Jehoahaz, 'robust.' Jehoiakim, 'where there is preparation.' Eliakim, 'the resurrection of God.' Jeconiah, 'the preparation of the Lord.' Zedekiah, 'the righteous one of the Lord.' Jeroboam, 'the judging' or 'the cause of the people,' or, as some say, is interpreted 'division,' because in his reign the people of Israel was divided and cut off from the kingdom of the stock of David. For this one became the cause of the division of the people. Zimri, 'my psalm' or 'my song.' Omri, 'my curling.' Ahab, 'brother of the father.' Jezebel, 'flow of blood,' or 'flowing blood'; but better, 'where there is a dunghill.' For, cast down headlong, the dogs ate her flesh, just as Elijah had foretold (2 Kings 9:37): 'And the flesh of Jezebel shall be,' he says, 'as dung upon the face of the earth.' Ahaziah, 'laying hold of God.'
Jehu, 'himself,' or 'he is.' Jotham, 'robust.' Shallum, 'his shadow,' or 'petition.' Menahem, 'consoling.' Pekah, 'opening.' Nebuchadnezzar, 'the prophecy of a narrow little flask,' or 'prophesying a sign of this sort,' namely for the dream of future things which he is narrated to have seen and Daniel interpreted; or 'a sitting in the recognition of narrowness,' for those who were led into captivity by him. Zerubbabel among the Hebrews is handed down to be composed of three whole names: 'zo' this, 'ro' master, 'babel' properly sounds 'Babylonian'; and the name Zerubbabel is made, 'this master from Babylon.' For he was born in Babylon, where he also stood forth as prince of the Jewish nation. VII. ON THE PATRIARCHS.
The etymologies of certain patriarchs are to be noted, that we may know what they resound in their own name. For very many of them received their names from proper causes. Patriarchs are interpreted 'chiefs of the fathers.' For ARCHOS in Greek is 'chief.' Abram was first called 'father seeing the people,' namely on account of Israel only. Afterwards he was called Abraham, which is translated 'father of many nations,' which was still to come through faith. But 'of nations' is not held in the name, but is understood, according to that (Gen. 17:5): 'Your name shall be Abraham, because I have set you as a father of many nations.' Isaac received his name from 'laughter.' For his father had laughed, when he was promised to him, marveling in joy.
The mother too laughed, when he was promised through those three men, doubting in joy. From this cause, therefore, he received the name Isaac; for it is interpreted 'laughter.' But it is to be known that four in the Old Testament were called by their own names, without any veil, before they were born: Ishmael, Isaac, Solomon, and Josiah. Read the Scriptures. Jacob is interpreted 'supplanter,' either because at his birth he laid hold of the sole of the foot of his brother being born, or because he afterwards deceived his brother by craft. Whence also Esau said (Gen. 27:36): 'Rightly is his name called Jacob, for he has supplanted me now this second time.' Israel, 'a man seeing God.'
For he received this name then, when, having wrestled the whole night, he prevailed over the angel in the contest, and at the rising of the morning star he was blessed. Thence on account of the vision of God he was called Israel, just as he himself says (Gen. 32:30): 'I have seen the Lord, and my soul has been saved.' Reuben is interpreted 'son of vision.' For so, when Leah bore him, she called his name Reuben, saying (Gen. 29:32): 'Because God has seen my humiliation.' Simeon is interpreted 'hearing.' For so said Leah, when she bore him (Gen. 29:33): 'Because God has heard me.' Levi, 'added.' For Leah said, when she bore him, not doubting of the love of her husband (Gen. 29:34): 'Now my husband will be with me, because I have borne him three sons.' Judah is called 'confession.'
For when Leah bore him she gave praise to the Lord, saying (Genesis 29:35): 'Now will I confess to the Lord for this'; and for that reason he was called Judah. His name, therefore, was said from confession, which is a giving of thanks. Issachar is interpreted as 'reward.' For 'is' means 'there is,' and 'sachar' means 'reward.' This name arose because Leah had purchased for herself, with her son Reuben's mandrakes, the access of her husband which was owed to Rachel. Hence also, when he was born, Leah said (Genesis 30:18): 'God hath given me my reward.' Zebulun is interpreted as 'dwelling.' For Leah had borne this sixth son; therefore, now made secure, she said (Genesis 30:20): 'My husband will dwell with me.' Hence too her son was called 'dwelling.' Naphtali.
