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NEW TESTAMENT CHARACTERS
Anonymous (Investigator 168, 2016 May) [Correction:
different names, and "Jonah" who was previously omitted has been added, which leaves the total at 218.)One name is omitted in the list below because the person was listed twice in the orignal article under INTRODUCTION
A
count of 1st century people named in the New Testament, excluding
Jesus' genealogy but including his parents, comes to 218.
About 30 have archaeological or historical support. LIST OF 218
Possible
inadvertent omissions and several uncertainties when multiple people
have the same name mean that 218 may not be exact.
Achaicus: A Christian of Corinth Aeneas: Man cured of palsy Agabus: Prophet in Jerusalem Alexander 1: A son of Simon of Cyrene Alexander 2: Prominent man in Jerusalem Alexander 3: Companion of Paul Alexander 4: Metal-worker who opposed Paul Alphaeus: Father of Apostle Matthew Amplias: Christian in Rome Ananias 1: Christian in Jerusalem Ananias 2: Christian in Damascus *Ananias 3: High priest in Jerusalem Andrew: Apostle and brother of Simon Peter Andronicus: Christian in Rome Anna: Prophetess in Jerusalem *Annas: A chief priest in Jerusalem Antipas: Christian martyr of Pergamos Apelles: Christian in Rome Apollos: Native of Egypt and disciple of John the Baptist Apphia: A Christian woman Aquilla: Christian Jew in Rome who moved to Greece with his wife (Acts 18:1-2) Archippus: Christian at Colossae *Aretas: King of Arabia Aristarchus: Missionary companion of Paul Aristobulus: Christian in Rome Artemas: Companion of Paul Asyncritus: Christian in Rome *Augustus: Roman Emperor Barabbas: Murderer in whose place Christ was crucified Barnabas [Joses]: Missionary companion of Paul Barsabas, Judas: Disciple in Jerusalem Bartholomew: One of the twelve apostles Bartimaeus: Blind beggar of Jericho *Bernice: Eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I Blastus: Chamberlain of Herod Agrippa *Caesar [Nero]: Roman Emperor *Caiaphas: High priest in Jerusalem *Candace: Queen of Ethiopia Carpus: Friend of Paul Chloe: Christian woman in Corinth *Christ, Jesus: Son of Mary Chuza: Steward of Herod Antipas Claudia: Christian woman in Rome *Claudius: Fourth Roman emperor Claudius Lysius: Roman officer in Jerusalem Clement: Christian, possibly in Philippi Cleopas: Disciple of Jesus Clopas/Cleophas [Alphaeus]: Husband of one of the Mary's who witnessed the Crucifixion; father of James the Less and Joses Cornelius: First Gentile Christian Crescens: Companion of Paul Crispus: Leader of synagogue in Corinth Damaris: Convert to Christianity in Athens Demas: Disciple who deserted Paul Demetrius 1: Silversmith at Ephesus Demetrius 2: A Christian commended by John Dionysius: Court member of the Areopagus Diotrephes: Christian who opposed John's authority Dorcas (Tabitha): Christian woman of Joppa *Drusilla: Wife of Felix Elizabeth: Mother of John the Baptist Elymas [Bar-Jesus]: Jew on Cyprus Epaenetus: Convert to Christianity in Achaia Epaphras: Christian in Colossae *Epaphroditus: Christian man of Philippi *Erastus: City treasurer in Corinth Eubulus: Christian in Rome Eunice: Timothy's mother Euodias: Christian woman in Philippi Eutychus: Man of Troas *Felix: Roman official (procurator) of Judea *Festus, Porcius: Successor as procurator to Felix Fortunatus: Christian in Corinth Gaius 1: Companion of Paul Gaius 2: Christian of Derbe Gaius 3: Christian in Corinth Gaius 4: Christian to whom III John was addressed *Gallio: Proconsul of Achaia Gamaliel: Member of the Sanhedrin Hermas: Christian in Rome Hermes: Christian in Rome Hermogenes: Disciple who