Why were many Biblical names changed to English?

[GodLovesCats]

The Bible has both English spellings of Hebrew names and English names that did not originate from any of the Biblical languages. Many human names in the Bible can't be what they were because of their usage in English, while others are not changed from Hebrew or Greek. It is clear English translators were being selective.

It has Rebekah (not the English spelling Rebecca), but Yeshua is changed to Jesus, not Jeshua. Ava, which means life, became Eve. It has the nickname Mary instead of whatever her real name was. It has Esau, so one twin's name is correct, but Jacob? It has Moses right, but Aaron? They got Lazarus correct, but Elizabeth, Mary, and Martha? Why didn't the English Bible translators stick with the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek names for all of the characters?

 

[Philip_B]

I think they tried to render the names in ways that English speakers could handle. In some cases they used the names that had come to be used, being derrived for the original language.

Mary, of course is the most common dedication of a Church in England, for a very long time. Μαριὰμ could have been rendered as Miriam, but the matted had alredy been established.

I don't think it is a big issue

 

[GodLovesCats]

I think they tried to render the names in ways that English speakers could handle. In some cases they used the names that had come to be used, being derrived for the original language.

Mary, of course is the most common dedication of a Church in England, for a very long time. Μαριὰμ could have been rendered as Miriam, but the matted had alredy been established.

I don't think it is a big issue

I can't see how Mapiou (which is what it would look like on an English keyboard) could become Miriam.

 

[Sabertooth]

Why didn't the English Bible translators stick with all the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek names?

Hebrew, Aramaic & Greek use different alphabets. (Ours is Latin-based.)
For names, translators had to either

1. translate names (all names are words in their original languages) or
2. transliterate them; that is, convert their spelling into our Latin alphabet (as close as possible).

Translators went with #2.
There is no correct way to transliterate names, so there can be differences between translators. This is especially seen when the Greek New Testament refers to people in the Old Testament. (In those cases, they are a transliteration of a transliteration...!

)

 

[Hank77]

Aaron is a hellenized Hebrew masculine given name.[1] The 'h' phoneme in the original Hebrew pronunciation "Aharon" (אהרן) is dropped in the Greek, Ααρών, from which the English form, Aaron, is derived.
Aaron (given name) - Wikipedia

Mary /ˈmɛəˌri/ is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek name Μαρία (María), found in the New Testament. Both variants reflect Syro-Aramaic Maryam, itself a variant of the Hebrew name מִרְיָם or Miryam.[1]
Mary (name) - Wikipedia

Hebrew and Greek names, some of them, have English forms. When reading English it seems reasonable for the names to be in English.

 

[St_Worm2]

I believe that Jesus Christ is Jesus Christus in Latin, so "Jesus" is something that we probably borrowed from the Latin language (though I am not sure about that).

--David

 

[RDKirk]

Hebrew, Aramaic & Greek use different alphabets. (Ours is Latin-based.)
For names, translators had to either

1. translate names (all names are words in their original languages) or
2. transliterate them; that is, convert their spelling into our Latin alphabet (as close as possible).

Translators went with #2.
There is no correct way to transliterate names, so there can be differences between translators. This is especially seen when the Greek New Testament refers to people in the Old Testament. (In those cases, they are a transliteration of a transliteration...!

)

The US Department of Defense lexicon had eight different ways the name "Khadafi" could be transliterated to English, and all of them were considered correct. In fact, as I wrote it here my spell checker gave me three alternatives.

Where I think it goes wrong is when the transliteration is based on something other than attempting to re-create the sound of the name. All of the Latin-alphabet transliterations of "Khadafi" attempt to reproduce the sound, as American English pronounces the Latin characters.

But we get that wrong. The name "Isaac" is actually pronounced more like "Ee-shak." The name Isaiah is actually pronounced more like "Eesah-eeyah." "Hagar" is pronounced more like "Hah-gar."

