Difference between revisions of "Bartholomew"

<p> <b> [[Bartholomew]] </b> <b> ( </b> Βαρθολομαῖος) appears as an apostle in all four lists of the Twelve (&nbsp;Matthew 10:3, &nbsp;Mark 3:18, &nbsp;Luke 6:14, &nbsp;Acts 1:13), always in the second of the three groups of four. In the [[Gospels]] he comes next after [[Philip]] (who in all four lists heads the second quaternion), and is followed by Matthew and Thomas: in Acts the order is ‘Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew.’ The name, as the first syllable indicates, is a patronymic, and it is commonly interpreted ‘son of Talmai.’ In the LXX [[Septuagint]] [[Talmai]] has many variants (Θολμί, Θολμεί, Θαλαμεί, Θολομεί, Θολμαίλημ): and in [[Josephus]] ( <i> Ant. </i> XX. i. 1) we have a bandit chief named Θολομαῖος. It is often assumed that ‘Talmai’ represents ‘Ptolemy,’ and that Bartholomew means ‘son of Ptolemy’; but the Θ is against this. Edersheim ( <i> [[Messiah]] </i> , i. p. 521) makes it mean ‘son of Telamyon.’ Bartholomew may be either a genuine patronymic used in addition to a proper name, like Simon Bar-jona; or it may have become an independent proper name, like Barnabas. If the apostle Bartholomew had no other name, we know nothing about him from Scripture, and the later traditions about him are very untrustworthy (Lipsius, <i> Apokryphcn Apostelgeschiehten und Apostellegenden </i> , iii. pp. 54–108). These traditions begin with [[Eusebius]] ( <i> Historia Ecclesiastica </i> <i> v </i> . x. 3), and ascribe to him widely different fields of missionary labour, with different apostles as his companions, and different forms of martyrdom. He is often made to be one of the Seventy.* [Note: On the possibility that there was another Bartholomew, identical with the apostle Matthias, among the Seventy, see note by Dr. Nestle in Expos. Times, ix. [1898] p. 566 f.] </p> <p> But both by the early Church and by most modern writers Bartholomew is commonly identified with Nathanael. To treat this as almost certain (Schaff-Herzog) is to go beyond the evidence; to call it ‘the merest conjecture’ ( <i> Encyc. Bibl. </i> ) is to err in the opposite direction. </p> <p> In favour of the identification are the following points. (1) Bartholomew being a patronymic, the bearer may easily have had another name; (2) the Synoptists never mention Nathanael, St. John never mentions Bartholomew; (3) the Synoptists in their lists place Bartholomew next to Philip, as James next to his probable caller John, and Peter (in Mt. and Lk.) next to his caller Andrew; (4) all the other disciples mentioned in &nbsp;John 1:38-51 became apostles, and none of them is so commended as Nathanael; (5) all the companions of [[Nathanael]] who are named in &nbsp;John 21:2 are apostles. But all these reasons do not make the identification more than probable. St. John nowhere calls Nathanael an apostle, and we are not obliged to find room for him among the Twelve. The conjecture that he is Matthew or [[Matthias]] (Hilgenfeld) is supported by no reasonable evidence; and that he is John himself under a symbolical name (Späth) is contradicted by &nbsp;John 21:2, where the sons of [[Zebedee]] are mentioned in addition to Nathanael. </p> <p> On the other hand, there is nothing against the identification: it creates no difficulty. To say that a [[Galilaean]] would have remembered &nbsp;Isaiah 9:1, and therefore would not have asked whether any good could come out of Nazareth, is unsound criticism. A person with &nbsp;Isaiah 9:1 in his mind, and convinced that rich blessings would come from Galilee, might nevertheless think that [[Nazareth]] was not a likely place to be the dwelling-place of the Messiah. And who can tell whether a particular Galilaean would or would not remember a particular text? </p> <p> Literature.—In addition to the works cited above, reference may be made to artt. ‘Bartholomew’ and ‘Nathanael’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible; and to Garrett Horder, <i> The Poet’s Bible </i> , NT, p. 102 ff. </p> <p> A. Plummer. </p>

<p> [[Bartholomew]] (''Bär-Thŏl'O-Mew'' ), ''Son Of Tolmai.'' One of the twelve apostles. &nbsp;Matthew 10:3; &nbsp;Mark 3:18; &nbsp;Luke 6:11; &nbsp;Acts 1:13. He is named in connection with Philip, and seems to have been the same person whom John calls Nathanael, &nbsp;John 1:45-51, and mentions among the other apostles, &nbsp;John 21:2. </p>

