The name of Jesus
in Hebrew!
By Dr. James D.
Price
Forword by Guy
Cramer
The Jewish community has claimed the name of Jesus in Hebrew is
Yeshu the traditional Jewish spelling of Jesus. Why do others
spell Jesus as Yeshua with four letters and sometimes spell it
as Yehoshua with five letters ?
Why is it important to find out which spelling to use? Advanced
mathematical research into the equidistant letter sequences (ELS)
discovered in the Hebrew Bible needs the proper spelling of words and
names. The wrong spelling of a name can invalidate all (ELS) research
on that name. There is a great deal that depends on this simple
question.
Guy Cramer
The Names Yeshua and Yehoshua
By Dr. James Price, professor of Hebrew
Yehoshua in the Septuagint
Two things indicate that Yehoshua is the proper Hebrew name for
Jesus:
(1) In the Greek Translation of the OT known as the Septuagint (LXX),
the name Joshua is rendered *Iasous* = Jesus.
(2) In the NT, Joshua is mentioned twice (Acts 7:45; Heb 4:8), and in
both places the Greek NT spells the name *Iasous* = Jesus.
Thus the Greek *Iasous* is the equivalent of Hebrew
*Yehoshua*
Yehoshua in the Hebrew Bible
As far as the Hebrew Bible is concerned, it is important to note
that in the early books, the name Joshua is spelled as
yod-hey-waw-shin-ayin) or on rare occasions as (yod-hey-waw-shin-waw-ayin). However, in the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah, the high priest is named Jeshua the son of Jozadak (yod-shin-waw-ayin); whereas in the contemporary books of Haggai and
Zechariah, the same high priest is named Joshua the son of
Jehozadak (yod-hey-waw-shin-ayin beth-nun). Thus, it can be
concluded that in post-exilic times of the Biblical era, the names
Yeshua and Yehoshua were regarded as equivalent.
Yehoshua (Jesus) in the Talmud
(From A.D. 200 to 500 ancient rabbis compiled their commentaries
on the Bible, Jewish social customs and historical events in the
Talmud. Because it was compiled by rabbis who were leaders in
rabbinical academies, the Talmud is considered to be very
authoritative by Jews, even to this day. [Missler, Chuck, "The
Creator Beyond Time and Space", 1996 The Word For Today, p.165])
As far as the Talmud is concerned, it is evident that the old
uncensored editions of the Talmud associated Jesus of Nazareth with
the name Joshua. This is demonstrated by the following passage:
Sotah 47a
Our Rabbis have taught: Always let the left hand thrust away and
the right hand draw near. Not like Elisha who thrust Gehazi away with
both his hands (and not like R. Joshua b. Perahiah who thrust one of
his disciples away with both his hands).11
Here, the editor's footnote reads:
[(11) MSS. and old editions read Jesus the Nazarene. R. T.
Herford sees in Gehazi a hidden reference to Paul. Cf. his
Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, pp. 97ff.]
Another interesting passage indicates that the Talmud regarded the
changing of the spelling of a name to be a sign
Divine Disapproval!
The following passage discusses the change of a name from Yehoshua
to Yoshua.
Arachim 32b
And the other?13 - He [Ezra] had prayed for mercy because of
the passion for idolatry and he removed it, and his merit then
shielded them even as the booth. That is why Scripture reproved
Joshua, for in all other passages it is spelt: Jehoshua, but here,
Joshua.14
The editor's footnote reads:
[(14) For his failure to implore the Lord to remove the passion
for idolatry from the heart of the people. Just as with Abram the
enlargement of his name into 'Abraham' was an expression of divine
approval, so did this diminution of Jehoshua into Joshua express
divine disapproval. The reason for Joshua's failure to implore
the Lord to remove the passion for idolatry was his assumption that
he possessed the land in its pristine holiness, so that it would in
itself help Israel to overcome its idolatrous tendencies.]
Note: This is taught in all Yeshivas and Synagogues!
Perhaps that is the reason why the Talmud altered the spelling of
the name Jesus of Nazareth from Yeshua ha-Notzri to Yesu ha-Notzri.
However, it is clear that the editor of the Talmud regarded this as
the equivalent of Yeshua ha-Notzri. Associated with the following
passage in the Talmud is an interesting footnote by the editor:
Sanhedrin 67a
For it has been taught: And for all others for whom the Torah decrees
death, witnesses are not hidden, excepting for this one. How is it
done? - A light is lit in an inner chamber, the witnesses are hidden
in an outer one [which is in darkness], so that they can see
and hear him,11 but he cannot see them. Then the person he wished to
seduce says to him, 'Tell me privately what thou hast proposed to
me'; and he does so. Then he remonstrates; 'But how shall we forsake
our God in Heaven, and serve idols'? If he retracts, it is well. But
if he answers: 'It is our duty and seemly for us', the witnesses who
were listening outside bring him to the Beth din, and have him
stoned.12
The editor's footnote reads:
[(12) In the uncensored editions of the Talmud there follows this
important passage (supplied from D.S. on the authority of the Munich
and Oxford Mss. and the older editions) 'And this they did to Ben
Stada in Lydda ( . . .), and they hung him on the eve of Passover.
Ben Stada was Ben Padira. '. Hisda said: 'The husband was Stada, the
paramour Pandira. But was nor the husband Pappos b. Judah? - His
mother's name was Stada. But his mother was Miriam, a dresser of
woman's hair? (. . . megaddela neshayia): - As they say in
Pumbaditha, This woman has turned away (. .. .) from her husband,
(i.e., committed adultery).' T. Herford, in 'Christianity in the
Talmud', pp. 37 seqq, 344 seqq, identifies this Ben Stada with
Jesus of Nazareth. As to the meaning of the name, he connects
it with ** 'seditious', and suggests (p. 345 n.1) that it originally
denoted 'that Egyptian' (Acts XXI 38, Josephus, Ant. XX, 8, 6) who
claimed to be a prophet and led his followers to the Mount of Olives,
where he was routed by the Procurator Felix, and that in later times
he might have been confused with Jeshua ha-Notzri. This hypothesis,
however, involves the disregard of the Talmudic data, for Pappos b.
Judah lived a century after Jesus (Cit. 90a), though the mother's
name, Miriam (Mary), would raise no difficulty, as . . . megaddla
neshayia may be the result of a confusion with Mary Magdalene (v.
also Box, The Virgin Birth of Jesus, pp. 201f, for other possible
meanings of Ben Stada and Ben Pandira) Derenbourg (Essai note 9, pp.
465-471) rightly denies the identity of Ben Stada with Jesus, and
regards him simply as a false prophet executed during the second
century at Lydda.]
Note that the editor spells the name of Jesus as Jeshua ha-Notzri
when he transliterated it.
From this evidence it can be concluded that in post-exilic Bible
times the names Yehoshua and Yeshua were regarded as equivalent names
of the same person. Also the Talmudic evidence indicates that
historically the Jews regarded the name of Jesus as Yeshua, perhaps
omitting the *hey* as their sign of divine disapproval, and
then subsequently omitting the *ayin* as further
disapproval.
James D. Price
Dr. Price is Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Temple Baptist
Seminary in Chattanooga, TN. He holds the following degrees:
B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Purdue University
M.Div. Northwest Baptist Seminary
Ph.D. Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning
Dr. Price remains skeptical about the validity of ELS codes in the
Bible.
