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Contemporary English Version

Mark 3:17

There were also James and John, the two sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them Boanerges, which means "Thunderbolts."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Apostles;   Boanerges;   Call;   James;   Jesus, the Christ;   Thunder;   Thompson Chain Reference - James;   John, Beloved Disciple;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Boanerges;   James;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - John the apostle;   Mark, gospel of;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Apostle;   Jesus Christ;   Kingdom of God;   Legalism;   Worship;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Boanerges;   Chaldee Language;   John;   Peter;   Thunder;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Children;   Gospels;   John the Apostle;   Mark, the Gospel According to;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bartholomew;   Boanerges;   Disciples;   James;   John;   Mark, the Gospel of;   Parables;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Boanerges;   James;   John the Apostle;   Mark, Gospel According to;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Abba (2);   Apostles;   Boanerges;   Call, Calling;   Dependence;   James ;   John (the Apostle);   Mark, Gospel According to;   Son, Sonship;   Thunder (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Apostle;   Boanerges ;   New Testament;   Surname;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Boanerges;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Apostle;   Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Boaner'ges;   John the Apostle;   Pe'ter;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Twelve;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Name;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Boanerges;   Fisher;   James;   John, the Apostle;   Mark, the Gospel According to;   Peter, the First Epistle of;   Son;   Surname;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Boanerges;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - James;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, he gave the name “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”);
King James Version (1611)
And Iames the sonne of Zebedee, and Iohn the brother of Iames (and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sonnes of thunder.)
King James Version
And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:
English Standard Version
James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
New American Standard Bible
James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder");
New Century Version
James and John, the sons of Zebedee (Jesus named them Boanerges, which means "Sons of Thunder"),
Amplified Bible
and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder");
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder");
Legacy Standard Bible
and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder");
Berean Standard Bible
James son of Zebedee and his brother John (whom He named Boanerges, meaning Sons of Thunder),
Complete Jewish Bible
Ya‘akov Ben-Zavdai and Yochanan, Ya‘akov's brother — to them he gave the name "B'nei-Regesh" (that is, "Thunderers");
Darby Translation
and James the [son] of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and he gave them the surname of Boanerges, that is, Sons of thunder;
Easy-to-Read Version
James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee (the ones Jesus named Boanerges, which means "Sons of Thunder"),
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Iames the sonne of Zebedeus, & Iohn Iames brother (and surnamed them Boanerges, which is, the sonnes of thunder,)
George Lamsa Translation
And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, he surnamed B''nai Rakhshi, which means sons of thunder,
Good News Translation
James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee (Jesus gave them the name Boanerges, which means "Men of Thunder");
Lexham English Bible
and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (and he gave to them the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"),
Literal Translation
And on James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, He put on them the names Boanerges, which is, Sons of Thunder.
American Standard Version
and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and them he surnamed Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder:
Bible in Basic English
And to James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James, he gave the second name of Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder:
Hebrew Names Version
Ya`akov the son of Zavdai; Yochanan, the brother of Ya`akov, and them he surnamed Benei-Regesh, which means, Sons of Thunder;
International Standard Version
James, the son of Zebedee; John, the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
Etheridge Translation
and upon Jacub bar Zabdai, and Juchanon the brother of Jacub, he set the name of B'nai-regesh, which is, (B'nai-râmo,) Sons of thunder.
Murdock Translation
And to James the son of Zebedee and to John the brother of James, he gave the name of Boanerges, that is, Sons of thunder.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he called Iames [the sonne] of Zebedee, and Iohn, Iames brother (and gaue them to name Boanarges, which is to say, the sonnes of thunder.)
English Revised Version
and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and them he surnamed Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder:
World English Bible
James the son of Zebedee; John, the brother of James, and them he surnamed Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder;
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
and John the brother of James (and he surnamed them Boanerges,
Weymouth's New Testament
James the son of Zabdi and John the brother of James (these two He surnamed Boanerges, that is `Sons of Thunder'),
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
the brother of James, and he yaf to hem names Boenarges, that is, sones of thundryng.
Update Bible Version
and James the [son] of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he gave them the name Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder:
Webster's Bible Translation
And James the [son] of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, (and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder,)
New English Translation
to James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, he gave the name Boanerges (that is, "sons of thunder");
New King James Version
James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder";
New Living Translation
James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder"),
New Life Bible
James and John were brothers. They were the sons of Zebedee. He named them Boanerges, which means, The Sons of Thunder.
New Revised Standard
James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (and imposed on them a name - Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder);
Douay-Rheims Bible
And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he named them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder.
Revised Standard Version
James the son of Zeb'edee and John the brother of James, whom he surnamed Bo-aner'ges, that is, sons of thunder;
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he called Iames the sonne of zebede and Iohn Iames brother and gave them Bonarges to name which is to saye the sonnes of thounder.
Young's Literal Translation
and James of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and he put on them names -- Boanerges, that is, `Sons of thunder;'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and Iames the sonne of Zebede, and Ihon the brother of Iames, and gaue the the name Bonarges, that is to saye, the children of thonder:
Mace New Testament (1729)
and John the brother of James, (whom he had named Boanerges, that is to say, sons of thunder.)
Simplified Cowboy Version
James and John, brothers who he called the Sons of Thunder; and the rest were

