Who is Yeshua?

Author: Joseph

Date: April 15, 2018

Why is the name “Jesus” used?

The most common name we know the Messiah by is “Jesus.” This is taken from the Greek form of His name, “Ἰησοῦς” (pronounced “Yā-sūs” / “Yay-soos”) which appears in the Greek manuscripts used for modern bibles. When the Greek name is written in English, it appears as “Iesous.” This name looks more familiar to the English reader. To make the name appear and sound more English, a “J” is now used instead of an “I,” and the “o” is taken out to simplify the sound when reading. Hence, the name “Jesus” was created for the English reader’s convenience. “Jesus” is a fairly new title.

What was the name that Joseph and Mary called the Messiah?

Joseph and Mary lived in the Roman Empire, however, the spoken language of people varied depending on the region. At the crucifixion site, the accusation against the Messiah is written in “Aramaic, Latin, and Greek” (John 19:20, ESV) to accommodate for the crowd of various backgrounds. The local language of the Judeans, and therefore Joseph and Mary, was Aramaic. In Aramaic, the name of the Messiah is “Yeshua” (pronounced “Yĕ-shū-ə” / “Yeh-shoo-uh”).

Why does it matter?

As followers of Yeshua, we want to clarify our understanding of Scripture so that we better understand God and His works. We want to keep the Scriptures meaningful by being faithful to the original languages. Does this mean we all have to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek? No, it does not. But what it does mean is that we can seek to get as close as possible to the original language in a way that still maintains readability and understanding. By using the name “Yeshua” we return to the context that the Messiah lived in and therefore return our minds to understanding Scripture within context as well.

We use the name “Yeshua” to bring us back into context and help our understanding of Scripture.

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