Βαρθολομαῖος

From the study of Luke 6:14

Range of meaning

Aramaic bar ('son of') plus Talmai, a name known from the Old Testament (Num 13:22; 2 Sam 3:3, Talmai king of Geshur). It means 'son of Talmai'.

Against the English

English treats 'Bartholomew' as a first name. Originally it was a father's-name, like 'Bar-Jonah' or 'Barabbas', and the man would also have had a personal name.

How it drifted

Because the patronymic was used on its own, it became fixed as a Christian given name (Bartholomew, Barthélemy, Bartolomeo), and its form as a father's-name was forgotten.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus mentions a Jewish bandit leader named Tholomaios (Antiquities 20.5), which shows the base name was in use. The 'Bar-' form appears only in the lists of the Twelve (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13).

From the study of Mark 3:18

Range of meaning

Aramaic bar ('son of') + Talmai, a name found in the Hebrew Bible (Talmai of Geshur, David's father-in-law, 2 Samuel 3:3; Talmai son of Anak, Numbers 13:22). It is a 'son of' name, like Bar-Jonah (Matthew 16:17) or Bar-Timaeus (Mark 10:46).

Against the English

Every English version prints 'Bartholomew' as if it were a first name. Nothing in the English tells the reader that it means 'son of Talmai'.

How it drifted

Once it had been turned into Greek and then Latin, the word stopped sounding like a 'son of' name and was treated as an ordinary given name, even becoming a common Christian name in Europe.

Used elsewhere in the period

He appears in all four apostle lists (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13), always next to Philip in the Gospel lists, but never in John. John instead has Nathanael, whom Philip brings to Jesus (John 1:45–49). Partly for that reason, a later tradition (prominent from medieval times) identified Bartholomew with Nathanael. The identification is possible but is an inference, not a fact stated in the text.

From the study of Matthew 10:3

Range of meaning

Aramaic bar ("son of") + Talmai, a name known from the Old Testament: Talmai son of Anak (Num 13:22) and Talmai king of Geshur, David's father-in-law (2 Sam 3:3). The Septuagint spells it Θολμαι. Josephus has a Galilean bandit called Tholomaios (Antiquities 20.5). Readers who knew Greek may also have heard Ptolemaios in it.

Against the English

English "Bartholomew" reads like a single given name. The original is a patronymic, a name meaning "son of so-and-so."

How it drifted

Usage made it a standalone first name in Christian Europe, and the "son of" meaning was forgotten.

Used elsewhere in the period

Appears only in the four lists of the Twelve (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). Bar- names were standard Aramaic patronymics: Bar-Jonah (Matt 16:17), Bartimaeus, Barabbas.