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Religious Question that Needs Answering

Uncle FesterUncle Fester Posts: 15,357
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I was just going through a Religious thread and I had a thought , as "Jesus" was Jewish how come all his "disciples" have western names Mathew , Mark ,Luke , John and Peter :confused:
answers please anyone
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    BerBer Posts: 24,562
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    I was just going through a Religious thread and I had a thought , as "Jesus" was Jewish how come all his "disciples" have western names Mathew , Mark ,Luke , John and Peter :confused:
    answers please anyone

    They were anglicised.
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    rupert_pupkinrupert_pupkin Posts: 3,975
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    Yeshua and his disciples all had Jewish/Middle Eastern names, their names and appearances were westernised to appeal to westerners

    Think of it like any movie/book/fictional story that is adapted for a western audience
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    ShrikeShrike Posts: 16,609
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    Those names are the westernised form. I know Peter is Petros in Greek and Boutros in Arabic (As in Boutros Boutros Ghali)
    Jesus is a common name in Spanish speaking countries too - I think Spain qualifies as being Western.;-)
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    BerBer Posts: 24,562
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    Matthew / Mattius / Mattiyahu
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    nethwennethwen Posts: 23,374
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    I was just going through a Religious thread and I had a thought , as "Jesus" was Jewish how come all his "disciples" have western names Mathew , Mark ,Luke , John and Peter :confused:
    answers please anyone

    They don't. Those names are Hebrew and Greek.
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    idlewildeidlewilde Posts: 8,698
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    nethwen wrote: »
    They don't. Those names are Hebrew and Greek.

    Which then later became popular in Western countries presumably.
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    nethwennethwen Posts: 23,374
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    idlewilde wrote: »
    Which then later became popular in Western countries presumably.

    Yes, as Christianity spread here.
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    lee_sharplee_sharp Posts: 605
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    Because it's all a load of made up claptrap......
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    SULLASULLA Posts: 149,789
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    lee_sharp wrote: »
    Because it's all a load of made up claptrap......

    That doesn't answer the question.
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    Steve_CardanasSteve_Cardanas Posts: 4,188
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    lee_sharp wrote: »
    Because it's all a load of made up claptrap......

    you are right it's all made up like star trek and doctor who.
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    KJ44KJ44 Posts: 38,093
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    lee_sharp wrote: »
    Because it's all a load of made up claptrap......

    Never mind the names, paintings tend to portray non-semitic people. I realise I'm on a sticky wicket here but isn't it strange how a lack of imagination betrays the fiction.

    Hey, maybe they evolved to look European, as Christianity spread?
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    maggie thecatmaggie thecat Posts: 2,241
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    http://www.behindthename.com/name/matthew

    Here's the origin of Matthew. It's the anglicised version of Greek translated from Hebrew. You can look up Paul (who was once Saul) and the rest as well.
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    culturemancultureman Posts: 11,701
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    Just to add to the mix; Jesus and his disciples probably spoke Aramaic.
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    nethwennethwen Posts: 23,374
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    cultureman wrote: »
    Just to add to the mix; Jesus and his disciples probably spoke Aramaic.

    I think they were more likely to be multi-lingual.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,486
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    I would argue that most people in the UK arent aware where Christianity was born & in what language.

    I'm sure they feel it was in one of the Home Counties & the Bible was revealed & printed in English....
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    wendy09wendy09 Posts: 3,934
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    I would argue that most people in the UK arent aware where Christianity was born & in what language.

    I'm sure they feel it was in one of the Home Counties & the Bible was revealed & printed in English....

    it was henry 8 and all that ..
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    zx50zx50 Posts: 91,276
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    I was just going through a Religious thread and I had a thought , as "Jesus" was Jewish how come all his "disciples" have western names Mathew , Mark ,Luke , John and Peter :confused:
    answers please anyone

    Matthew and John are Jewish names, but the others don't seem to be Jewish.

    http://www.babynames.org.uk/jewish-boy-baby-names.htm
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    ennuiennui Posts: 1,334
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    Yeshua and his disciples all had Jewish/Middle Eastern names, their names and appearances were westernised to appeal to westerners

    Think of it like any movie/book/fictional story that is adapted for a western audience
    They were Judaic people living in a land under Greco-Roman jurisdiction. It had been Greek for over three hundred years. It was always a part of the Occidental world. It has always been a long way from the middle east, the lands east of the Euphrates. Why have you contrived some spurious idea that they would be more oriental ? Perhaps to appeal to some anti-western sentiment ?
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    swingalegswingaleg Posts: 103,131
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    I suppose one thing that is quite strange is that even after the English version of the Bible became universal in the UK in the 17th century very few boys were named 'Jesus'

    I can't think of any.......
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    BerBer Posts: 24,562
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    swingaleg wrote: »
    I suppose one thing that is quite strange is that even after the English version of the Bible became universal in the UK in the 17th century very few boys were named 'Jesus'

    I can't think of any.......

    Jesus is a popular name in Spain and Hispanic countries (as is Maria)

    Maybe its something to do with the catholic/protestant schism?

    Although Joshua is a variant of Jesus and that's a very popular name in English speaking countries.
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    rupert_pupkinrupert_pupkin Posts: 3,975
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    ennui wrote: »
    They were Judaic people living in a land under Greco-Roman jurisdiction. It had been Greek for over three hundred years. It was always a part of the Occidental world. It has always been a long way from the middle east, the lands east of the Euphrates. Why have you contrived some spurious idea that they would be more oriental ? Perhaps to appeal to some anti-western sentiment ?

    I don't know much about the fictional story, sorry. The rest of my post is spot on
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    lordOfTimelordOfTime Posts: 22,376
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    Yea as other have said, the names we see in the Bible are modernised English names!

    I often don't consider the setting and look at the stories in a sanitised way. The bible leaves much to the imagination the way the stories are told
    nethwen wrote: »
    I think they were more likely to be multi-lingual.

    Hi netty... Long time :D
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,486
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    Ber wrote: »
    Jesus is a popular name in Spain and Hispanic countries (as is Maria)

    Maybe its something to do with the catholic/protestant schism?

    Although Joshua is a variant of Jesus and that's a very popular name in English speaking countries.

    Jesus is very popular name in Muslim faith also. I read about it a few days ago but cant remember what they call him!
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    BerBer Posts: 24,562
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    Jesus is very popular name in Muslim faith also. I read about it a few days ago but cant remember what they call him!

    Isa.

    .
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,486
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    Ber wrote: »
    Isa.

    .

    Thats it! Now I remember. Although it was with an 'E' (ESA)
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