Early Christian Nicknames

The main reason there are so many nicknames in the New Testament is because there were no family names, and so it made it easier to refer to specific people when “Judah” or “Simeon” would have been vague. But that refers more to “Thomas” (a nickname meaning “twin”) than to his reputation as “doubting” (a label placed on him by the later Christian tradition).

HT to Michael Patton for the cartoon.