We went 'way wrong when we accepted the Chinese pinyin spelling system. The Chinese, needing a way to transliterate their language to Latin characters for electronic reasons, did not go by any Western pronunciation rules. They simply decided for themselves how each Latin letter should be pronounced for its use in transliterating Mandarin. So now Mandarin as seen in Latin characters provides absolutely no clue to how a Westerner should pronounce it...which is the opposite to what a written language is supposed to do.

 

[timothyu]

I believe that Jesus Christ is Jesus Christus in Latin

Oddly there is no such name as 'Jesus Christ' (the Christ perhaps) so things were already off track in translations let alone with pronunciation

 

[Paidiske]

I can't see how Mapiou (which is what it would look like on an English keyboard) could become Miriam.

The Greek letters would transliterate as Mariam. Vowels are often the "soft" spot where pronunciation changes.

 

[Der Alte]

Aaron is a hellenized Hebrew masculine given name.[1] The 'h' phoneme in the original Hebrew pronunciation "Aharon" (אהרן) is dropped in the Greek, Ααρών, from which the English form, Aaron, is derived.
Aaron (given name) - Wikipedia
Mary /ˈmɛəˌri/ is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek name Μαρία (María), found in the New Testament. Both variants reflect Syro-Aramaic Maryam, itself a variant of the Hebrew name מִרְיָם or Miryam.[1]
Mary (name) - Wikipedia
Hebrew and Greek names, some of them, have English forms. When reading English it seems reasonable for the names to be in English.

The name ישׁוע/Yeshua occurs thirty times in the OT as printed here. It is written the same when it is an abbreviation of יהושׁע/Jehoshua. Both Jehoshua and Yeshua are transliterated as Ἰησοῦς in the 225 Septuagint/LXX which would be transliterated as Iesous in English. Greek has no way to represent the sound "sh" so it became simply "s." In Greek only feminine names end with "a" so the "a" became a masculine "s."
Where did "Jesus " come from? In the German Bible Martin Luther transliterated Ἰησοῦς as Jesus. In German the "J" is pronounced as "Y." So Jesus is pronounced as Yaysoos.

 

[GodLovesCats]

Oddly there is no such name as 'Jesus Christ' (the Christ perhaps) so things were already off track in translations let alone with pronunciation

In Romans 6:23 he is called "Christ Jesus." So everyone who calls him Jesus Christ is saying it backward.

 

[GodLovesCats]

The Greek letters would transliterate as Mariam. Vowels are often the "soft" spot where pronunciation changes.

So why not call her Mariam in the New Testament?

 

[GodLovesCats]

The US Department of Defense lexicon had eight different ways the name "Khadafi" could be transliterated to English, and all of them were considered correct. In fact, as I wrote it here my spell checker gave me three alternatives.

How do you see that? I just get a squiggly red line if I misspell it.

Where I think it goes wrong is when the transliteration is based on something other than attempting to recreate the sound of the name. All of the Latin-alphabet transliterations of "Khadafi" attempt to reproduce the sound, as American English pronounces the Latin characters.

But we get that wrong. The name "Isaac" is actually pronounced more like "Ee-shak." The name Isaiah is actually pronounced more like "Eesah-eeyah." "Hagar" is pronounced more like "Hah-gar."

So the correct English spelling of Isaac should be Eshak and Isaiah should be spelled Esayah.

We went way wrong when we accepted the Chinese pinyin spelling system. The Chinese, needing a way to transliterate their language to Latin characters for electronic reasons, did not go by any Western pronunciation rules. They simply decided for themselves how each Latin letter should be pronounced for its use in transliterating Mandarin. So now Mandarin as seen in Latin characters provides absolutely no clue to how a Westerner should pronounce it...which is the opposite to what a written language is supposed to do.

Obviously. What's up with using the letter X for Z and Q for the "ch" sound? But I do think "zh" is correct

 

[Der Alte]

I can't see how Mapiou (which is what it would look like on an English keyboard) could become Miriam.

