Editing Yeshua

{{Short description|Alternative form of the name Joshua (Yəhōšūaʿ)}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Yeshua.PNG|thumb|"Yeshua" ישוע , a Hebrew name written with the letters ''yod-shin-vav-`ayin'' of the Hebrew alphabet.]]
'''Yeshua''' ({{langx|he|יֵשׁוּעַ|Yēšūaʿ}}{{px2}}) was a common alternative form of the name '''Yehoshua''' ({{langx|he|יְהוֹשֻׁעַ|Yəhōšūaʿ|[[Joshua (name)|Joshua]]|label=none}}) in later books of the [[Hebrew Bible]] and among Jewish people of the [[Second Temple period]]. The name corresponds to the Greek spelling {{Transliteration|grc|Iesous}} ({{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς}}), from which, through the Latin {{lang|la|IESVS}}/{{lang|la|Iesus}}, comes the English spelling '''[[Jesus (name)|Jesus]]'''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ilan |first=Tal |title=Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity Part I: Palestine 330 BCE–200 CE (Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum 91) |publisher=J.C.B. Mohr |year=2002 |location=Tübingen, Germany |pages=129}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Stern |first=David |title=Jewish New Testament Commentary |publisher=Jewish New Testament Publications |year=1992 |location=Clarksville, Maryland |pages=4–5}}</ref>

The Hebrew spelling {{Transliteration|he|Yēšūaʿ}} ({{lang|he|ישוע}}) appears in some later books of the Hebrew Bible. Once for [[Joshua]] the son of Nun, and 28 times for [[Joshua the High Priest]] and other priests called Jeshua – although these same priests are also given the spelling Joshua in 11 further instances in the books of [[Book of Haggai|Haggai]] and [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]]. It differs from the usual Hebrew Bible spelling of Joshua ({{lang|he|יְהוֹשֻׁעַ}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yəhōšūaʿ}}{{px2}}), found 218 times in the Hebrew Bible, in the absence of the consonant {{Transliteration|he|[[he (letter)|he]]}} ({{lang|he|ה}}) and placement of the [[semivowel]] {{Transliteration|he|[[waw (letter)|vav]]}} ({{lang|he|ו}}) after, not before, the consonant {{Transliteration|he|[[Shin (letter)|shin]]}} ({{lang|he|ש}}). It also differs from the Hebrew spelling {{Transliteration|he|[[Yeshu]]}} ({{lang|he|ישו}}) which is found in [[Ben-Yehuda Dictionary]] and used in most secular contexts in [[Modern Hebrew]] to refer to [[Jesus]], although the Hebrew spelling {{Transliteration|he|Yēšūaʿ}} ({{lang|he|ישוע}}) is generally used in [[Bible translations into Hebrew|translations of the New Testament into Hebrew]]<ref>[[Franz Delitzsch]] ''Hebrew New Testament,'' Matthew 1:1, BFBS 1877, [[Isaac Salkinsohn]] ''Hebrew New Testament'' Matthew 1:1, TBS 1891</ref> and used by Hebrew-speaking Christians in Israel. The name Yeshua is also used in Hebrew historical texts to refer to other Joshuas recorded in Greek texts such as [[Jesus ben Ananias]] and [[ben Sira|Jesus ben Sira]].<ref>Robert E. Van Voorst Jesus outside the New Testament 2000 {{ISBN|978-0-8028-4368-5}} p124 "This is likely an inference from the Talmud and other Jewish usage, where Jesus is called Yeshu, and other Jews with the same name are called by the fuller name Yehoshua, "Joshua""</ref>

