Minor lesson
Bartholomew
A name in the lists, often read as Nathanael. No death in Scripture. Later stories do not agree.
September 25, 2026
Bartholomew is in every list of the twelve and nowhere else as a story. The name means son of Talmai. He is paired with Philip in the synoptic lists, which is one reason read him as Nathanael, the man Philip brings in John (). Nathanael is from Cana (). He is at the sea when the risen Jesus meets them. If Bartholomew and Nathanael are the same man, that is what tells. If they are not, then Bartholomew is a name and Nathanael is a man John knows who is not otherwise in the twelve. The usual reading is that they are one. It is not printed as an equation in the text.
No book carries the name Bartholomew or the name Nathanael as author.
The New Testament does not tell his death. Later stories send him to India, or to Armenia, and they do not agree about how he died. A flaying shows up in art. It is not a verse. This lesson will not pick a country for him.
This is a deeper teaching under The Apostles. Its home is Sermons and Series.