All these were Khaldhaye, that is to say Ancient Syrians, according to the tradition of the early writers. And because the greater number of [these] writers were Greeks, they changed the sounds of the Chaldean names and did not pronounce them as they were pronounced in Chaldean fashion. For behold, also, in the case of ‘NOH‘ (NOAH), which is a pure Syrian name, and is derived from nawha, yet they (i.e. the Greeks) call it ‘NOACHOS‘. And it is not only the ancient [writers] who do this, but people who are living in our own days are in the habit of changing the pronunciation [of words], thus YA’KOB, which [is derived] from ‘Ekbha is called ‘AIAKOBHOS’, and BAR-SAWMA they call ‘SOMOS’; and many others.
(Chronography by Bar Hebraeus, translated from Syriac by Ernest A. Wallis Budge)
This passage highlights how Greek writers adapted or altered the pronunciation of names from other languages, particularly Chaldean (Syriac/Aramaic), to fit Greek phonetics. Bar Hebraeus, a 13th-century Syriac scholar, criticizes this tendency, noting that names like “Noah” (from the Syriac word “nawha”) became “Noachos” in Greek. Similarly, the Syriac name “Ya’kob” (Jacob) becomes “Iakobos” in Greek, and “Bar-Sawma” is rendered as “Somos.”
Bar Hebraeus emphasizes that this practice was not limited to ancient times but continued in his own day, underscoring how linguistic adaptation often leads to changes in the way names and words from one culture are represented in another. This is a common phenomenon in the transmission of names and terms across languages and cultures, particularly when different scripts or sound systems are involved.