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I want to explore Bible versions and was waiting for an opportunity
to look at various ones, how they treat something preached on while
at the same time not treating some critical doctrinal issue.
The nickname of Barnabas fits the bill, because it is given differently
in the four versions172
in my library, and nobody is going to get
all bent out of joint over it one way or another.
The King James version says, (Acts 4:36-37) "And Joses, who by the
apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The
son of consolation) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having
land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles'
feet." On Bible quiz night if someone is asked who
was The son of consolation, the right answer is
Barnabas. It's in all our (KJV) Bibles, and since the
King James Version uses for the
most part the formulas of Tyndale who himself only polished up Wycliffe's
work, Barnabas as the son of consolation has been named that way,
among all the English speaking people for several hundred years.
Nicknames are, of course, subjective, and we must rely on the people
johnny-on-the-spot to come up with the suitable one to capture the mood.
The real mood of the commune
can only be described subjectively. It is hard to imagine so many
people happy, so full of joy with so few material possessions. The
harmony and fellowship between each member cannot be realized except
by direct observation. --Edward Plowmam, The
Jesus Movement in America173
Now because there's such an impetus any more for really modern
translations, I also have a more modern translation in my library,
the J.B. Phillips NewTestament, which I only use on the rare occasion
that quoting a modern English version rather than the King James has
some benefit. Phillips says, "It was at this time that Barnabas
(the name, meaning son of comfort, given by the apostles to Joseph,
a Levite from Cyprus) sold his farm and put the proceeds at the apostles'
disposal." Barnabas here is given to mean son of comfort rather than
of consolation. My dictionary defines "consolation
1. comfort. 2. a comforting person, thing, or event." So
Phillips gives the same thought with an easier word. If someone
were given a Bible quiz question, Who was the son of comfort?
it would be a harder question, unless he were familiar with Phillips,
but he could probably still get it right as a variation of the long
established name. In fact Phillips' introduction states that
he is translating so that his version has the same effect on the
reader as the first Greek manuscripts did way back when.
Since Barnabas was a single nickname, not several, and since modern
readers are already, and had been for centuries, familiar with the
name son of consolation, Phillips could not give him another name
and expect it to have the same effect; the most he could do was use
a variation.
There's probably little reason in my opinion to quote son of
comfort instead of the more widespread son of consolation;
the latter doesn't seem at all a difficult word. Except, say,
I had a real slow learner to whom I was trying to convey that Barnabas
was a fulfillment of Isaiah 12, "And in that day thou shalt say,
O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine
anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. Behold, God is
my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH
is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore
with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name,
declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is
exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things:
this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant
of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."
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