The cause of his name comes from 'turning,' or from 'comparison.' Hence Rachel, when her handmaid Bilhah had borne him, said (Genesis 30:8): 'God hath made me to dwell in a dwelling with my sister.' Dan is interpreted as 'judgment.' For when Bilhah had borne him, Rachel her mistress said (Genesis 30:6): 'The Lord hath judged me, and hearing me hath given me a son.' She expressed the reason for the name, so that from the fact that the Lord had judged she might impose upon the handmaid's son the name of 'judgment.' Gad was named from an event, or from readiness for battle. For when Zilpah bore him, her mistress Leah said: 'By good fortune' - that is, as it is said, 'in readiness for battle' or 'by an event.' Asher is called 'blessed.' For when Zilpah had borne him, Leah said (Genesis 30:13):
'Happy am I, and women shall call me blessed'; and from the fact that she is called 'blessed,' by the etymology of the name she called him 'blessed.' Joseph was named 'increase' from the fact that his mother had wished another son to be added to her. Pharaoh called him Zaphenath, which in Hebrew means 'discoverer of hidden things,' because he revealed obscure dreams and foretold the barrenness. Yet since this name is imposed by an Egyptian, it ought to have the reasoning of that same tongue. Therefore Zaphenath is interpreted in the Egyptian tongue as 'savior of the world,' because he freed the whole earth from the impending ruin of famine. Benjamin is interpreted as 'son of the right hand,' which is 'of strength.' For the right hand is called 'iamin.' Now his mother, as she was dying, had called his name Benoni, that is, 'son of my sorrow.'
His father changed this, naming him 'son of the right hand.' Manasseh was so called from the fact that his father had forgotten his labors; for thus in Hebrew it means 'forgetfulness.' Ephraim, because God had made him grow; and from this word it is rendered into our language as 'increase.' VIII. ON THE PROPHETS. Those whom the heathen call 'seers' (vates), our people call 'prophets,' as it were 'foretellers,' because they speak forth and predict true things concerning the future. But those who are prophets among us were called 'seers' (videntes) in the Old Testament, because they saw those things which others did not see, and foresaw what was hidden in mystery. Hence it is written in Samuel (1 Kings 9:9): 'Let us go to the seer.' Hence Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1):
'I saw,' he says, 'the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up.' And Ezekiel (1:1): 'The heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of God.' Now the etymologies of the names of certain prophets are to be noted. For their names sufficiently show what they had foretold in their future deeds and words. Elijah is interpreted as 'the Lord God.' He was so named, therefore, from a presage of the future. For when he was contending in sacrifice with the four hundred priests of Baal, at the invocation of the name of the Lord fire came down from heaven upon the burnt offering. 'And when all the people had seen it, they fell on their faces and said: The Lord, He is God' (1 Kings 18:39).
From this cause, therefore, he received such a name beforehand, because through him the people afterward came to know the Lord God. The same name is also interpreted 'the strong Lord,' either because he slew those same priests, or because he endured the hostility of Ahab. Elisha is interpreted as 'the salvation of the Lord'; and this name also he received from a presage of the future. For at last he too worked many mighty deeds, and by driving away famine saved the people from death. Nathan means 'he gave,' or 'of the giver.' Isaiah is interpreted as 'the salvation of the Lord.' And rightly so; for he proclaims the Savior of all nations and His sacraments more fully than the rest. Jeremiah means 'exalted of the Lord,' because it was said to him (Jeremiah 1:10): 'I have set thee over the nations and the kingdoms.' Ezekiel means 'the strength of God.'
Daniel means 'the judgment of God,' either because in the judgment of the elders he displayed the sentence of divine examination, when, having discovered their falsehood, he delivered Susanna from destruction; or because, discerning with a keen mind the visions and dreams by which future things were shown through certain individual figures and riddles, he laid them open. He was also called 'a man of desires,' because he ate not the bread of desire and drank not the wine of concupiscence. Hosea means 'savior,' or 'saving.' For when he had prophesied the wrath of God against the people of Israel for the crime of idolatry, he pronounced salvation to the house of Judah. On which account Hezekiah, king of Judah, is shown to have cleansed and purified the temple of the Lord, having removed the idols which the preceding kings had consecrated.
