PART 3
The Letter "J"
Our first lesson in this journey, we covered the language of our Messiah. We then move through the different translations for our King and now we will discuss how the name changed from Iesous to Jesus.
Let’s remember, as stated in part 1, the only vowel LETTERS in the Ancient Hebrew alphabet are the (A) and with the exception of the (I). So when looking at the name Jesus in the English language it begins with the letter J. According to research, the letter J started off as the thirteenth roman numeral “xiij”. According to dictionary.com,
“Both I and J were used interchangeably by scribes to express the sound of both the vowel and the consonant. It wasn’t until 1524 AD when Gian Giorgio Trissino, an Italian Renaissance grammarian known as the father of the letter J, made a clear distinction between the two sounds. Trissino’s contribution is important because he distinguished the soft J sound, as in “jam”.
We can see that the letter J was the last letter added to the English alphabet, because it was created in 1524. Before the english alphabet was ever introduced to England, it had an origin of the old English alphabet. According to wikipedia,“The English language itself was first written in the Anglo-Saxon futhorc runic alphabet, in use from the 5th century. This alphabet was brought to what is now England, along with the proto-form of the language itself, by Anglo-Saxon settlers. Very few examples of this form of written Old English have survived, mostly as short inscriptions or fragments”. And when you look up the old English alphabet it doesn't have the letter J.
“A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T V X Y Z & ⁊ Ƿ Þ Ð Æ”
We can also see that the letter J does not even exist in the 1611 King James Bible. According to scholars the Messiah’s death was some time in AD 30/33. So the letter J should not be present in his name. So, why is the letter J used for the Messiah's name that everyone knows (Jesus)? If we take a deeper look we need to look up the name Jesus and see the origin and where it comes from.
“According to wikipedia the name Jesus (IPA: /ˈdʒiːzəs/) is a masculine given name derived from the name Iēsous(Greek: Ἰησοῦς), the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua(Hebrew: ישוע).[1][2] As its roots lie in the name Yeshua, it is etymologically as a given name in the English-speaking world, while its counterparts have had long standing popularity among people with other language backgrounds, such as the Spanish Jesús.”
So the name Iēsous is a Greek name and the name Jesus derived from that name. BUT if you try to translate Iēsous into Hebrew you won't be able to because this word does not exist within the hebrew language. Big Red Flag. Reading further wikipedia states that the root of the name Jesus/Iēsous is Yeshua. So, how do we arrive at Jesus from Yeshua through translation?... We don't, there is no translation as the name Jesus is a construct and doesn't mean Savior and/or Messiah, because it was transcribed not translated. Let’s see exactly what the translation from Hebrew and Aramaic translate to in English.. Wikipedia states,
“Yeshua in Hebrew is a verbal derivative from "to rescue", "to deliver".[9] Among the Jews of the Second Temple Period, the Biblical Aramaic/Hebrew name יֵשׁוּעַ Yeshua‘ was common: the Hebrew Bible mentions several individuals with this name – while also using their full name Joshua.”
“The name ישוע (Yeshua or Joshua) 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. Note that 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.”
So we now know that the name Jesus was not His given name in any language but a giving name (transcribed) by the authors. We will discuss these authors later. Many people use the name Yeshua as the Messiah's name. This is great if you use Yeshua as the name of the Messiah. So with the name Yeshua it brings us closer to his Ancient Hebrew name. We can find the true father's name within the scriptures.
Follow up with Part 4 of THE NAME as we go into the discussion of the authors of the name Jesus.