Bible Trivia - 5/23/2008

Question: What does Rabboni mean?

Answer: Master. (John 20:16).

Comments: The exact translation of Rabboni is disputed, but most linguists see it as a derivation of Rabbi. Most interpreters assume that it was one of the few instances in which the spoken Aramaic is used in the New Testament. This is evidenced by John translating it for the reader - as teacher (didaskalos). The root, rabbi, does mean "my master" or "my teacher."

Rabbi was a relatively new term during Jesus' life. It developed around the time of a schism which arose between the schools of Hillel and Shammai. The first historical reference we have to the title referred to Gamaliel (Acts 5:34, Acts 22:3), around 30 CE.

"Rabboni" is seen as an elevated form, the greatest designation of all for Jewish teachers. Once the teacher had seen two generations of disciples he was referred to with this title, and also called by his own name so that he would not be forgotten. In his book Rabboni: The Story of Jesus, W. Phillip Keller (b. 1920) says, “This was the loftiest adulation she could confer upon him.”

Freemasons argue that the word is not a bastardization of Aramaic but rather a reference to a "master builder." Freemason Albert Pike (1809-1891) claimed that the term derives from the Hebrew, 'RB BNI': these two words mean the Master of the Builders, or the Master Builder (Albert Pike, The Book of the Words, modern edition, Kessinger Publishing Company, Montana, p. 107.) Given the internal translation in John 20:16, this is highly unlikely.

The title "Rabboni" is used only twice in the New Testament, each time in reference to Jesus. A blind man named Bartimaeus (Mark 10:51) and Mary Magdalene both use the title (John 20:16). Some argue that the word should be rendered "rabbouni." Edwyn Hoskyns (1884-1937), claimed that the similarly spelled word was used in works of the period as a name for God, and hence that Mary was professing that Jesus was divine. Again, given the gospel's own translation, the derivative of "rabbi" is the best interpretation.