Philip’s Greek name, like the name Andrew, means lover of horses.
Bartholomew ( from the Aramaic bar-tolmai, that is, son of Tolmai) is likely the same man as Nathanael, who is mentioned in John 1:46–51, together with Phillip. It was common then for people to have two names, or even a third additional nickname. The Aramaic name Thomas, for example, is often translated as Didymus in Greek, and means twin
(John 11:16, John 20:24, John 21:2). Matthew, who also mentions the career he had prior to becoming an apostle (see Matthew 9:9), mentions himself after Thomas, probably as a result of his humility (compare, for example, the lists in Mark 3:18 and Luke 6:15, where he is mentioned first). Thaddeus is the same man as Judas, the son of James. The description of the second Simon as the Cananaean
does not refer to his living in either the land of Canaan or the town Cana, but comes from the Hebrew word qanna'j, which means Zealot (see Luke 6:15), a political and religious resistance movement.
The nickname Iscariot can have several meanings. In the original Hebrew, this could mean that he was from Kerioth-hezron, a small town in Judea (Joshua 15:25), making Judas the only Judean among the disciples. This name could also come from the word icarius, literally meaning dagger-wielder or assassin, and thus refer to former membership in the most fanatical party among the Jews at the time, the Sicarii,
translated in the ESV in Acts 21:38 as Assassins.
A third possibility is that it comes from the Aramaic word sjeqar, which means the vile one. The second and third possibilities match the commentaries of the evangelists: that he was the one who would betray Jesus. However, since his father Simon also had the same nickname (see John 6:71), that suggests that the first interpretation, or possibly the second, could also be right.
Philip is a Greek name that, like the name Andrew, means lover of horses.
Bartholomew (derived from the Aramaic bar-tolmai, that is, son of Tolmai) is most likely the same man as Nathanael, who is mentioned in John 1:46–51, together with Phillip. It was common at the time for people to have two names, sometimes even with a third additional nickname. The Aramaic name Thomas, for example, is often translated as Didymus in the Greek, and means twin
(John 11:16, John 20:24,John 21:2). Matthew, who also mentions the career he had prior to becoming an apostle (see Matthew 9:9), mentions himself after Thomas, probably as a result of his humility (compare, for example, the lists in Mark 3:18 and Luke 6:15 where he is mentioned first). Thaddeus has to be the same man as Judas, the son of James (Luke 6:16).1
The fact that the second Simon is called the Cananaean
does not here refer to his residency in either the land of Canaan or the town Cana, but is derived from the Hebrew word qanna'j which means Zealot (see Luke 6:15). This name indicates that, prior to being called by Jesus, this Simon belonged to the political and religious resistance movement known as the Zealots.2
The nickname Iscariot can be interpreted with a wide variety of meanings. In the original Hebrew this could be interpreted as indicating someone originating from Kerioth-hezron, a small town in Judea (Joshua 15:25). In this case Judas would have been the sole Judean among the disciples. Alternatively, this name could also have been derived from the word icarius, which literally means dagger-wielder or assassin. This nickname would then refer to former membership in the most fanatical party among the Jews at the time, known as the Sicarii
who are mentioned in Acts 21:38 (translated in the ESV as Assassins
). A third possibility is that it is derived from the Aramaic word sjeqar, which means the vile one. The second and third possibilities align with the commentaries of the evangelists: namely, that he was the one who would betray Jesus. Nonetheless, the fact that his father Simon also had the same nickname (see John 6:71), seems to suggest that the first interpretation, although possibly the second, could also be correct.3
2 Voici les noms des douze apôtres.Le premier, Simon appelé Pierre, et André, son frère; Jacques, fils de Zébédée, et Jean, son frère;