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I was reading the local paper, and I came across the name of a person and I want to know where the name may have come from.
The name was Philetus.
The name was Philetus.
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In addition to the many lovely sources of specialized nomenclature I have around, I sometimes just punch things into Dictionary.com to see what they can produce. Sometimes the search engine can't find what I want, but it produces good leads for root words or some such. And sometimes it just gives me exactly what I want. This time it is one of the latter.
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:
Name meaning 'amiable'
He with Hymenaeus, at Ephesus, said that the "resurrection was past
already" (2 Tim. 2:17, 18)
Further reading finds that his name meant both 'amiable' and 'beloved.' The phrase "resurrection was past
already" refered to a belief by some Jews in the time of Christ that the 'resurrection' foretold in the Old Testament was allegorical/metaphorical. He was thusly considered a heathen and this name was largely shunned by Christians for some time.
The retaking of 'shunned' names by both Christians and Jews has seen some resurgence in recent times to remove their connotation. This has happened in the past with the name "Jude/Judah/Judas." I would not be surprised to someday see an increase in the usage of "Adolf" among Germans when acceptable.
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:
Name meaning 'amiable'
He with Hymenaeus, at Ephesus, said that the "resurrection was past
already" (2 Tim. 2:17, 18)
Further reading finds that his name meant both 'amiable' and 'beloved.' The phrase "resurrection was past
already" refered to a belief by some Jews in the time of Christ that the 'resurrection' foretold in the Old Testament was allegorical/metaphorical. He was thusly considered a heathen and this name was largely shunned by Christians for some time.
The retaking of 'shunned' names by both Christians and Jews has seen some resurgence in recent times to remove their connotation. This has happened in the past with the name "Jude/Judah/Judas." I would not be surprised to someday see an increase in the usage of "Adolf" among Germans when acceptable.
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...I couldn't find it in any of my name books but I
vaguely remembered it may be Biblical.
According to the section of proper names at the back of
my Bible. It means 'beloved', reference from 2 Timothy 2:17.
Pronounced fil-e-tus accent over second hyphen and since
the New Testament was written in Greek, I would guess that
it is a Greek name.
Roxane
(9.45pm, 01/01/04)
vaguely remembered it may be Biblical.
According to the section of proper names at the back of
my Bible. It means 'beloved', reference from 2 Timothy 2:17.
Pronounced fil-e-tus accent over second hyphen and since
the New Testament was written in Greek, I would guess that
it is a Greek name.
Roxane
(9.45pm, 01/01/04)
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Could it be a variation of Philotheos?
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