In English, the name Yeshua is extensively used by followers of [[Messianic Judaism]],<ref name=juice4jc-hq>{{cite web|last=Kjær-Hansen|first=Kai|title=An Introduction to the Names Yehoshua/Joshua, Yeshua, Jesus and Yeshu|url=http://www.jewsforjesus.org/answers/jesus/an-introduction-to-the-names-yehoshuajoshua-yeshua-jesus-and-yeshu|publisher=Jews for Jesus Headquarters|access-date=27 March 2014}}</ref> whereas [[East Syriac Rite|East Syriac]] Christian denominations use the name {{Transliteration|syc|ʿIsho}} in order to preserve the Syriac name of Jesus.<ref name="Jennings">{{cite web|url=http://dukhrana.com/lexicon/word.php?adr=2:9575&font=Estrangelo+Edessa|title=Word 'y$w('|website=dukhrana.com|access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref> The 2004 film ''[[The Passion of the Christ]]'', which was made in [[Aramaic]], used Yeshua as the name of Jesus and is the most well-known western Christian work to have done so.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Passion of the Christ|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345/|access-date=2020-01-23}}</ref>

==Etymology==
{{Main|Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament}}
[[File:Yeshua hebreo.jpg|thumb|The Greek transliteration {{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Iēsous}}) *jesu-os → {{IPA|el|jeˈsus|}} can stand for both Classical Biblical Hebrew {{Transliteration|he|Yəhōšūaʿ}} {{IPA|he|jəhoˈʃuaʕ|}} (top two) and Late Biblical Hebrew {{Transliteration|he|Yēšūaʿ}} {{IPA|he|jeˈʃuaʕ|}} (bottom). This later form developed within Hebrew (not Aramaic).<ref name="Scripta Hierosolymitana">{{cite book |author=David Talmshir |orig-date=or David Talshir |chapter=Rabbinic Hebrew as Reflected in Personal Names |title=Scripta Hierosolymitana: Publications of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem |volume=37 |location=Jerusalem |publisher=Magnes Press: Hebrew University of Jerusalem |year=1998}}</ref> All three spelling variants occur in the Hebrew Bible, including when referring to the same person. During the Second Temple period, Jews of Galilee tended to preserve the traditional spelling, keeping the {{lang|he|ו}} letter for the {{IPA|[o]|cat=no}} in the first syllable, even adding another letter for the {{IPA|[u]}} in the second syllable. However, Jews of Jerusalem tended to spell the name as they pronounced it, {{IPA|[jeˈʃuaʕ]}}, contracting the spelling to {{lang|he|ישוע}} without the {{IPA|[o]}} letter. Later, Aramaic references to the Hebrew Bible adopted the contracted phonetic form of this Hebrew name as an Aramaic name.]]

The name {{lang|he|יֵשׁוּעַ}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yeshua}} (transliterated in the English Old Testament as Jeshua), is a late form of the Biblical Hebrew name {{lang|he|יְהוֹשֻׁעַ}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yehoshua}} (Joshua), and spelled with a {{Transliteration|he|waw}} in the second syllable. The Late Biblical Hebrew spellings for earlier names often contracted the theophoric element {{Transliteration|he|Yeho-}} to {{Transliteration|he|Yo-}}. Thus, {{lang|he|יהוחנן}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yehochanan}}, contracted to {{lang|he|יוחנן}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yochanan}}.<ref name="Scripta Hierosolymitana"/>

Yeshua in Hebrew is a verbal derivative from "to rescue", "to deliver".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |title=[[Brown-Driver-Briggs]] [A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament] |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |year=1996 |isbn=1-56563-206-0}}</ref> Among the Jews of the Second Temple period, the [[Biblical Aramaic]]/Hebrew name {{lang|he|יֵשׁוּעַ}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yēšūaʿ}} was common: the Hebrew Bible mentions several individuals with this name – while also using their full name Joshua. This name is a feature of biblical books written in the post-Exilic period ([[Book of Ezra|Ezra]], [[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]], and [[Books of Chronicles|Chronicles]]) and was found in the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], though Haggai and Zechariah prefer the spelling Joshua. [[Strong's Concordance]] connects the name {{lang|he|יֵשׁוּעַ}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yēšūaʿ}}, in the English form Jeshua (as used in multiple instances in Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1 and 2 Chronicles), with the verb "to deliver" (or, "to rescue").<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It is often translated as "He saves," to conform with Matthew 1:21:<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|1:21|NASB}}</ref> "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins".<ref>"The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers 1990)</ref>

