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Meaning and etymology of the name Barnabas



Barnabas Barnabas


Barnabas is a Levite from Cyprus, whose name originally was Joseph (or Joses), who joins Paul and later Mark on missionary journeys (Acts 4:36).

The author of Acts (who is probably Luke), writes that the apostles gave Barnabas his nickname and explains it to mean Son Of Encouragement, which is not a linear translation but rather a paraphrase (something similar occurs with the name Boanerges). Thew word that Luke uses is paraklesis (paraklesis), meaning the act of exhorting, encouraging or comforting. It comes from the verb parakaleo (parakaleo), meaning to beseech, which in turn is a construct of the words para (para), which expresses the notion of immediate vicinity or proximity, and the verb kaleo, meaning to call. Parakaleo means to implore someone to come to one's side; to aid or support. The word paraklesis is used for the whole of Scriptures (Romans 15:4) as well as the Gospel (1 Thessalonians 2:3), and the phrase Son Of Encouragement may also be interpreted as Son Of The Encouragement, referring to the Gospel.

The name Barnabas itself consists of two elements:



The second part of the name Barnabas is thought to stem from the Aramaic word nebi (nebi), meaning prophet. This word is most likely an adoption of the similar Hebrew word nebi (nabi), also meaning prophet. In their discussion of this word HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament reads, "The essential idea in the word is that of authorized spokesman." Most often this nabi would be the spokesman for God (hence the translation prophet) but a nabi could also represent a human. In the scene where Moses confronts Pharao, Aaron is said to be Moses' nabi (Exodus 7:1).

Our word prophet comes from the Greek word prophetes (prophetes), which is contructed from the words pro (pro), meaning before in place or time; and phemi (phemi), originally meaning to shine, but commonly used in the meaning of bringing to light by saying or uttering. The Greek word prophetes thus means a fore-sayer, either meaning a representative of someone else, or a foreteller of future events. The ultimate results of prophesying are listed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:3,

"But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation."

For the second of these three results of prophesying, Paul uses the word paraklesis.

The Aramaic word bar and its Hebrew equialent ben literally mean son, but are often applied to indicate a member of a group or possessors of a certain skill or vocation. The phrase "son of a prophet" or rather "one of the sons of the prophets" occurs in 1 Kings 20:35, where it simply denotes one of the prophets; a prophet.

The name Barnabas literally means Prophet, or even more literally Representer.







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