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Bar (Aramaic)

Bar is the New Testament Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew word ben meaning son of.

Both bar and ben are prefixed to names, thus Peter is called Bar-jonah in Matthew 16:17 and possibly Nathanael is called Bartholomew because he is the son of Tolmai. The titles can also be figurative, for example in Acts 4:36-37 Joseph is called Barnabas meaning son of consolation.