Category Archives: Our Master’s Name

Our Master's Name

The Scriptural Importance of Yahushua’s Name

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Is calling the Messiah by his true name important? I have listed below some pretty strong statements. All of
these statements are backed up by scripture. Click on the statement to read the scriptures that back it up. These
Scriptures should be read in context to grasp the full meaning of the text. By the time you are finished reading each of these scriptures, there should be no doubt as to how important Yahushua’s name really is.

Our Saviour has a beautiful Name…Yahushua!! let’s look at the Name of Yahushua. It also consists of two parts: Yahu being the first syllable and shua being the second. Therefore the Name of Yahushua contains the Father’s Name (Yahueh/Yahweh). In Hebrew, the word “Shua” means “Saves. ” When we know this we can truly understand Mat 1:21, Joh 5:23, 14:26


Definition of the word “name” in scripture



Yahushua’s Name is supreme over all!

Acts 4:12-AV Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other

name

under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.

Philippians 2:9-AV Wherefore Elohim also hath highly exalted him, and given him a

name

which is above every

name: Philippians 2:10-AV That at the

name

of

Yahushua

every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] on earth, and [things] under the earth; Philippians 2:11-AV And [that] every tongue should confess that

Yahushua

Messiah [is] Master, to the glory of Elohim the Father.

Hebrews 1:4-AV Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent

name

than they.



The Holy Spirit is sent in Yahushua’s Name

John 14:26-AV But the Comforter, [who is] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my

name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.



True believers call on His Name!

Acts 9:14-AV And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy

name.

Acts 9:21-AV But all that heard [him] were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them who called on this

name

in Jerusalem, and came here for that intent, that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?

Acts 22:16-AV And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the

name

of the Master.

1Corinthians 1:2-AV To the church of Elohim which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Messiah

Yahushua, called [to be] saints, with all that in every place call upon the

name

of

Yahushua

Messiah our Master, both theirs and ours:



True believers call on His Name for salvation

Acts 2:21-AV And it shall come to pass, [that] whoever shall call on the

name

of

Yahweh

shall be saved.

Acts 4:12-AV Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other

name

under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.



True believers are anointed in His Name

James 5:14-AV Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the

name

of the Master:



True believers are baptized in His Name

Acts 2:38-AV Then Peter said to them, Repent ye, and each one of you be baptized in the

name

of

Yahushua

Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:16-AV (For as yet he had fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the

name

of the Master

Yahushua.)

Acts 10:48-AV And he commanded them to be baptized in the

name

of the Master. Then they requested him to tarry certain days.

Acts 19:5-AV When they heard [this], they were baptized into the

name

of the Master

Yahushua.



True believers are forgiven in His name

Luke 24:47-AV And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his

name

among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 10:43-AV To him give all the prophets witness, that through his

name

whoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Acts 22:16-AV And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the

name

of the Master.

1John 2:12-AV I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his

name‘s sake.



True believers are justified in His Name

1Corinthians 6:11-AV And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the

name

of the Master

Yahushua, and by the Spirit of our Elohim.



True believers are protected by His Name

John 17:11-AV And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thy own

name

those whom thou hast given to me, that they may be one, as we [are].

John 17:12-AV While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy

name: those that thou gavest to me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.



True believers assemble in His Name

Matthew 18:20-AV For where two or three are gathered together in my

name, there am I in the midst of them.

1Corinthians 5:4-AV In the

name

of our Master

Yahushua

Messiah, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Master

Yahushua

Messiah.



True believers bear His name

Acts 9:15-AV But the Master said to him, Go: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my

name

before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:



True believers believe in His Name

John 1:12-AV But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of Elohim, [even] to them that believe on his

name: {power: or, the right, or, privilege}

John 3:18-AV He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the

name

of the only begotten Son of Elohim.

Acts 3:16-AV And his

name

through faith in his

name

hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

1John 3:23-AV And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the

name

of his Son

Yahushua

Messiah, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1John 5:13-AV These things have I written to you that believe on the

name

of the Son of Elohim; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the

name

of the Son of Elohim.



True believers command and make appeals in His Name

1Corinthians 1:10-AV Now I beseech you, brethren, by the

name

of our Master

Yahushua

Messiah, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. {divisions: Gr. schisms}

2Thessalonians 3:6-AV Now we command you, brethren, in the

name

of our Master

Yahushua

Messiah, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received from us.



True believers do everything in His Name

Colossians 3:17-AV And whatever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the

name

of the Master

Yahushua, giving thanks to Elohim and the Father by him.



True believers do miracles and Heal in His Name

Acts 3:6-AV Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give thee: In the

name

of

Yahushua

Messiah of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Acts 3:16-AV And his

name

through faith in his

name

hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Acts 4:10-AV Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the

name

of

Yahushua

Messiah of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom Elohim raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you in good health.

Acts 4:30-AV By stretching forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the

name

of thy holy child

Yahushua.



True believers drive out demons in His Name

Mark 9:38-AV And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy

name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.

Luke 10:17-AV And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Master, even the demons are subject to us through thy

name.

Acts 16:18-AV And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the

name

of

Yahushua

Messiah to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.



True believers give thanks in His Name

Ephesians 5:20-AV Giving thanks always for all things to Elohim and the Father in the

name

of our Master

Yahushua

Messiah;



True believers honor His Name

2Thessalonians 1:12-AV That the

name

of our Master

Yahushua

Messiah may be honored in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our Elohim and of the Master

Yahushua

Messiah.



True believers have life in His Name

John 20:31-AV But these are written, that ye may believe that

Yahushua

is the Messiah, the Son of Elohim; and that believing ye may have life through his

name.



True believers make requests in His Name

John 14:13-AV And whatever ye shall ask in my

name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 16:23-AV And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say to you, Whatever ye shall ask the Father in my

name, he will give [it] you. John 16:24-AV Until now ye have asked nothing in my

name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:25-AV These things have I spoken to you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly concerning the Father. {proverbs: or, parables} John 16:26-AV At that day ye shall ask in my

name: and I say not to you, that I will pray the Father for you: John 16:27-AV For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came from Elohim.



True believers speak, preach and teach in His Name

Acts 4:18-AV And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the

name

of

Yahushua.

Acts 5:28-AV Saying, Did we not strictly command you that ye should not teach in this

name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.

Acts 5:40-AV And to him they assented: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten [them], they commanded that they should not speak in the

name

of

Yahushua, and let them go.

Acts 8:12-AV But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of Elohim, and the

name

of

Yahushua

Messiah, they were baptized, both men and women.

Acts 9:27-AV But Barnabas took him, and brought [him] to the apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Master in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the

name

of

Yahushua. Acts 9:28-AV And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.



True believers suffer for His Name

Luke 21:12-AV But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute [you], delivering [you] up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my

name‘s sake.

John 15:20-AV Remember the word that I said to you, The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

John 15:21-AV But all these things will they do to you for my

name‘s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Acts 5:41-AV And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his

name.

Acts 9:15-AV But the Master said to him, Go: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my

name

before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Acts 9:16-AV For I will show him what great things he must suffer for my

name‘s sake.

Acts 15:26-AV Men that have risked their lives for the

name

of our Master

Yahushua

Messiah.

Acts 21:13-AV Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the

name

of the Master

Yahushua.

1Peter 4:14-AV If ye are reproached for the

name

of Messiah, happy [are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of Elohim resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

Revelation 2:3-AV And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my

name‘s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Still not convinced??

 

Our Master's Name, REALLY!?! Names *that* Important?

Why Yahushua? יהשוע

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Some have written me asking for an explanation of why we use the form “Yahushua” in reference to the Messiah while others use “Yahshua”, “Yeshua” or “Yehoshua”. The purpose of this study is to go through each of these pronunciations and determine which is the most correct. 

We’re don’t believe that you need to pronounce the Messiah’s name exactly like we do in order to be saved. However, the issue of the Messiah’s name is a very important one. If you don’t believe us, read the below scriptures:

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yahushua Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Yahushua Messiah of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Acts 3:16 “And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which [comes] through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”

Acts 4:10 “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Yahushua Messiah of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom Elohim raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:17 “But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Yahushua.

Acts 4:30 “by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Yahushua.”

Acts 5:28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”

Acts 5:40 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten [them], they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Yahushua, and let them go. 41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of Elohim and the name of Yahushua Messiah, both men and women were baptized.

Acts 8:16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Master Yahushua.

Acts 9:14 “And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” 15 But the Master said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Acts 9:21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”

Acts 9:27 But Barnabas took him and brought [him] to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Master on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Yahushua.

Acts 9:29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Master Yahushua and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.

Acts 10:43 “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

Acts 15:14 “Simon has declared how Elohim at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

Acts 15:26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah.

Acts 16:18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Yahushua Messiah to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.

Acts 18:15 “But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look [to] [it] yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such [matters].”

Acts 19:5 When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Master Yahushua.

Acts 19:13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Master Yahushua over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Yahushua whom Paul preaches.”

