Over 2000 years ago my great great great great great great great ancestors traveled from the Far East to see the King of kings in His manger, according to Western church tradition, Balthasar is often represented as a king of Arabia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Gaspar as a king of India.(Caspar or also Gaspar, Jaspar, Jaspas, Gathaspa,and other variations) The name Casper and the same sounding name Kasper are derived from Gaspar which in turn is from an ancient Chaldean word, Gizbar, which according to Strongs Concordance means Treasurer. The name Casper and the same sounding name Kasper are derived from Gaspar which in turn is from an ancient Chaldean word, Gizbar, which according to Strongs Concordance means Treasurer. The word Gizbar appears in the Hebrew version of the Old Testament Book of Ezra (1:8). In fact, the modern Hebrew word for Treasurer is still Gizbar. By the 1st century B.C. the Septuagint gave a Greek translation of Gizbar in Ezra 1:8 as Gasbarinou. There are numerous modern variations such as Gaspar (Spanish and Portuguese), Gaspare (Italian), Gaspard (French), Kaspar (German and Dutch), Casper (English), Kacper (Polish), Kasperi (Finnish), Kasper (Danish), Gáspár (Hungarian),and Kaspars (Latvian). By the 6th century, the name Gaspar was recorded in mosaic at the Basilica of SantApollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy as one of the traditional names assigned to the anonymous Magi mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew account of the Nativity of Jesus. As a surname, Gaspar survives today in Spanish, Portuguese and French, although the latter adds a silent d.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 02:10:31 +0000