The name {{lang|he|ישוע}} occurs in the Hebrew of the Old Testament at verses Ezra 2:2, 2:6, 2:36, 2:40, 3:2, 3:8, 3:9, 3:10, 3:18, 4:3, 8:33; Nehemiah 3:19, 7:7, 7:11, 7:39, 7:43, 8:7, 8:17, 9:4, 9:5, 11:26, 12:1, 12:7, 12:8, 12:10, 12:24, 12:26; 1 Chronicles 24:11; and 2 Chronicles 31:15, and also in Aramaic at Ezra 5:2. In Nehemiah 8:17 this name refers to Joshua son of Nun, the successor of Moses, as leader of the Israelites. In earlier English (where adaptations of names of Biblical figures were generally based on the Latin [[Vulgate]] forms), Yeshua was generally transcribed identically to "Jesus" in English.

The name Yehoshua has the form of a compound of "Yeho-" and "shua": {{Transliteration|he|Yeho-}} ({{lang|he|יְהוֹ}}) is another form of {{lang|he|יָהו}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yahu}}, a theophoric element standing for the name of God, {{lang|he|יהוה}} (the [[Tetragrammaton]] YHWH, sometimes transcribed into English as [[Yahweh]]), and {{lang|he|שׁוּעַ}}, {{Transliteration|he|shua'}} is a noun meaning "a cry for help", "a saving cry",<ref>"וֹשֻׁשׁוּעַ", Ernest Klein, ''A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language'' (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 1987), where it means "a cry for help".</ref><ref>"וֹשֻׁשׁוּעַ", William L. Holladay, ''A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament'' (Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing 1971), where it means "a cry for help".</ref><ref>"שָׁוַע", M. Jastrow, ''Dictionary of the Talmud'' reprinted (Jerusalem: Khorev 1990), where שׁוֹשֻׁוּעַ is explained by the verb "to cry for help",</ref> that is to say, a shout given when in need of rescue.

Another explanation for the name Yehoshua is that it comes from the root {{lang|he|ישע}}, {{Transliteration|he|yod-shin-ʿayin}}, meaning "to deliver, save, or rescue". According to the [[Book of Numbers]] verse 13:16, the name of Joshua, the son of Nun was originally {{Transliteration|he|[[Hoshea]]ʿ}} ({{lang|he|הוֹשֵעַ}}), and the name {{Transliteration|he|Yehoshuaʿ}} ({{lang|he|יְהוֹשֻׁעַ}}) is usually spelled the same but with a {{Transliteration|he|[[yodh|yod]]}} added at the beginning. "Hosheaʿ" certainly comes from the root {{lang|he|ישע}}, {{Transliteration|he|yasha}}, {{Transliteration|he|yod-shin-ʿayin}} (in the [[Hif'il]] form the {{Transliteration|he|yod}} becomes a {{Transliteration|he|waw}}), and not from the word {{lang|he|שוע}}, {{Transliteration|he|šûaʿ}}.)<ref>{{cite book |title=Jewish Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Funk and Wagnalls]] |date=1901-06-19 |entry=JOSHUA (JEHOSHUA) |entry-url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=544&letter=J&search=Joshua%20bin%20Nun}}</ref>

In the 1st century, [[Philo of Alexandria]], in a Greek exposition, offered this understanding of Moses's reason for the name change of the biblical hero [[Jehoshua]]/Joshua son of Nun from Hoshea (similar to {{Transliteration|he|hoshiaʿ}}, meaning "He rescued") to Yehoshua in commemoration of his salvation: "And {{lang|grc|Ιησους}} refers to salvation of the Lord" [{{lang|grc|Ιησους}} or {{Transliteration|grc|Iesous}} being the Greek form of the name] ({{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦ δὲ σωτηρία κυρίου}}) (''On the Change of Names'' 21.121).<ref>{{cite book|last=Farber|first=Zev |title=Images of Joshua in the Bible and Their Reception |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9rKvDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA159 |date=11 July 2016|publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-034336-6 |page=159|quote=[Per Philo's interpretation of the name Joshua as "salvation of the Lord"] since Joshua [Hoshea] is such an excellent person, it would be more fitting for him to receive this "most excellent of names" (ὄνομα τῆς άρίστης). [On the Change of Names - De Mutatione Nominum - ''Mut.'']}}</ref>

