How did the name of Jesus come about?

  • Thread starter Thread starter future_deacon
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
F

future_deacon

Guest
I am wondering how the name of Jesus really came about. It’s confusing because if you look at the etymology, his name in Hebrew is Yeshua which is more like the variant Joshua.

Jesus comes from the latin Iesus and there are also several variants like Jesús in Spanish yet the name of Jesus is highly respected in most countries and is banned.

To confuse matters further in the Bible it says the child should be called Emmanuel.
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,”which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23

How did the name come about? Why is he Jesus and not another name?
 
I am wondering how the name of Jesus really came about. It’s confusing because if you look at the etymology, his name in Hebrew is Yeshua which is more like the variant Joshua.

Jesus comes from the latin Iesus and there are also several variants like Jesús in Spanish yet the name of Jesus is highly respected in most countries and is banned.

To confuse matters further in the Bible it says the child should be called Emmanuel.
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,”which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23

How did the name come about? Why is he Jesus and not another name?
See also:

Mat 1:21 - She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,* because he will save his people from their sins.”

and

Mat 1:25 - He had no relations with her until she bore a son,* and he named him Jesus.

Jesus - Strong’s #2424 (Iēsous)

Peace!!!
 
Thanks for the clarification of scripture, but it still doesn’t answer the rest of the question.
 
I am wondering how the name of Jesus really came about. It’s confusing because if you look at the etymology, his name in Hebrew is Yeshua which is more like the variant Joshua.

Jesus comes from the latin Iesus and there are also several variants like Jesús in Spanish yet the name of Jesus is highly respected in most countries and is banned.

To confuse matters further in the Bible it says the child should be called Emmanuel.
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,”which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23

How did the name come about? Why is he Jesus and not another name?
I think you’ve already answered your own question, quite well.

“Jesus” is the equivalent of “Joshua” and is a Latin rendering of the Hebrew “Yeshua.” I believe the full name of “Jesus (the) Christ” was “Yeshua ben Joseph” (Yeshua, son of Joseph).

Arabic and Hebrew being related Semitic languages, the “ben” in Yeshua ben Joseph is linguistically the equivalent of the “bin” in Osama bin Laden (not making any connection there, of course 🙂 ).

In Spanish cultures, it is obvious that the name Jésus is socially acceptable and is considered an expression of piety, just as naming a child “Maria” is considered an expression of piety.

But I think it’s no secret that there have been many other individuals named Jesus – or Joshua, or Yeshua – throughout history, so there was never the sense that the name “Yeshua” was the exclusive property of Jesus alone.

“the Christ” – on the other hand –is considered an exclusive designation, and I believe it’s the Greek rendering of “Messiah” (literally, the “Annointed One”).

The phrase “he shall be called Emmanuel” (“God is with us”) could be considered reference to another title – like “the Christ” – rather than a proper name. It perhaps confuses the matter that Immanuel is a Christian name (e.g., Immanuel Kant), presumably derived from this line in the Bible.
 
Why not ask one of your Professors @ Seminary?
I’m actually a future candidate for the Permanent Diaconate not the priesthood. All other names I thought of were taken.

Alright, I think most of my queries have been answered. As I now understand it, if translation played out differently, we could be calling Jesus - Joshua.

What I’m still wondering is why the name Jesus is off limits but Joshua is accepted? I’m not sure there would be many priests that would baptize a child named Jesus or BMD registrars accept the name in a country like Australia.
 
What I’m still wondering is why the name Jesus is off limits but Joshua is accepted? I’m not sure there would be many priests that would baptize a child named Jesus or BMD registrars accept the name in a country like Australia.
It’s a cultural thing, I think. I couldn’t imagine a Catholic priest telling a Hispanic couple that it is sinful to name their child Jesus, or that it is inappropriate.

Christians use Jesus as shorthand for “Jesus the Christ”, which is the full name, if you will (although I do know of an individual whose’s last name is “Christ”, and the name “Christopher”, which translates as “bearing Christ”, is – of course – often shortened to “Chris”).

To name a child “Jesus” would sound bizarre in the Anglo-American world, as there is only one Jesus, yet – as you’ve pointed out – Joshua is a perfectly acceptable name, even though the etymology is identical.

In the Spanish-speaking world, I am guessing, it does not sound bizarre to name a child “Jésus.” Of course, we in the Anglo-American world are “shielded” from the sense of weirdness we might otherwise feel, because we do not hear Spanish-speaking people saying “Jesus” but “Hesus.”

from wikipedia:

The proper name Jesus /ˈdʒiːzəs/ used in the English language originates from the Latin form of the Greek name Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous), a rendition of the Hebrew Yeshua (ישוע), also having the variants Joshua or Jeshua.[1][2] In a religious context the name refers to Jesus, the central figure of Christianity.

Jesús is a popular personal name in the Hispanic Christian sphere of influence [3] (where it is spelled with an accented ‘u’ Jesús and pronounced [xeˈsus]). In Mexico, persons with that name are often called by the nickname Chuy or Chucho.
 
Most English Bible names kept the German spelling but is pronounced using English pronunciation. The German “J” is pronounced as a “Y”. When we carried it into English, we pronounced like an English “J”.

Example: Hebrew Yoseph > German Joseph (Yoseph) > English Joseph. Hebrew Yehoshua is where we get the English Joshua.

Hebrew Ya’acov > German Jacob (Yacob) > English Jacob

Aramaic Yeshua > Greek Ἰησοῦς (Isoos) > Latin Jesus (Yesoos) > German Jesus (Yesoos) > English Jesus
 
The name Yeshua transliterates as Iesus in Latin. The ‘a’ ending has connotations of the feminine in Latin, so it is substituted with a masculine ‘us’ ending.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top