Date: 2011-03-01
By: Brenda
Will you be commenting on the Acts 29 guys--a group of preachers--at some point?
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Date: 2011-03-02
By: Dan
Yes, I believe I will. Not sure yet when that will be though.
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Date: 2011-03-01
By: Brenda
I find it odd that I've lived this long before anyone (teacher, preacher, etc.) has pointed out that Saul was an Aramaic name and Paul a Greek name. It's that simple. I've heard the two names linked to the two sides of his conversion.
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Date: 2011-03-02
By: Dan
Well...maybe it's not exactly that simple. The names don't mean exactly the same thing. First, many think that Paul derives from the Latin Paulus. In Latin, the name means "small." But actually Paul's use of the name probably derived from the Greek Paulos, which means "at rest" or "one who is at rest (or at peace)." Saul means "prayed for." So while the two names are from Hebrew/Aramaic (Saul) and Greek (Paul), they are not simply the same name in different languages.
My guess is that Saul took on the name Paul as he went to the Gentiles because of a compilation of reasons: (1) the name Saul was distinctly Hebrew/Aramaic, and he didn't want that to define him, (2) the name Paul sounded a lot like Saul, and (3) the dramatic change of his conversion did transform him from someone who needed to be "prayed for" to someone who was "at peace (rest)."
So, then, more than Luke swapping names because one was used while he was dealing with the Jerusalem church and the other as Paul went to the Gentiles, it is actually Paul himself who probably thought up and instituted the name change.
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Date: 2011-03-04
By: Brenda
Well, then I sort of misunderstood--not knowing Aramaic or Greek trips me up sometimes. Not two versions of the same name, but definitely an Aramaic/Hebrew name and a Greek name. Still, I don't think I'd ever had anyone explain it like that. Makes sense, though.
I wonder who started the conversion story--that Paul changed his name because he was converted. Well, I guess he did, though--it wouldn't have mattered, having an Aramaic/Hebrew name, if he hadn't been converted. Thanks for the details!
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