Editing Yeshua (section)

==Pronunciation==
In {{Transliteration|he|Yēšūaʿ}} ({{lang|he|יֵשוּעַ}}, {{IPA|he|jeˈʃuăʕ|}}), the Hebrew letter {{Transliteration|he|yod}} ({{lang|he|י}}, {{IPA|/j/}} is vocalized with the Hebrew vowel {{Transliteration|he|[[tsere]]}} ({{IPA|/e/}}, a 'long' ''e'' like the first syllable of "neighbor" but not [[diphthong]]ized), rather than with a {{Transliteration|he|[[shva na|shva]]}} ({{IPA|/ə/}}, as Y'shua) or {{Transliteration|he|segol}} ({{IPA|/ɛ/}}, Yesh-shua). The final letter, {{Transliteration|he|ayin}} ({{lang|he|ע}}) is {{IPAslink|ʕ}} (a voiced pharyngeal sound not found in Greek or English), sometimes transcribed {{Transliteration|he|"ʿ"}} ({{Transliteration|he|Yeshuaʿ}}). The final {{IPA|[ăʕ]}} represents the "patach genuvah" ("furtive" ''[[patach]]''), indicating that the consonant {{Transliteration|he|ʿayin}} is pronounced after the ''a'' vowel, and the word's stress is moved to the middle syllable (the characteristics of the furtive patach can be seen in other words, such as {{lang|he|רוח}}, {{IPA|[ˈruăħ]}} 'spirit').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_Three/Furtive_Patach/furtive_patach.html|title=The Furtive Patach|website=www.hebrew4christians.com|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> Thus it is pronounced {{IPA|he|jeˈʃu.a(ʔ)|}} in Modern Hebrew.

The Hebrew name of Jesus is probably pronounced {{Transliteration|he|Yeshuaʿ}}, although this is uncertain and depends on the reconstruction of several ancient Hebrew dialects. Talshir suggests, even though Galileans tended to keep the traditional spelling for {{Transliteration|he|Yehoshuaʿ}} {{lang|he|יהושוע}} with {{Transliteration|he|waw}} for {{IPA|/o/}}, they still pronounced the name similarly to the Judeans, as 'Yeshua' {{IPA|[jeˈʃuaʕ]}}, who tended to spell the name phonetically as {{lang|he|ישוע}}, perhaps reducing the name thus: {{IPA|[jəhoˈʃuaʕ]}} > {{IPA|[joˈʃuaʕ]}} > {{IPA|[jeˈʃuaʕ]}}, with the {{IPA|/o/}} [[palatalization (sound change)|palatalizing]] (via [[dissimilation]]) before the {{IPA|/ʃ/}}.<ref>Talshir 1998:374,376.</ref>

Qimron describes the general linguistic environment of Hebrew dialects by the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The articulation of the {{IPA|/h/}} (along with other guttural phonemes {{IPA|/ʔ/}}, {{IPA|/ħ/}}, and {{IPA|/ʕ/}}, as well as approximants {{IPA|/j/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}) [[lenition|lenited]] significantly.<ref>Elisha Qimron, ''The Hebrew Of The Dead Sea Scrolls'', Scholars Press, Harvard Semitic Studies vol. 29, 1986:25.</ref> Thus Hebrew pronunciations became less stable when two successive vowels were no longer separated by a consonant {{IPA|/h/}}. The speakers optionally either reduced the two vowels to a single vowel or oppositely expanded them to emphasize each vowel separately, sometimes forming a furtive glide in between, {{IPA|[w]}} or {{IPA|[j]}}.<ref>Qimron:26, 31–35.</ref> For example, the Dead Sea Scrolls spell the Hebrew word {{lang|he|ראוי}} ({{IPA|/rɔˈʔui̯/}}, 'seen') variously, recording both pronunciations: reduced {{lang|he|ראו}} ({{IPA|[ro]}}) and expanded {{lang|he|ראואי}} ({{IPA|[rɔˈuwi]}}).<ref>Qimron:35.</ref>

The Hebrew name Yehoshua generally reduced to Yeshua, but an expanded Yehoshua is possible, especially in Galilee, whose traditional orthography possibly reflects this.