Acts 14:12

From Textus Receptus

New Testament Acts 14
Acts 14:1 Acts 14:2 Acts 14:3 Acts 14:4 Acts 14:5 Acts 14:6 Acts 14:7 Acts 14:8 Acts 14:9 Acts 14:10 Acts 14:11 Acts 14:12 Acts 14:13 Acts 14:14 Acts 14:15 Acts 14:16 Acts 14:17 Acts 14:18 Acts 14:19 Acts 14:20 Acts 14:21 Acts 14:22 Acts 14:23 Acts 14:24 Acts 14:25 Acts 14:26 Acts 14:27 Acts 14:28

ΠΡΑΞΕΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΩΝ 14:12 ἐκάλουν τε τὸν μὲν Βαρνάβαν, Δία· τὸν δὲ Παῦλον, Ἑρμῆν, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ ἡγούμενος τοῦ λόγου.

(Textus Receptus, Novum Testamentum, Theodore Beza, 5th major edition. Geneva. 1598)

Acts 14:12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

(King James Version, Pure Cambridge Edition 1900)

Acts 14:12 And they called Barnabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

(King James Version 2016 Edition, 2016) - buy the revised and updated printed 2023 Edition New Testament here

Interlinear

Commentary

Jupiter and Mercurius or Zeus and Hermes?

And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. (KJV)

And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. (NKJV) 1982

Most modern versions translate as ‘Zeus’ for ‘Jupiter’ and ‘Hermes’ for ‘Mercurius’, such as the RSV, NIV, NASB, NET, the Jehovah Witness New World Translation, the Catholic St. Joseph New American Bible 1979, the Catholic New Jerusalem bible 1985 and the ESV.

The Douay Rheims of 1582 and 1950 reads as the KJV:

And they called Barnabas, Jupiter: but Paul, Mercurius: because he was chief speaker.

The 1968 Jerusalem bible, the 1970 St. Joseph New American Bible and the 1985 New Jerusalem bible all say:

They addressed Barnabas as Zeus, and since Paul was the principal speaker they called him Hermes. New Jerusalem bible 1985.

The Jehovah Witness New World Translation reads like the NKJV, NIV, NASB, ESV and the modern Catholic versions. It says:

And they went calling Barnabas Zeus, but Paul Hermes...

The immediate context tells us very clearly that they were in the region of Lycaonia which was a Roman province and not Greek. It was in the speech of Lycaonia that the people began to call Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius. The language of the Lycaonians would have been the Latin and not the Greek. The inspired Greek text merely translates and records what was said in Latin.

Jupiter: Easton’s Bible Dictionary - Jupiter -The principal deity of the ancient Greeks and Romans. He was worshipped by them under various epithets. Barnabas was identified with this god by the Lycaonians (Acts 14:12), because he was of stately and commanding presence, as they supposed Jupiter to be. There was a temple dedicated to this god outside the gates of Lystra (14:13).

Nave's Topical Bible - Jupiter - Equivalent to Zeus, a Greek and Roman deity Acts 14:12,13; 19:35

Mercury: Nave's Topical Bible -Mercurius - A pagan god; Mercury (to the Romans); Hermes (to the Greeks)) Paul taken for, in Lycaonia Acts 14:11,12

ATS Bible Dictionary - American Tract Society Bible Dictionary published in 1859. Mercury - A fabulous god of the ancient heathen, the messenger of the celestials, and the deity that presided over learning, eloquence, and traffic. The Greeks named him Hermes, interpreter, because they considered him as the interpreter of the will of the gods. Probably it was for this reason that the people of Lystra, having heard Paul preach, and having seen him heal a lame man, would have offered sacrifice to him as to their god Mercury; and to Barnabas as Jupiter, because of his venerable aspect, Acts 14:11-12.

Holman Bible Dictionary MERCURIUS - KJV translation of the Greek Hermes (Acts 14:12). The Roman god Mercury was identified with the Greek Hermes.

Adam Clarke

They called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius - The heathens supposed that Jupiter and Mercury were the gods who most frequently assumed the human form; and Jupiter was accustomed to take Mercury with him on such expeditions. Jupiter was the supreme god of the heathens; and Mercury was by them considered the god of eloquence. And the ancient fable, from which I have quoted so largely above, represents Jupiter and Mercury coming to this very region, where they were entertained by Lycaon, from whom the Lycaonians derived their name.

Barnes

And they called Barnabas, Jupiter. Jupiter was represented as the most powerful of all the gods of the ancients. ... There is the most abundant proof that he was worshipped in the region of Lycaonia, and throughout Asia Minor. There was, besides, a fable among the inhabitants of Lycaonia that Jupiter and Mercury had once visited that place, and had been received by Philemon. The whole fable is related by Ovid, (Metam. 8, 611)

John Gill

And they called Barnabas Jupiter…The supreme God; it may be because that Barnabas was the oldest man, of the tallest stature, and largest bulk, and made the best figure; whereas Paul was younger, of a low stature, and mean appearance: and Paul Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker; Mercury was the god of eloquence, and the messenger of the gods, and the interpreter of their will F18; Paul being chiefly concerned in preaching and speaking to the people, they called him by the name of this God.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown

they called Barnabas, Jupiter--the father of the gods, from his commanding mien and Paul, Mercurius--the god of eloquence and the messenger and attendant of Jupiter, in the heathen mythology.

