Nilus of Ancyra→Akakios (correspondent of Nilus of Ancyra)|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To the same person.
You long to know the interpretations of the patriarchs' names. And so I shall tell them to you. Reuben is interpreted "a seeing son"; Simeon, "obedience to God"; Levi, "a joining," that is, one cleaving to God and drawing near to him; Judah, "confession" [also "thanksgiving"]; Issachar, "the reward of the holy ones"; Zebulun, "the setting of the night" [the west]; Joseph, "the Lord's addition"; Benjamin, "son of the right hand"; Dan, "judgment"; Naphtali, "an outstretched stock," that is, prayer; Gad, "easily attaining," that is, one who obtains; Asher, "wealth," or "blessedness."
You long to know the interpretations of the patriarchs' names. And so I shall tell them to you. Reuben is interpreted "a seeing son"; Simeon, "obedience to God"; Levi, "a joining," that is, one cleaving to God and drawing near to him; Judah, "confession" [also "thanksgiving"]; Issachar, "the reward of the holy ones"; Zebulun, "the setting of the night" [the west]; Joseph, "the Lord's addition"; Benjamin, "son of the right hand"; Dan, "judgment"; Naphtali, "an outstretched stock," that is, prayer; Gad, "easily attaining," that is, one who obtains; Asher, "wealth," or "blessedness."
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.