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Bible Dictionaries
Names in New Testament
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
or
Of the 173 names of persons given in the New Testament, 62 are of unknown meaning. Of these 60 are taken from the Greek, one Greek from Latin, and one from the Hebrew. In the Old Testament the majority of proper names are derived from the Hebrew; in the New Testament, from the Greek. In the latter, of the names dealing with the Deity. They are:
- Ananias, Jehovah protects
- Elizabeth, worshipper of God
- Gabriel, strong man of God
- Gamaliel, God recompenses
- Heli, Jehovah is high
- Jesus, Jehovah saves
- John, gift of God
- Matthias, gift of Jehovah
- Michael, who is like God?
- Nathanael, gift of God
- Timothy, honoring God
- Zachary, Jehovah remembers
- Zebedee, gift of God
A large class of proper names for men and women is made up of adjectives denoting personal characteristics, such as
- Andrew, manly
- Asyncritus, incomparable
- Bernice, victorious
- Clement (Latin), kind
- Eunice, victorious
- Pudens, modest
- Timon (Hebrew), honorable
- Zacheus, pure
Names of things, and words referring to trades or avocations were taken as proper names:
- Andronicus, conqueror
- Anna, grace
- Caiphas, oppressor
- Judas, praise
- Malchus, ruler
- Manahen, comforter
- Mary (Hebrew), bitter sea
- Philip, lover of horses
- Prochorus, leader of a chorus
- Salome, peace
- Tyrannus, tyrant
Some names seem to have been suggested by particular circumstances:
- Cleophas, of an illustrious father
- Joseph, whom the Lord adds
- Mnason, he who remembers
- Onesiphorus, bringer of profit
- Philologus, lover of words
- Sosipater, saviour of his father
Names of animals and plants are not frequent, the only example being
- Damaris, heifer
- Dorcas and Tabitha, gazelle
- Susanna, lily
- Rhode, rosebush
Names derived from numbers are
- Quartus, fourth
- Tertius and Tertullus, third
Names without Christian significance and probably derived from pagan mythology are:
- Apollo, contracted form, of Apollonios, belonging to Apollo
- Apollyon
- Diotrephes, nourished by Jupiter
- Epaphroditus, beautiful
- Hermes
- Hermogenes
- Phebe, shining
"Bar" in a name means "son of," e.g.,
- Barabbas, son of the learned man
- Barnabas, son of consolation
- Barsabas, son of Sabas
- Bartimeus, son of Timai
- Bartholomew, son of Tolmai
There is only one word derived from a color,
- Rufus, red
Names derived from kindred are
- Thomas and Didymus, twin
- Trophimus, foster-child
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Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Entry for 'Names in New Testament'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ncd/n/names-in-new-testament.html. 1910.