deserted Paul *Herod the Great *Herod, Antipas *Herod, Philip: Son of Herod the Great; Father of Salome *Philip: Tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis *Herod Archelaus: Ethnarch of Judea during Jesus' infancy *Herod Agrippa 1 *Herod Agrippa II *Herodias: Queen who demanded John the Baptist's death. Herodion: Christian in Rome Hymenaeus: Christian man in Ephesus who lost his faith Iscariot, Judas: Apostle who betrayed Jesus Iscariot, Simon: Father of Judas Jairus: Synagogue ruler whose daughter Jesus raised from the dead James 1: Son of Zebedee; one of the 12 Apostles James 2: Son of Alphaeus; one of the 12 Apostles James 3: Father of Judas (not Iscariot) James 4: Brother of Jesus James the Less: Son of a Mary (not Jesus' mother) Jason: A kinsman of Paul Jesus [Justus]: Christian in Rome Jezebel: Prophetess of Thyatira Joanna: Wife of Chuza, Herod's steward John 1: One of the 12 Apostles John 2: John Mark who wrote the second gospel John 3: Jewish official *John: The Baptist Jonah: Father of Simon Peter Joseph: Husband of Mary Joseph of Arimathea: Member of the Sanhedrin Joses [Jose]: One of four brothers of Jesus Judas 1: A brother of Jesus Judas 2: One of the 12 Apostles Judas 3: House-owner in Damascus Jude: Author of the epistle of Jude Julia: Christian woman in Rome Julius: Centurion Junias [Junia]: Christian Jew in Rome Justus, Barsabas [Joseph]: One of two nominees to replace Judas Iscariot Justus 2: Believer in Corinth Lazarus: Brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany Linus: Christian in Rome Luke: Greek physician, author of Acts and Luke Lydia: Christian woman *Lysanias: Tetrarch of Abilene Magdalene, Mary: Disciple of Jesus Malchus: Servant of the high priest Manaen: Christian in Antioch Mark: Associate of Paul Martha: Sister of Mary and Lazarus of Bethany Matthew [Levi]: Tax Collector and Apostle Matthias: Apostle who replaced Judas Mary 1: Mother of Jesus Mary 2: Sister of Martha and Lazarus Mary 3: Wife of Alphaeus/ Clopas, mother of James the Less and Joses Mary 4: Mother of John Mark Mary 5: Christian in Rome Narcissus: Christian in Rome Nathanael: One of the 12 Apostles Nereus: Christian in Rome Nicanor: Deacon in Jerusalem Nicodemus: Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin Nicolas: Deacon in Jerusalem Nicolaus: Leader of Nicolaitan sect Niger, Simeon: Christian in Antioch of Syria Nymphas: Christian in Laodicea Olympas: Christian in Rome Onesimus: Christian slave Onesiphorus: Roman Christian Parmenas: Deacon in Jerusalem Patrobas: Christian in Rome Paul [Saul]: Apostle; missionary; writer of 13 NT letters Persis: Christian woman in Rome Peter, Simon: One of the 12 Apostles Phanuel: Father of prophetess Anna Philemon: Christian in Colossae Philetus: Christian condemned for false teaching Philip 1: One of the 12 Apostles Philip 2: An evangelist Philologus: Christian in Rome Phlegon: Christian in Rome Phoebe: Deaconess in Corinth Phygellus: Christian who deserted Paul *Pilate, Pontius: Roman prefect in Judea Priscilla: Wife of Aquilla Prochorus: Christian Deacon Publius: Official on Malta Pudens: Christian in Rome Pyrrhus: Father of Sopater Quartus: A Christian, possibly of Corinth *Quirinius: Governor of Syria Rhoda: Servant of Mark's mother Rufus 1: Christian in Rome Rufus 2: Son of Simon of Cyrene Salome: Mother of James and John Sapphira: Wife of Ananias Sceva: Jewish chief priest in Ephesus Secundus: Christian of Thessalonica *Sergius Paulus: Proconsul (Governor) of Cyprus Silvanus [Silas]: Church member in Jerusalem Simeon: Devout Jew who blessed infant Jesus Simon 1: Brother of Jesus Simon 2: A Pharisee Simon 3: Former leper Simon 4: Magician Simon 5: Tanner in Joppa Simon of Cyrene: Man who carried the cross of Jesus Simon the Cananaean: One of the 12 Apostles Sopater: Christian of Beroea Sosipater: Christian Sosthenes: Synagogue official in Corinth Stachys: Christian in Rome Stephanas: Christian in Corinth Stephen: Deacon and first Christian martyr Susanna: A woman who ministered to Jesus Syntyche: Christian woman in Philippi Tertius: Scribe to whom Paul dictated Romans Tertullus: A lawyer Thaddaeus: One of the 12 apostles *Theophilus: Man to whom Luke dedicated his Gospel Theudas: Leader of a Jewish revolt Thomas [Didymus]: One of the 12 apostles *Tiberias: Roman Emperor Timaeus: Father of Bartimaeus Timon: A deacon in Jerusalem Timothy: Paul's associate and fellow apostle Titius Justus: Corinthian with whom Paul stayed Titus: Fellow worker with Paul Trophimus: Gentile Christian in Ephesus Tryphena: Christian woman in Rome Tryphosa: Christian woman in Rome Tychicus: Associate of Paul Tyrannus: Lecture-hall owner in Ephesus Urbanus: Christian in Rome Zacchaeus: Chief tax collector of Jericho Zacharias: Father of John the Baptist Zebedee: Father of James and John Zenas: Christian lawyer ARCHAEOLOGICAL/HISTORICAL
SUPPORT
HEROD THE GREAT (74BC – 4BC or 1BC) King
of Palestine (who had the boy babies of Bethlehem slaughtered after
Jesus' birth). Herod authorized huge construction works of which ruins
still remain, and even his tomb has been discovered.
The Australian reported a discovery 10km east of Bethlehem: JERUSALEM: Israeli
archaeologists have discovered the oldest indoor swimming pool in the
Holy Land, dating back to 10BC and situated at what was Herod the
Great’s once spectacular summer palace at Herodion, now in the occupied
West Bank… (July 10, 1997, p. 8)
HEROD ARCHELAUS (23BC – AD18) (Matthew 2:22) A son of Herod the Great who succeeded him as ruler of Judea and undertook public building works. (Hizmi 2008) HEROD ANTIPAS (22BC – AD40) Tetrarch (ruler) of Galilee and Perea; a son of Herod the Great; the Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded and interrogated Jesus on the morning of the crucifixion. For archaeology associated with Antipas see Jensen (2012). HEROD PHILIP (Matthew 14:3; Luke 3:1) Son of Herod the Great, half brother of Herod Antipas PHILIP THE TETRARCH (22BC – AD34) (Luke 3:1) Son
of Herod the Great, tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis (north and
north-east of Lake Galilee); rebuilt the city of Caesarea Philippi.
HEROD AGRIPPA I (11BC – AD44) (Acts 12) Grandson of Herod the Great and tetrarch after Herod Antipas; confirmed by coins he minted and by Josephus. HEROD AGRIPPA II (28 – c.AD100) Great grandson of Herod the Great; brother of Bernice and Drusilla. HERODIAS (Granddaughter of Herod the Great) Wife of Herod Philip; afterwards wife of Antipas; instigator of John the Baptist's execution; her daughter (Salome) is depicted on coins minted in 56-57AD. ANANIAS (Acts 23:2; 24:1) High priest in Jerusalem; mentioned by Josephus. (Antiquities XX, 5, 2) ANNAS 23BC – c.AD40) (Luke 3:2) Chief priest; father in law of Caiaphas; mentioned by Josephus as "Ananus". (Antiquities XX, 9, 1) ARETAS (9BC – AD40) (II Corinthians 11:32-33) Nabataean (Arabian) king confirmed by coins he minted. BERNICE (Acts 25:23; 26:30) Eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I; confirmed on coins and by Josephus, Tacitus and Seutonias. CAIAPHAS Son
in law of chief-priest Annas; historicity confirmed by an inscription
of the name "Caiaphas” on a limestone ossuary (stone burial box for
bones) 37 cm high, 75 cm long, discovered in 1990 near Jerusalem.