Acts 19:17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Master Yahushua was magnified.

Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Master Yahushua.”

And this is just in the book of Acts! The name of Yahushua is intricately linked with the person of Yahushua. So in light of the numerous scriptures which show us the importance of His name, we should at least seek to understand how it is pronounced. It is obviously important according to scripture. 

Origin of the name “Jesus”

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the etymological origin of “Jesus” is:

Jesus ..Middle English, from Late Latin Isus, from Greek Isous, from Hebrew y˚‘, from yhÙ˚a‘, Joshua…

Notice that it says that the origin of His name is from Latin, then Greek, then Hebrew. So the name “Jesus” is the result of 3 different languages placing their influence on the original name the disciples were proclaiming, baptizing in and praying in. Some of the influence is quite recent. In the 1611 King James Version, it originally had “Iesus” rather than “Jesus” (photo). Later revisions of the KJV changed it to “Jesus”. This leads me to ask some important questions: “Who is the one who gets to decide what it is changed to? Man or Yahweh? And if Yahushua is supposed to be the same yesterday, today and forever, why do they keep changing His name?”

If you look up the name “Jesus” in a Strong’s lexicon it has “Iesous”:

“2424 Iesous ee-ay-sooce’ of Hebrew origin (3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:–Jesus.”

Notice that it traces the name of Messiah to Hebrew word #3091 in the Strong’s lexicon. This name is the same name as “Joshua, Son of Nun”. In the Hebrew, this name is spelled . 

While there are some out there claiming that “Jesus” is somehow derived from “Zeus”, I have yet to find anyone who is willing to present hard evidence of this claim. One person wrote a book which claimed that “Iesous” means “Hail Zeus”. When I contacted him by phone and asked him for evidence of this claim, he said “Iesous” means “Hail Zeus” in the sense that when you say the “Ie” it sounds like “Yaayy” and “Yaayy” is what people do in modern sports games when they hail their team. Thus, the statement that “Iesous” meant “Hail Zeus” had nothing to do with its meaning in the Greek language. 

In fact, the Greek language spells Zeus (#2203 in the Strong’s Lexicon) as ZeuV and doesn’t even have the same letters or sound as the second syllable in IhsouV (Iesous). First of all, the Z in ZeuV produces a “dz” sound, not an “s” sound. Also the eu combination in ZeuV sounds like “eu as in feud“, a letter combination not found in any form of

IhsouV/Iesous. So is

ZeuV is actually pronounced “Dzyooce” and not “Sooce”. These things alone make it appear quite impossible that Iesous comes from “Zeus”. Look at the first page of the Greek Lexicon in your Strong’s concordance if you want confirmation of the sounds of these Greek letters. 

Another important point is that the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures that was completed many years before Yahushua came to earth, also rendered the Hebrew name “Yahushua” as IhsouV (Iesous). This fact alone clearly demonstrates that “Iesous” is a Greek form of and wasn’t a form invented by apostate Christians who wanted to honor Zeus in some way.

Interestingly, there is evidence that although the name of Yahushua was written in Greek as IhsouV, it may have actually been pronounced the way a Hebrew speaking person would pronounce it. Around 178 CE, a pagan by the name of Celsus engaged in written debates with Christians. In one of them, Celsus (speaking of Christians) said:

“But of course they think otherwise: they assume that by pronouncing the name of their teacher they are armored against the powers of the earth and air. And they are quite insistent on the efficacy of the name as a means of protection: pronounce it improperly, they say, and it is ineffective. Greek and Latin will not do; it must be said in a barbarian tongue to work. Silly as they are, one finds them standing next to a a statue of Zeus or Apollo or some other god, and shouting, “see here: I blaspheme it and strike it, but it is powerless against me for I am a Christian.” Celsus on the True Doctrine, A Discourse Against the Christians, R. Joseph Hoffman (page118)

Notice that Celsus was quoting Christians as saying that the name of “their teacher” (Yahushua no doubt) must not be spoken “improperly” and that it must not be spoken in a “Greek” way or “Latin” way, but in a “Barbarian tongue” for it to be effective. Of course, to the pagans the Hebrew language was nothing more than a barbarian language. This lends evidence that even though the name of Yahushua was written as

IhsouV, there were at least some people speaking it in the Hebrew way. The Greek alphabet simply lacks the letters necessary to correctly convey how the name is pronounced in Hebrew.

So how is the name pronounced? Let’s start with the form that is found in various Hebrew Lexicons: “Yehoshua”. 

Yehoshua

In the Strong’s concordance and other Hebrew Lexicons, the pronunciation listed for the Messiah’s name is typically “Yehoshua”. While I do not believe we should be getting all of our Hebrew learning from a Strong’s lexicon alone (that would be dangerous), most of us do own a Strong’s Concordance so I will be using it during this study for the purposes of illustration. 

The reason for the “Yehoshua” pronunciation is due to the Hebrew vowel pointing added by the Masorite scribes. The vowel points are the little dots and dashes under and above certain Hebrew letters. Unlike English, Hebrew was written with mostly all consonants. It was up to the reader to supply the vowels in each word based on the context of the word. The Masorites were concerned that Hebrew was becoming a lost language so they invented the vowel point system to preserve the sounds of the Hebrew language. However, in keeping with tradition they were not interested in letting everyone speak the pronunciation of the Heavenly Father’s name. For this reason, they pointed the Heavenly Father’s name to produce the sound “Yehovah”. 

To avoid speaking the Heavenly Father’s name, the Jewish tradition was to say “Adonai” (“Lord”) instead of Yahweh. For this reason, our English bibles also say “LORD” instead of “Yahweh”. So rather than supplying the true vowels of the Heavenly Father’s name, the scribes inserted the vowels for “Adonai” so that the reader would be reminded to say “Adonai” rather than Yahweh. 

But what if the Hebrew scriptures contained a phrase such as “Adonai Yahweh” (Master Yahweh)? They would then have to say “Adonai Adonai”, a rather odd (if not a bit embarrassing) phrase. Their solution was to put the vowel points for “Elohim” within the Heavenly Father’s name so that they would be reminded to say “Adonai Elohim” instead of “Adonai adonai”. This is even mentioned in the Strong’s lexicon and it lists it as a different word number. Read what it says:

 

“136” is the Hebrew word “Adonai” and “430” is the Hebrew word “Elohim”. So these vowel points are used within the Father’s name whenever His name follows 136 (Adonai). And they pronounce this as 430 (Elohim) to avoid having to say Adonai twice. For this reason, many English translations will render “Adonai Yahweh” as “the Lord GOD” with “GOD” being in all capitals to let the reader know that this is where the sacred name is found in the Hebrew. Very few even know that this is why “GOD” is sometimes in all capital letters (See Gen 15:2 for one of hundreds of examples of this). It is amazing how far men will go in order to cleave to tradition! 

So how does this relate to the pronunciation of the Messiah’s name? Let’s take a look at His name again in the Strong’s Lexicon:

Notice that there are other names listed in the Strong’s concordance which contain the first three letters of Yahweh’s name. And just like Yahweh’s name which starts with the “Yeho” vowel points, they use the “Yeho” vowel points in “Yehoram”, “Yehosheba”, “Yehoshaphat” and numerous other names which contain the first part of Yahweh’s name. The scribes apparently did not want anyone to accidentally pronounce the Heavenly Father’s name when saying these other names, so they changed the vowel points of those names as well. 

Interestingly, they did not change the pronunciation of these same three letters when it was at the end of a person’s name. For instance, look at how Zechariah’s name is presented in the Hebrew text:

Notice the different vowel pointing and pronunciation herein (“ZecharYahu“). Phonetically, the first three letters in the Heavenly Father’s name are also pronounced “Yahu”. For this reason, the Heavenly Father’s name can be written as “YAHUeh” or “YAHWeh” and the same pronunciation will result, just as in the word “Persuade” could also be spelled “Perswade”. I prefer to use a W so that there is less confusion over how the name is to be pronounced. 

By the way, for those who think we cannot know what the vowel sounds were in Yahweh’s name, it only takes a little research to find the pronunciation of “Yod Heh Waw” because the scribes had no problem giving the correct pronunciation of these three letters at the end of a name. Because it ends in ‘Yahu’, there was considered to be no risk in accidentally saying “Yahueh/Yahweh”. This would also explain why the scribes used the correct vowel points in the shortened form of Yahweh’s name (“Yah”):

They even used the correct vowel pointing in “HalleluYah”. Thus, the only time they would revert to the “Yeho” pronunciation of these three letters was when it was at the beginning of a Hebrew name. But I want nothing to do with the unscriptural tradition of saying “Adonai/Lord/Elohim/God” in place of Yahweh. That is one reason I do not refer to the Messiah as “Yehoshua”. “Yeho(ah)” does not save, “Yahu(eh)” saves!

Having said this, there are some Hebrew students and scholars who have noticed that a natural progression of Hebrew language is to shorten the first vowel and lengthen the second whenever the accent is on the third syllable (in this case “shu”) of a Hebrew word. This would indeed result in the “Y’hoshua” or “Yehoshua” pronunciation. For this reason, some believe “Yehoshua” to actually be the correct pronunciation. 

But while this may be true in normal Hebrew words, there is plenty of evidence to support that this was not true in personal names–especially with names containing the first part of Yahweh’s name. The Murashu texts, dated 5th century BCE and written on clay tablets in cuneiform script, list the names of about 70 Jewish settlers in Persia.  In these tablets, vowels are used. The Hebrew names which begin with Yod Heh Waw all are written “Yahu-” and never “Y’ho”. 

“In the cuneiform texts Yeho [YHW], Yo [YW] and Yah [YH] are written Yahu, as for example in the names Jehu (Yahu-a), Jehoahaz (Yahu-khazi) and Hezekiah (Khazaqi-yahu)” A. H. Sayce in “Higher Criticism” notes on p. 87 

Notice that not only were names beginning with “Yeho” written as “Yahu”, but also names beginning with “Yo” such as “Yoseph” (Joseph) and “Yoel” (Joel) were written as “Yahu”. This indicates Joseph and Joel were originally “Yahuseph” and “Yahuel”. 

Also, cuneiform tablets (also containing vowels) were discovered near the Ishtar gate in Babylon which give a list of workers and captives to whom rations were given. In addition to validating the biblical account in 2Kings 25:27-29 where it mentions that Jehoiachin (Yahuiachin) ate at the King’s table, these tablets help to establish the way these names were pronounced before the Masorite scribes inserted their vowel pointings based on tradition:

“Yaukin, king of the land of Yahud,” (“Jehoiachin, the king of the land of Judah”)

Another witness is found in an inscription of the Assyrian monarch Tiglath-pileser III (Gressmann Bilder 348; ANET 282a). When listing those kings who were paying tribute to this Assyrian King, it mentions “Yauhazi”, also known as “Ahaz”. Various lexicons such as the New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon (p. 219 b) and the Hebrew Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (under “Ahaz”) mention this inscription as well. 

With all the evidence, it becomes clear that the name was never originally pronounced “Yehoshua”. Rather “Yahushua” is more correct and there is no reason mispronounce the Heavenly Father’s name when speaking the name of His Son. Just as names which end with a reference to Yahweh correctly convey the Father’s name (“ZecharYah/ZecharYahu”), so do the names which begin with it.

Yeshua

Much used by the Messianic movement, “Yeshua” is actually an Aramaic form of the Hebrew name “Yahushua”. In the Hebrew script, it is not spelled the same as Yahushua. The “Yeshua” name, spelled(Yod Shin Waw Ayin), is found in the books of Nehemiah and Ezra where it lists the names of those who returned from the Babylonian exile. One of them is called “Jeshua, the son of Jozadak”:

Ezra 3:2 Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the Elohim of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of Elohim.

“Jeshua the Son of Jozadak” is the same High Priest mentioned in Zechariah 6:

Zechariah 6:11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;

Notice that in Zechariah, he is not called “Jeshua the son of Jozadak” but he is called “Joshua the son of Josedech” (Heb. Yahushua the son of Yahutsadak). This reflects the Hebrew spelling of the same name. So in Zechariah, he is called Yahushua but in Ezra he is called Yeshua. The book of Nehemiah also changes the name of Joshua the son of Nun to “Jeshua, the son of Nun”:

Nehemiah 8:17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

The change in spelling to “Jeshua/Yeshua” (“Yod Shin Waw Ayin” ) is due to the Aramaic influence during the exile. In fact, parts of the book of Ezra are written in Aramaic. For confirmation, look at your Strong’s Lexicon:

Notice that #3442 and #3443 are the same exact word with the same Hebrew spelling, but this lexicon lists them separately. Why is this? Well, if you looked up “Jeshua” in the concordance, you will notice that it lists “Jeshua” in Ezra 3:2 as coming from #3442 and “Jeshua” in Ezra 5:2 coming from #3443. The reason for the two different Strong’s word numbers is Ezra 5:2 is a part of the book of Ezra which was written in Aramaic (Ezra 4:8 through 6:18; 7:12-26). This is why #3443 mentions “Yeshuwa” as coming from “Chaldean” in the above definition (3443.Yeshuwa’ (Chald.)). Therefore, “Yeshua” is actually an Aramaic rendering of “Yahushua”. 

Now, some claim that Yeshua is a pure Hebrew word which isn’t derived from “Yahushua” at all, but that it is a Hebrew word meaning “Salvation”. The problem with that is the Hebrew word for “Salvation” is not (yeshua) at all! The Hebrew word for “Salvation” is word number #3444. Take a look again in the above lexicon graphic and see the differences between 3442/3443 and 3444. They are:

  • There is an additional Hebrew letter at the end (the “Heh”). uses the silent (but anciently guttural) “Ayin” letter to end the word, but #3444 ends in the letter “Heh”. While vowel letter under both words indicate they have have a similar sounding ending, the different spelling indicates they are two different words.
      
  • In #3444 (Yeshuwah) there is a different vowel pointing under the first Hebrew letter (Yod [remember Hebrew reads from right to left]). 3442/3443 (YESHUA) has 2 horizontal dots underneath the first letter like this: . These two horizontal dots represent the Hebrew Vowel point “Tsere” (pronounced Tsey-rey) which produces the “ey” sound as in the English word “Hey”. But #3444 has two vertical dots underneath the first letter like this . The two vertical dots represent the Hebrew vowel point “Sheva” which is a very short “e”, somewhat like our “E” sound in the word “Average” (Check the first page of your Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon for verification of this).

    Incidentally, the (Sheva) is also the vowel point used by the scribes in “Yehoshua” and it is why you will sometimes see “Yehoshua” or “Yeshua” written as “Y’hoshua” and “Y’shua”. The purpose of the ‘ is to indicate the presence of the sheva vowel point in Hebrew. But as you can see, “Yeshua” does not contain that vowel point at all. “Yeshua” uses the “Tsere” Hebrew vowel point which produces an “ey” sound. So Yeshua and Y’shuah are actually pronounced differently. The Strong’s Lexicon indicated this when it gave the pronunciation of as ‘yay-shoo-ah‘, but #3444 as ‘yesh-oo-aw‘.

So the name “Yeshua” and the Hebrew word “Y’shuah” are not the same. “Yeshua” is the Aramaic form of “Yahushua” and “Y’shuah” is the Hebrew word for “Salvation”. Therefore, in spite of what some may say, I find no evidence to suggest that(“Yeshua”) means “Salvation” in Hebrew. “Yeshua” is actually not an authentic Hebrew word meaning “salvation”. For it to mean “Salvation” it would have to have the Hebrew letter “heh” added to the end of it, changing the spelling to Yod Shin Waw Ayin Heh and it would need to have the “Sheva” vowel point under the Yod. These things further indicate that “Yeshua” isn’t from Hebrew, but is an Aramaic form of “Yahushua”. 

Since the Heavenly Father’s name (Yahweh) is a Hebrew name, I would not expect to see His Son’s name coming from some other language, whether it be Greek, Latin, Aramaic or English. If neither of these languages do it right, why not return to the original and correct form? 

Yahshua

This is another popular way of writing the Messiah’s name but I have never seen an example of this word anywhere in scripture. It appears to have its origins in the Sacred Name movement in the 1930’s when certain men saw that “Jesus” was derived from “Joshua”. Since they understood that the “J” sound is not in the Hebrew language, “Yahshua” was apparently considered correct. It made sense so I used this form for many years. However, I later learned that “Yahshua” clearly ignores the third letter of the Messiah’s name (Waw) which gives us the “oo” (u) sound in Yahushua. To demonstrate this, let’s look at the individual letters of .

Yod – Produces a “Y” or “I” sound. 

Heh – As a Hebrew vowel letter it produces the “Ah” or “Oh” sound (like in #8283 “Sarah” and #8010 Sh’lomoh). Otherwise produces the “H” sound and the “ah” sound would have to be supplied by the reader. 

Waw – Also called “Vav”. As a Hebrew vowel letter it produces an “oo” (u) or “oh” sound (like in #7307 Ruach). Otherwise produces a “W” sound. This is the ignored letter in the pronunciation “Yahshua”. This letter is nowhere represented. Where is the W or initial U??

Shin – Produces the “sh” sound. The following “oo” sound is indicated by a vowel pointing but Deut. 3:21 and Judges 2:7 actually gives us another “waw” after this letter, proving the “shu” pronunciation as valid. This is why Strong’s 3091 gives 2 possible spellings (see above lexicon graphic). This also eliminates “Yasha/Yahusha” and “Yahoshea/Yahushea” as being possibilities.

Ayin – Silent without a vowel point but indicates an “ah” sound at the end of “Yahushua”. 

So if the Messiah’s name was “Yahshua”, we would have to delete the third letter (waw) in . For this reason, cannot not be pronounced “Yahshua”. 

There are some who claim that “Yahshua” is actually the correct pronunciation of the Aramaic word (“Yeshua”) and the Hebrew scribes simply took out the proper vowel sounds, replacing the “Yah” with “Ye”. But as mentioned before,is not a legitimate Hebrew word. Also, as seen in the above scans of the Strong’s Lexicon (and the Hebrew manuscripts as well), the scribes used the “Sheva” vowel pointing to replace the “Ah” sound in “Yahweh” and “Yahushua”, not the “Tsere” vowel pointing as is found in the name “Yeshua”. If they were interested in changing the vocalization of “Yeshua” to fit their tradition, one would expect them to use  the as they did in and all of the other names beginning with “Yah”.

Why use Yahushua?

Since we seek to walk in the truth, we should want to proclaim His name as Yahweh gave it. Yahweh is the one who named His Son and we simply have no business changing it. It is all these changes that has brought about the confusion. It can be complicated to sort through it all, but truth seeking is an honorable thing that is pleasing in Yahweh’s eyes. 

Of course, if we are somehow unable to pronounce the Messiah’s name, certainly Yahweh is able to show mercy. But if we are able to, what reason do we have to continue in error? It is better to cleave to what Yahweh gave rather than continuing in the traditions and mistakes of men. Continuing in error is never superior to walking in the truth.

Yahweh predicted what His Son’s name would be, so we have something we can look to for clarification. In the book of Zechariah, it states:

Zechariah 6:9-13 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying, 10 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua [YAHUSHUA] the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh Yahweh of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of Yahweh: 13 Even he shall build the temple of Yahweh; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

“The Branch” is a prophetic reference to the coming Messiah who would be a Priest AND King (Compare Psallm 110, Isaiah 9:6).

So Zechariah was instructed to take a crown and place it on the head of Yahushua (in the Hebrew it has ), the son of Yahutsadak. Yahutsadak means “Yahweh is righteous”. When placing the crown on the head of the High Priest, Zechariah was told to proclaim:

 “Behold the man whose NAME is the BRANCH”. 

Thus, this High Priest (Yahushua) had the same name as the coming Messiah who would reign as a priest on His throne. Yahweh revealed what His name would be, so why not call Him by that name? We see the examples of the apostles who were proclaiming His name, baptizing in His name, healing in His name, being persecuted for His name, etc. Let’s be willing to do the same by using the Messiah’s name as it is written and understood in Hebrew with a very important Hebrew meaning:

Yahweh saves!

Our Master's Name, REALLY!?! Names *that* Important?

The scriptural importance of our Savior’s name

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Is calling the Messiah by his true name important? I have listed below some pretty strong statements. All of these statements are backed up by scripture. Click on the statement to read the scriptures that back it up. These Scriptures should be read in context to grasp the full meaning of the text. 

By the time you are finished reading each of these scriptures, there should be no doubt as to how important Yahushua’s name really is.

Our Saviour has a beautiful Name…Yahushua!! let’s look at the Name of Yahushua. It also consists of two parts: Yahu being the first syllable and shua being the second. Therefore the Name of Yahushua contains the Father’s Name (Yahueh/Yahweh). In Hebrew, the word “Shua” means “Saves. ” When we know this we can truly understand Mat 1:21, Joh 5:23, 14:26

Definition of the word “name” in scripture

Yahushua’s Name is supreme over all!

Acts 4:12-AV Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.

Philippians 2:9-AV Wherefore Elohim also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: Philippians 2:10-AV That at the name of Yahushua every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] on earth, and [things] under the earth; Philippians 2:11-AV And [that] every tongue should confess that Yahushua Messiah [is] Master, to the glory of Elohim the Father.

Hebrews 1:4-AV Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

The Holy Spirit is sent in Yahushua’s Name

John 14:26-AV But the Comforter, [who is] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you.

True believers call on His Name!

Acts 9:14-AV And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

Acts 9:21-AV But all that heard [him] were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them who called on this name in Jerusalem, and came here for that intent, that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?

Acts 22:16-AV And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Master.

1Corinthians 1:2-AV To the church of Elohim which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Messiah Yahushua, called [to be] saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Yahushua Messiah our Master, both theirs and ours:

True believers call on His Name for salvation

Acts 2:21-AV And it shall come to pass, [that] whoever shall call on the name of Yahweh shall be saved.

Acts 4:12-AV Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.

True believers are anointed in His Name

James 5:14-AV Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Master:

True believers are baptized in His Name

Acts 2:38-AV Then Peter said to them, Repent ye, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Yahushua Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:16-AV (For as yet he had fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Master Yahushua.)

Acts 10:48-AV And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Master. Then they requested him to tarry certain days.

Acts 19:5-AV When they heard [this], they were baptized into the name of the Master Yahushua.

True believers are forgiven in His name

Luke 24:47-AV And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 10:43-AV To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Acts 22:16-AV And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Master.

1John 2:12-AV I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name‘s sake.

True believers are justified in His Name

1Corinthians 6:11-AV And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Master Yahushua, and by the Spirit of our Elohim.

True believers are protected by His Name

John 17:11-AV And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thy own name those whom thou hast given to me, that they may be one, as we [are].

John 17:12-AV While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest to me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

True believers assemble in His Name

Matthew 18:20-AV For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

1Corinthians 5:4-AV In the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Master Yahushua Messiah.

True believers bear His name

Acts 9:15-AV But the Master said to him, Go: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

True believers believe in His Name

John 1:12-AV But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of Elohim, [even] to them that believe on his name: {power: or, the right, or, privilege}

John 3:18-AV He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of Elohim.

Acts 3:16-AV And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

1John 3:23-AV And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Yahushua Messiah, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1John 5:13-AV These things have I written to you that believe on the name of the Son of Elohim; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of Elohim.

True believers command and make appeals in His Name

1Corinthians 1:10-AV Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. {divisions: Gr. schisms}

2Thessalonians 3:6-AV Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received from us.

True believers do everything in His Name

Colossians 3:17-AV And whatever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Master Yahushua, giving thanks to Elohim and the Father by him.

True believers do miracles and Heal in His Name

Acts 3:6-AV Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give thee: In the name of Yahushua Messiah of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Acts 3:16-AV And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Acts 4:10-AV Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Yahushua Messiah of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom Elohim raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you in good health.

Acts 4:30-AV By stretching forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Yahushua.

True believers drive out demons in His Name

Mark 9:38-AV And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out demons in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.

Luke 10:17-AV And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Master, even the demons are subject to us through thy name.

Acts 16:18-AV And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Yahushua Messiah to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

True believers give thanks in His Name

Ephesians 5:20-AV Giving thanks always for all things to Elohim and the Father in the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah;

True believers honor His Name

2Thessalonians 1:12-AV That the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah may be honored in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our Elohim and of the Master Yahushua Messiah.

True believers have life in His Name

John 20:31-AV But these are written, that ye may believe that Yahushua is the Messiah, the Son of Elohim; and that believing ye may have life through his name.

True believers make requests in His Name

John 14:13-AV And whatever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 16:23-AV And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say to you, Whatever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you. John 16:24-AV Until now ye have asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:25-AV These things have I spoken to you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak to you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly concerning the Father. {proverbs: or, parables} John 16:26-AV At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not to you, that I will pray the Father for you: John 16:27-AV For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came from Elohim.

True believers speak, preach and teach in His Name

Acts 4:18-AV And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Yahushua.

Acts 5:28-AV Saying, Did we not strictly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.

Acts 5:40-AV And to him they assented: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten [them], they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Yahushua, and let them go.

Acts 8:12-AV But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of Elohim, and the name of Yahushua Messiah, they were baptized, both men and women.

Acts 9:27-AV But Barnabas took him, and brought [him] to the apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Master in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Yahushua. Acts 9:28-AV And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.

True believers suffer for His Name

Luke 21:12-AV But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute [you], delivering [you] up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name‘s sake.

John 15:20-AV Remember the word that I said to you, The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

John 15:21-AV But all these things will they do to you for my name‘s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Acts 5:41-AV And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

Acts 9:15-AV But the Master said to him, Go: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

Acts 9:16-AV For I will show him what great things he must suffer for my name‘s sake.

Acts 15:26-AV Men that have risked their lives for the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah.

Acts 21:13-AV Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Master Yahushua.

1Peter 4:14-AV If ye are reproached for the name of Messiah, happy [are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of Elohim resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

Revelation 2:3-AV And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name‘s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

Still not convinced??

Our Master's Name, REALLY!?! Names *that* Important?

Did the Messiah say the Heavenly Father’s Name?

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There are some who believe that the Messiah only referred to Yahweh as “The Father” or believe that Yahshua also followed the doctrine that states Yahweh’s name is too holy to pronounce. But this was one of many false teachings coming out of that era. Yahshua flatly condemned those who would rather do things according to the "tradition of the elders" rather than the way Yahweh wanted them done. It should be obvious to anyone that when Yahweh does something nearly 7,000 times.. that is the way He wants it to be done. He doesn’t want us to come in later and change the way He has done things. Yet Yahweh placed His name in scripture nearly 7,000 times and the "tradition of the elders" is to replace His name each one of those 7,000 times with a title of man’s own choosing (e.g. LORD, GOD, Adonai, HaShem, etc). 

Before we look at Yahshua’s example, let us first examine the meaning of the word “name” in scripture. It comes from the Hebrew word “Shem”. Here is a definition of this word in the Strong’s Lexicon:

Strong’s # 8034 Shem; a primitive word [perhaps rather from 7760 through the idea of definite and conspicuous position; compare 8064]; an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character: – + base, [in-] fame[-ous], name[-d], renown, report.

As we can see from the above definition, Yahweh’s name is not only represents His “character” but the Name Yahweh is also “His mark”. Therefore the word “Shem”/Name refers to His literal written or spoken name as well as His character. If it did not refer to His literal written and spoken name then one could say that Yahweh does not have a written name at all. But we know that is not true:

Isai 42:8 (av) I am Yahweh: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

According to the above definition, His Name is also is His “memorial of individuality”. This definition goes hand in hand with scripture:

Exodus 3:15-AV And Elohim said moreover to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel, Yahweh Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent me to you: this [is] my name for ever, and this [is] my memorial to all generations.

Man has set up may memorials for himself such as “The Wall” in Washington DC. If one were to go and desecrate that memorial and replace it with a bunch of different names, this person could expect to receive a great punishment for his crime. Now if we wouldn’t desecrate one of man’s memorials, then why would anyone want to desecrate Yahweh’s Memorial – His Name? Do we have the authority to change scripture and replace His name with a title of our own liking? Surely the Messiah would not do this, especially when reading the scriptures in the Synagogue:

Luke 4:17 (NKJV) And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of Yahweh [is] upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to [the] poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to [the] captives And recovery of sight to [the] blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh.” 20 Then He closed the book, and gave [it] back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Let’s examine some of the things the Messiah said concerning His Father’s name:

John 5:43 (av) I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

Again, we must recognize the dual meaning of the word “Name” here. Not only did He come by His Father’s authority, but He also came in His Father’s literal written and spoken name. This is proven when we understand the Messiah’s name as “Yahushua" or “Yahweh (is) Salvation”.

Peter (in Acts 3) confirmed that the following scripture was speaking of Yahshua:

Deut 18:18 (av) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.19 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.

This is a direct statement saying that Yahshua did ‘speak’ in His Father’s name. Surely then He did not hide it, substitute it, or change it. He spoke in it. Also it was written of our Savior:

Psalm 118:26 (av) Blessed [be] he that cometh in the name of Yahweh..

So here we have 3 witnesses that Yahshua did come in His Father’s name and speak in His Father’s name. Nevertheless, lets examine more evidence. In Yahshua’s prayer in John 17 He says:

John 17:5 (av) And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

And again:

John 17:26 (av) And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare [it]: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

This was a fulfillment of scripture in the great Psalm 22:

Psal 22:22 (av) I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

Scripture does not lie. If it says that Yahshua declared His name, He had to have done so. He not only declared His Father’s literal and spoken name, but also His true character to the people. However, it is evident that not all had “ears to hear” concerning His Father’s true character. Not unlike today, they had much baggage (traditions) left over from their Fathers. Yahshua clearly condemned the traditions that were not in line with Yahweh’s word. As He had said:

Mark 7:9 (av) And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of Elohim, that ye may keep your own tradition.

One of the traditions was that Yahweh’s name was too holy to pronounce.

The question might be asked “Why did Yahshua refer to Yahweh as “Father”? I believe that there are many scriptures that indicate the Messiah was also called “Yahweh” in the old testament. For instance:

Isai 44:6 (av) Thus saith Yahweh the King of Israel, and His redeemer Yahweh of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no El’.

Notice that there are two called “Yahweh” in this verse. 1) Yahweh, King of Israel and 2) Yahweh’s Redeemer, “Yahweh of Hosts”. This is one of many verses that refers to the Son by the name “Yahweh” (e.g. Jeremiah 23:5-6). It speaks to the fact that Yahweh’s name is in Him.

Because He was called by His Father’s name “Yahweh” in some scriptures, it is possible that one reason Yahshua often called Him “Father” was to show that He is to be distinguished from Yahweh the Father. This would assist in disproving any teaching that may later creep in that Yahshua was the Father (e.g. the “oneness” doctrine”) rather than He being distinct from the Father. Perhaps I cannot directly prove this. Nevertheless since He was the Son of Yahweh, there would naturally be a greater frequency of Yahshua calling Yahweh “Father”. The fact that He often called Him Father doesn’t mean that He never called Him by His name, Yahweh. And of course it is not a wrong thing to call Yahweh by a title that fitly describes Him. He is our Father, our Creator, our Master, our King. The problem lies in replacing, changing and failing to praise, exalt, bless, love, teach, preach, anoint, assemble, believe, give thanks, honor and call on His name as scripture teaches us.

Now let’s examine the trial in which Yahshua was sentenced to death.

Matt 26:64 (av) Yahshua saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. 66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.

In light of these verses, it is fascinating to study the historical context of what was going on. Based on the above scripture, it is evident that the official charge against the Messiah was “blasphemy”. The word “Power” in verse 64 was a popular ‘euphemism’ or substitution for the divine name Yahweh. Now according to the Mishna:

“He who blasphemes is liable only when he will have fully pronounced the Divine Name. Said R. Joshua ben Qorha, “on every day (of the trial) they examine the witnesses with a substituted name. When sentence was to be given they did not declare him guilty of death with the substituted name, but they put everyone out and ask the most important of the witnesses, saying to him, “Say, what exactly did you hear?” And he says what he heard. And the judges stand on their feet and tear their clothing, and they may not mend them again.(m.San. 7:5)”

Therefore, it is evident that historically no man could be sentenced for blasphemy unless he had actually spoken the Divine Name. This is further proven when we see that the High Priest “rent his clothes” upon hearing the name since Yahshua was his own witness (as he said “what further need have we of witnesses?”).

Finally, there is strong evidence that Yahshua spoke the name aloud in Mt. 4:7; 4:10; 5:33; 21:42; 22:37 & 22:44. The Hebrew version DuTillet has 3 yods in the place of the name “Yahweh” and the Shem Tob has a “Heh” in those places. These all indicate He spoke the name since there is no Hebrew word with a single Heh or 3 consecutive Yod’s. This is one of the multitude of attempts to falsify His name by those who believed in the ineffable name doctrine. The ineffable name doctrine states that Yahweh’s name is too holy to pronounce. Clement of Alexandria did not hold to this doctrine, but others did like Jerome:

“For no one can utter the name of the ineffable deity; and if any one dare to say that there is a name, he raves with a hopeless madness. (I Apol.,61)”

“But to the father of all, who is unbegotten, there is no name given. For by whatever name he be called, he has as his elder the person who gives him the name. But these words, Father, and Deity, and Creator, and Lord, and Master, are not names but appelations derived from good deeds and functions. (II Apol., 6)”

With this in mind, it is no wonder that the manuscripts we have today do not contain the name. We know that the ‘church fathers’ quickly departed from the true Sabbath. It shouldn’t be difficult to believe that they also quickly dropped the use of the true name of our Creator. It is very evident that the “ineffable name” doctrine is totally unscriptural. It flies in the face of scriptures like:

Exod 9:16 (av) And in very deed for this [cause] have I raised thee up, for to shew [in] thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

Isai 52:6a “My people shall know my name..”
Psalms 116:4-AV Then I called upon the name of Yahweh; O Yahweh, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
Psalms 116:13-AV I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of Yahweh.
Psalms 116:17-AV I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of Yahweh.
Isaiah 12:4-AV And in that day shall ye say, Praise Yahweh, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

I think it is better to trust in what the scriptures say concerning His name rather than trusting in the reasoning that “since the Greek manuscripts which we have today (which are not original) do not contain the name, it must not be important.” The truth is that Greek copies of the Old Testament prior to the mid 2nd century DO contain the sacred name IN HEBREW within the text itself. Manuscripts found after that era replace the sacred name with "Kyrios". No new testament manuscripts prior to the mid-2nd century have ever been found with the possible exception of some fragments out of the book of John. In those fragments, there are no instances where the Yahweh’s name is replaced with "Kyrios". 

In the end, Yahweh’s word will be the determining factor in what is right and what is wrong. Surely the scriptures declare the importance of His name. I will close with one final scripture:

Psalms 105:1-AV O give thanks to Yahweh; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

This last scripture is one of many instances where we are told to call on His name. We can be assured that the Perfect One, Yahshua the Messiah did just that.

Our Master's Name

Yahshua is the true name of the Messiah

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***** Note that Joshua = Yoshua or Yahshua because there is no “J” sound in Hebrew. The letter “J” is only about 500 years old and isn’t even found in the original 1611 King James version. (proof)

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that the Messiah’s name never was "Jesus" and that the name "Jesus" is actually an invention of man.

 In the King James Version of the scriptures, we find an interesting problem in its translation:


Acts 7:44(KJV) Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

Isn’t this scripture referring to Joshua, son of Nun rather than the Savior? Yes. Here is another instance…


Hebr 4:7 (KJV) Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

Again, the context reveals that this scripture is referring to Joshua, the son of Nun and not the Messiah. All other translations put "Joshua" here. Why then is it translated ‘Jesus’? The answer lies in the Greek/Latin corruption of the Messiah’s original Hebrew name. Originally, the name of the Messiah was , pronounced Yahshua. This is the Messiah’s original name. When the Gentiles tried to transliterate His name into Greek, they came up with ihsoun or "Iesous". But originally, this word was from #3091 in the Hebrew

2424. Iesous ee-ay-sooce’ of Hebrew origin (3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:–Jesus.

which is . When Iesous was transliterated into Latin, it became "Iesus", which was then carried over into English it became our modern day "Jesus" when the letter "J" developed. 

Therefore, the reason the King James Version has "Jesus" in those two verses is because the Messiah’s name is actually the same name as Joshua, Son of Nun… correctly pronounced "Yahshua". It is quite evident that the modern form "Jesus" doesn’t even remotely resemble the original name that the disciples were praying in, baptizing in and receiving so much criticism for preaching in. This is fact. Do some research and see for yourself.

Secular References

Encyclopedia Americana:

“Jesus Christ— …Although Matthew (1:21) interprets the name originally Joshua, that is, ‘Yahweh is Salvation,’ and finds it specially appropriate for Jesus of Nazareth, it was a common one at that time.” (Vol.16, p. 41)


Encyclopedia Britannica (15th ed.)

“Jesus Christ—…The same is true of the name Jesus. In the Septuagint it is the customary Greek form for the common Hebrew name Joshua;” (Vol. 10 p.149)


Religious Scholars

Barnes’ notes: (Note on Matt. 1:21)

“His name is Jesus: The name Jesus is the same as Saviour. It is derived from the verb signifying to save. In Hebrew it is the same as Joshua. In two places [Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8] in the New Testament it is used where is means Joshua, the leader of the Jews into Canaan, and in our translation the name Joshua should have been retained.”

Word studies in the New Testament, by Marvin R. Vincent—

“Jesus. The Greek form of a Hebrew name, which had been borne by two illustrious individuals in former periods of the Jewish History — Joshua, the successor of Moses, and Jeshua, the high priest, who with Zerubbabel took so active a part in the re-establishment of the civil and religious polity of the Jews in their return from Babylon. Its original and full form is Jehoshua, becoming by contraction Joshua or Jeshua.”

The Acts of the Apostles, by Jackson and Lake

“Jesus— This is the regular Greek translation of the Hebrew Joshua.”

Smith’s Bible Dictionary:

“Jesus Christ —- The name Jesus means Savior, and was a common name, derived from the ancient Hebrew Jehoshua.”

A dictionary of the Bible, by James Hastings

“Jesus — The Greek form of the name Joshua or Jeshua. Jeshua —- Yahweh is Salvation or Yahweh is opulence.”

Alford’s Greek New Testament, An Exegetical and Critical Commentary:

“Jesus — The same name as Joshua, the former deliverer of Israel.”

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion:

“Jesus (The Name) — Matthew’s gospel explains it as symbolic of His mission, ‘For he will save His people from their sins.’ This agrees with the popular meaning as ‘Yahweh saves…’ ” p.1886

Catholic Encyclopedia:

“The Sacred Name —- The word Jesus is the Latin form of the Greek “Iesous” which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew Jeshua, or Joshua, or again Jehoshua, meaning ‘Jehovah is Salvation'” Vol. 8, p. 374

Interpreter’s Bible: (Note on Matt. 1:21)

“Jesus: for He shall save: The play on words (Yeshua, Jesus; yoshia, shall save) is possible in Hebrew but not in Aramaic. The name Joshua means “Yahweh is salvation”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary

(on Matthew 1:21)

“Jesus is the same name with Joshua, the termination only being changed, for the sake of conforming it to thegreek."

Conclusion

It can be concluded then, that "Jesus" was not the Messiah’sname when He walked the earth. That is the purpose of this study. Forinformation on why we should use the Messiah’s original name, clickhere. 

Our Master's Name

Why Yahushua?

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Some have written me asking for an explanation of why I use the form "Yahushua" in reference to the Messiah while others use "Yahshua", "Yeshua" or "Yehoshua". The purpose of this study is to go through each of these pronunciations and determine which is the most correct. 

I’m not one that believes that you need to pronounce the Messiah’s name exactly like I do in order to be saved. However, the issue of the Messiah’s name is a very important one. If you don’t believe me, read the below scriptures:

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Yahushua Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the
name of Yahushua Messiah of Nazareth, rise up and walk."

Acts 3:16 "And His
name, through faith in His
name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which [comes] through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what
name have you done this?"

Acts 4:10 "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the
name of Yahushua Messiah of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom Elohim raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other
name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Acts 4:17 "But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this
name." 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the
name of Yahushua.

Acts 4:30 "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the
name of Your holy Servant Yahushua."

Acts 5:28 saying, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this
name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!"

Acts 5:40 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten
[them], they commanded that they should not speak in the
name of Yahushua, and let them go. 41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His
name.

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of Elohim and the
name of Yahushua Messiah, both men and women were baptized.

Acts 8:16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the
name of the Master Yahushua.

Acts 9:14 "And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your
name." 15 But the Master said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My
name’s sake."

Acts 9:21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, "Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this
name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?"

Acts 9:27 But Barnabas took him and brought [him] to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Master on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the
name of Yahushua.

Acts 9:29 And he spoke boldly in the
name of the Master Yahushua and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.

Acts 10:43 "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His
name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins."

Acts 15:14 "Simon has declared how Elohim at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His
name.

Acts 15:26 men who have risked their lives for the
name of our Master Yahushua Messiah.

Acts 16:18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the
name of Yahushua Messiah to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.

Acts 18:15 "But if it is a question of words and
names and your own law, look [to] [it] yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such [matters]."

Acts 19:5 When they heard [this], they were baptized in the
name of the Master Yahushua.

Acts 19:13
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the
name of the Master Yahushua over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Yahushua whom Paul preaches."

Acts 19:17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the
name of the Master Yahushua was magnified.

Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the
name of the Master Yahushua."

And this is just in the book of Acts! The name of Yahushua is intricately linked with the person of Yahushua. So in light of the numerous scriptures which show us the importance of His name, we should at least seek to understand how it is pronounced. It is obviously important according to scripture. 


Origin of the name "Jesus"

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the etymological origin of "Jesus" is:

Jesus ..Middle English, from Late Latin Isus, from Greek Isous, from Hebrew y˚ë, from yhÙ˚aë, Joshua…

Notice that it says that the origin of His name is from Latin, then Greek, then Hebrew. So the name "Jesus" is the result of 3 different languages placing their influence on the original name the disciples were proclaiming, baptizing in and praying in. Some of the influence is quite recent. In the 1611 King James Version, it originally had "Iesus" rather than "Jesus" (photo). Later revisions of the KJV changed it to "Jesus". This leads me to ask some important questions: "Who is the one who gets to decide what it is changed to? Man or Yahweh? And if Yahushua is supposed to be the same yesterday, today and forever, why do they keep changing His name?"

If you look up the name "Jesus" in a Strong’s lexicon it has "Iesous":

"2424 Iesous ee-ay-sooce’ of Hebrew origin (3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:–Jesus."

Notice that it traces the name of Messiah to Hebrew word #3091 in the Strong’s lexicon. This name is the same name as "Joshua, Son of Nun". In the Hebrew, this name is spelled
. 

While there are some out there claiming that "Jesus" is somehow derived from "Zeus", I have yet to find anyone who is willing to present hard evidence of this claim. One person wrote a book which claimed that "Iesous" means "Hail Zeus". When I contacted him by phone and asked him for evidence of this claim, he said "Iesous" means "Hail Zeus" in the sense that when you say the "Ie" it sounds like "Yaayy" and "Yaayy" is what people do in modern sports games when they hail their team. Thus, the statement that "Iesous" meant "Hail Zeus" had nothing to do with its meaning in the Greek language. 

In fact,the Greek language spells Zeus (#2203 in the Strong’s Lexicon) as ZeuV and doesn’t even have the same letters or sound as the second syllable in IhsouV (Iesous). First of all, the Z in ZeuV produces a "dz" sound, not an "s" sound. Also the eu combination in ZeuV sounds like "eu as in feud", a letter combination not found in any form of
IhsouV/Iesous. So is

ZeuV
is actually pronounced "Dzyooce" and not "Sooce". These things alone make it appear quite impossible that Iesous comes from "Zeus". Look at the first page of the Greek Lexicon in your Strong’s concordance if you want confirmation of the sounds of these Greek letters. 

Another important point is that the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures that was completed many years before Yahushua came to earth, also rendered the Hebrew name "Yahushua" as
IhsouV


(Iesous). This fact alone clearly demonstrates that "Iesous" is a Greek form of
and wasn’t a form invented by apostate Christians who wanted to honor Zeus in some way.

Interestingly, there is evidence that although the name of Yahushua was written in Greek as
IhsouV, it may have actually been pronounced the way a Hebrew speaking person would pronounce it. Around 178 CE, a pagan by the name of Celsus engaged in written debates with Christians. In one of them, Celsus (speaking of Christians) said:

"But of course they think otherwise: they assume that by pronouncing the name of their teacher they are armored against the powers of the earth and air. And they are quite insistent on the efficacy of the name as a means of protection:
pronounce it improperly, they say, and it is ineffective.
Greek and Latin will not do; it must be said in a barbarian tongue to work. Silly as they are, one finds them standing next to a a statue of Zeus or Apollo or some other god, and shouting, "see here: I blaspheme it and strike it, but it is powerless against me for I am a Christian."
Celsus on the True Doctrine, A Discourse Against the Christians, R. Joseph Hoffman (page118)

Notice that Celsus was quoting Christians as saying that the name of "their teacher" (Yahushua no doubt) must not be spoken "improperly" and that it must not be spoken in a "Greek" way or "Latin" way, but in a "Barbarian tongue" for it to be effective. Of course, to the pagans the Hebrew language was nothing more than a barbarian language. This lends evidence that even though the name of Yahushua was written as

IhsouV, there were at least some people speaking it in the Hebrew way. The Greek alphabet simply lacks the letters necessary to correctly convey how the name is pronounced in Hebrew.

So how is the name pronounced? Let’s start with the form that is found in various Hebrew Lexicons: "Yehoshua". 

Yehoshua

In the Strong’s concordance and other Hebrew Lexicons, the pronunciation listed for the Messiah’s name is typically "Yehoshua". While I do not believe we should be getting all of our Hebrew learning from a Strong’s lexicon alone (that would be dangerous), most of us do own a Strong’s Concordance so I will be using it during this study for the purposes of illustration. 

The reason for the "Yehoshua" pronunciation is due to the Hebrew vowel pointing added by the Masorite scribes. The vowel points are the little dots and dashes under and above certain Hebrew letters. Unlike English, Hebrew was written with mostly all consonants. It was up to the reader to supply the vowels in each word based on the context of the word. The Masorites were concerned that Hebrew was becoming a lost language so they invented the vowel point system to preserve the sounds of the Hebrew language. However, in keeping with tradition they were not interested in letting everyone speak the pronunciation of the Heavenly Father’s name. For this reason, they pointed the Heavenly Father’s name to produce the sound "Yehovah". 

To avoid speaking the Heavenly Father’s name, the Jewish tradition was to say "Adonai" ("Lord") instead of Yahweh. For this reason, our English bibles also say "LORD" instead of "Yahweh". So rather than supplying the true vowels of the Heavenly Father’s name, the scribes inserted the vowels for "Adonai" so that the reader would be reminded to say "Adonai" rather than Yahweh. 

But what if the Hebrew scriptures contained a phrase such as "Adonai Yahweh" (Master Yahweh)? They would then have to say "Adonai Adonai", a rather odd (if not a bit embarrassing) phrase. Their solution was to put the vowel points for "Elohim" within the Heavenly Father’s name so that they would be reminded to say "Adonai Elohim" instead of "Adonai adonai". This is even mentioned in the Strong’s lexicon and it lists it as a different word number. Read what it says:

 

"136" is the Hebrew word "Adonai" and "430" is the Hebrew word "Elohim". So these vowel points are used within the Father’s name whenever His name follows 136 (Adonai). And they pronounce this as 430 (Elohim) to avoid having to say Adonai twice. For this reason, many English translations will render "Adonai Yahweh" as "the Lord GOD" with "GOD" being in all capitals to let the reader know that this is where the sacred name is found in the Hebrew. Very few even know that this is why "GOD" is sometimes in all capital letters (See Gen 15:2 for one of hundreds of examples of this). It is amazing how far men will go in order to cleave to tradition! 

So how does this relate to the pronunciation of the Messiah’s name? Let’s take a look at His name again in the Strong’s Lexicon:

Notice that there are other names listed in the Strong’s concordance which contain the first three letters of Yahweh’s name. And just like Yahweh’s name which starts with the "Yeho" vowel points, they use the "Yeho" vowel points in "Yehoram", "Yehosheba", "Yehoshaphat" and numerous other names which contain the first part of Yahweh’s name. The scribes apparently did not want anyone to accidentally pronounce the Heavenly Father’s name when saying these other names, so they changed the vowel points of those names as well. 

Interestingly, they did not change the pronunciation of these same three letters when it was at the end of a person’s name. For instance, look at how Zechariah’s name is presented in the Hebrew text:

Notice the different vowel pointing and pronunciation herein ("ZecharYahu"). Phonetically, the first three letters in the Heavenly Father’s name are also pronounced "Yahu". For this reason, the Heavenly Father’s name can be written as "YAHUeh" or "YAHWeh" and the same pronunciation will result, just as in the word "Persuade" could also be spelled "Perswade". I prefer to use a W so that there is less confusion over how the name is to be pronounced. 

By the way, for those who think we cannot know what the vowel sounds were in Yahweh’s name, it only takes a little research to find the pronunciation of "Yod Heh Waw Heh" because the scribes had no problem giving the correct pronunciation of these three letters at the end of a name. Because it ends in ‘Yahu’, there was considered to be no risk in accidentally saying "Yahueh/Yahweh". This would also explain why the scribes used the correct vowel points in the shortened form of Yahweh’s name ("Yah"):

They even used the correct vowel pointing in "HalleluYah".
Thus, the only time they would revert to the "Yeho" pronunciation of these three letters was when it was at the beginning of a Hebrew name. But I want nothing to do with the unscriptural tradition of saying "Adonai/Lord/Elohim/God" in place of Yahweh. That is one reason I do not refer to the Messiah as "Yehoshua". "Yeho(ah)" does not save, "Yahu(eh)" saves!

Having said this, there are some Hebrew students and scholars who have noticed that a natural progression of Hebrew language is to shorten the first vowel and lengthen the second whenever the accent is on the third syllable (in this case "shu") of a Hebrew word. This would indeed result in the "Y’hoshua" or "Yehoshua" pronunciation. For this reason, some believe "Yehoshua" to actually be the correct pronunciation. 

But while this may be true in normal Hebrew words, there is plenty of evidence to support that this was not true in personal names–especially with names containing the first part of Yahweh’s name. The Murashu texts, dated 5th century BCE and written on clay tablets in cuneiform script, list the names of about 70 Jewish settlers in Persia.  In these tablets,
vowels are used. The Hebrew names which begin with Yod Heh Waw all are written "Yahu-" and never "Y’ho". 

"In the cuneiform texts Yeho [YHW], Yo [YW] and Yah [YH] are written Yahu, as for example in the names Jehu (Yahu-a), Jehoahaz (Yahu-khazi) and Hezekiah (Khazaqi-yahu)" A. H. Sayce in "Higher Criticism" notes on p. 87 

Notice that not only were names beginning with "Yeho" written as "Yahu", but also names beginning with "Yo" such as "Yoseph" (Joseph) and "Yoel" (Joel) were written as "Yahu". This indicates Joseph and Joel were originally "Yahuseph" and "Yahuel". 

Also, cuneiform tablets (also containing vowels) were discovered near the Ishtar gate in Babylon which give a list of workers and captives to whom rations were given. In addition to validating the biblical account in 2Kings 25:27-29 where it mentions that Jehoiachin (Yahuiachin) ate at the King’s table, these tablets help to establish the way these names were pronounced before the Masorite scribes inserted their vowel pointings based on tradition:

"Yaukin, king of the land of Yahud," ("Jehoiachin, the king of the land of Judah")

Another witness is found in an inscription of the Assyrian monarch Tiglath-pileser III (Gressmann Bilder 348; ANET 282a). When listing those kings who were paying tribute to this Assyrian King, it mentions "Yauhazi", also known as "Ahaz". Various lexicons such as the New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon (p. 219 b) and the Hebrew Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (under "Ahaz") mention this inscription as well. 

With all the evidence, it becomes clear that the name was never originally pronounced "Yehoshua". Rather "Yahushua" is more correct and there is no reason mispronounce the Heavenly Father’s name when speaking the name of His Son. Just as names which end with a reference to Yahweh correctly convey the Father’s name ("ZecharYah/ZecharYahu"), so do the names which begin with it.

Yeshua

Much used by the Messianic movement, "Yeshua" is actually an Aramaic form of the Hebrew name "Yahushua". In the Hebrew script, it is not spelled the same as Yahushua. The "Yeshua" name, spelled(Yod Shin Waw Ayin), is found in the books of Nehemiah and Ezra where it lists the names of those who returned from the Babylonian exile. One of them is called "Jeshua, the son of Jozadak":

Ezra 3:2 Then stood up
Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren
the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the Elohim of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of Elohim.

"Jeshua the Son of Jozadak" is the same High Priest mentioned in Zechariah 6:

Zechariah 6:11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;

Notice that in Zechariah, he is not called "Jeshua the son of Jozadak" but he is called "Joshua the son of Josedech" (Heb. Yahushua the son of Yahutsadak). This reflects the Hebrew spelling of the same name. So in Zechariah, he is called Yahushua but in Ezra he is called Yeshua. The book of Nehemiah also changes the name of Joshua the son of Nun to "Jeshua, the son of Nun":

Nehemiah 8:17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of
Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

The change in spelling to "Jeshua/Yeshua" ("Yod Shin Waw Ayin" ) is due to the Aramaic influence during the exile. In fact, parts of the book of Ezra are written in Aramaic. For confirmation, look at your Strong’s Lexicon:

Notice that #3442 and #3443 are the same exact word with the same Hebrew spelling, but this lexicon lists them separately. Why is this? Well, if you looked up "Jeshua" in the concordance, you will notice that it lists "Jeshua" in Ezra 3:2 as coming from #3442 and "Jeshua" in Ezra 5:2 coming from #3443. The reason for the two different Strong’s word numbers is Ezra 5:2 is a part of the book of Ezra which was written in Aramaic (Ezra 4:8 through 6:18; 7:12-26).
This is why #3443 mentions "Yeshuwa" as coming from "Chaldean" in the above definition (3443.Yeshuwa’ (Chald.)). Therefore, "Yeshua" is actually an Aramaic rendering of "Yahushua". 

Now, some claim that Yeshua
is a pure Hebrew word which isn’t derived from "Yahushua" at all, but that it is a Hebrew word meaning "Salvation". The problem with that is the Hebrew word for "Salvation" is not
(yeshua) at all! The Hebrew word for "Salvation" is word number #3444. Take a look again in the above lexicon graphic and see the differences between 3442/3443 and 3444. They are:

  • There is an additional Hebrew letter at the end (the "Heh").
    uses the silent (but anciently guttural) "Ayin" letter to end the word, but #3444 ends in the letter "Heh". While vowel letter under both words indicate they have have a similar sounding ending, the different spelling indicates they are two different words.
      
  • In #3444 (Yeshuwah)
    there is a different vowel pointing under the first Hebrew letter (Yod [remember Hebrew reads from right to left]).
    3442/3443 (YESHUA) has 2
    horizontal dots underneath the first letter like this:
    . These two
    horizontal dots represent the Hebrew Vowel point "Tsere" (pronounced Tsey-rey) which produces the "ey" sound as in the English word "Hey". But #3444 has two
    vertical dots underneath the first letter like this
    . The two
    vertical dots represent the Hebrew vowel point "Sheva" which is a very short "e", somewhat like our "E" sound in the word "Average" (Check the first page of your Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon for verification of this).

    Incidentally, the
    (Sheva) is also the vowel point used by the scribes in "Yehoshua" and it is why you will sometimes see "Yehoshua" or "Yeshua" written as "Y’hoshua" and "Y’shua". The purpose of the
    ‘ is to indicate the presence of the sheva vowel point in Hebrew. But as you can see, "Yeshua" does not contain that vowel point at all. "Yeshua" uses the "Tsere" Hebrew vowel point which produces an "ey" sound. So Yeshua and Y’shuah are actually pronounced differently. The Strong’s Lexicon indicated this when it gave the pronunciation of
    as ‘yay-shoo-ah‘, but #3444 as ‘yesh-oo-aw‘.

So the name "Yeshua" and the Hebrew word "Y’shuah" are not the same. "Yeshua" is the Aramaic form of "Yahushua" and "Y’shuah" is the Hebrew word for "Salvation". Therefore, in spite of what some may say, I find no evidence to suggest that("Yeshua") means "Salvation" in Hebrew. "Yeshua" is actually not an authentic Hebrew word meaning "salvation". For it to mean "Salvation" it would have to have the Hebrew letter "heh" added to the end of it, changing the spelling to Yod Shin Waw Ayin Heh and it would need to have the
"Sheva" vowel point under the Yod. These things further indicate that "Yeshua" isn’t from Hebrew, but is an Aramaic form of "Yahushua". 

Since the Heavenly Father’s name (Yahweh) is a Hebrew name, I would not expect to see His Son’s name coming from some other language, whether it be Greek, Latin, Aramaic or English. If neither of these languages do it right, why not return to the original and correct form? 

Yahshua

This is another popular way of writing the Messiah’s name but I have never seen an example of this word anywhere in scripture. It appears to have its origins in the Sacred Name movement in the 1930’s when certain men saw that "Jesus" was derived from "Joshua". Since they understood that the "J" sound is not in the Hebrew language, "Yahshua" was apparently considered correct. It made sense so I used this form for many years. However, I later learned that "Yahshua" clearly ignores the third letter of the Messiah’s name (Waw) which gives us the "oo" (u) sound in Yahushua. To demonstrate this, let’s look at the individual letters of
.

Yod – Produces a "Y" or "I" sound. 

Heh – As a Hebrew vowel letter it produces the "Ah" or "Oh" sound (like in #8283 "Sarah" and #8010 Sh’lomoh). Otherwise produces the "H" sound and the "ah" sound would have to be supplied by the reader. 

Waw – Also called "Vav". As a Hebrew vowel letter it produces an "oo" (u) or "oh" sound (like in #7307 Ruach). Otherwise produces a "W" sound. This is the ignored letter in the pronunciation "Yahshua". This letter is nowhere represented. Where is the W or initial U??

Shin – Produces the "sh" sound. The following "oo" sound is indicated by a vowel pointing but Deut. 3:21 and Judges 2:7 actually gives us another "waw" after this letter, proving the "shu" pronunciation as valid. This is why Strong’s 3091 gives 2 possible spellings (see above lexicon graphic). This also eliminates "Yasha/Yahusha" and "Yahoshea/Yahushea" as being possibilities.

Ayin – Silent without a vowel point but indicates an "ah" sound at the end of "Yahushua". 

So if the Messiah’s name was "Yahshua", we would have to delete the third letter (waw) in . For this reason, cannot not be pronounced "Yahshua". 

There are some who claim that "Yahshua" is actually the correct pronunciation of the Aramaic word ("Yeshua") and the Hebrew scribes simply took out the proper vowel sounds, replacing the "Yah" with "Ye". But as mentioned before,is not a legitimate Hebrew word. Also, as seen in the above scans of the Strong’s Lexicon (and the Hebrew manuscripts as well), the scribes used the "Sheva" vowel pointing to replace the "Ah" sound in "Yahweh" and "Yahushua", not the "Tsere"
vowel pointing as is found in the name "Yeshua". If they were interested in changing the vocalization of "Yeshua" to fit their tradition, one would expect them to use  the
as they did in
and all of the other names beginning with "Yah".

Why use Yahushua?

Since we seek to walk in the truth, we should want to proclaim His name as Yahweh gave it. Yahweh is the one who named His Son and we simply have no business changing it. It is all these changes that has brought about the confusion. It can be complicated to sort through it all, but truth seeking is an honorable thing that is pleasing in Yahweh’s eyes. 

Of course, if we are somehow unable to pronounce the Messiah’s name, certainly Yahweh is able to show mercy. But if we are able to, what reason do we have to continue in error? It is better to cleave to what Yahweh gave rather than continuing in the traditions and mistakes of men. Continuing in error is never superior to walking in the truth.

Yahweh predicted what His Son’s name would be, so we have something we can look to for clarification. In the book of Zechariah, it states:

Zechariah 6:9-13 And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying, 10 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua [YAHUSHUA] the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh Yahweh of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of Yahweh: 13 Even he shall build the temple of Yahweh; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

"The Branch" is a prophetic reference to the coming Messiah who would be a Priest AND King (Compare Psallm 110, Isaiah 9:6).

So Zechariah was instructed to take a crown and place it on the head of Yahushua (in the Hebrew it has
), the son of Yahutsadak. Yahutsadak means "Yahweh is righteous". When placing the crown on the head of
the High Priest, Zechariah was told to proclaim:

 "Behold the man
whose NAME is the BRANCH". 

Thus, this High Priest (Yahushua) had the same name as the coming Messiah who would reign as a priest on His throne. Yahweh revealed what His name would be, so why not call Him by that name? We see the examples of the apostles who were proclaiming His name, baptizing in His name, healing in His name, being persecuted for His name, etc. Let’s be willing to do the same by using the Messiah’s name as it is written and understood in Hebrew with a very important Hebrew meaning:

Yahweh saves!