Similarly, the [[Septuagint]]<ref>{{citation |last=Taylor |first=Bernard Alwyn |title=Analytical lexicon to the Septuagint |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JNaDupoSycMC&pg=PA286 |year=2009 |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |isbn=978-1-56563-516-6 |page=286 |quote=[New Testament uses Ἰησοῦ as the dative, Septuagint uses] Ἰησοῖ&nbsp;&nbsp;pr noun masc dat sg . . . . Ἰησοῦς}}</ref> renders [[Ben Sira]] as saying (in the Greek form of the name): "{{lang|grc|Ιησους}} the son of Naue [Yehoshua Ben Nun] who ''according to his name'' became great unto [the] salvation/deliverance of his chosen ones" ({{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς Ναυῆ .. ὃς ἐγένετο κατὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μέγας ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ}}) (Ben Sira 46:1–2). However, [[Ben Sira]] originally wrote in Hebrew in the second century BC, and the only extant Hebrew manuscript for this passage has "in his days" ({{lang|he|בימיו}}), not "according to his name" (which would be {{lang|he|כשמו}} in Hebrew),<ref>{{cite book |last=Segel |first=Moshe Tsvi |title=Sefer Ben-Sira Hash-Shalem |publisher=Mosad Byalik |year=1953 |entry=Chapter 46 verse 2 |pages=317}}</ref> and thus does not comment on the name Yehoshua as connoting {{lang|he|יְּשׁוּעָה}} "deliverance": "Yehoshua Ben Nun, who was formed to be ''in his days'' a great deliverer for his chosen ones" ({{lang|he|יהושע בן נון... אשר נוצר להיות בימיו תשועה גדלה לבחיריו}}).

==Archaeological evidence==

[[Tal Ilan]]'s Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity (2002) includes for "Joshua" 85 examples of Hebrew {{Transliteration|he|Yēšūaʿ}}, 15 of {{Transliteration|he|Yəhōšūaʿ}}, and 48 examples of {{Transliteration|grc|Iesous}} in Greek inscriptions," with only one Greek variant as {{Transliteration|grc|Iesoua}}.<ref>''Buried Hope Or Risen Savior: The Search for the Jesus Tomb'' 2008 p81 Charles Quarles – 2008 "The distinction between the longer and shorter forms does not exist in Greek. The Greek Iesous (Ineous) was used to represent both Yehoshua' and Yeshua'. There are 48 instances of Iesous (Iesous and several eccentric spellings),  "</ref> One ossuary of the around twenty known with the name Yeshua, Rahmani No.9, discovered by [[Ezra Sukenik]] in 1931, has "Yeshu... Yeshua ben Yosef." The "Yeshu..." may have been scratched out.<ref name="Witherington & Schanks">{{cite book |title=Brother of Jesus |author1=[[Hershel Shanks]] |author2=[[Ben Witherington]] |pages=59–60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HWjhff705FkC&pg=PA60}} Photo of the "Yeshu... Yeshua bar Yehosef" ossuary and dual inscription.</ref> Two [[Jewish magical papyri|Jewish magical incantation bowls]] have been discovered both bearing variant spellings of Yeshua.<ref>Incantation bowls in Montgomery and Moussaief/Levene 2002. See transcription in Bauckham essay in Quarles.</ref>

Apart from the "Yeshua... Yeshua ben Yosef" ossuary, the only other known evidence for the existence of a Yeshua form prior to the material related to [[Jesus in the Talmud]], is a graffito which [[Joachim Jeremias]] identified in Bethesda in 1966, but which is now filled in.<ref>New Testament theology Joachim Jeremias – 1977 "... 1965, 284–93: 285; a graffito which I found in the south wall of the southern pool at Bethesda, now covered in, also read [y\fw ', see my: The Rediscovery of Bethesda, New Testament Archaeology Monograph No I, Louisville, Ky., 1966, ..."</ref>

==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.

