From the Desk of the Imamaa: Brothers and Sisters Salaamun Alaykum and may Elah bless and keep you safe. I am reprinting an article about Eesa or so-called Jesus for those seeking clarity and knowledge: JESUS NAME ACCORDING TO CHRISTIANITY III. WAS JESUS NAME YAHUSHUWA` OR YESHUA` AND DID BOTH MEAN SAVIOR? Was his name Yahushuwa`? - YAHUSHUWA` - This is theorized to be a combination of Yahweh and Yasha` meaning Jehovah is Salvation. This was the name of Moses companion Joshua Ben-Nun who is referred to as Yasa` in the Quran. The problem with this theory is that there were several people in the Tanach named Yahushuwa`: 1.Yahushuwa` (Joshua) the son of Nun, companion of Moses, subject of the Old Testament Book of Joshua. 2. Yahushuwa` (Joshua) the Bethshemite (1 Samuel 6:18) 3. Yahushuwa`, (Joshua) governor of Jerusalem under King Hosiah (2 Kings 23:8) 4. Yahushuwa`, (Joshua) son of Josedech (Haggai 1:1) and so forth... However, there exists not a single shred of historical evidence that the historical Jesus was ever called Yahushuwa` in his lifetime. All the aforementioned had this name, yet their names were not transliterated into Jesus or Ieosus. They were transliterated as Joshua. Thus, we must conclude that Jesus was a name very dissimilar to Yahushuwa` (Joshua) since it was transliterated by the early Biblical writers into the incongruent Ieosus and then later Jesus. However, the closest thing to a reference of any executed figure in Jesus time period is the Talmudic entry: On the eve of the Passover, Yeshua` was hanged... [Babylonia Sanhedrin 43A] One will find this quoted repeatedly in Christian polemics trying to prove the historicity of Jesus. However, this is erroneous due to the following reasons: First this mentions someone named Yeshua` and not Yahushuwa` who was hung on the eve of Passover. Second, there is nothing to say or support that this was the Biblical Jesus. As will be further illustrated in the next section, both the names Yeshua` and Yahushuwa` were very common amongst the Israelites prior to Jesus lifetime. This brings us to our next supposition regarding his name. Was his name Yeshua`? - Yeshua` - This name is rooted in the word yasha` meaning safety in Hebrew. Christians attempt to proselytize their theories of a man-god Jesus by saying this name of his meant Salvation. The Problem with that theory is the fact that this name means He is saved. If he is God then who saved him? If this name is a sign of divinity then what of the others with the name Yeshua`? Were they the only begotten son of God as well? Obviously not, as no Jews ever held this erroneous idea. Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity...Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah... [Ezra 2:2] The ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, [I Chronicles 24:11] And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah... [II Chronicles 31:15] And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah.. [Nehemiah 3:19] Each and every one of these people have the name Yeshua` spelled exactly how the Christians allege Jesus supposed original name is spelled. However as we can see, this name was transliterated into Jeshua by the early Biblical writers and not Jesus or Ieosus. Why then is Jesus the only one named Jesus in the entirety of the Bible and, moreover, in the entirety of any recorded history of his time? It is because his name was unique and neither Yeshua` or Yehushuwa` were his name. As we can see Yehushuwa` and Yeshua` were not special or unique names, yet they were very common. However, Jesus remains a name very unique to this Messianic character shrouded in controversy. There is no historical record of Jesus being called by either of these names in his lifetime. Even if Yeshua` were the name of Jesus it would completely obliterate the Christian position that he was the Savior of mankind, since this name does not mean Savior but means He is saved. This would further support the Muslim belief that Jesus was saved from the ignominy of crucifixion and ascended up to heaven alive. (Left) Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament, H. W. F. Gesenius, p 373] As can be seen here plainly, the name Yeshua` means Saved. Christian religionists attempt to say this name means Savior. This is scholastic guile and a statement made in complete absence of even a basic understanding of the Biblical languages. If Jesus name was indeed, Yeshua` it would only support the historically sound theory that Jesus was not resurrected but survived the crucifixion. Thus, he would be true to this name. However, as we have seen the likelihood that this was his name is extremely thin. Similar to there being a complete absence of any reference to Jesus in history as Yahushuwa`, there is likewise, a complete void of information linking Jesus to the name Yeshua` in his lifetime. The Talmud was written between 300-600 A.D. Other commonly quoted books like the Toledoth Yeshua` were satires written to defame Christianity as late as the 10th century A.D. nearly 1000 years after Jesus. Ironically, from the disparaging writings against Jesus came the Arabic Yesu` as they are the only source for this name being attributed to Jesus in the Middle East. The Christian world is left at a loss to find a historical Jesus who fits the description given in their sadly sparse Biblical sources. May Elah guide you!
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 16:57:12 +0000
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