Bartimaeus (Biblical)

Bartimaeus (more accurately "Bar Timaeus", "Son of Timaeus") is the name given in the Gospel of Mark to a blind man healed by Jesus as he exited Jericho (Mark 10:46-52). Matthew (20:29-34) also has the healing after Jericho, but the healing is of "two" blind men, and the name of neither one is given. Luke (18:35-43), who does not provide a name either, disagrees with the other two sources and has the miracle occur when Jesus enters Jericho, instead of when he is leaving. The three miracles could, however, have been separate events.

One justification for these apparent discrepancies is offered by Paula Fredriksen, who believes that Mark was aware that titles such as "Son of David" were applied to Jesus only after the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Therefore, Mark (and Matthew, following Mark) "follows Bartimaeus' proclamation, 'Son of David!' with Jesus' departure for Jerusalem, the long-foreshadowed site of his sufferings." (Fredriksen, "From Jesus to Christ", p. 181)

See also

* Legion (demon). As noted above, Matthew has two blind men instead of one in Jericho, and he does not mention "Bartimaeus" or any other name for either one. Similarly, Matthew has two men, not just one, possessed by a multitude of demons, but omits the name "Legion" altogether. Duplication and anonymity are characteristics of the Matthean versions of both stories.
* The Blind Man of Bethsaida.

References

*Paula Fredriksen, "From Jesus to Christ" (2000), ISBN 0-300-08457-9