John and Jonathan

Here’s something I learned today. Maybe everyone else knew this already, but it was a shocker for me.

All my life, I had assumed that John was a shortening of Jonathan. Nope! They’re completely separate names. Jonathan is a son of King Saul in the Old Testament, whereas John is, of course, the name of at least two prominent figures in the New Testament, and is not really a shortening of any modern name.

I won’t say the names are unrelated. They’re both ultimately Hebrew, and both involve Yahweh in their meanings (John = Yochanan = “Yahweh is gracious,” Jonathan = Yonatan = “Yahweh has given”). So the roots are rather similar. But John is not a short form of Jonathan, at least not etymologically speaking.

This news was a real revelation for me. Get it? Because…because the Book of Revelation…? Was written by…no? Okay, I’m leaving.

Have a good weekend.