posted
"Judah" in Hebrew, as I know it, the same in modern English. It's basically the "corrected" way of Latin Judas. So is it really a certain level of humiliation if a Christian is named like that? I know Jews are named after kings who weren't that friendly (Saul).
Posts: 2978 | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
"Hey, Jude, don't make it bad Take a sad song and make it better Remember to let her into your heart Then you can start to make it better" (Lennon-McCartney - Hey Jude)
Posts: 1132 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Nope-- no stigma against Judah, since most Christians associate the name Judah with the son of Jacob and the tribe, not with Judas.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've noticed quite a few little kids recently with the name Cain. Not too good if they have a brother. Posts: 1528 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:"Judah" in Hebrew, as I know it, the same in modern English. It's basically the "corrected" way of Latin Judas. So is it really a certain level of humiliation if a Christian is named like that? I know Jews are named after kings who weren't that friendly (Saul).
And then there's my husband, who didn't want to name our son Saul, which was his father's Hebrew name, because of who Saul was in the Bible.
Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I had a friend in elementary school named Matthias (don't remember the spelling, but same pronounciation). His parents were missionaries from Norway or something and in his case, I think it was the equivalent of Matthew.
Posts: 298 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Jezebel is the nickname I usually get from people who don't like me. Thankfully it refers to a sound alike of my name not my habit of killing people for their vineyards.
(By the way, as far as I remember, St. Matthias was Judas Iscariot's successor, voted into the apostolate by the other apostles.)
Posts: 1528 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think Delilah is a beautiful name, and I don't think there's anything wrong with giving somebody a name that happens to have been shared by somebody distateful.
But there are limits. Imagine a boy growing up with the name Adolf. That would not be good.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
My friend is Anabaptist and her entire family have biblical names in the original Hebrew spelling. I'm not sure is this is a family preference or religious necessity, though.
Posts: 1528 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote: Oh, thanks, now I have that song in my head for the rest of the day.
But do you have the track of linda singing back up vocals that was shown on David Letterman back before she got sick? She was sure enthusiastic.
Posts: 666 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Are there any groups that believe that it is important to always give children Bible names?
I can't think of any denominations where it's required. I'll have to go through my notes.
Jews are required to give their children Hebrew names, but they don't have to be from the Torah. For example, my Hebrew name is Keren Miriam - Keren is not from the Torah and Miriam is.
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote: Jews are required to give their children Hebrew names, but they don't have to be from the Torah. For example, my Hebrew name is Keren Miriam - Keren is not from the Torah and Miriam is.
Yes, it's the same with my daughter - her Hebrew name is "Elianna Shifra". Elianna, while a religious name in nature, isn't a biblical name. Shifra is.
quote: Jews are required to give their children Hebrew names, but they don't have to be from the Torah. For example, my Hebrew name is Keren Miriam - Keren is not from the Torah and Miriam is.
I have the opposite. I have an English name in addition to my real name because no one could ever pronounce my real name. Jaime is my English name, Chaim is my real name.
Posts: 853 | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
That's what I assumed, Ela, but I thought the other might be an even more likely reason for distaste, considering the context. But knowing that either could be readily perceived as a negative, I was just wondering.
quote: What makes a name a Hebrew name? Can non-Hebrew names become Hebrew names?
Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but it's a Hebrew name if it appears in the Torah (Old Testament). That should answer your second question as well.
quote:That's what I assumed, Ela, but I thought the other might be an even more likely reason for distaste, considering the context. But knowing that either could be readily perceived as a negative, I was just wondering.
--Pop
I assume you are referring to Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul, from the new testament.
No Jew that I know of would even think about him for any reason, when considering names for their baby, not even to rule his name out. It's just not something we care about or think of.
Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
Well, you can use a Yiddish name. It's a pretty big requirement. I've never heard of a Jew not having a Hebrew or Yiddish name, even in the Reform movement.
Do you mean to ask if a non-Hebrew name has a Hebrew equivalent? The answer is sometimes. My English name happens to match up with my Hebrew name: Kira and Keren both mean sunlight and Marie and Miriam are the same name. You do not have to do that, though. One of my Hebrew school kids is named Isaac, but his Hebrew name is Yisroel. Of course, he's constantly being called Yitzchak, which is Hebrew for Isaac. Some names have no Hebrew equivalent. Andrew's Hebrew name is Aharon.