==Original name for Jesus==
The English name ''Jesus'' derives from the [[Late Latin]] name {{lang|la|Iesus}}, which transliterates the [[Koine]] Greek name {{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς}} {{Transliteration|grc|Iēsoûs}}.

In the [[Septuagint]] and other Greek-language [[Jewish]] texts, such as the writings of [[Josephus]] and [[Philo of Alexandria]], {{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς}} ({{Transliteration|grc|Iēsoûs}}) is the standard Koine Greek form used to translate both of the Hebrew names: Yehoshua and Yeshua. The Greek {{lang|grc|Ἰησοῦς}} or {{Transliteration|grc|Iēsoûs}} is also used to represent the name of Joshua son of Nun in the New Testament passages Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8. (It was even used in the Septuagint to translate the name ''Hoshea'' in one of the three verses where this referred to Joshua the son of Nun—Deuteronomy 32:44.)

During the second Temple period (beginning 538 BC–70 AD), Yeshua first became a known form of the name Yehoshua. All occurrences of Yeshua in the Hebrew Bible are in 1 [[Book of Chronicles|Chronicles]] 24:11, 2 Chronicles 31:15, [[Book of Ezra|Ezra]], and [[Book of Nehemiah|Nehemiah]] where it is transliterated into English as [[Jehoshua|Jeshua]]. Two of these men (Joshua the son of Nun and Joshua the High Priest) are mentioned in other books of the Hebrew Bible where they are instead called Yehoshua <ref>Price, James D. [http://www.direct.ca/trinity/yehoshua.html Yehoshua, Yeshua or Yeshu; Which one is the name of Jesus in Hebrew?], accessed March 6, 2006.</ref> (transliterated into English as Joshua).

The earlier form Yehoshua did not disappear, however, and remained in use as well. In the post-exilic books, Joshua the son of Nun is called both Yeshua bin-Nun (Nehemiah 8:17) and Yehoshua (1 Chronicles 7:27). The short form Yeshua was used for [[Jesus ben Sirach]] in Hebrew fragments of the [[Wisdom of Sirach]]. (Some concern remains over whether these fragments faithfully represent the original Hebrew text or are instead a later translation back into Hebrew.)<ref>William Chomsky, ''Hebrew: The Eternal Language'', Jewish Publication Society of America, 1957 p.140</ref> The earlier form Yehoshua saw revived usage from the [[Hasmonean]] period onwards, although the name Yeshua is still found in letters from the time of the [[Bar Kokhba Revolt]] (132–135 AD).

In the documentary ''[[The Lost Tomb of Jesus]]'', archeologist [[Amos Kloner]] stated that the name Yeshua was then a popular form of the name Yehoshua and was "one of the common names in the time of the [[Second Temple]]."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mendel |first=Roi |title=Ha-"chasifa" shel qever Yeshu: qiddum mkhirot |journal=[[Yedioth Ahronoth]] |date=25 February 2007 |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3368783,00.html |access-date=2007-02-27}}</ref> In discussing whether it was remarkable to find a tomb with the name of Jesus (the particular ossuary in question bears the inscription "Yehuda bar Yeshua"), he pointed out that the name had been found 71 times in burial caves from that time period.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pilkington |first1=Ed |last2=McCarthy |first2=Rory |title=Is this really the last resting place of Jesus, Mary Magdalene – and their son |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=27 February 2007 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/religion/Story/0,,2022252,00.html |access-date=2007-02-27}}</ref>

Thus, both the full form Yehoshua and the abbreviated form Yeshua were in use during the Gospel period – and in relation to the same person, as in the Hebrew Bible references to Yehoshua/Yeshua son of Nun, and Yehoshua/Yeshua the high priest in the days of Ezra. An argument in favor of the Hebrew reduced form {{lang|he|ישוע}}, {{Transliteration|he|Yeshua}}, as opposed to Yehoshua, is the [[Central Neo-Aramaic|Western Syriac language]], in which the pronunciation is ''Yeshuʿ'' {{IPA|/jeʃuʕ/}}.