Matthew Henry

And Paul they called Mercury, who was the messenger of the gods, that was sent on their errands; for Paul, though he had not the appearance that Barnabas had, was the chief speaker, and had a greater command of language, and perhaps appeared to have something mercurial in his temper and genius. Jupiter used to take Mercury along with him, they said, and, if he make a visit to their city, they will suppose he does so now.

J. W. McGarvey's Original Commentary on Acts

But when two gods appeared together, the one who acts as chief speaker could be no other than Mercury, the god of Eloquence, and the constant attendant of Jupiter in his terrestrial visits. The remark of Luke that Paul was called Mercury "because he was the chief speaker," shows that he was familiar with Greek mythology.

The People’s New Testament

"The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men." In the speech of Lycaonia. Paul had preached in Greek, which was understood over all the East, but the native dialect of the Lycaonians was different, and in that they confer together. Called Barnabas, Jupiter. The chief of the gods in the Greek and Roman Pantheon. Barnabas was no doubt a more stately man than Paul, who says that his own "bodily presence was weak and speech contemptible," and there was also a reason why they thought Paul, Mercurius. Mercury was the "interpreter of the gods." His Greek name, Hermes, is the origin of our word Hermeneutics. Paul, eloquent, persuasive, active, was thought to represent the part of Mercury. Then the priest of Jupiter. There was a temple of Jupiter before the gates of the city, with the usual priest, and carried away by their idea, they prepared to offer sacrifices to the gods whom they supposed to have visited them.

Dr. Larry Bednar

Dr. Larry Bednar of KJV Textual Technology remarks: "It's said that the Latin terms Jupiter applied to Barnabus and Mercurius applied to Paul by citizens of Lystra in Acts 14:12 of the KJV are erroneous in that they don't truly translate the Greek, and supposedly the Greek names Zeus and Hermes are correct. But those who say this don't seem to realize that in the Greek text, Greek names would be assigned to these false gods, whatever the actual names were in the native language of Lycaonia spoken by these citizens (14:11). No one knows what names were actually used, but the inerrant Greek would be fully equivalent, making it readily possible to derive an English equivalent. Clearly, in an English translation, the names utilized would reflect English culture, and English is far more kindred to the Latin than it is to the Greek. Thus Latin-based names like Jupiter & Mercurius are the ones likely to apply in the KJV, and more likely to be understood by English readers. Indeed Lystra was a city in the Roman empire at this time in history, so the Latin names are the only logical choices. Some theorize that the local language was Greek, but there is no basis for this. [1]

Greek

Textus Receptus

1514 (Complutensian Polyglot)

Desiderius Erasmus

1516 (Erasmus 1st Novum Instrumentum omne)
1519 (Erasmus 2nd)
1522 (Erasmus 3rd Novum Testamentum omne)
1527 (Erasmus 4th)
1535 (Erasmus 5th)

Colinæus

1534 (Colinæus)

Stephanus (Robert Estienne)

1546 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 1st)
1549 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 2nd)
1550 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 3rd - Editio Regia)
1551 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 4th)

Theodore Beza

1565 (Beza 1st)
1565 (Beza Octavo 1st)
1567 (Beza Octavo 2nd)
1580 (Beza Octavo 3rd)
1582 (Beza 2nd)
1589 (Beza 3rd)
1590 (Beza Octavo 4th)
1598 (Beza 4th)

See Also Acts 14:12 Beza 1598 (Beza)

1604 (Beza Octavo 5th)

Elzevir

1624 (Elzevir)
1633 (Elzevir)
1641 (Elzevir)

Scholz

1841 (Scholz)

Scrivener

1894 (? ????? ???T???)

Other Greek

1857 (Tregelles' Greek New Testament)
(Tischendorf 8th Ed.)
1881 (Westcott & Hort)
(Greek orthodox Church)

Anglo Saxon Translations

1000 (Anglo-Saxon Gospels Manuscript 140, Corpus Christi College by Aelfric)

1200 (Anglo-Saxon Gospels Hatton Manuscript 38, Bodleian Library by unknown author)

English Translations

1380 (Wyclif's Bible by John Wycliffe)

1395 (Wyclif's Bible by John Wycliffe)

1534 (Tyndale Bible by William Tyndale)

1535 (Coverdale Bible)

1539 (Great Bible First Edition - Miles Coverdale)

1540 (Great Bible Second Edition - Miles Coverdale)

1549 (Matthew's Bible - John Rogers)

