Here I go making trouble again (for some)! As I was doing some more Biblical Research, it dawned on me, that after learning that the Apostle Peter's real name in Hebrew was Shi'mon, and not Simon, that it seemed strange to me that when looking at the Old Testament names versus the New Testament names of prominent Gospel figures, many of the New Testament names seemed very European (Matthew, Mark, John, Luke); which prompted me to dig deeper. Now granted, there was indeed a moderate Greek influence during that time (Luke was indeed a Greek,and his name was shortened), but, it seemed unlikely to me that the Jewish/Hebrews of that time would have names like the above stated. Knowing that the original Hebrew name of Jesus is Yeshua, I sought to find out the real names of the Apostles which led me to this Jewish professor's blog below. Being objective, I try to chalk it up to translation or mis-translation, but It in my mind and knowing historical events of certain people, It makes me wonder. This a very edifying read. Open your minds to the truth. Shalom!

Min. E Lionel Perry

http://www.jesusandtheprofessor.com/2011/03/hebrew-names-for-jewish-apostles.html

Mark 3:16-18

These were the names of the Apostles: There was Simon, whom he surnamed, Peter. There were James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; he surnamed them, Boanerges, which is, the “sons of thunder.” There were also Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite.

Names are important. When someone introduces us to another, and we soon thereafter forget that person’s name, we feel somewhat embarrassed to ask, “I am sorry, but what did you say your name was?” Names are important now, and they were just as important 2000 years ago. Hence, it is appropriate to examine the names of the Apostles. Interestingly enough, the Synoptic Gospels are similar, but not identical. John’s Gospel is significantly different. Nevertheless, what I simply wish to stress here are the Hebrew names of the Apostles. Hebrew names? But of course! Jesus was a Jew and so were his Apostles.

Just as nobody called Jesus, “Jesus,” (see “Jesus or Yehoshua: What’s In a Name?” post of April 5, 2010), Jesus did not call the Apostles, “Simon” or “John.” Rather, he referred to them by their Hebrew or Aramaic names, as follows:

Simon was Shimon. James was Yakov (that is, Jacob). John was Yochanan. Bartholomew was Bar-Talmai (son of Ptolemy). Matthew was Mattityahu, meaning, “gift from God.” Thomas was Tau’ma, an Aramaic name. Thaddaeus was a variant of Theudas, which was a Grecian version of Judas or Yehuda.

Andrew and Philip are interesting because those are clearly Greek names—Andreas and Filippos; there are no Hebrew equivalents. Thus, we may surmise that Andrew and Philip were either Grecian-Jews or Grecian-Gentiles. In all probability, we may discount the theory that they were Gentiles: Jesus was a Jew who saw his mission as teaching and healing his fellow Jews. “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24. It would be hard to imagine preaching to Jews while having Gentile Apostles.

Judas Iscariot was Yehuda. I will discuss Judas in the next post, along with the “sons of thunder” appellation for John and James.

Until then, as always, I welcome your comments.

Oh, and if you are interested in learning more about Judaism, you can check out my book, Every Christian's Book on Judaism: Exploring Jewish Faith and Law for a Richer Understanding of Chritianity.

- See more at: http://www.jesusandtheprofessor.com/2011/03/hebrew-names-for-jewish-apostles.html#sthash.ywTcYihA.dpuf