Joses.

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
Ben C. Smith
Posts: 8994
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 2:18 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Joses.

Post by Ben C. Smith »

Subject: Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
Others may be able to comment on the accuracy or otherwise of Tarazi's view of the name Joses, a name I had always assumed was a variant of Joseph. But Tarazi writes that it is not a name at all:
While the name is not attested to even in the LXX . . .

Ioseph is a very well known name; the hearer will immediately think of Joseph without the connotation of anything else. But when he hears an unusual name (actually, the name doesn’t exist as a name) his attention is drawn to something else. . . .

Ioseph is undeclinable, whereas Ioses is declined into iosetos, which draws the attention in the direction of a Greek word. . . .

it is cast in a way that brings to mind the Greek noun ios meaning “poison/venom.”
Matthew thought it fit to change the name to Joseph. (p. 168)
I am able to comment. I have been trying to sort out the plethora of double and even triple names in the gospel traditions lately (Lebbaios/Levi, Matthaeus/Matthias, all the Simons and Johns and Judases and Jameses and more), and the Joseph/Joses thing has come up a number of times (it was one of my Google searches that dug up the thread to which I am responding here).

If Tarazi is saying that Joses is not a real name at all (that is, if he is not being misquoted), then he is simply mistaken. Joses (Greek Ἰωσῆς) is almost certainly a hypocoristic for Joseph (Greek Ιωσηφ, Hebrew יוסף). A famous passage in the Mishnah contains the Hebrew version of this hypocoristic:

Mishnah, Sanhedrin 7.6: A blasphemer is not guilty, unless he mentioned the proper name of God. Said R. Jehoshua b. Karha: Through the entire trial the witnesses are examined pseudonymously -- i.e. (the blasphemer said): "Jose [יוסי] shall be beaten by Jose [יוסי]." When the examination was ended, the culprit was not executed on the testimony under the pseudonym; but all are told to leave the room except the witnesses, and the oldest of them is instructed: "Tell what you heard exactly." And he does so. The judges then arise, and rend their garments, and they are not to be mended. The second witness then says: "I heard exactly the same as he told." And so also says the third witness.

This is a euphemism, of course, but the Hebrew name is found elsewhere, as well, with the variants יהוסה and יוסה. Possibly more to the point, however (the gospels being extant in Greek), the Greek form (and even the Latin) is attested in various inscriptions and papyri:

CIIP 231 (page 260 of Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae & Palaestinae 1: Jerusalem 1, by Hannah M. Cotton):

Ossuary of Iouda and Ioses with Greek inscription, 1 c. BCE-1 c. CE

Ossuary with decorated façade (rosettes) and painted red hatch marks on other sides. Four-line Greek inscription covering nearly the entire back side. Both formal and cursive alpha; h-shaped eta, lunate sigma and w-shaped omega (ed. pr. and ph.).

ΛΕΤΟΥ
ΙΟΥΔΑΙΟΥΔΟΥΒΕΘΗ
ΙΩΣΗΣΙΟΥΔΟΥ
ΦΑΙΔΡΟΥ

Ἰούδα Ἰούδου Βεθη|λέτου | Ἰωσῆς Ἰούδου
| Φαίδρου

Iouda (son) of Ioudas of Bethel. Ioses (son) of Ioudas (son?) of Phaidros.

Comm.: The inscription records the names of two deceased males (second cousins?) whose fathers were both named Ioudas. The father is further identified in each case in order to distinguish the two. On the assumption (not unshakable) that the names of both deceased are in the nominative, then Ἰούδα is an infrequent form of Yehuda, as in no. 554, and Ἰωσῆς is hypocoristic of Ἰώσηπος, as in no. 583 this vol., CPJ II 428 and frequently in Rome, Noy, JIWE II 124, 282, 585, 325.

CIIP 583 (page 588 of Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae & Palaestinae 1: Jerusalem 1, by Hannah M. Cotton):

Ossuary with three names inscribed in Greek, 1 c. BCE-1 c. CE Limestone ossuary, façade ornamented with two six-petaled rosettes flanking paneled door, ashlar frame; surfaces smoothed; yellow wash. Three-line Greek inscriptions shallowly incised on right side (a), 3 cm from top rim, and left side (b), 4 cm from top rim. Inscriptions slant slightly down to the right. Lunate sigma and w-shaped omega. Meas.: h 31, w 52.5, d 25.5 cm; (a) l. 22 cm, letters 2-4 cm; (b) l. 10.5 cm, letters 1.5-3 cm. Pres. loc: Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem, IAA inv. no. 1934-7753. Autopsy: 7 November 2007.

(a) ΠΟΠΕΛΙ
ΙΩΣΗΣ
ΙΗΣΟΥΣ
(b) ΠΟΠΕΛΙ
ΙΩΣΗΣ
Σ/Ε

(a) Ποπελι | Ἰωσῆς | Ἰησοῦς
(b) Ποπελι | Ἰωσῆς | Σ/Ε

(a) Popeli(?), Ioses, Iesous.
(b) Popeli(?), Ioses.


JIWE II 124:

http://epigraphy.packhum.org/text/17827 ... ation=1308.