I already have Hebrew names picked out for all fo my future children. English ones, too, for that matter. I'm very compulsive.
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
| IP: Logged |
I love the letter "X". "Xerxes" is just an excuse to say "X" a lot, so I dig it, too.
quote:But what about the Biblical Jude? Is that another Greek rendering of Judah?
If I'm not mistaken, there were easily at least seven significant men with the name "Judas" in the bible, one of them Jesus' half brother who most likely wrote the book of Jude. Another significant Judas was a faithful apostle of Jesus, also called "Thaddaeus."
However, as most people on the street would not be familiar with two Judas' being Jesus' apostles at the same time, there would most likely be a very negative association with naming your kid "Judas" in our quasi-Christian culture.
Posts: 7600 | Registered: Jan 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
It's a shame, really, that one person's actions can scar, and essentially retire a name forever from familiar usage.
I wonder if the same thing could happen nowadays. If a "Bob" or a "Joe" (using them as familiar names) was truly famously cruel, would "Bob" have the same curse immediately, or would it have to become part of history for the revulsion to become integrated? Or would it not be the same at all; would people just think of all the nice Bobs and Joes they knew instead?
Perhaps a name has to be unusual in the minds of the people for it to have a stigma attached: "Adolf" was probably not considered attached with Hitler inside of Germany- there were lots of Adolfs, but outside of Germany there was only one Adolf.
EDIT: I like the name Judas, which is partially why I think it's a shame it's been stigmatised.
posted
We have a fairly large Jewish popluation (of varying degrees of devoutness) here at work. However two of the more devout Jewish guys I know are both named Mark. I was wondering if there was some Jewish connection with the name Mark other than the Christian one. Mark is a person and a book of the Bible, but not actually an apostle as I recall. In fact I thought he was Greek or only half jewish but I'd have to look it up to make sure.
We were visiting some Zapotec potters in a little village in Southern Mexico, talking to them with our professor translating from Spanish to English and one of the younger ladies translating from Spanish to Zapotec. Before they began their pottery demonstration, they insisted on knowing each of our names, and then asked what that name was in Spanish. Some were easy: Mike was Miguel, Jimmy was Juanes, I (Anneke) was Anita. One of the students, though, was named Jay, and we tried to explain that there wasn't a Spanish equivalent - his name was just Jay. "Yes, but what is that in Spanish?" the lady kept asking. We finally settled on telling them that his name was Jota (The letter of the alphabet). They thought it very funny and kept calling him Jota all afternoon.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
She was wondering about Old Testament Marks. I'm pretty sure Marcus and Mark are Roman names...
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I wonder if anyone is called Artah'shassta? (The English translation is Artaxerxes, I think.)
quote: Judas, after the other apostle.
I thought he was a desciple, not an apostle. As far as I heard, desciples are the students of Jesus, whereas the apostles made him famous AFTER death; that makes Judas one, not the other, unless I got it wrong?
Posts: 2978 | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:I thought he was a desciple, not an apostle. As far as I heard, desciples are the students of Jesus, whereas the apostles made him famous AFTER death; that makes Judas one, not the other, unless I got it wrong?
quote:In a very general sense, there is little difference between an apostle and a disciple. The two words are sometimes used interchangeably. Both terms refer to passionate adherents of a movement or philosophy who seek to further that philosophy through teaching, and both are often used to refer to the 12 men who were the original followers of Jesus of Nazareth.
But, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "It is at once evident that in a Christian sense, everyone who had received a mission from God, or Christ, to man could be called 'Apostle.' In fact, however, it was reserved to those of the disciples who received this title from Christ." So it seems that while the 12 Apostles were disciples, not all disciples are apostles.
The word "disciple" comes from the Latin discipulus, or pupil. "Apostle" comes from the Greek word apostolos, or delegate. The word "apostle" is the closest approximation to the Aramaic word "seliah," which referred to "those who were despatched from the mother city by the rulers of the race on any foreign mission, especially such as were charged with collecting the tribute paid to the temple service."
The historical Jesus spoke Aramaic, the language of the Semitic peoples of the Middle East. Aramaic was superseded by Arabic around the 13th century. Mel Gibson's upcoming biopic of Jesus, The Passion, was filmed entirely in Aramaic and Latin.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