<p> (Βαρθολομαῖος, for Chald. תָּלְמִי בִּר, i.e. ''Son Of Tolmai;'' the latter being a name that occurs in &nbsp;Joshua 15:14, Sept. Θολαμί and Θολμαϊ v; Auth. Vers. ''Talmai;'' &nbsp;2 Samuel 13:37, Sept. Θολμί and Θολομαι. In Josephus we find Θολομαῖος, ''Ant.'' 20:1, 1. The Θολμαῖος in ''Ant.'' 14:8, 1, is called Πτολεμαῖος in ''War,'' 1:9, 3, not improbably by an error of the transcriber, as another person of the latter name is mentioned in the same sentence), one of the twelve apostles of Christ (&nbsp;Matthew 10:3; &nbsp;Mark 3:18; &nbsp;Luke 6:14; &nbsp;Acts 1:13), generally supposed to have been the same individual who in John's [[Gospel]] is called NATHANAEL (See Nathanael) (q.v.). The reason of this opinion is that in the first three gospels Philip and Bartholomew are constantly named together, while Nathanael is nowhere mentioned; on the contrary, in the fourth gospel the names of Philip and Nathanael are similarly combined, but nothing is said of Bartholomew (see Assemani, Biblioth. Orient. III, 1:306; 2:4 sq.; Nahr, De Nathan. a Bartholom. non diverso, Lips. 1740). Nathanael, therefore, must be considered as his real name, while Bartholomew merely expresses his filial relation (see Lightfoot, Hor. Hebr. p. 325). If so, he was a native of Cana in [[Galilee]] (&nbsp;John 21:2). [[Bernard]] and [[Abbot]] Rupert were of opinion that he was the bridegroom at the marriage of Cana. (For traditions respecting his parentage, see Cotelerius, Patr. Apost. 372). He was introduced by Philip to Jesus, who, on seeing him approach, at once pronounced that eulogy on his character which has made his name almost synonymous with sincerity, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile" (&nbsp;John 1:47). A.D. 26. He was one of the disciples to whom our Lord appeared after his resurrection, at the Sea of [[Tiberias]] (&nbsp;John 21:2); he was also a witness of the ascension, and returned with the other apostles to Jerusalem (&nbsp;Acts 1:4; &nbsp;Acts 1:12-13). A.D. 29. On his character, see Niemeyer, ''Charakt.'' 1:111 sq. (See Apostle). </p> <p> Of the subsequent history of Bartholomew, or Nathanael, we have little more than vague traditions. According to Eusebius (Hist. Eccles.v. 10), when [[Pantaenus]] went on a mission to the Indians (toward the close of the second century), he found among them the Gospel of Matthew, written in Hebrew, which had been left there by the Apostle Bartholomew. Jerome (De Vir. Illustr. c. 36) gives a similar account, and adds that Pantaenus brought the copy of Matthew's Gospel back to [[Alexandria]] with him. (See [[Gospel Of Matthew]]). But the title of "Indians" is applied by ancient writers to so many different nations that it is difficult to determine the scene of Bartholomew's labors. [[Mosheim]] (with whom Neander agrees) is of opinion that it was a part' of Arabia Felix, inhabited by [[Jews]] to whom alone a [[Hebrew]] gospel could be of any service. [[Socrates]] (''Hist. Eccles.'' 1, 19) says that it was the India bordering on Ethiopia; and Sophronius reports that Bartholomew preached the Gospel of Christ to the inhabitants of India [[Felix]] (Ι᾿νδοῖς τοῖς καλουμένοις εὐδαίμοσιν )''.'' This apostle is said to have suffered crucifixion with his head downward at Albanopolis, in [[Armenia]] Minor (Assemani, ''Bibl. Orient.'' III, 2:20), or, according to the pseudo-Chrysostom (''Opp.'' 8:622, ed. Par. nov.), in Lycaonia; according to Nicephorus. at, Urbanopolis, in [[Cilicia]] (see Abdias, in Fabricius, ''Cod. Apocr.'' 2:685 sq.; Baronius, ''Ad Martyrol. Romans'' p. 500 sq.; Perionii Vitae Apostolor. p. 127 sq.). (See [[Bartholomew'S Day]]). </p> <p> A spurious GOSPEL which bears his name is in the catalogue of apocryphal books condemned by [[Pope]] Gelasius (Fabric. Cod. Apocr. N.T. 1:341 sq.). (See Spurious Gospels). </p>

<p> '''''bar''''' -'''''thol´ō̇''''' -'''''mū''''' ( Βαρθολομαῖος , <i> '''''Bartholomaı́os''''' </i> , i.e. "son of Tolmai or Tolmai"): One of the Twelve Apostles (&nbsp;Matthew 10:3; &nbsp;Mark 3:18; &nbsp;Luke 6:14; &nbsp;Acts 1:13 ). There is no further reference to him in the New Testament. According to the "Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles" (Budge, <i> Contendings of the Apostles </i> , II, 50) "Bartholomew was of the house of Naphtali. Now his name was formerly John, but our Lord changed it because of John the son of Zebedee, His beloved." A "Gospel of Bartholomew" is mentioned by [[Hieronymus]] ( <i> Comm. Proem ad Matth </i> .), and Gelasius gives the tradition that Bartholomew brought the Hebrew gospel of Matthew to India. In the "Preaching of Bartholomew in the Oasis" (compare Budge, II, 90) he is referred to as preaching probably in the oasis of [[Al]] Bahnâsâ, and according to the "Preaching of Andrew and Bartholomew" he labored among the [[Parthians]] (Budge, II, 183). The "Martyrdom of Bartholomew" states that he was placed in a sack and cast into the sea. </p> <p> From the 9th century onward, Bartholomew has generally been identified with Nathanael, but this view has not been conclusively established. See [[Nathanael]] . </p>