ἐνθάδε
κεῖνται ❦
Ἰούδας καὶ
Ἰωσῆς ἄρ-
χοντες ❦
καὶ ἱερεῖς
καὶ ἀδελφοί.

JIWE II 282:

http://epigraphy.packhum.org/text/17849 ... ation=1308.

ἐνθάδε κεῖται
Ἰωσῆς τὸ νήπιον
ἡδὺν ἐτ(ῶν) βʹ ἡ(μερῶν) ηʹ· Προ-
κόπις ὁ πατήρ, Κρισ-
πῖνα δὲ μήτ(ηρ)· προσ-
εύχοιο ἐν εἰρήνῃ
τὴν κύμησιν αὐτοῦ.

JIWE II 585:

http://epigraphy.packhum.org/text/17879 ... ation=1308.

Κλαύδιος
Ἰωσῆς ἄ<ρ>-
χων ἔζη-
σεν ἔτη
vacat λεʹ. vacat

JIWE II 325:

http://epigraphy.packhum.org/text/17853 ... ation=1308.

{ram's head facing right} {bull's head facing left}
Aurel(ius) ❦ Ioses,
Aurel(ia) ❦ Auguria
<f>ilio Agathopo
b(e)n(e) m(erenti) p(osuerunt), q(ui) v(ixit) an(nos) XV.


CPJ 428 (pages 215-216 of Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum 1: The Ptolemaic Period):

List of sitologoi for the 5th year of our lord Trajan Caesar. Kephalion son of Dorion. Joses [Ἰωσῇς], also called Teuphilos, descendant of (?) Dosthon. Anchorimphis son of Panther. Pakysis son of Pnepheros. Straton called Isakis. Eleazaros son of Ptolemaios. Dosion son of Zopyros. Heraklas son of Herakles. Aunes son of Heron. Onnophris son of Chairem . . . Phausas. Herakles son of Merses. Paaus, also called Sokonion, son of S. . . . Andro . . . Abramios . . . Amph . . . Zopyros son of Le . . . Presbous elder son of Akousilaos. Didas son of Phibion. Ptolemaios son of Dositheos. Akes son of Psenamounis. . . . son of Isakis. Neilon son of Ptollis. Sambathion son of Jakoubos. Stotoetis son of Satabous. Onnophris son of Sisois Demas . . . village-scribe . . . poll-tax. . . .

For reference, here are the relevant NT verses:

Matthew 13.55: 55 "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph [Ιωσὴφ] and Simon and Judas?"

Matthew 27.56: 56 ...among whom was Mary Magdalene, along with Mary the mother of James and Joseph [Ιωσὴφ], and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Mark 6.3: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses [Ἰωσῆτος], and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him.

Mark 15.40: 40 And there were also some women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses [Ιωσῆτος], and Salome.

Mark 15.47: 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses [Ἰωσῆτος] were looking on to see where He was laid.

All of the above instances bear manuscript variants for the name in question; often these variants are Joseph for Joses or vice versa.

Also of note, the most ancient manuscripts containing Acts 4.36 say that Barnabas was also called Joseph, but the Byzantine tradition has Joses instead. And, of course, Jesus' father is called Joseph in various verses.

Ben.
ΤΙ ΕΣΤΙΝ ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ
Trees of Life
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2018 8:56 am

Re: Joses.

Post by Trees of Life »

Not withstanding the Greek variants for Joseph put forward as Joses and in that sentiment the interchanging by translators of Joseph with Joses in the relevent NT verses — Joses doesn't apply to Joseph/Justus.

Joses applies to Judas, it's his nick name. The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ, Chapter 14 has children James the Less and his brother Joses [Judas] at play with the Lord Jesus. Joseph/Justus was an adult at the time as seen in The History of Joseph the Carpenter.
Ethan
Posts: 976
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:15 pm
Location: England
Contact:

Re: Joses.

Post by Ethan »

The authors of the New Testament were inscribing Aramaic names into Greek and sometimes letters are confused with others, usually R with D, or they are unsure so they write two variants of the transliteration. i.e 'Lebbaeus / Thaddaeus ' The double B suggests the name derives from לבב ( Labab )(Λεββ) 'Heart, Cakes or Hollowed' usually translated καρδία. - καρδαῖος > καδδαῖος > Θαδδαῖος.

Joses - surnamed Barnabas (interpreted, The son of consolation) and yet Nabas doesn't mean Consolation' in Aramaic, else his name was originally 'Bar-Namas' (b=m , see Septuagint) and this word can be sourced from נחם ' comfort/consolation' .

A synonym is תְּרוּפָה ( Theruphah - H8644 ) θεραπεία ( Therapeia) , since the name Ἰωσῆς evokes words relating too healing, Ἰασώ , Ἰησώ, ἴασις , διασῴζω, σῴζω , ἰατρεῖα, so Theruphah may have sounded like Barabbas(θεραπαῖος) and later as Barnabas

Healing cults were popular in 1st century Judea.
https://blog.israelbiblicalstudies.com/ ... asclepius/
https://vivliothikiagiasmatos.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joseph-yahuda-hebrew-is-greek.pdf
Post Reply