Nomen est omen:: Why the crucified Jesus was mocked also under reference to his name

In Greco-Roman and Jewish antiquity a so-called nomen est omen principle existed. It played an important role in the mocking of individuals. This article demonstrates that the crucified Jesus might have been mocked because the (messianic) meaning of his name, i.e. "Yahweh saves," was perceived as a stark contrast to his desolate situation on the cross. The main arguments for this new view are the observations that according to (a) the synoptic crucifixion reports the verb sigma omega zeta omega (=) is repeatedly used by Jesus' mockers; and (b) in Mt 27:43 the scribes and Pharisees use a combination of theta epsilon oE6; and o[tat (cf. LXX Ps 21:9) to mock the crucified Jesus. Thus, the mocking words come very close to the meaning and/or sound of Jesus' name.