Greek word · G3526
Νίγερ
niger
Niger
A Latin adjective meaning 'black, dark', used as a cognomen, the extra name or nickname Romans commonly carried. The Roman claimant to the throne Pescennius Niger (AD 193) bore the same name.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A Latin adjective meaning 'black, dark', used as a cognomen, the extra name or nickname Romans commonly carried. The Roman claimant to the throne Pescennius Niger (AD 193) bore the same name.
- Against the English
Most English versions leave it as 'Niger'. NLT translates its meaning as a descriptive nickname ('called "the black man"'). Leaving it untranslated hides the fact that it describes something. Translating it presents one possible reason for the name as if it were certain.
- How it drifted
English readers see a proper name. Some connect it to the modern country or river of Niger, which were named many centuries later.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Latin cognomina based on colour or appearance were common (Niger, Rufus 'red', Flavus 'blond'). Greek writers transliterated them unchanged, as Luke does here.
Where it appears
Acts · 1
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Acts 13:1 Νίγερ Niger
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.
Here: A Latin word meaning 'black' or 'dark', used here as a nickname or Roman surname. It probably refers to his complexion, though it could simply be an inherited Latin name.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.