Those who don’t know Hebrew might not know that “Y” and “J” in these transliterated names represent the same Hebrew letter Yod, the first letter in YHWH.
The Hebrew name for Jesus is Yeshua or Joshua.
“Yeshua” is equivalent to “Joshua,” a short
form of “Yehoshua” or “Jehoshua”; all these mean “Yehovah [Jehovah] is
salvation” or “Yehovah [Jehovah] saves”.
The explanation given in Matthew 1:21: “because he will save
his people from their sins” - now makes sense. In Joshua and through Yeshua,
Yehovah [Jehovah] will save His people.
Now the question arises: Where is Yehovah’s [Jehovah’s]
name mentioned in the New Testament? The name Yehovah [Jeshovah] appears in
every instance where the name “Jesus” – Yeshua [Joshua] is found in the N.T.!
Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yeshua (i.e.,
Joshua). The first syllable of Yeshua [Joshua] – “Ye” is a common short form of
Yehovah [Jehovah] when it is embedded in proper names.
Yahweh’s [Jehovah’s] prominence in the New Testament lies
not only in the fact that His name is embedded in Jesus’ name (which means
“Yehovah [Jeshovah] saves”), but also in the amazing revelation that Yehovah
[Jehovah] Himself, the one and only God, came into the world to dwell in Jesus,
the temple of God.
Notice: The name of Jesus in Greek is Ἰησοῦς
(transliterated as Iēsoûs or Iesous, pronounced [i.iˈsus] in
modern Greek and approximately "Yay-soos" or "Yee-soos" in
ancient Greek).
It is a transliteration of the Hebrew name Yeshua
(Joshua), adapted for Greek pronunciation by removing the "sh" sound
and adding an "-s" to the end to conform with Greek grammar.
Key Details About "Iesous" (Ἰησοῦς):
- Origin:
The name stems from the Hebrew/Aramaic Yeshua (ישוע), which is a
shortened form of Yehoshua (Joshua).
- Meaning:
Like Joshua, the name Iesous means "Yehovah (the LORD) is
salvation".
- Usage:
Iesous is used throughout the New Testament (written in Greek) and
was also used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) to refer to
Joshua, the son of Nun.
- Pronunciation:
In Koine Greek (the language of the New Testament), the pronunciation was
likely closer to Yay-soos or Yee-soos, not the modern
English pronunciation "Jesus".