Joel means 'the Lord God,' or 'beginning with God,' or 'he was of God.' For his name resounds with this etymology, though uncertain. Amos means 'a people plucked away.' For his prophecy was to the people of Israel, because it was already plucked away from the Lord and served golden calves; or 'plucked away' from the kingdom of the stock of David. Nahum means 'groaning,' or 'consoler.' For he rebukes the city of blood, and after its overthrow he consoles Zion, saying (Nahum 1:15): 'Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings and announceth peace.' Habakkuk means 'embracing'; he is called 'embracing' either because he was beloved of the Lord, or because he engages in a contest with God, and so received the name of 'one embracing,' that is, 'wrestling.'
For no one has dared with so bold a voice to challenge God to a dispute of justice, as to why in human affairs and in this world so great an iniquity of things holds sway. Micah means 'who is he?' or 'who is that one?' Zephaniah is interpreted as 'watchtower,' or 'the secret of the Lord.' Both suit a prophet; for they know the mysteries of God. Hence it is said to Ezekiel (3:17): 'I have set thee as a watchman.' And elsewhere (Amos 3:7): 'The Lord will do nothing, unless He reveal it to His servants the prophets.' Obadiah means 'servant of the Lord.' For just as Moses was the servant of the Lord and an apostle a servant of Christ, so this man comes as an envoy sent to the nations, and preaches those things which are worthy of the prophetic ministry and service: hence 'servant of the Lord.'
Jonah is interpreted as 'dove,' or 'grieving.' 'Dove' on account of his groaning, when he was three days in the belly of the whale. And 'grieving' either because of the sadness which he had over the salvation of the Ninevites, or because of the ivy that suddenly withered, by whose shade he was shielded against the burning of the sun. He is also the son of Amittai, the son of the widow of Zarephath, as the Jews affirm, whom Elijah raised up, his mother afterward saying to him (1 Kings 17:24): 'Now I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of God in thy mouth is truth.' For this cause the boy himself was called Amittai. For 'Amittai' from Hebrew into the Latin tongue means 'truth'; and because Elijah had spoken truth, the one who was raised up was called 'son of truth.' Zechariah means 'the memory of the Lord.'
For when the seventieth year of the desolation of the temple was completed, at the preaching of Zechariah the Lord remembered His people; and by the command of Darius the people of God returned, and both the city and the temple were rebuilt. Haggai in Latin resounds as 'hastening' and 'joyful.' For he prophesies that the destroyed temple is to be built, and after the mourning of captivity he foretells the joy of the return. Malachi is interpreted as 'the angel of the Lord,' that is, 'messenger.' For whatever he spoke, it was believed as though it were commanded by the Lord; and thus the Seventy translated his name so, saying (Malachi 1:1): 'The taking up of the word of the Lord over Israel by the hand of His angel.' Ezra means 'helper.' Nehemiah means 'consoled by the Lord.'
For by a certain presage of the future they were allotted these names. For they served for the help and consolation of that whole people returning to their homeland. For these same men rebuilt the temple of the Lord, and they themselves restored the work of the walls and towers. Hananiah means 'the grace of God.' The same man is also Shadrach in the Chaldean tongue, which is interpreted 'my comely one.' Azariah means 'the help of the Lord.' The same is also Abednego, which is rendered into Latin as 'serving, I am silent.' Mishael means 'who is of the people of the Lord.' The same is also Meshach, which is interpreted 'laughter' or 'joy.' Ahiah means 'my brother.' Shemaiah means 'hearing the Lord.' Asaph means 'gathering.' Ethan means 'strong,' or 'ascent.' Jeduthun means 'leaping over them,' or 'springing over them.'
