‘Mark might naturally add-in accordance with his frequent habit of combining two interpretations-“thou Nazirite of God” in the sense of “thou holy one of God.” ’ 4 [Note: Ib., p. 313.]
A consideration of the evidence for and against these two theories shows at least the need of a thorough philological and historical investigation of the terms and their use before an answer can be given to the question which Nestle propounded, ‘did not the whole tradition of Jesus living at Nazareth, and being called after that town, arise from a misunderstanding of this designation “Nazarene”?’ 5 [Note: ExpT xix. 524.]
(b) Χριστός .-Another surname of our Lord is that of Χριστός . Throughout His earthly life our Lord bore the simple name Ἰ ησο ῦ ς . but in His time there was a general feeling of the approach of the Messiah: a Hebrew official title meaning one anointed for a special office, the Greek equivalent of which was Χριστός . Whether any person was Χριστός was a question the answer to which depended on evidence. It was disputed whether or not John the Baptist was Χριστός . 6 [Note: Luke 3:15-16 .] Whether or not Jesus was Χριστός was also disputed. His disciples came to believe that He was; 7 [Note: Matthew 16:16 .] His enemies ridiculed the idea. 8 [Note: Matthew 27:17, John 9:22 .] but by the time the Gospels were written His followers had come to call Him Ἰ ησο ῦ ς Χριστός, 9 [Note: Matthew 1:1, Mark 1:1, John 1:17; in Matthew 23:10 the reference is Impersonal.] and to describe Him as Ἰ ησο ῦ ς ὁ λεγόμενος χριστός . 10 [Note: 0 Matthew 1:16; in Mark 1:34 the reading of àBCGLM is clearly an addition, and in Matthew 23:8 ὁ Χριστός is a gloss.] In this way Χριστός became a surname, and finally passed into a distinct personal name. 11 [Note: 1 as in Mark 9:41 .]
Other two names applied to our Lord may be either surname or title-
(c) υ ἱὸ ς ὑ ψίστου .-The primitive Semitic conception of God was embodied in אַל, and the different aspects of אַל were expressed by additions, one of which was אַל אלילן . 12 [Note: 2 ERE i. 664; HDB ii. 198; Schultz, OT Theology, ii. 128.] The assertion 13 [Note: 3 F. Hommel, Ancient Hebrew Tradition as illustrated by the Monuments, Eng. tr., London, 1897, p. 157.] that ‘there must have been a Western Semitic deity who was known by this name’ lacks proof, but the incident in Genesis 14 indicates the worship of a god bearing that title, to which further support is given by a statement of Philo of Byblus. 1 [Note: HDB iii. 450.] The title would seem to have been assimilated by יְהֹוָה, and the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews 2 [Note: Hebrews 13:18 .] practically identifies this deity with יְהֹוָה . ‘ “God the Highest” was a widespread pagan expression.’ 3 [Note: Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, p. 215.] In the NT God is named Ὕ ψιστος, 4 [Note: Luke 1:35 .] John the Baptist was designated προφήτης ὑ ψίστου, 5 [Note: Luke 1:76 .] the beneficent and helpful are called υ ἱ ο ὶ ὑ ψίστου, 6 [Note: Luke 6:35 .] Stephen in his speech before the Sanhedrin emphasized the omnipresence of יְהֹוָה, His superiority to Jewish conceptions of Him, and His exaltation over the gods of paganism by naming Him ὁ ὕ ψιστος . 7 [Note: Acts 7:48 .] The slave girl of Philippi describes St. Paul and Silas as servants το ῦ θεο ῦ το ῦ ὑ ψίστου 8 [Note: Acts 16:17 .] . In the Annunciation the angel, while instructing Mary to name her child Ἰ ησο ῦ ς, announces that He will be called υ ἱὸ ς ὑ ψίστου . 9 [Note: Luke 1:32 .] He is, however, never so called, the only approach to it being the words of the Gergesene demoniac, who salutes Him as Ἰ ησο ῦ υ ἱὲ το ῦ θεο ῦ. 10 [Note: 0 Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28 .]
(d) Ἐ μμανουήλ .-This name is mentioned in a passage in the First Gospel 11 [Note: 1 Matthew 1:23 .] where the writer quotes a prediction from Isaiah 7:14, and applies the words ‘his name will be called Ἐ μμανουήλ ,’ as indicating that the name and what was said of the child there was true and would be fulfilled in Mary’s son; but so far as the Gospels go this name was never given to Jesus.
4. Roman surnames. -The conquest of Palestine by the Romans and the dispersion of the Jews throughout the Empire caused a considerable number of them to adopt Gentile names. Thus a certain Jesus adopted the surname Justus. 12 [Note: 2 Chronicles 4:11 .] If Leviticus 13 [Note: 3 Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27 .] be Matthew, then it would seem that the tax collector dropped his name of Levi and assumed that of Matthew on his becoming an apostle. A companion of St. Paul named John seems to have assumed the Roman name Marcus. 14 [Note: 4Ezr :class='bible' href='B:44 12:12'>Act 12:12 etc; ExpT xxvi. 372.] At Corinth St. Paul lodged with one Titus or Titius Justus, about whose name there is very much variation in the MSS [Note: SS manuscripts.] . 15 [Note: 5 Acts 18:7; HDB ii. 829; Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, p. 256.] The most distinguished personage who adopted a Roman name was the Apostle to the Gentiles. Deissmann has shown that the alteration in the name in Acts 13:9 is due to the writer of the Acts, and that it had no reference to the proconsul but simply indicated that Saul, like many Jews and Egyptians of his time, had a double name chosen by him very probably because of resemblance in sound. 16 [Note: 6 Acts 13:9; Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 313, with the references therein to 1 and 2 Mac. and Jos.; Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, p. 81; HDB iii. 697.]
Literature.-This has been sufficiently indicated throughout the article.
P. A. Gordon Clark.