The ancient world used the word translated as "name" differently than we do. Jesus uses the word in a variety of Greek phrases, all of which have different meanings. Many of these phrases are translated into the same English phrase, “in the name of,” which gets its meaning today from its Biblical use. I will use “in the name” in this article because it matches our English translations. Future articles will discuss specific phrases and the general problem with Biblical translations of people’s names, but here we start with the foundation of those articles: how the meaning of the “name” was different back then.
"Name" -- Part One: The Meaning of the Greek Word
"Name" -- Part One: The Meaning of the Greek…
"Name" -- Part One: The Meaning of the Greek Word
The ancient world used the word translated as "name" differently than we do. Jesus uses the word in a variety of Greek phrases, all of which have different meanings. Many of these phrases are translated into the same English phrase, “in the name of,” which gets its meaning today from its Biblical use. I will use “in the name” in this article because it matches our English translations. Future articles will discuss specific phrases and the general problem with Biblical translations of people’s names, but here we start with the foundation of those articles: how the meaning of the “name” was different back then.