Jacob and James

[Haihao]

Hi,

Just a trifle but could anyone tell me why Jacob was translated into James in English?

Thank you!

Haihao

[MrPedantic]

Hello Haihao,

This is I think the usual story:

1. Ya'akob (Hebrew)
2. Jacobus (Latin)
3. *Jacomus (transitional Romance form; but only posited, not found)
4. Jaume/Jacme (Provençal, Catalan)
5. James (Old French), Jaime (Spanish)

Italian "Giacomo" keeps the "c", but changes "b" to "m" (which may possibly be the grounds for #3).

Best wishes,

MrP

[Haihao]

Crystalclear & more! Thank you!

[Jamie (K)]

You should notice that the Jacob in the Old Testament is still called Jacob, and he is also called Jacob in French.

The two Jacobs in the New Testament are called James. In French they're called Jacques.

So there's still the mystery of why one is called Jacob and the other two are called James. I don't know the answer.

[Haihao]

O that's right. The Apostle Jacob and Jesus' brother Jacob are both called James but Jacob the son of Isaac remains Jacob. I don't know the answer either.

[MrPedantic]

That's a good point. In the Greek NT, the Jameses are presented as "Iakobos"; perhaps the translators wanted to make a clear distinction.