James or Jacob in the Bible?
Giving Jacob his due
Baroque artist Guido Reni depicts the apostle James, son of Zebedee, in his painting Saint James the Greater (c. 1636–1638).
The problem of names surfaced at a Bible study at the St. Paul Union Church in Antalya, Turkey. Pastor Dennis Massaro was discussing the three men named “James” in the New Testament: Two were apostles, and the third was the leader of the Jerusalem church and author of the eponymous letter—the Book of James. Participants in the study came from a range of countries, including the Netherlands, Iran, Mexico, Moldova and Cameroon. When I asked what the name of these men was in their languages, they all said “Jacob.”
When I was teaching a course on the New Testament General Letters (Hebrews through Jude), I began by introducing the Book of Jacob, also known as the Book of James. Students were perplexed until they learned that Jacob is the proper translation of the Greek name Iakōbos. One student wrote later that knowing this “turned my understanding of the writing upside down.” Another observed that “with the name change, the loss of the Jewish lineage occurs.”
So how did the Jewish name Ya’akov become so Gentilized as James? Since the 13th century, the form of the Latin name Iacomus began its use in English. In the 14th century, John Wycliffe made the first Bible translation into English and translated Iakobus as James. (However, in both the Old and New Testaments he arbitrarily used the name Jacob for the patriarch). In all future English translations the name stuck, especially after 1611, when King James I sponsored the translation then called the Authorized Version. Since 1797 it has been called the King James Bible.
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So what is lost by using James instead of Jacob? First, it has created an awkwardness in academic writing. Scholars providing a transliteration of James indicate Iakōbos, which even lay readers know is not the same. Hershel Shanks has noted that the reason Israeli scholars failed to understand the significance of the eponymous ossuary is that they didn’t connect James with Ya’akov.1
Second, James’s ancestral lineage is lost, as the student noted above. In Matthew’s genealogy, we learn that Joseph’s father was named Jacob (Matthew 1:16) and that his family tree included the patriarch Jacob (Matthew 1:2). James was thus named after his grandfather. As Ben Witherington writes, “It is clear that the family of ‘James’ was proud of its patriarchal heritage.”2 So Jacob was the third Jacob in the family.
Third, James’s Jewish cultural background is minimized. Tal Ilan identifies Jacob as the 15th most popular name in Palestine in antiquity, with 18 known persons carrying it.3 Including both the Eastern and Western Diasporas, Jacob was the third most popular Jewish name, with 74 occurrences.
Fourth, the Jewish literary heritage is muddled. The Book of Jacob (i.e., the Book of James) is addressed to “the twelve tribes in the diaspora” (James 1:1) and full of references and allusions to the Torah and Wisdom Literature of the Jewish Bible (Christians’ Old Testament). Scholars consider James the most “Jewish” book in the New Testament. Its genre is considered to be a diaspora letter like Jeremiah 29:1–23 and the apocryphal works The Epistle of Jeremiah, 2 Maccabees 1:1–2:18, and 2 Apocalypse of Baruch 78–86.
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For these reasons, changing English translations of James to Jacob makes a lot of sense. In my lifetime we have adapted to a number of name changes: Bombay to Mumbai, Peking to Beijing, Burma to Myanmar, and Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. These changes were soon incorporated by the media as well as in subsequent editions of geographical and historical books. Making such an onomastic adjustment need not be too difficult in religious circles, either.
But can such a switch be made practically? Biblical scholars and publishers would need to agree that continued use of “James” is linguistically indefensible and culturally misleading. Most difficult to change would be Bible translations, which are very conservative. To start, a footnote could denote that James is really Jacob. And while we’re at it, let’s rehabilitate Jacob as the name of two of Jesus’ disciples/apostles. These connections, now lost only for English readers, were caught by Greek-speaking audiences as well as modern readers of translations in most other languages. Let’s give Jacob his due.
Mark Wilson is the director of the Asia Minor Research Center in Antalya, Turkey, and is a popular teacher on BAS Travel/Study tours. Mark received his doctorate in Biblical studies from the University of South Africa (Pretoria), where he serves as a research fellow in Biblical archaeology. He is currently Associate Professor Extraordinary of New Testament at Stellenbosch University. He leads field studies in Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean for university, seminary and church groups. He is the author of Biblical Turkey: A Guide to the Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia Minor and Victory through the Lamb: A Guide to Revelation in Plain Language. He is a frequent lecturer at BAS’s Bible Fests.
Notes
1. Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III, The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2003), p. 28.
2. Shanks and Witherington III, Brother of Jesus, p. 97.
3. Ṭal Ilan, Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity. Part IV: The Eastern Diaspora 330 BCE–650 CE (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011).
This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on April 27, 2017.
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Is the “Brother of Jesus” Inscription on the James Ossuary a Forgery?
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How about restoring the transliterated Hebrew name of Jesus (Yeshua or Yehoshu’a)? The Gentilized version of His name would be unrecognizable by Yeshua Himself nor by His family and disciples. Similarly to James/Jacob the underlying intent seems to be to obscure their Jewishness.
Agree with Genna in principle, but realize the greater implications of this (there are already several translations that transliterate and contextualize the NT to a Hebraic/Jewish context). Greek has a harder time with Yeshua, compared to Ya’ akov; though their need to add an “s” to the end of most male names is an issue with both. All translations should include a host of footnotes in the text for such things, but since there is so much context needed (mikveh/baptism, semitic idioms etc.) who would determine what is context and what is meant for reader interpretation…..
I wonder my self for years I’ve known Jacob was translated James. On day I was researching this Simon who took over after the death of James. Why did he disappear? Then I pulled up Simon Bar Jacob, Also known as Simon Bar Kockba who led the last Jewish revolt. Also the mysterious Desposyni resided in the Jewish town Kockba……..??????
Of related linguistic interest:
Why is James called Santiago?
Santiago, (also San Iago, San Tiago, Santyago, Sant-Yago, San Thiago) is a Spanish name that derives from the Hebrew name Jacob (Ya’akov) via “Sant Iago,” “Sant Yago,” “Santo Iago,” or “Santo Yago,” first used to denote Saint James the Great, the brother of John the Apostle.Dec 12, 2013. Similarly, Diego corresponds freque ntly to James.
I have long been an advocate for Iakōbos or Jacob in English texts. But the public would probably struggle to pronounce Iakōbos, and find Jacob much more acceptable.
As for Iesus, or Yeshua, I think “Jesus” is so firmly entrenched that it would never be replaced in English.
My preference would be to have a Bible version that used the original Hebrew and Greek names for people, places. and the various names of God (Elohim, El, El Elyon, YHWH, etc., as well as the compound names for God (YHWH Tsidkenu, etc.).
The Eth Cepher bible has restored all Hebrew names and locations to the original. It is quite an eye opener.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible and the Hebrew Roots Bible has restored all Hebrew names and locations to the original, as well.
Hi Genna. The actual proper translation of Yeshua would be Joshua in English.
An equally symbolic name since Yoshua/Joshua was the one who led the exiled Israelites (Jacob’s new name after God’s covenant with him) to the Promised land.
As the Israelites wandered 40 years in a circle missing the mark, it was their due since they refused to believe and even sought to suppress. Isn’t it so interesting that Yeshua/Joshua began is ministry with 40 days of fasting and ended it with 40 days on the earth after his resurrection before he ascended back to the spiritual dimension of where the Godhead dwells?
There is a new Bible coming out called the Prophecy Bible. It will correct the intentional Gentilization of the scriptures by the Romanized church and give special reference to all the prophesies in the Old Testament/Jewish Bible that relate to Yeshua.
There are NO prophesies in the Hebrew bible related to or referring to jesus
Isaiah 53, perhaps?
Or….You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life. (John 5:39-40)
No, it wouldn’t – not at least from the Hebrew. “yeshu’a” does come from “yhosu’a”, but it would miss the inner evolution of the name. Going even further, the term by which Jesus was most likely known was the form of endearment (Rahmani, 1994) “yshu”, as reflected in the Talmud and the Even Bohan.
But, but, how did Iacobus become Iacomus??? That seems to be the source of the change from Jacob -> James, but is not addressed at all.
/b/ and /m/ are two bilabial occlusive consonants. In other words, their articulation point is very close. Confusion between both is a common phenomenon
In my forthcoming novel, Second Born, I attempted to use Jacob and Joshua as the brothers’ name, but it got too confusing for many lay readers. Since the story already emphasizes their Jewish heritage, I opted for the anglicized names to remove that barrier to readers’ understanding.
Another linguistic note: referring to King James I or II of England are the terms Jacobean or Jacobite
I love this article. I was thinking to use Jacob in my Cebuano (a major dialect in the Philippines) translation but I found that I was the only one who thought about it until this time. Thank you for enlightening and strengthening my conviction concerning this matter. Edison Gon Ocay