1557 (Geneva 1557)

1560 (Geneva Bible) First Edition

1568 (Bishop's Bible First Edition

1582 (Rheims 1582)

1587 (Geneva Bible) by William Whittingham

1599 (Geneva Bible) by William Whittingham

1611 (King James Version)

1729 (Mace New Testament)

1745 (Mr. Whiston's Primitive New Testament)

1762 (King James Version)

1769 (King James Version - Benjamin Blayney)

1770 (Worsley Version by John Worsley)

1790 (Wesley Version by John Wesley)

1795 (A Translation of the New Testament from the Original Greek by Thomas Haweis)

1833 (Webster Version - by Noah Webster)

1835 (Living Oracles by Alexander Campbell)

1849 (Etheridge Translation by John Etheridge)

1850 (King James Version by Committee)

1851 (Murdock Translation)

1855 Calvin Bible by the Calvin Translation Society

1858 (The New Testament Translated from the Original Greek by Leicester Sawyer)

1865 (The Emphatic Diaglott by Benjamin Wilson)

1865 (The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 1865 by American Bible Union)

1869 (Noyes Translation by George Noyes)

1873 (King James Version) by Frederick Scrivener)

1885 (Revised Version also called English Revised Version - Charles Ellicott editor)

1890 (Darby Version 1890 by John Darby)

1898 (Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young)

1901 (American Standard Version - Philip Schaff)

1902 (The Emphasised Bible Rotherham Version)

1902 (Translation of the New Testament from the Original Greek by William Godbey)

1904 (The New Testament: Revised and Translated by Adolphus Worrell)

1904 (Twentieth Century New Testament by Ernest Malan and Mary Higgs)

1911 (Syrus Scofield)

1912 (Weymouth New Testament)

1918 (The New Testament Translated from the Sinaitic Manuscript by Henry Anderson)

1923 (Edgar Goodspeed)

1982 (New King James Version)

1984 (New International Version)

1995 (New American Standard Bible) (©1995)

1999 (American King James Version)AKJV

2005 (Today’s New International Version)

Foreign Language Versions

Arabic

‎فكانوا يدعون برنابا زفس وبولس هرمس اذ كان هو المتقدم في الكلام‎. (Arabic Smith & Van Dyke)

Aramaic

(Aramaic Peshitta)

Basque

Eta Barnabas deitzen çutén Iupiter: eta Paul, Mercurio: ceren harc hitza ekarten baitzuen.

Bulgarian

1940 (Bulgarian Bible)

Chinese

1 於是称巴拿巴为丢斯，称保罗为希耳米，因为他说话领首。 (Chinese Union Version (Simplified))

1 於是稱巴拿巴為丟斯，稱保羅為希耳米，因為他說話領首。 (Chinese Union Version (Traditional))

French

Et ils appelaient Barnabas Jupiter, et Paul Mercure, parce que c'etait lui qui portait la parole. (French Darby)

1744 Et ils appelaient Barnabas Jupiter, et Paul Mercure, parce que c'était lui qui portait la parole. (Martin 1744)

1744 (Ostervald 1744)

German

1545 (Luther 1545)

1871 (Elberfelder 1871)

1912 Und nannten Barnabas Jupiter und Paulus Merkurius, dieweil er das Wort führte. (Luther 1912)

Italian

1649 E chiamavano Barnaba, Giove, e Paolo, Mercurio, perché era il primo a parlare. (Giovanni Diodati Bible 1649)

1927 E chiamavano Barnaba, Giove, e Paolo, Mercurio, perché era il primo a parlare. (Riveduta Bible 1927)

Japanese

1928 (Naoji Nagai)

Latin

et vocabant Barnaban Iovem Paulum vero Mercurium quoniam ipse erat dux verbi Latin Vulgate

1527 (Erasmus 1527)

1527 (Erasmus Vulgate 1527)

Pidgin

1996 (Pidgin King Jems)

Romainian

2010 (Biblia Traducerea Fidela în limba româna)

Russian

1876 И называли Варнаву Зевсом, а Павла Ермием, потому что он начальствовал в слове. Russian Synodal Version

Phonetically:

Spanish

(RVG Spanish)

Swedish

1917 Och de kallade Barnabas för Jupiter, men Paulus kallade de för Merkurius, eftersom det var han som förde ordet. (Swedish - Svenska 1917)

Tagalog

1905 At tinawag nilang Jupiter, si Bernabe; at Mercurio, si Pablo, sapagka't siya ang pangulong tagapagsalita. (Ang Dating Biblia 1905)

Tok Pisin

1996 (Tok Pisin King Jems)

Vietnamese

1934 Chúng bèn xưng Ba-na-ba là thần Giu-bi-tê, còn Phao-lô là thần Mẹt-cu-rơ, vì là người đứng đầu giảng đạo. (VIET)

External Links

Ahaziahs Age Upon His Accession Chronology of the OT by Dr. Floyd Nolen Jones

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