Bartholomew and Nathanael

[Dan_Defender]

An acquaintance of mine told me that Anglicans believe that Bartholomew and Nathanael are the same person. He asked if the Catholic Church agrees. I told him that as far as I know, there is no Church position on the matter. Do you know differently?

He asked if there is no position, what is my personal opinion? I said to me they are different people, for the simple reason that only the gospel of St John mentions Nathanael, and He, having read the Synoptic Gospels, would have let us know they were the same if that was the case.

 

[Beryllos]

Could be.

 

[Fauken]

Do you know differently?

I’m pretty sure Bartholomew and Nathaniel are the same people.

 

[BartholomewB]

In his book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham reaches the conclusion, on linguistic grounds, that they were probably two different people, although that would mean, of course, that there were thirteen named disciples, not twelve.

https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Eyewit...p_28:eyewitnesses&s=books&sr=1-1&unfiltered=1

 

[Nita]

The online Catholic Encyclopedia says Nathaniel and Bartholomew are generally believed to be the same person and gives the reasons why. It’s a short article and you can read it here. Finding out that Bartholomew is a family designation —Bar-Tolmai (son of Tolmai) – and not a personal name was especially meaningful for me.

Note that in the gospels it was not unusual for someone to be known by different names:
Matthew was also called Levi (compare Matthew 9:9 and Luke 5:27 )
Thaddeus and Judas (not the Iscariot) are also believed to be the same person.

 

[Dan_Defender]

Mmm without having read the book, why would he conclude that? I mean, Nathanael could have been a disciple not an Apostle. The gospel of John does not say he was an Apostle.

 

[Dan_Defender]

I saw the article and I can understand the reasons. However, it is generally believed that St John knew and had read the synoptic gospels, so knowing the list of Apostles from there, it would seem to me he would point out it was the same person if in fact it was.

 

[Nita]

Not necessarily. Consider that Mark and Luke both identify the tax collector as Levi when he is called by Jesus. Later they call him Matthew when they list the apostles without ever stating that Matthew & Levi were the same person.
(Matthew identifies himself as Matthew in both instances.Mt. 9:9 and 10:3 )

 

[po18guy]

From the Catholic Dictionary (Fr. John Hardon, S.J.†)

BARTHOLOMEW. One of the twelve Apostles mentioned each of the four times they are listed in the New Testament (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). Otherwise his name does not appear. Writers speculate that he may be the Nathanael discussed in John’s Gospel (John 1:45-48), but there is no definite proof. (Etym. Greek bartholomaios , from Aramaic bar talmai , son of Tolmai.)

NATHANAEL. Another name for Bartholomew. Each time the Apostles are listed in the Gospels, Philip and Bartholomew are grouped together. It was Philip who brought Nathanael to see Jesus for the first time. Despite an initial skepticism, he was instantly impressed by Jesus’ superhuman knowledge and became a follower (John 1:45-51). The only other reference to Nathanael was on the occasion of Jesus’ appearance after his resurrection on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, now known as the Lake of Tiberias, when a group of the Apostles, led by Peter and including Nathanael, went fishing (John 21:1-3). See BARTHOLOMEW.