Many of the Apostles are referred to by more than one name. This could be a nickname, a name change, or a result of translation into English as the New Testament books and other ancient Christian writings have been passed through various cultures.
Match each Apostle with the
"other name" that has been associated with him:
COMMON NAME OTHER NAME
Jude
Simon
Peter Nathaniel
John
Thaddeus
Matthew
Son of Thunder
Bartholomew Bar Jonah
James Levi
Cephas
Boanerges
Lebbaeus
[Obviously, some have more than one “other” name.]
Simon - Peter
ReplyDeleteI think John and James were Sons of Thunder. I know John was, iffy on James
Matthew - Cephus
Bill is getting partial credit on this one too.
ReplyDeleteSimon was Peter's name before Jesus gave him the new name ("Peter" in English).
James and John were brothers and Jesus did call them Sons of Thunder.
But Matthew was not Cephas.
ReplyDeleteANSWER:
.........Peter: Simon / Bar Jonah / Cephas.......
Peter’s original name was Simon Bar Jonah (Simon, son of John). Jesus changed his name to Peter after Simon, inspired by the Holy Spirit, correctly answered Jesus’ question: “But who do you say that I am?”
He said “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
This was such a significant statement at the time that Jesus said,
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:17-19)
In the original language Jesus and the Apostles were speaking, Aramaic, His words were: “….you are kepha, and on this kepha I will build my church.” Kepha means rock.
Cephas is just how Kepha is transliterated into English from the Greek text of the NT. Paul refers to Peter as “Cephas” 8 times in Galatians and Corinthians.
.........John and James: Boanerges / Son of Thunder........
James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”. (Mar 3:17)
..........Jude: Thaddeus / Lebbeus.............
No doubt Jude preferred his nicknames Thaddeus and Lebbeus to avoid any connection with the other Apostle named Jude –Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. The Apostle Jude is the author of the NT book.
........... Matthew: Levi..........
..........Bartholomew: Nathaniel...........