===East Syriac {{Transliteration|syc|Ishoʿ}}===
[[File:Early Syriac alphabet form of the name of Jesus.svg|thumb|{{Transliteration|syc|Yeshuuʿ}} or {{Transliteration|syc|Ishoʿ}}, the Syriac name of [[Jesus]]]]
[[Aramaic]] and [[Classical Syriac]] render the pronunciation of the same letters as '''{{lang|syc|ܝܫܘܥ}}''' {{Transliteration|syc|yeshuuʿ (yešuʿ)}} {{IPA|/jeʃuʕ/}} and '''{{lang|syc|ܝܫܘܥ}}''' {{Transliteration|syc|ishoʿ (išoʿ)}} {{IPA|/iʃoʕ/}}. The Aramaic Bibles and the Syriac [[Peshitta]] preserve these same spellings. Current scholarly consensus posits that the New Testament texts were translated from the Greek, but this theory is not supported directly at least by the name for Jesus, which is not a simple transliteration of the Greek form as would otherwise be expected, as Greek did not have a "sh" {{IPA|[ʃ]}} sound, and substituted {{IPA|[s]}}; and likewise lacked and therefore omitted the final {{Transliteration|he|[[ayin|ʿayn]]}} ({{IPA|[ʕ]}}). Moreover, [[Eusebius]] (early 4th century) reports that [[Papias of Hierapolis]] (early 2nd century) reports that Jesus's disciple [[Matthew the Evangelist]] wrote a [[gospel]] "in the Hebrew language". (Scholars typically argue the word "Hebrew" in the New Testament refers to Aramaic;<ref>{{cite book |title=Wycliffe Bible Dictionary |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |year=1975 |entry=HEBREW LANGUAGE}}</ref> however, others have attempted to refute this view.)<ref name="Buth & Pierce">Buth, Randall, and Pierce, Chad. "Ebraisti in Ancient Texts: Does Ἐβραϊστί ever Mean "Aramaic"?" Buth and Notley, ed., ''The Language Environment in First Century Judea''. Brill, 2014.</ref> The Aramaic of the Peshitta does not distinguish between ''Joshua'' and ''[[Jesus]]'', and the Lexicon of [[William Jennings (Syriacist)|William Jennings]] gives the same form of {{lang|syc|ܝܫܘܥ}} for both names.<ref name="Jennings"/> The Hebrew final letter {{Transliteration|he|ʿayin}} ({{lang|he|ע}}) is equivalent to final {{lang|syc|ܥ}} in Syriac varieties of Aramaic. It can be argued that Aramaic speakers who used this name had a continual connection to the Aramaic-speakers in communities founded by the [[Twelve apostles|apostles]] and other students of Jesus, thus independently preserved his historical name Yeshuuʿ and the Eastern dialectical {{Transliteration|syc|Ishoʿ}}. Those churches following the [[East Syriac Rite]] still preserve the name {{Transliteration|syc|Ishoʿ}}.
 
In the [[Talmud]], only one reference is made to the spelling Yeshuaʿ, in verbatim quotation from the Hebrew Bible regarding Jeshua son of Jozadak (elsewhere called Joshua son of Josedech). The Talmud does refer to several people named Yehoshua from before (e.g. [[Joshua ben Perachyah]]) and after Jesus (e.g., [[Joshua ben Hananiah]]). In references to [[Jesus in the Talmud]], however, where the name occurs, it is rendered Yeshu, which is a name reserved in Aramaic and Hebrew literature from the early medieval period until today, solely for Jesus, not for other Joshuas. Some scholars, such as [[Johann Maier (talmudic scholar)|Maier]] (1978), regard the two named "Yeshuʿ" texts in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a and 107b) to be later amendments, and not original.<ref>J. Maier ''Jesus von Nazareth'' 1978. G. Theissen, ''Historical Jesus''. 1998. R. Voorst ''Jesus outside the New Testament'' 2000</ref>

