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BOANERGES.—In Mar_3:17 we read that Christ ‘gave to James and John name(s) Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder’ ( êáὶ ἐðÝèçêåí áὐôïῖò ὄíïìá [v.l. ὀíüìáôá ] ÂïáíçñãÝò , ὅ ἐóôéí õἱïὶ âñïíôῆò ).* [Note: The MSS give: âïáíçñãåò à AB, etc., âïáíåñãçò D, âïáíåñãåò EF, etc.] The equation Boanerges = ‘sons of thunder’ presents two difficulties: (a) the Hebrew áִּðַé does not naturally give rise to the two vowels ïá ; (b) no known Hebrew or Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] root rgs or rgsh has the meaning ‘thunder.’ A third difficulty might be added, that the title Boanerges, whatever its meaning, does not accurately correspond to ὀíïìá ( ôá ), ‘name(s).† [Note: ὁõïõáôá is read by à AC, etc., ὀíïìá is the reading of BD.] If the Evangelist be right in saying that the original title meant ‘sons of thunder,’ we must suppose that Âïáíç or Âïáíå is due to inaccurate transliteration of áִּðִé , or to a conflation of two readings with a single vowel (see Dalm. Gram.2 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred] p. 144). But the difficulty as to ñãåò = âñïíôÞ remains. Jerome (on Dan_1:7) thought that Boanerges should be emended into Benereem = áִּðִé øֽòִñ . In that case the s is a mistake on the part of the Evangelist or his copyists for m. Others prefer to think that the original title was áִּðִé øְðַæ = ‘sons of wrath,’ or áְּðַé øְðַùׁ = ‘sons of tumult,’ and that õἱïὶ âñïíôῆò is an inaccurate translation on the part of the Evangelist. The Syriac Version (Sinaiticus) unfortunately gives us no assistance. It transliterates Bĕ Ragsh or Ragshi, and omits the explanation ὅ ἐóôéí õἱïὶ âñïíôῆò (see Burkitt, Evangelion da-Mepharreshe, i. 181, ii. 280). It is possible, however, that the corruption lies deeper than this. Just as Dalmanutha (Mar_8:10) is probably a corruption of an Aramaic proper name (see Burkitt, ii. 249), so Boanerges may be a fusion of two names answering to the ὀíüìáôá . In that case the Evangelist, misreading or mishearing his Aramaic original, has fused two names into one, and has tried to give a rough translation of the word thus formed. The first name might be áַðּé (Banni), áַðַּé (Bannai), or áּ֖ðּé (Bunnai). Curiously enough, the Babylonian Talmud gives Bani as the name of one of the disciples of Jesus (Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] Sanh. 43a). For the second name we offer no conjecture. See, further, John, James.
Literature.—Encyc. Bibl. art. ‘Boanerges’; Expositor, iii. x. [1889] 332 ff.
W. C. Allen.