The Name Jesus
Asher Chee |The name “Jesus” comes ultimately from the Hebrew name Yehoshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ) and its alternate form Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ).
Both Yehoshua and Yeshua are different forms of the same Hebrew name, and are rendered in English translations as “Joshua” and “Jeshua” respectively. In fact,
- the same man named Yehoshua (“Joshua”) in the Book of Joshua is called Yeshua (“Jeshua”) in Nehemiah 8:17.
- Also, the same high priest named Yeshua (“Jeshua”) in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah is called Yehoshua (“Joshua”) in the Books of Haggai and Zechariah.
Both Yehoshua and Yeshua are rendered in Greek as Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς), which was in turn rendered in Latin as Iesus.
Later on, the Latin name Iesus came to be written as Jesus. During this time, the letter J was used to represent the “y” sound, and was not pronounced in the same way as the English letter J.
The Latin spelling of the name, Jesus, eventually passed into the English language as “Jesus”.
Other biblical characters who had the same name as Jesus include Jesus Justus (Col. 4:11) and possibly Jesus Barabbas (Mat. 27:16–17).
Conclusion
The name Jesus was not unique to our Lord Jesus Christ. He shares the same Hebrew name with other people whose names are rendered as “Joshua” and “Jeshua”. It was a very common name during his time, and still is even to this day, albeit in various forms in other languages.