17⌄ James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”),

Mark 3:17
  • Location: Galilee
  • Subject: Jesus Anointed
  • Narrator: Mars
  • Author: Eusebius of Caesarea
  • Created: Nicean Christianity

Here, two more of the explicitly named disciples are pronounced as Apostles. This time it’s the Zebedee brothers, James and John. They are given another name here: Boanerges (Βοανηργές), which is said to mean ‘Sons of Thunder’.

In Hebrew, the last part of the new name Boanerges is רֵנֶשׁ, and this meant “a tumultuous crowd”, a Syrian figure of speech for thunder. We could draw a number of conclusions: either it is being said that they are loud or noisy, or they are representative of a noisy crowd; or it could imply that they are impotent, a flash in the pan, even if loud; perhaps it is a compliment to their ability to raise or rouse a noisy crowd.