YESHUA OR YEHOSHUA?
Yehoshua was name of Yoshua the son of Nun (יְהֹושֻׁעַ בִּן־נוּן YEHOSHUA BIN-NOON, Joshua 1:1). יֵשׁוּעַ YESHUA is a shorter form of this name. When translated it means ‘Salvation of Yahveh’ .
After the time of Yeshua the Messiah, this name ישוע Yeshua is not given to any Jewish man but earlier it was a common Jewish name. That name appears in the Tanakh (Hebrew Old Testament) in the following verses: 1 Chr 24:11, 2 Chr 31:15, Ezra 2:2, 2:6, 2:36, 2:40, 3:2, 3:8, 3:9, 4:3, 5:2, 8:33, 10:18, Neh 3:19, 7:7, 7:11, 7:43, 8:7, 9:4, 9:5, 10:9, 11:26, 12:7, 12:8, 12:10, 12:24, 12:26. The language in these preceding verses is Hebrew, except in Ezra 5:2 Aramaic but also there the name is written the same way as in the Hebrew texts:
בֵּאדַיִן קָמוּ זְרֻבָּבֶל בַּר-שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל, וְיֵשׁוּעַ בַּר-יוֹצָדָק
וְשָׁרִיו לְמִבְנֵא, בֵּית אֱלָהָא דִּי בִירוּשְׁלֶם
וְעִמְּהוֹן נְבִיַּאיָּא דִי-אֱלָהָא, מְסָעֲדִין לְהוֹן
In the Torah and before the time of the Second Temple the name of Yoshua is written in the longer form יְהֹושֻׁעַ YEHOSHUA in Tanakh, but after that in a shorter form יֵשׁוּעַ YESHUA. To Messiah was given this shorter name Yeshua, which is Hebrew.
Jews who do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah do know exactly what form of his name, they will shun, and they shun the form יֵשוּע YESHUA. They call him names ישו YESHU which is composed of the initials of words ימח שמו וזכרו YEMACH SHEMO VEZICRO ‘be his name and memory cursed’.
The avoiding of weiting and reciting the name, is based on the Torah: “If a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and you hang him on a tree; his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God; that you don’t defile your land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.” (Deut 21:22,23 ).
Today there are many men named Yehoshua in Israel and in different parts of the world. This name is also found in Israel in the names of places and streets.
For example, near the city of Netanya one can find a singpost whit words כפר יהושע KFAR YEHOSHUA, the Village of Yehoshua.
I suppose that the Jewish rabbis are the ones to know what name they shun and that is why it is sure that the angel told Joseph to give Him the name Yeshua
(Matt 1:21) .
In general, all Hebrew names mean something, and so does the name of Yeshua the Messiah. It’s translated “Salvation of YHVH/Yahveh” . When translated to
any other language, it’s meaning is lost. When we utter the name, we confess that YHVH / Yahveh is our Savior (Rom 10:13), and using the translation of the
word the confession is left out.
The name Yeshua is relevant in this time we live at, but in eternity, He, too, has a new name when even the last enemy, death is defeated, because then salvation is no longer needed (Rev 3:12).
The name of the Lord Yeshua is a name that has allways been opposed and hated. That kind of behavior has obviously anti-Semitic roots. By doing so, people want to make Yeshua’s Hebrew origin vague. After all, the angel Gabriel was not commanded to tell to give Him a Greek, Latin or Aramaic but the Hebrew name.
Similarly, has this apostate Christianity wanted to exclude other Hebrew connections for example, by changing the biblical Sabbath and the biblical date of Passover. In their actions they prove to be God’s enemies, while wanting to be righteous.