[[Simon Peter]]’s patronymic (Mt 16:17). Bar is Aramaic for "son" (compare Bar-timaeus, Bartholomew, etc.), and corresponds to Hebrew ben. Thus we are to understand that Peter’s father’s name was Jonah. But in Joh 1:42; 21:15-17, according to the best reading, his name is given as John (so the [[Revised Version]] (British and American), instead of the [[King James Version]] Jona, Jonas). There are two hypotheses to account for this difference:

(1) Ionas (Jonah) in Mt 16:17 may be simply a contraction of Ioanes (John);

(2) Peter’s father may have been known by two names, Jonah and John.

D. Miall Edwards

Bar-jonah