CANDACE (Acts 8:27) Ethiopian queen; mentioned by Pliny the Elder in Natural History VI. DRUSILLA (AD38 – 79) (Acts 24) Daughter of Agrippa I and wife of Felix; mentioned by Josephus. EPAPHRODITUS (Philippians 2:25-30) Assistant
to Paul and sometimes considered the same Epaphroditus who encouraged
Josephus to continue his writings. (Life of Flavius Josephus Paragraph
76; Antiquities Preface)
ERASTUS (Romans 16:23) City treasurer (Greek: oikonomos) in Corinth. The New International Version has "director of public works". Erastus in II Timothy 4:20 and Acts 19:22 may be the same person. Ancient Corinth in Greece had two theatres. Near the larger theatre is a plaza paved with limestone. On one paving block is a 1st-century Latin inscription, rediscovered in 1929, which reads: “Erastus, procurator and aedile, laid this pavement at his own expense.” "Erastus" was a common name and the Greek word Paul uses to denote "treasurer" is not the equivalent of the Latin "aedile" which refers to a higher office. Possibly Paul used "Oikonomos" as an approximate equivalent to "aedile" or perhaps Erastus was later promoted. FELIX (Acts 23-24) Procurator of Judea AD52; depicted on coins and mentioned by Josephus and Tacitus. FESTUS, PORCIUS (Acts 24-25) Procurator of Judea AD59-62; confirmed by coinage he minted. GALLIO Proconsul
in Greece (Acts 18:12-17) in AD52; confirmed by an inscription at
Delphi which records a proclamation of Emperor Claudius.
JAMES and JOSEPH Jesus
had a brother named James and their father was named Joseph. (Matthew
13:55; Mark 6:3; Acts 12:17; 15:13; Galatians 1:19; 2:9)
In 2002 Biblical Archaeology Review reported the existence of an ossuary engraved "James son of Joseph brother of Jesus". Of 168 known inscribed ossuaries only one has this combination of names. The Israel Antiquities Authority found the ossuary genuine but part of the inscription ("brother of Jesus") recent. The owner of the ossuary was brought to trial and cleared of being a forger in 2013, but debate over the genuineness of the inscription continues. However, Josephus mentions a James who was stoned to death in 62CE who may have been Jesus' brother. (Antiquities 20:9) JESUS Corpus Inscriptionum Judaeae/Palestinae
is a 4-volume compendium of inscriptions in Palestine. The Jerusalem
items include an inscription originally attached to a cross around 30CE
in three languages, Aramaic, Latin and Greek, as on the cross of Jesus.
(John 19:19-20) The explanation states: "Therefore there is no reason
to doubt the tradition that a titulus with a reason for his
condemnation by Pilatus was affixed on Jesus' cross."
Many scholarly books that cover 1st century Palestine accept that Jesus was real and list events in his life considered well-established including: • Davies, W.D., Horbury, W. and Sturdy, J. (editors) 1999 Cambridge History of Judaism Volume 3, Cambridge University Press • Champlin. E. and Bowman, A. 1970-2005 The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 10 The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C.—A.D 69, Cambridge University Press • Hornblower, S., Spawforth, A. and Eidinow, E. (editors) 2012, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Fourth edition, Oxford University Press The
debate is over the "No-frills Jesus". Secular scholars reject the
miracle stories and attempt to sort the Gospel details into true and
false with different scholars coming up with different lists.