For certain men who cling to the ground, bent down to the earth, thinking on those things which are in the depths, and placing their hope in passing things - over these this man, who is called 'leaping over,' leaped by his singing. Heman means 'receiving,' or 'the fear of them.' Ethan means 'strong.' Berechiah means 'blessed of the Lord,' or 'blessed is the Lord.' Huldah means 'strictness,' or 'a byway.' Judith means 'praising,' or 'confessing.' Esther means 'hidden.' Zechariah means 'the memory of the Lord,' because he sings (Luke 1:72): 'To remember His holy covenant.' John the Baptist means 'the grace of the Lord,' because he is the boundary of prophecy, the forerunner of grace, or 'the beginning of baptism,' through which grace is ministered. These are the prophets of the Old and New Testaments, whose end is Christ, to whom it is said by the Father (Jeremiah):
(Jeremiah 1:5): 'And I have made thee a prophet unto the nations.' Now there are seven kinds of prophecy. The first kind is ecstasy, which is a going-forth of the mind; as Peter saw that vessel let down from heaven in a stupor of mind, with various animals. The second kind is vision; as in Isaiah, who says (Isaiah 6:1): 'I saw the Lord sitting upon a lofty throne.' The third kind is a dream; as Jacob, while sleeping, saw a ladder set up in heaven. The fourth kind is through a cloud; as God speaks to Moses and to Job after the plague. The fifth kind is a voice from heaven; as it sounded to Abraham, saying (Genesis 22:12): 'Lay not thy hand upon the boy.' And to Saul on the road (Acts 9:4): 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?' The sixth kind is a received parable;
as with Solomon in the Proverbs, and with Balaam, when he was summoned by Balak. The seventh kind is the filling of the Holy Spirit; as with nearly all the prophets. Others have said that there are three kinds of visions. One is according to the eyes of the body; as Abraham saw three men under the oak of Mamre, and Moses saw fire in the bush, and the disciples saw the Lord transfigured on the mountain between Moses and Elijah, and other things of this sort. Another is according to the spirit, by which we imagine those things which we perceive through the body; as Peter saw that dish let down from heaven with various animals, and as Isaiah saw God on the highest throne not bodily but spiritually.
For a bodily form does not circumscribe God, but just as many things are said figuratively and not literally, so also many things are shown figuratively. The third kind of vision is that which is perceived neither by the bodily senses, nor by that part of the soul by which images of bodily things are grasped, but by an intuition of the mind by which the understood truth is beheld - as Daniel, endowed in mind, saw what Belshazzar had seen in body. Without this kind, those two are either unfruitful or even lead into error. Yet the Holy Spirit governs all these kinds. Moreover, not only a good man but also an evil man can possess prophecy. For we find that King Saul prophesied.
For he was persecuting holy David, and, filled with the Holy Spirit, he began to prophesy. IX. ON THE APOSTLES. The apostles are interpreted as 'the sent ones.' For this their name indicates. For just as in Greek 'aggeloi' are called in Latin 'messengers,' so in Greek 'Apostoli' are called in Latin 'the sent ones.' For Christ sent them to preach the gospel throughout the whole world, so that some penetrated even to the Persians and the Indians, teaching the nations and performing great and incredible miracles in the name of Christ, so that, with signs and wonders bearing witness, they might be believed in those things which they said and had seen. Now most of these have reasons for their names. Peter received his name from 'rock' (petra), that is, from Christ, upon whom the Church is founded.
For the rock is not named from Peter, but Peter is named from the rock, just as Christ is not named from the Christian, 'but the Christian is called from Christ.' Therefore the Lord says (Matthew 16:18): 'Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church,' because Peter had said: 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Then the Lord said to him: 'Upon this rock,' which thou hast confessed, 'I will build my Church.' For the rock was Christ, upon which foundation Peter himself also was built. He was called Cephas because he was set as head of the Apostles; for 'kephale' in Greek means 'head,' and this name in Peter is Syriac. Simon Bar-jona in our tongue means 'son of the dove,' and the name is Syriac and Hebrew alike.
For 'Bar' in the Syriac tongue is 'son,' and 'Iona' in Hebrew is 'dove'; in both languages together it is said 'Bar-iona.' Others take it simply, that Simon, that is Peter, is the son of John, according to that questioning (John 21:15): 'Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me?' and they hold that it was corrupted by a fault of the scribes, so that instead of 'Bar-Iohannem,' that is 'son of John,' it was written 'Bar-iona,' with one syllable dropped. Now 'Joanna' is interpreted as 'the grace of the Lord.' And Peter had three names: Peter, Cephas, and Simon Bar-jona. Now 'Simon' in Hebrew is interpreted as 'hearing.' Saul in the Hebrew tongue means 'temptation,' because he was formerly engaged in the temptation of the Church. For he was a persecutor: hence he has that name, when he was persecuting the Christians.
