I don't have the linguistic skills (we don't even know what language it's in)
I did check that the explaination of translation is in the Greek.
A quick Google for hebrew words for magician gives what I'd naively transliterate as [aibbul, lism, iduni, , Casap and asap] which don't seem to match, but I've probably got half of those wrong anyway.
Wiki suggests related to Arabic (it says derived from, but presumably that would be anachronistic?) for 'wise'. Which at that point to me would suggest a non Persian/zoroastrian but possibly an equivalent from another culture (if favoured the mundane Greek philosophers could also probably amaze, if you favour the sorcerer side then the ability to do tricks is far older)
If that is the case though that's still two cultures (he's clearly Jewish from the Joshua/jesus name, 'false prophet' I'm not sure if that pins him as claiming to be a Jewish prophet or if it includes 'pagan' prophets, and then you have Arabic wise-man/wizard and (indirectly) Persian wise-man/wizard
Alimaath (plural) is pretty much the current Islamic Rabbi analogue (I think the Christian analogue will probably be something like lecturer or otherwise confusing), and while obviously that's a later name and as likely to have changed as Magician, it looks suitably similar. People with appropriate cultural background looking at what is written about the (non Islamic) alimaath of Mohammed's youth, might give something tracable back.
jay_emm. I agree, it probably means wise--even enlightened one. Note at the end of the story, he is not so enlightened anymore. He is blinded.
While we are on the subject of magi, it is interesting to note here in the West we talk about the three magi, while the Eastern tradition says there were 12 magi all together.
Comments
I did check that the explaination of translation is in the Greek.
A quick Google for hebrew words for magician gives what I'd naively transliterate as [aibbul, lism, iduni, , Casap and asap] which don't seem to match, but I've probably got half of those wrong anyway.
Wiki suggests related to Arabic (it says derived from, but presumably that would be anachronistic?) for 'wise'. Which at that point to me would suggest a non Persian/zoroastrian but possibly an equivalent from another culture (if favoured the mundane Greek philosophers could also probably amaze, if you favour the sorcerer side then the ability to do tricks is far older)
If that is the case though that's still two cultures (he's clearly Jewish from the Joshua/jesus name, 'false prophet' I'm not sure if that pins him as claiming to be a Jewish prophet or if it includes 'pagan' prophets, and then you have Arabic wise-man/wizard and (indirectly) Persian wise-man/wizard
Alimaath (plural) is pretty much the current Islamic Rabbi analogue (I think the Christian analogue will probably be something like lecturer or otherwise confusing), and while obviously that's a later name and as likely to have changed as Magician, it looks suitably similar. People with appropriate cultural background looking at what is written about the (non Islamic) alimaath of Mohammed's youth, might give something tracable back.
While we are on the subject of magi, it is interesting to note here in the West we talk about the three magi, while the Eastern tradition says there were 12 magi all together.
As for Elymas’s name, Wikipedia accords with what I remember learning