===Rabbinical commentary on the difference Yeshuʿ/Yeshuaʿ===
In general rabbinical sources, the name Yeshuʿ is used, and this is the form to which some named references to [[Jesus in the Talmud]] as Yeshu occur in some manuscripts of the Babylonian Talmud, though some scholars, such as [[Johann Maier (talmudic scholar)|Maier]] (1978) have argued that the presence of the name Yeshuʿ in these texts is a late interpolation. Some of the Hebrew sources referencing Yeshu include the {{Transliteration|he|[[Toledot Yeshu]]}}, ''[[The Book of Nestor the Priest]]'', Jacob ben Reuben's {{Transliteration|he|[[Milhamoth ha-Shem]]}}, {{Transliteration|he|[[Sefer Nizzahon Yashan]]}}, {{Transliteration|he|[[Sefer Joseph Hamekane]]}}, the works of [[ibn Shaprut]], [[Moses ha-Kohen de Tordesillas]], and [[Hasdai Crescas]].{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

The name Yeshu is unknown in archeological sources and inscriptions, except for one ossuary found in Israel which has an inscription where someone has started to write first "Yeshu.." and then written "Yeshuaʿ bar Yehosef" beneath it.<ref name="Witherington & Schanks"/> There are 24 other ossuaries to various Yeshuas and Yehoshuas. None of the others have Yeshu. All other "Joshuas" in the Talmud, rabbinical writings, modern Hebrew, are always Yeshua or Yehoshua. There are no undisputed examples of any Aramaic or Hebrew text where Yeshu refers to anyone else than Jesus.<ref>Jesus outside the New Testament p124 Robert E. Van Voorst – 2000 "This is likely an inference from the Talmud and other Jewish usage, where Jesus is called Yeshu, and other Jews with the same name are called by the fuller name Yehoshua, "Joshua" (e.g., b Sanh. 107b on p. "</ref>

Some of rabbinical sources comment on the reasons for the missing {{Transliteration|he|ʿayn}} from Yeshu, as opposed to the Hebrew Bible Yeshuaʿ and Yehoshuaʿ. [[Leon Modena]] argues that it was Jesus himself who made his disciples remove the {{Transliteration|he|ʿayn}}, and that therefore they cannot now restore it. (Modena was a 17th-century polemicist and does not have reliable linguistic evidence for the claim.) A tradition states that the shortening to Yeshu relates to the Y-SH-U of the {{Transliteration|he|[[yimach shemo]]}}, "may his name be obliterated."<ref>Michael H. Cohen A Friend of All Faiths – Page 42  – 2004 "In Hebrew school, one of my teachers had explained that Yeshu (Hebrew for Jesus), rather than meaning "Saviour," in fact was an acronym that stood for yimach shemo ve-zichrono: "may his name and memory be erased "</ref><ref>Proceedings: Volume 4 Aḳademyah ha-le'umit ha-Yiśre'elit le-mada'im – 1969 "Perhaps the most significant of these is the passage where instead of the printed 'that certain man' we find 'Jesus the Nazarene — may his name be obliterated' (thus also in a Genizah MS, British Museum, Or. 91842). "</ref> Against this [[David Flusser]] suggested that the name ''Yeshu'' itself was "in no way abusive," but "almost certainly" a Galilean dialect form of Yeshua.<ref>New Testament theology [[Joachim Jeremias]] – 1977 "... deliberate truncation made for anti-Christian motives; rather, it is 'almost certainly' (Flusser, Jesus, 13) the Galilean pronunciation of the name; the swallowing of the ''ʿayin'' was typical of the Galilean dialect (Billerbeck I 156f.</ref> But E.Y. Kutscher showed that the {{Transliteration|he|ʿayn}} was still pronounced in Galilee, refuting a thesis by Paul Kahle.<ref>E.Y. Kutscher, Studies in Galilean Aramaic, 1976.</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Christianity}}
* [[Aramaic of Jesus]]
* [[Isa (name)]]
* [[Joseph (name)]]
* [[Josiah]]
* [[Tikkun olam]]
* [[Yahshua]]
* [[Yahshuah]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yeshua}}
[[Category:Names of Jesus]]
[[Category:Hebrew-language names]]