Bible Dictionaries
Bartholomew

Holman Bible Dictionary

(bahr thuhl' oh meew) One of the twelve apostles (Mark 3:18 ). The name Bartholomew means “son of Talmai,” and may have been a patronymic, a name derived from that of the father or a paternal ancestor. It occurs in all four lists of the apostles in the New Testament (Matthew 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16; Acts 1:13 ); in each of the Gospels it immediately follows the name of Philip. The name does not occur at all in John's Gospel. In the first chapter of John, however, the account of Philip's call to discipleship is closely related to the call of a person named Nathanael (John 1:43-51 ). This circumstance has led to the traditional identification of Bartholomew with Nathanael. See Nathaniel; Apostles; Disciples .