Re: BOANHRGHS

From: George Athas (gathas@mail.usyd.edu.au)
Date: Wed Jan 28 1998 - 17:25:22 EST


> Dears,
> In Mk 3:17 is written :
> ... KAI IAKWBON TON TOU ZEBEDAIU KAI
> IWANNHN TON ADELFON TOU IAKWBOU KAI EPEQHKEN
> AUTOIS ONOMA BOANHRGHS hO ESTIN hUOI BRONTHS.
>
> Can anyone tell me something about the word BOANHRGHS ?
> Is there any relation with ERGAZOMAI or BOAN ?
>
> Thank you
> Radomir Starostik (rsta@bach.cz)

 BOANHRGHS simply reflects a Hebrew-Aramaic expression, _BeNEI ReGAZ_,
meaning literally "sons of quaking" or "sons of thunder". The root RGZ
from which the word _ReGAZ_ is derived has a number of similar meanings:
to agitate, quiver, quake, excite, perturb, tremble, rumble, thunder,
enrage, etc...

This appellation reflects the characters of the 2 brothers, James and
John, quite well with the picture of them painted in the gospels. It is
not a statement about their father at all (of whom we know very little
about). To use the word "son of X" is an idiomatic expression to
describe a relationship between something and X, not something and their
father.

For example, a "son of a bow" is an arrow. The expression is not
suggesting that a man is the son of either an experienced archer or an
actual bow! The expression "son of X" is actually saying that the "son"
is a derivative of, or goes hand in hand with "X".

Another example is a "son of the prophets". This does not mean that
someone was the physical son of a prophet. It means that the "prophets"
give the "son" its significance. In this case, it simply means 'another
prophet', or 'someone who has been trained by prophets'.

In our example of BOANHRGHS (_BeNEI ReGAZ), the literal translation may
be "sons of thunder," but the meaning of the appellation is probably
something like "thunderbolts". It purely reflects Hebrew-Aramaic idiom
which has lost a bit of its sheen in translation.

Best to all!
George Athas
 < gathas@mail.usyd.edu.au > Ph: 0414 839 964 (ICQ #5866591)
 (PhD Candidate, University of Sydney)
 (Tutor of Hebrew, Moore Theological College)
(Visit the Tel Dan Inscription Website at)
(http://www-personal.usyd.edu.au/~gathas/teldan.htm)



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