Contextual Overview

13 Jesus decided to ask some of his disciples to go up on a mountain with him, and they went. 14 Then he chose twelve of them to be his apostles, so that they could be with him. He also wanted to send them out to preach 15 and to force out demons. 16 Simon was one of the twelve, and Jesus named him Peter. 17 There were also James and John, the two sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them Boanerges, which means "Thunderbolts." 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus were also apostles. The others were Simon, known as the Eager One, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus. 20 Jesus went back home, and once again such a large crowd gathered that there was no chance even to eat. 21 When Jesus' family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

James: Mark 1:19, Mark 1:20, Mark 5:37, Mark 9:2, Mark 10:35, Mark 14:33, John 21:2, John 21:20-25, Acts 12:1

he surnamed: Isaiah 58:1, Jeremiah 23:29, Hebrews 4:12, Revelation 10:11

Reciprocal: Job 39:19 - thunder Micah 3:8 - I am Matthew 4:21 - other Matthew 10:2 - James Acts 4:36 - The son

Cross-References

Genesis 3:2
The woman answered, "God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden,
Genesis 3:3
except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die."
Genesis 3:5
"God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does."
Genesis 3:6
The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too.
Genesis 3:7
Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.
Genesis 3:9
The Lord called out to the man and asked, "Where are you?"
Genesis 3:11
"How did you know you were naked?" God asked. "Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?"
Genesis 3:13
The Lord God then asked the woman, "What have you done?" "The snake tricked me," she answered. "And I ate some of that fruit."
Genesis 3:14
So the Lord God said to the snake: "Because of what you have done, you will be the only animal to suffer this curse— For as long as you live, you will crawl on your stomach and eat dirt.
Genesis 3:16
Then the Lord said to the woman, "You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James,.... These are mentioned next, as being first called after Peter and Andrew:

and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, the sons of thunder: either because of their loud and sonorous voice; or their warm zeal for Christ, and fervency in their ministry: or for their courage in opposing the enemies of Christ, and the power that went along with their words; which either put to confusion and silence, or issued in conviction and conversion. The Syriac version reads, "Benai Regesh", and the Persic, "Beni Reg'sch". The Jews, as our learned countryman Mr. Broughton has observed w, sometimes pronounce "Scheva" by on, as Noabyim", for "Nebyim"; so here, "Boanerges" for Benereges", or "Benerges". There is a city which was in the tribe of Dan, mentioned in Joshua 19:45, which is called "Bene-berak, the sons of lightning"; and is spoken of in the Jewish x writings, as a place where several of the Rabbins met, and conversed together: the reason of this name may be inquired after.

w Broughton's Requ. of Consent, in his Works, p. 620. x Haggada Shel Pesach. p. 6. Ed. Rittangel. & in Seder Tephillot, Ed. Basil, fol. 243. 1. Juchasin, fol. 36. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For an account of the appointment of the apostles, see the notes at Matthew 10:1-4.

And calleth unto him whom he would - Those whom he chose; whom he was about to appoint to the apostleship. See the notes at John 15:16.

Mark 3:14

He ordained twelve - The word rendered “ordained” here does not express our notion of ordination to the ministry. It means, literally, “he made” - that is, he “appointed” twelve to be with him.

Twelve - The reason why “twelve” were chosen was, probably, that such a number would be deemed competent witnesses of what they saw; that they could not be easily charged with being excited by sympathy, or being deluded, as a multitude might; and that, being destined to go into all the world, a considerable number seemed indispensable. Perhaps, also, there was some reference to the fact that “twelve” was the number of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Mark 3:17

Boanerges - This word is made up of two Hebrew words signifying “sons of thunder,” meaning that they, on some accounts, “resembled” thunder. See the notes at Matthew 1:1. It is not known why this name was given to James and John. They are nowhere else called by it. Some suppose it was because they wished to call down fire from heaven and consume a certain village of the Samaritans, Luke 9:54. It is, however, more probable that it was on account of something fervid, and glowing, and powerful in their genius and eloquence.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 17. Sons of thunder — A Hebraism for thunderers; probably so named because of their zeal and power in preaching the Gospel.

The term Boanerges is neither Hebrew nor Syriac. Calmet and others think that there is reason to believe that the Greek transcribers have not copied it exactly. בני רעם beney raam, which the ancient Greeks would pronounce Beneregem, and which means sons of thunder, was probably the appellative used by our Lord: or בני רעש beni reges, sons of tempest, which comes nearest to the Boanerges of the evangelist. St. Jerome, on Daniel 1:0:, gives בני רעם (which he writes Benereem, softening the sound of the ע ain) as the more likely reading, and Luther, supposing our Lord spoke in Hebrew, gives the proper Hebrew term above mentioned, which he writes Bnehargem. Some think that the reason why our Lord gave this appellative to the sons of Zebedee was, their desire to bring fire down from heaven, i.e. a storm of thunder and lightning, to overturn and consume a certain Samaritan village, the inhabitants of which would not receive their Master. See the account in Luke 9:53-54. It was a very usual thing among the Jews to give surnames, which signified some particular quality or excellence, to their rabbins. See several instances in Schoettgen.


 
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