Greek is an inflected language the different tenses, voices and moods would change the way the names are written. The lexicon head word for Mary is Μαρία, Μαριάμ. Written as Mapiou would be the genitive case which shows possession in some sense. As written here it could refer to Mary's husband, Mary's mother, Mary's son. etc.

 

[GodLovesCats]

Greek is an inflected language the different tenses, voices and moods would change the way the names are written. The lexicon head word for Mary is Μαρία, Μαριάμ. Written as Mapiou would be the genitive case which shows possession in some sense. As written here it could refer to Mary's husband, Mary's mother, Mary's son. etc.

Several times the Gospel writers called two women "Mary Magdelene and the other Mary." I cannot figure out if Magdelene or "the other Mary" is the mother of Jesus.

 

[Paidiske]

So why not call her Mariam in the New Testament?

Probably because they knew English readers already knew the mother of our Lord as Mary, and so calling her Mary is less confusing.

So the correct English spelling of Isaac should be Eshak and Isaiah should be spelled Esayah.

I can't easily locate it now, but I am sure I have seen older English spellings of Isaiah which would be closer to what you've suggested here. Language changes over time, including names, and that doesn't particularly bother me.

Several times the Gospel writers called two women "Mary Magdelene and the other Mary." I cannot figure out if Magdelene or "the other Mary" is the mother of Jesus.

Probably neither. Certainly not Mary of Magdala.

 

[Der Alte]

Several times the Gospel writers called two women "Mary Magdelene and the other Mary." I cannot figure out if Magdelene or "the other Mary" is the mother of Jesus.

Mary, alone, was Jesus' mother. Magdalene means the other Mary came from the town/city of Magdala. Judas was from the town/city of Kerioth

 

[Aussie Pete]

The Bible has both English spellings of Hebrew names and English names that, I am sure, did not originate from Biblical languages. Many human names in the Bible cannot be what they were because of their usage in English, while others are not changed from Hebrew or Greek. It is obvious English Bible translators were selective.

It has Rebekah (not the English spelling Rebecca), but Yeshua is changed to Jesus, not Jeshua. Ava, which means life, became Eve, which means something else. It has only the nickname Mary, instead of whatever her real name was. It has Esau so one twin's name is correct, but Jacob? It has Moses right, but Aaron? It got Lazarus correct, but Elizabeth, Mary, and Martha? Why didn't the English Bible translators stick with all the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek names?

It's just easier. Some of the names are unpronounceable even in English. Do you write the names in the original language? No. The NT gives two versions of a name at times, eg Cephas and Peter. So even then, it was an issue. Personally, I think the translators have it mostly right. Some names have changed since the KJV. Elias is now Elijah, Jehovah is Yahweh, for example.

 

[GodLovesCats]

It's just easier. Some of the names are unpronounceable even in English. Do you write the names in the original language? No. The NT gives two versions of a name at times, eg Cephas and Peter. So even then, it was an issue. Personally, I think the translators have it mostly right. Some names have changed since the KJV. Elias is now Elijah, Jehovah is Yahweh, for example.

Well, I personally know a lady named Maryam. Other people call her that - never just Mary.

Peter is Pietro in Italian and Pierre in French. I would expect the Hebrew name to begin with P too.

Is the j in Elijah silent? For a long time I thought it is, but now I am not so sure if that matters.

 

[Friedrich Rubinstein]

Names are generally not spelled the same in every language. My name Friedrich would be spelled "Frederick" in English. Even though it's not even supposed to be pronounced like that.

Regarding the name "Jesus" we should perhaps mention that it's not derived from the Hebrew name "Yeshua" directly. Instead we got "Jesus" from the Greek name Ιησούς (Iésous), which is the Greek transliteration of Yeshua.

I suppose the transliteration of names can be quite confusing for people who speak English only, as they don't get in contact with it daily. The Bible I read is not English, so all the names are even different. John is Johannes, James is Jakobus, Mary is Maria, Matthew is Matthäus and Isaiah is Jesaja. Funny, right?