Jesus is derived from the ancient Greek form of the Hebrew Yeshua and Aramaic Isho. And, of course, there are several variants of even these names. And we must not forget the name Joshua, English for Yeshua. Greek has no letter “J” or “J” sound in their alphabet. Therefore, koine Greek, the Greek of the New Testament had Iesous.
There are those who insist that names do not change from one language to another, yet in Acts 9:36 we read, “Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha (Aramaic), WHICH BY INTERPRETATION IS CALLED DORCAS (Greek).” And interpreted into English her name would be “gazelle!” The English name John is Juan in Spanish, Jean in French, Giovanni in Italian, and Johannes in German.
When the angel said to Mary, “Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus” was the angel speaking in Hebrew or Aramaic? How can we be certain Mary spoke Hebrew primarily instead of Aramaic? Both languages were in common use in Israel in the First Century.
And what about the words of the Lord Himself, not just an angel. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, AND SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL!” (See Isaiah 7:14). Would the Son of God be offended if we called Him Immanuel or prayed in Immanuel’s name? Does the Father turn a deaf ear to all prayers offered “in Jesus’ name?” Billions of such prayers have been offered. Are we to assume NONE of them were heard or answered???? Wouldn’t even a cursory investigation show the opposite to be the case – that millions and millions of such prayers have certainly been answered.
“And Moses said unto God, ‘Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say unto me, WHAT IS HIS NAME? What shall I say unto them?’ And God said unto Moses, ‘I AM THAT I AM. And he said, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me unto you.'” (See Exodus 3:13-14). Yet how few call God by the name “I AM” today? Are they in error in this matter? Didn’t God then say to Moses, “This is my name FOR EVER, and this is my memorial UNTO ALL GENERATIONS?” (See verse 15, Exodus 3).
And then, of course, we have Exodus 6:2-3 to consider: “And God spoke unto Moses, and said unto him, ‘I am the LORD. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH (YHVH, Yahweh) was I not known unto them!” Think of it Abraham, the father of the faithful, never knew God by the name Yahweh! Yet that name is of supreme importance to many believers as is the name Yeshua.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped (Greek, “drenched”) in blood, and his name is called The Word of God” (See Revelation 19:11-13).
It is impossible to bicker over a name or the pronunciation of that name if our Lord conceals that name so securely that no man knows what it is. Food for thought, folks.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley