Eclectic Topics in no Particular Order
Various Topics Discussed
/>
The Hebrew word for salvation, יְשׁוּעָה y'shu'ah, is a FEMININE NOUN. It cannot possibly be a name for Jesus unless he was a woman. Nouns in Hebrew are either masculine or feminine and the word for "salvation" is a feminine noun. Missionaries ignore pesky little facts in their zeal to missionize. There was a Hebrew name which is similar to יְשׁוּעָה y'shu'ah, and that is the name יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a (masculine) -- but do we know for a fact that Jesus' Hebrew name was יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a? No, not at all. Indeed it is very unlikely to have been his name based on what we DO know. All the writings about Jesus were in Greek. There is no known Hebrew name for him. So all the modern "Hebrew Christians" who insist on calling Jesus "Yeshua" are simply making up a name based on nothing really. Based on, what, the HOPE that his name meant salvation? As already pointed out the word for salvation is feminine! The word for salvation, יְשׁוּעָה y'shu'ah, and the name יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a are spelled differently. Notice not only the heh (ה) at the end of the word for salvation, but notice to that the Masoretic symbols (cantillation) representing vowels (Hebrew is spelled without vowels) are DIFFERENT as well. So while some consonants are similar (with יְשׁוּעָה y'shu'ah ending with a heh / ה and the name ending with an ayin (עַ) the vowels are different -- changing the pronunciation. The two words' pronunciation is very different: the vowel of the first syllable of יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a is tzéré, a full-valued vowel having the sound of the "ay" in the English word bay and the accented syllable is the שֽׁוּ -shu-, whereas the yod in יְשׁוּעָה y'shu'ah is pointed with sh'va na, a "snatched" half-vowel that has no sound of it's own and causes the yod to be subsumed into the compound syllable y'shu-, and the stress in this case falls on the final syllable, -ah. There were men named יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a 2000 years ago -- but given what we DO know of Jesus' Greek names it could not have been his Hebrew name. How do we know that Jesus' Hebrew name (if he had one) can't even be יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a? When a Hebrew word or name is transliterated into Greek letters, iota (I,ι) takes the place of the Hebrew letter י yod and sigma (Σ,σ or ς at the end of a word) replaces the Hebrew ש shin (because Greek lacks both consonants y and sh); furthermore in Greek, men’s names regularly end with -s (e.g. Ἀρίσταρχος Arístarchos, Ἀρχιμήδης Archimēdes, etc). The Greek version of יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a would be Jesuas, not Jesus. Also, salvation in the T'nach always refers to our physical lives being saved from danger. Our immortal souls do not need saving. The meaning of יְשׁוּעָה in the Scriptures is very different from the way it is misused in by Christian missionaries. In Hebrew, it simply means being “rescued” from danger—typically by the rescuer engaging in physical combat (fighting) with an assailant who is attacking the person being “saved”. In the T'nach, “saving” is almost always associated with “fighting” or “waging war”.... I refer you to any or all of the following examples: • “Just stand still and you’ll see HaShem’s salvation that He is going to do for your today....” (Sh'mot / Exodus 14:13) • “HaShem saved Israel from Egypt’s power that day....” (Sh'mot / Exodus 14:30) • “HaShem set up a savior for Israel—Otniyél ben K'naz, Kalév’s younger brother....” (Shoftim / Judges 3:9) • “HaShem set up a savior for them—Éhud ben Géra the Bin-y'mini, who had a deformed right hand....” (Shoftim / Judges 3:15) • “....and he, too, saved Israel....” (Shoftim / Judges 3:31) • “If You will save Israel through my hand, as You have spoken....” (Shoftim / Judges 6:36) • “....you didn’t save me from them....and, when I saw that you hadn’t saved me....” (Shoftim / Judges 12:2-3) • “HaShem saved Israel that day....” (Shmuel 1 / 1 Samuel 14:23) • “....so David saved the inhabitants of K'ilah....” (Shmuel 1 / 1 Samuel 23:5) • “HaShem is my Light and my Salvation-- Whom should I fear? HaShem is the fortress of my Life-- Whom should I dread? If evil men approach me To devour my flesh-- [When] my adversaries and my enemies [attacked] me-- Wow! They stumbled and fell! If an army encamps against me My heart will not be afraid; If war breaks out against me-- On this [assurance] I can rely!” (T'hillim / Psalm 27:1-3) The above verses (and these are only a selection—there are many, many more) demonstrate how the verb save and nouns savior, salvation are used in the T'nach, which is nothing like the way christians use them.... The only reason that Christians pretend Jesus' Hebrew name was “Y'shua” is so they can claim that his name meant “salvation”.... but they conveniently forget that the very man to whose throne they pretend he was the heir warned us with biting sarcasm about him: “Do not trust in princes, in the son of men, who has no salvation. His spirit leaves, he returns to his soil; on that day, his thoughts are lost." T'hillim / Psalm 146:3-4). In D'varim / Deuteronomy 33:29 Moses said we are “a nation that has been saved by HaShem” and Y'shayahu / Isaiah 45:17 says the Jewish nation “has been saved by HaShem”, adding that “this is an eternal salvation”). Note that, in both verses, the words used were “has been saved” or "continually being saved." So we don't NEED Jesus to save us -- G-d has saved / is saving us continually, B"H! The Hebrew word used in both verses is נוֹשַׁע nosha, which is a nif 'al (passive) participle and literally means “being saved”. This form, although it may appear to be in the present tense, actually denotes a continuous state, independent of time, that has always existed in the past, still exists in the present, and will continue to exist into the future. Remember. . . “Do not trust in princes, in the son of men, who has no salvation. His spirit leaves, he returns to his soil; on that day, his thoughts are lost." T'hillim / Psalm 146:3-4).
2 Comments
It might surprise you to know that no one knows what Jesus' Hebrew name might have been. All the early writings about Jesus are written in Koine Greek. Although some Christians think they might have originally been written in Hebrew, no early Hebrew texts exist. It is pretty unlikely that they were written in Hebrew as most of the biblical "quotes" are from Greek translations and not from the Hebrew. . . Having said that, no one knows what Jesus' Hebrew name might have been (if he existed at all). It became popular in the 1970s, when the "Hebrew Christian" movement took hold, to say that Jesus Hebrew name was form יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a. There is a Hebrew name form יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a -- it is a masculine name of a few people mentioned in the Talmud (none of whom lived at the time of Jesus -- some predate him by hundred years, others post-date him). But that name won't "work for Jesus. Ἰησοῦς / Iesous (the Greek name given for Jesus in all the early papyri) would equate to the Aramaic יֵֽשׁוּ / Yéshu. It does not and cannot represent the Hebrew form יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a because Ἰησοῦς / Iesous would transliterate into "Jesuas" (not Jesus). Have you ever seen any Christians call Jesus “Jesuas”? Why do so many missionaries want to insist that יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a was Jesus' Hebrew name? Because they want to "tie" him to the Hebrew word for "salvation." The Hebrew word for salvation, יְשׁוּעָה y'shu'ah, is a FEMININE NOUN. Nouns in Hebrew are either masculine or feminine (there is no "gender neutral). Although the words are spelled somewhat similarly they are not the same word. Notice the spelling difference? יֵשֽׁוּעַ (yud-shin-vav-ayin) is not the same as יְשׁוּעָה (yud-shin-vav-ayin-heh). Notice too that the vocalizations are different -- so although some consonants are similar, the vowels are different. The two words' pronunciation is very different: the vowel of the first syllable of יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a is tzéré, a full-valued vowel having the sound of the "ay" in the English word bay and the accented syllable is the שֽׁוּ -shu-, whereas the yod in יְשׁוּעָה y'shu'ah is pointed with sh'va na, a "snatched" half-vowel that has no sound of it's own and causes the yod to be subsumed into the compound syllable y'shu-, and the stress in this case falls on the final syllable, -ah. But we know without a doubt that although there were men named יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a -- it could not possibly have been a Hebrew name for Jesus. How do we know that Jesus' Hebrew name (if he had one) can't even be יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a? When a Hebrew word or name is transliterated into Greek letters, iota (I,ι) takes the place of the Hebrew letter י yod and sigma (Σ,σ or ς at the end of a word) replaces the Hebrew ש shin (because Greek lacks both consonants y and sh); furthermore in Greek, men’s names regularly end with -s (e.g. Ἀρίσταρχος Arístarchos, Ἀρχιμήδης Archimēdes, etc). The Greek version of יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a would be Jesuas, not Jesus. So, no, Jesus' Hebrew name is not "salvation." IF Jesus had a Hebrew name it would be a shortened version of Joshua / יְהוֹשֻֽׁעַ /Y'hoshua. Joshua / יְהוֹשֻֽׁעַ /Y'hoshua started to be shortened to יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a during the Babylonian Exile period, and this was shortened still further to יֵֽשׁוּ Yéshu in the post-Biblical period after the Return (it is sometimes claimed by certain christians that this form is an insult and “stands for” the Hebrew phrase יִמַּח שְׁמוֹ וְזִכְרוֹ yimmaḥ sh'mo v'zichro “may his name and memory be blotted out”, but this simply isn’t true). It is a bit ironic that missionaries insist that Jesus' Hebrew name is יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a. Erchin 32b Gemara (commentary in the Talmud) points out that that the verse writes Joshua / יְהוֹשֻֽׁעַ /Y'hoshua's name without the letter "Heh" ( יֵשֽׁוּעַ Yéshu'a). The Gemara says the missing "heh" has a negative connotation; it implies that Y'hoshua should had the Jews observe Sukkot earlier. This is based on Nechemiah / Nehemiah 8:17: "And all the congregation of the returnees from the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths, for they had not done so from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun until that day, and there was exceedingly great joy." How does the Gemara infer this from the missing letter "Heh" letter "Heh" in Y'hoshua's name? Joshua / יְהוֹשֻֽׁעַ / Y'hoshua lost an opportunity for the Jews to perform a very important mitzvah (Sukkot). Thus the "heh" was removed from his name in the verse as a way of showing that he did not fulfill the potential given to him by Moshe Rabeinu (Moses). So why missionaries would pick a name which is considered diminished in honor is anyone's guess! |
Categories
All
|