Afterward, with his name changed, from Saul he became Paul, which is interpreted 'wonderful,' or 'chosen.' 'Wonderful,' either because he did many signs, or because he preached the gospel of Christ among all nations from the east even to the west. 'Chosen,' as the Holy Spirit says in the Acts of the Apostles (13:2): 'Separate for Me Barnabas and Paul unto the work for which I have chosen them.' But in the Latin tongue Paul is said from 'little' (modicus), whence he himself says (1 Corinthians 15:9): 'For I am the least of all the apostles.' For when he was Saul, he was proud, exalted; when Paul, humble, little. Therefore we speak thus: 'a little while (paulo post) I shall see thee,' that is, 'after a little.' For because he was made little, he himself says:
'For I am the last of all the apostles,' and (Ephesians 3:8): 'To me, the least of all the saints.' Now Cephas and Saul were called by a changed name for this reason, that they might be new even in their very name, just as Abraham and Sarah. Andrew was brother of Peter in the flesh, and co-heir by grace. According to the Hebrew etymology he is interpreted 'comely,' or 'answering'; but in the Greek tongue he is called 'manly,' from 'man' (vir). John received his name from merit, by a certain prophecy. For he is interpreted 'in whom is grace,' or 'the grace of the Lord.' For Jesus loved him more than the rest of the Apostles. James the son of Zebedee is surnamed from his father, whom, along with John, they left to follow their true Father.
These are the sons of thunder, who were also named Boanerges from the firmness and greatness of their faith. This is James the son of Zebedee, brother of John, who after the Lord's ascension is shown to have been slain by Herod. James the son of Alphaeus was surnamed for distinction from the former, who is called the son of Zebedee, just as this one is the son of Alphaeus. Both, therefore, took their surname from their father. This is James the Less, who in the Gospel is called the brother of the Lord, because Mary the wife of Alphaeus was the sister of the mother of the Lord, whom John the Evangelist surnames Mary of Cleophas, imposing the name upon her from her father, or from the kinship of the family, or from some other cause. Now Alphaeus in the Hebrew tongue is expressed in Latin as 'thousandth,' or 'learned.'
Philip means 'mouth of lamps,' or 'mouth of hands.' Thomas means 'abyss,' or 'twin,' whence also in Greek he is called Didymus. Bartholomew means 'son of one suspending the waters,' or 'son of one suspending me.' It is Syriac, not Hebrew. Matthew in Hebrew is expressed as 'given.' The same was also called Levi, from the tribe from which he sprang. But in Latin he received his name from the work of a publican, because he was chosen from among publicans and transferred to the apostolate. Simon the Canaanite is so called for distinction from Simon Peter, from the village of Galilee, Cana, where the Lord turned water into wine. He is the one who in another evangelist is written as 'Zelotes.' For Cana is interpreted as 'zeal.'
Jude the son of James, who elsewhere is called Lebbaeus, has a name figured from the heart (cor), which we can call by a diminutive 'little heart' (corculum); he in another evangelist is written as Thaddaeus, whom ecclesiastical history hands down as sent to Edessa to King Abgar. Judas Iscariot took his name either from the village in which he was born, or from the tribe of Issachar, by a certain presage of the future for his own condemnation. For Issachar is interpreted as 'reward,' so that it might signify the price of the betrayer by which he sold the Lord, as it is written (Matthew 27:9): 'And they received my reward, thirty pieces of silver, the price at which I was valued by them.' Matthias, who alone among the Apostles is held without a surname, is interpreted as 'given,' so that it may be understood 'in place of Judas.'
