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Bartholemew

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Nothing is recorded of Bartholemew except that he was one of the twelve apostles. In Matthew’s list of the apostles, which groups the apostles in pairs, Bartholemew is linked with Philip (Matthew 10:3). In the lists of Mark and Luke, Bartholemew comes after Philip (Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14). John does not mention Bartholemew, but he twice mentions Nathanael (who is not mentioned in Matthew, Mark or Luke). In John 1:45 Nathanael is linked with Philip, and in John 21:2 Nathanael is among the group of apostles, but there is no mention of Bartholemew. In view of all this, the common understanding is that Bartholemew and Nathanael are the same person. If this is so, Bartholemew would have been his family name (Bar = son of), Nathanael his personal name. See also NATHANAEL.