
"I understand it has been custom to call Our Lord Jesus Christ, just that, Jesus . A Latin translation of a Greek translation of a Hebrew or Aramaic translation.
I also understand that the Lord accepts our love and devotion no matter whether we say His name correctly( as I would answer a friend if he spoke to me though addressed me by a different name) But I can not help but wonder and be intrigued about this matter regarding the name of Our Lord. Names are usually in a category themselves apart from the language they are surrounded by. There are many names I can think of that do not change through the course of history though used by various cultures, so why the name and (pronunciation and spelling) of Our Beloved Savior Lord Jesus (Yeshua) Christ?
I noticed in your part about
names, you give the name of St. Paul as it was
originally but not the name
of Our Lord Jesus (Yeshua) as it would have been
given Him by His Mother Mary
(Miriam).
And taking a similar stance as you do regarding the possible cultic misinterpretation of the Cross, I wonder if perhaps there is not some sort of cultic misinterpretation of the name of Our Lord who is God. I have heard in the past that the Lords' name being Latinized has to do with some pagan deities of hurricanes or tornadoes.
As I think this is even more
puzzling a matter considering the importance our
Jewish ancestors placed in
reciting the Holy Name YHWH . The name is so
holy that it is no longer
pronounced as such. Over time the priestly class became
less, and less, qualified
to pronounce it correctly, and rather than mispronounce the Lords' name,
the priests abandoned reciting the Holy Name so as not to profane it.
So I guess I am just curious
why you don't use the name Yeshua, what you think the reason for the name
Jesus, and do you think if the original name of Our Saviour is propagated
in a practical manner, (realizing that people have called on the name Jesus
and have known Our Lord personally for quite some time now) that it could
have any benefits (besides that of calling the Lord by His
rightful name?). Perhaps
His name can be a means of drawing people into the
life of faith in Christ.
Because we live in a very scientific age, everyone (including myself )likes
the facts. So perhaps this could be something like the Shroud of Turin,
a means of evangelization and perhaps a wonderful means of praising Jesus."
This believer is under several misconceptions, but so are many others who write me. First, YHWH is only one of the many names of God used in Scripture (see our Systematic Theology for many of these names). YHWH was considered to be the holiest name of God by the Scribes, as it was the one that God originally gave to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3.14, translated I AM). The Scribes had a special pen they used to write this name, the only use for that pen. Yet God no where in Scripture places this name in a place of higher importance over His other names, nor did He tell the Scribes to use a special pen to write that name. This was enacted due to superstition, not due to truth.
The names that God placed on Himself were given to man to help us understand more about Him. Each name shows or highlights a particular aspect of God's character and power. I have had people write me about G_d, omitting the o, for they feel to write this name is to be sacrilegious. Again, we are no where enjoined in the Scripture that writing God's names or titles blasphemes Him. On the contrary, there is power in God's names, the power to know Him.
As to the belief that Jesus is a Latin
translation of a Greek translation of a Hebrew or Aramaic translation,
this is not true. The angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph told him:
| Matthew 1:21-23 "And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall
save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold,
a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall
call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
|
The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary mentions that the name Jesus is "from the Hebrew meaning 'Jehovah the Savior' "(JFB page 882). More specifically, IESOUS has a parallel in the Hebrew language which is YeHOWSHUWA or YeHOWSHUA {Strong's Exhaustive Concordance #3091} or YESHUWA {Strong's Exhaustive Concordance #3442}, which is translated into English not as Yeshua, but as Joshua. So you could, I guess, call Jesus by the name of Joshua, as it is the Hebrew counterpart or parallel to the Greek IESOUS or Jesus. But this is indeed a stretch, for the New Testament writings were written in Koine Greek, not in Hebrew.
The Jews had been in captivity for so long that, by the time of Christ, very few understood the Hebrew that their Bible (our Old Testament) was written in. Because of this the elders of Israel commissioned a translation team to render the Hebrew Texts into Greek. This "Greek Old Testament" was called the Septuagint. The Septuagint was written in Koine Greek, just like the New Testament writings. When I look up Moses' command to Joshua (Exodus 17.9) in the Septuagint, I see that the name Joshua is the Greek IESOI, an inflected form of IESOUS or Jesus. In Exodus 17.10 I see that Joshua is rendered in the Septuagint, directly, as IESOUS or Jesus. In Ezra 2.36 the name Joshua is again translated, in the Greek, as IESOUS or Jesus. Purchase an interlinear Septuagint yourself and see for yourself: in every instance in the Septuagint, Joshua is rendered literally as IESOUS {a good copy can be purchased from Zondervan Publishing House, Library of Congress Catalogue Number 70-106440}.
What does this all prove? It proves that, in the language
of the people of Jesus' day, Jesus was given the Greek name of
IESOUS. When people called His name they called Him IESOUS. Though this
is a parallel to the Hebrew YeHOWSHUWA or YeHOWSHUA {Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance #3091} or YESHUWA {Strong's Exhaustive Concordance #3442},
this was not what He was called by family, friends, or the early
Church if the New Testament account is reliable (and I believe it is).
Of the 973 times Jesus' name is used in the Greek New Testament in 935
verses, in each instance the original text uses some form
of IESOUS translated Jesus.
| Luke 1:28-31 " And the
angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she
saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner
of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
|
So, should we call Jesus:
God Bless you all!
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