What is the real name of Jesus and what does the name mean?

Answer 1

JESUS

'Jesus' is a fairly common name in some countries. In some places it is pronounced 'Ha-soos'.

In The Bible there were four different people called Jesus:

1. Jesus Christ
2. Joshua, leader of the Israelites -Acts 7:45; Deuteronomy 3:28.
3. an ancestor of Jesus Christ -Luke 3:29 (Moffat's translation)
4. Jesus, who was also called Justus, a disciple of Jesus Christ. -Colossians 4:11

In addition, in the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament) there are several people called Joshua and Jeshua, which are Hebrew forms of the name Jesus.

JESUS CHRIST

With regard to the Jesus (i.e. Jesus Christ) who is featured extensively in the Bible, his name, or at least, the English form of his name, is simply 'Jesus'.

However, in Bible times they did not speak English. Where Jesus lived a variety of languages and regional variations were in common use. His family were Jewish, therefore a form of Hebrew would have been used, but also Aramaic and Greek. Even Latin was spoken and written in those areas at that time.

So what is Jesus' name in the earliest manuscripts of the bible?

By looking back at those ancient manuscripts, we see that name 'Jesus' which we see in modern English bibles is an English rendering of the Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), which is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew name יהושע(Yə-shua, reading from right to left), a shortened form of the name Yəhōshūaʿ

Note: In biblical Hebrew, the spelling of the name 'Jesus' is the same as the Hebrew spelling of the name 'Joshua'.

What does the Hebrew name Yəhōshūaʿmean?

Yəhōshūaʿ (i.e. 'Jesus') means 'Yəhō is salvation/help/rescuer.'

Note: Yəh or Yəhō is a short form of the personal name of the god of the Israelites, and which appears as יהוהin the Hebrew texts of the bible.

A shortened form of יהוה is found in the bible expression 'Hallelu-jah' (Latin allelu-ia), which means 'Praise Jah/Yah'.

The short form of Yəhōshūaʿ, written in English as 'Jesus', is, in some languages transliterated as Iesus, or Iesu.

Note: The initial Hebrew letter of Yəhōshūaʿ, i.e. the 'yodh' ( י ) is often transliterated into the English alphabet by a 'J', as in Jeremiah. Jerusalem, Jehoshua, Joshua, Jericho etc. Therefore the Hebrew יהושע (and the Greek form Ἰησοῦς ) becomes 'Jesus' in most English bibles.

SURNAME

In Bible times they did not use 'family surnames' in the way they are often used today. And, even today, where surnames are used, the word 'surname' just means an 'extra name', i.e. in addition to a person's real name.

So Jesus didn't have a surname as such, and he was frequently simply called 'Jesus'. However, he was also often additionally identified in a variety of ways, such as by referring to his roots, roles, or his family connections, e.g.

• Jesus Christ, son of David, the son of Abraham -Matthew 1:1
• Jesus of Nazareth -Mark 10:47
• Jesus Christ, Son of God -Mark 1:1
• Jesus, Son of the Highest - Luke 1:32
• Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God -Matthew 16:16
• Jesus, son of man -John 1:51
• Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee -Matthew 21:11
• Jesus the mediator of the new covenant -Hebrews 12:24
• Jesus the King of the Jews -Matthew 27:37
• Jesus the son of Joseph the son of Heli ... -Luke 3:23
• Jesus the son of Joseph -John 6:42
• Jesus, the carpenter's son, Mary's son, James' brother etc - Mark 6:3

TITLES

In addition to his name 'Jesus', he is also given various titles in the scriptures.

The title 'Christ' has already been mentioned, and 'Christ' (Hebrew: 'Messiah') means 'the anointed one'. But, of course, a title is not a name.

Other descriptions, either as stand-alone titles or incorporating his name with his title(s) are: Lord Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus our Lord, Lord Jesus, Lord, Saviour, Prince of Life, King of kings, Lord of lords, etc.

SUMMARY: THE REAL NAME OF JESUS AND ITS MEANING

In the case of 'Jesus Christ', his 'real' name, in English, is simply 'Jesus', a common name and which means "Yəhōis salvation/help/rescuer".

In addition to using the name 'Jesus', the Bible also records additional identifiers which were used when speaking to him, about him, and by Jesus himself when referring to his self, as shown above.