Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
(father Jove). Supreme god of Greeks and Romans (Acts 14:12; 19:35).
Concise Bible Dictionary:
Supreme god of Greece and Rome, though the religious ideas of the two nations differed considerably. At Lystra the heathen inhabitants supposed Jupiter was impersonated by Barnabas, and at Ephesus they professed that the image of Diana had fallen from Jupiter, or heaven (Acts 14:12-13; Acts 19:35).
Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:
Meaning:
of uncertain affinity; in the oblique cases there is used instead of it a (probably cognate) name Δίς (deece), which is otherwise obsolete Zeus or Dis (among the Latins, Jupiter or Jove), the supreme deity of the Greeks
Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:
through (with the idea of first cause)
Potts’ Bible Proper Names:
Father Jove:―chief god among the ancient Romans, Acts 14:12. {Iuppiter}
From Manners and Customs of the Bible:
Acts 14:12. They called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
Jupiter, called Ζεύς by the Greeks, was the supreme head of all the heathen divinities. He had a temple at Lystra. Mercury, called Ερμῆς by the Greeks, was a son of Jupiter, and the herald or messenger of all the gods. Hence he was the god of eloquence. These two deities were supposed to travel together. Thus the people, having decided that Paul, by reason of his eloquence, must be Mercury, inferred that his traveling companion was Jupiter. This renders unnecessary the suggestion of Chrysostom, that Barnabas was probably of more majestic mien than Paul, and therefore was thought to be Jupiter.
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