MacCulloch (2010) accepts there was a Jesus and writes: "Scholars from a Western or Enlightenment background have now spent more than two centuries trying to reach through the filters of the four Gospels and the letters of Paul to find a 'real' Jesus and an 'authentic' version…" In 1968 came the discovery of the bones of a crucified man in a 1st-century tomb near Jerusalem with a nail still through the right heel bone. The legs were also broken. (John 19:21) The Dead Sea Scrolls mention the hanging of men on a tree to die, and the NT similarly says of Jesus "whom you killed by hanging on a tree." (Acts 5:30; 10:39) The NT, therefore, uses the correct 1st century expression. We also have a letter by Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan in AD112 enquiring how to punish Christians who "recite a hymn to Christ as to a god" and Trajan's reply. (Bettenson 1967) JOANNA (Luke 8:2 – 3; 24:8-10) Wife
of Herod's steward who visited Christ's empty tomb after the
resurrection. The inscription "Johanna, granddaughter of Theophilus,
the High Priest" on an ossuary, might refer to Joanna. (Barag &
Flusser 1986)
JOHN THE BAPTIST (c.3BC - c.AD32) Executed by Antipas in the palace-fortress of Machaerus east of the Dead Sea. Archaeologist Vörös (2012) supplies a ground-plan of Machaerus and a photo of the spot where Antipas' throne stood; also mentioned by Josephus. (Antiquities XVIII, 5, 2) LYSANIAS (Luke 3:1) Tetrarch of Abilene; confirmed on a temple inscription naming "Lysanias the Tetrarch"; also mentioned by Josephus. PILATE, PONTIUS (Matthew 27; John 18-19) An inscription discovered at Caesarea on Judea's coast in 1961 mentions "Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea". QUIRINIUS, CYRENIUS (Luke 2:1-2) Governor of Syria; confirmed by inscriptions at Antioch and by Josephus and Tacitus. SERGIUS PAULUS (Acts 13) Proconsul
[Governor] of Cyprus whom Paul converted to Christianity. An
inscription bearing Paulus' name and title was discovered in Cyprus in
1877. In 1887 a boundary/memorial stone of Emperor Claudius mentioning
Sergius was discovered at Rome and records his appointment (AD 47) as a
Curator of the banks and channel of the river Tiber.
THEOPHILUS (Luke 1:1-4) Anderson (2002) argues that Theophilus was a high priest. Barag and Flusser (1986) refer to an ossuary inscribed "Yehohanah, granddaughter of the high priest Theophilus". According to Josephus, a man named Theophilus served as High Priest in the AD30s-40s. (Antiquities XVIII, 5, 3; XIX, 6, 2) ROMAN EMPERORS We have an idea of what Augustus Caesar (Luke 2:1), Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1), Claudius Caesar (Acts 11:28), and Nero Caesar (Acts 25:21) looked like since busts (sculptured heads) of these men still exist. CONCLUSION
Most
persons named in the NT were without political importance, therefore
not mentioned in official documents or on coins or inscriptions.
Nevertheless 22 to 25 are archaeologically confirmed, and between five
and nine have literary support by non-biblical writers.
REFERENCES:
A to Z: All the Names of the Bible 2014, Thomas Nelson Anderson, R.H. Archaeology Records, December 2002-January 2003 https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://codexbezae.perso.sfr.fr/comm/theo. html&prev=search Barag,
D. and Flusser, D. The Ossuary of Yehohanah Granddaughter of the High
Priest Theophilus, Israel
Exploration Journal, 1986, Volume 36, 39-44
Bettenson, H. 1967 Documents of the Christian Church, Second Edition, Oxford Hannah,
M. et al (editors) 2012 Corpus
Inscriptionum Judaeae/ Palaestinae, Volume 1: Jerusalem, Part 1,
De Gruyter, Berlinwww.degruyter.com/view/serial/42306 www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/42384 Hizmi , H. Archelaus Builds Archelais, BAR July/August, 2008 Jenson, M.H. Antipas The Herod Jesus Knew, BAR, September/October 2012 Kennedy, T. Sergius Paulus, Proconsul of Cyprus, Archaeological Diggings, January/February 2015, 33-35 MacCulloch, D. 2010 A History of Christianity, Penguin Vörös,
G. Machaerus Where Salome Danced and John the Baptist was Beheaded, BAR, September/October 2012
Whiston, W. (translator) 1960 Josephus Complete Works, Kregel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonius_Felix https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenice_%28daughter_of_Herod_Agrippa%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caiaphas_ossuary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi_Inscription https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Agrippa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_AgrippaII https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_wife_of_Chuza https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Junius_Gallio_Annaeanus.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysanias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Tetrarch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergius_Paulus http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120618-john-the-baptist-bones-jesus-christ- bible-bulgaria-science-higham/ www.bible-history.com/archaeology/israel/ossuary-caiaphas.html www.biblehistory.net/newsletter/paulus.htm www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/judaea/berenice/i <>Investigator Magazine's anonymous, science-trained,
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