Lesson 3 – Day 1

Jesus or Yeshua?

The conception and naming of Jesus is described in Matthew 1:18-21,

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.’

‘She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’”

The Hebrew language is unique in that it has a rhyming nature to how it is written in the Old Testament.  Names in Hebrew give and explain a person’s character and calling. Here are two examples of how names were prophesying of that person’s calling.

“Now he called his name Noah (rest), saying, “This one will give us rest from our work…” Genesis 5:29

“Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg (divide), for in his days the earth was divided…” Genesis 10:25

So common is this poetic nature of Biblical Hebrew, that only our modern translations miss the connection to Jesus’ name.  As a result, we miss the richness of the language and the purpose of a person’s life. 

Read again, “You shall call His name Jesus (Yeshua – Salvation), for He will save.”  His name given to Him by the angel was Yeshua.

So, how did His name change to Jesus?  The original Gospels were written in Hebrew.  The Hebrew was translated into Greek, turning His name into “Iesous,” and in Latin “Ieasous.”  The Latin Bible was the common translation for 1500 years.  In the English language, the letter “J” was first introduced in the 1400’s, and eventually, “Ieasous” became “Jeasous”, to “Jesus”.  Jesus’ name means Salvation, or that He will Save. 

“You shall name Him Salvation, for He shall save His people from their sins.”  Reading it in the original Hebrew makes more sense. 

Notes:

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Our Prayer for today,

Father, I thank You for bringing Salvation to this world, so that we can be saved through the name of Jesus.

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