For he was chosen by the Apostles into his place, when lots were cast for the two. Mark means 'lofty by commandment,' surely on account of the Gospel of the Most High which he preached. Luke means 'himself rising up,' or 'himself lifting up,' because he lifted up the preaching of the Gospel after the others. Barnabas means 'son of the prophet,' or 'son of consolation.' X. ON THE REMAINING NAMES IN THE GOSPEL. Mary means 'enlightener,' or 'star of the sea.' For she bore the light of the world. But in the Syriac tongue Mary is called 'lady'; and fittingly, because she bore the Lord. Elizabeth means 'the fullness of my God,' or 'the oath of my God.' Magdalene means 'tower.' Martha means 'provoking,' or 'stirring up.' But in the Syriac tongue she is interpreted 'ruling.'
Nathanael means 'the gift of God,' because guile, that is dissimulation, was not in him by the gift of God. Zebedee means 'given,' or 'this one flowing.' Zacchaeus means 'just,' or 'justified,' or 'to be justified.' It is a Syriac name, not Hebrew. Lazarus means 'helped,' because he was raised up from death. Herod means 'made of skins,' 'glorious.' Caiaphas means 'investigator,' or 'shrewd,' or 'vomiting with the mouth.' For unjustly with his mouth he condemned the just One, although he had announced this by a prophetic mystery. Pontius means 'turning aside the counsel,' surely of the Jews. For, having taken water, he washed his hands, saying (Matthew 27:24): 'I am innocent of the blood of this just man.' Pilate means 'mouth of a hammerer,' because, while with his mouth he both justified and condemned Christ, in the manner of a hammerer he strikes with both.
Barabbas means 'son of their master'; without doubt of the master of the Jews, who is the devil, the author of murders, who reigns among them to this day. XI. ON THE MARTYRS. Martyrs in the Greek tongue are called 'witnesses' in Latin, whence also testimonies are called in Greek 'martyria.' They were called 'witnesses' because they endured sufferings for the testimony of Christ, and strove even unto death for the truth. But the reason we call them not 'witnesses' (which in Latin we could certainly do), but in Greek 'martyrs,' is that this Greek word sounds more familiar to the ears of the Church, just as many Greek names which we use in place of Latin ones.
The first of the martyrs in the New Testament was Stephen, who in the Hebrew tongue is interpreted as 'norm' (rule), because he was first in martyrdom for the imitation of the faithful. But the same name is rendered from Greek into Latin as 'crowned'; and this prophetically, so that what would follow in reality might first resound in the name by a certain prophecy of the future. For he suffered, and received what he was called. For Stephen means 'crown'; humbly stoned, but sublimely crowned. Now there are two kinds of martyrdom, one in open suffering, the other in the hidden virtue of the soul.
For many, enduring the snares of the enemy and resisting all carnal desires, by this - that they have sacrificed themselves to almighty God in their heart - become martyrs even in time of peace, who, even if a time of persecution should arise, would be able to be martyrs. XII. ON THE CLERGY. The 'clergy' (cleros) and 'clerics' were so called from this, because Matthias was chosen by lot, whom we read to have been the first ordained by the Apostles. For 'kleros' in Greek means 'lot' or 'inheritance.' Therefore they are called clerics, because they are of the lot of the Lord, or because they have the Lord as their portion. But generally all who serve in the Church of Christ are called clerics, whose grades and names are these:
doorkeeper, psalmist, lector, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon, presbyter, bishop. The order of bishops is fourfold, that is, in patriarchs, archbishops, metropolitans, and bishops. Patriarch in the Greek tongue is interpreted as 'highest of the fathers,' because he holds the first, that is the apostolic, place; and therefore, because he exercises the highest honor, he is designated by such a name, as the Roman, the Antiochene, and the Alexandrian. Archbishop, by a Greek word, is 'highest of bishops.' For he holds the apostolic office and presides over both metropolitans and the other bishops.
Metropolitans are named from the measure (magnitude) of cities. For they preside over individual provinces, to whose authority and teaching the other priests are subject, without whom the remaining bishops are not permitted to do anything. For the care of the whole province is entrusted to them. But all the orders designated above are named by one and the same word 'bishops'; yet some use a particular name from that, on account of the distinction of the powers which they have singularly received. Patriarch means 'father of princes.' For 'archon' means 'prince.' Archbishop means 'prince of bishops.' Metropolitan. Now the word 'episcopate' is said from this, that he who is set over may oversee, that is, bearing care for those subject to him.