In the New Testament there are no fewer than three people called Justus (which is Latin for

"Just"):

Joseph-Justus-Barsabbas (Acts 1:23)

Titius-Justus (Acts 18:7)

Jesus-Justus (Col. 4.11)

We also have James "the Just". (Tsadok?).

The Lexicon of Jewish Personal Names, by Tal Ilan, records 4 non-Christian Palestinian Jew

who were called Justus.

Some have suggested that the name was given to people in adult life because of their

righteousness. For example, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (p. 1134) discusses the name

"Justus" and writes,

"This epithet, implying obedience and devotion to the Jewish Law, was perhaps given to him

(Joseph-Barsabbas) by other Jews."

This view seems to be supported by the cases of James the Just and Simon the Just.

Richard Bauckham, on the other hand, believes that the name was used by Jews as an

equivalent to the name "Joseph", and suggests that the sound of the name was what

recommended it.(1) Bauckham notes that one of Josephus's sons was called Justus and was

almost certainly named after him. The case of Jesus-Justus supports the view that the sound

was important, but also shows that there was not a one-to-one correspondence between the

names "Joseph" and "Justus".

However, the two views are not actually mutually exclusive. A name could be given both for its

meaning and for its sound. Such is the case in the cases of Bar Kokhba, for example. It is

difficult to determine whether the name "Justus" was given to Titius Justus and to Joseph

(Barsabbas) because of its sound or because of its meaning, or both. However, it is intriguing

to note that both these men seem to have received new names (Stephanas and Barsabbas)

after becoming Christians, as did James the Just. This may be no coincidence, for a man

might be born with one name and then, in adult life, be given the name/epithet "Justus" by his

fellow Jews or by the synagogue community because of his religious devotion. If he then

became a Christ-believer, this same zeal might then earn him a third name from his

fellow-Christians.

(1) R. Bauckham "Paul and other Jews with Latin Names" in "Paul, Luke and the

Graeco-Roman World (JSNT sup. 217) p210-214.

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