A lot of people nowadays get all bent out of shape over names. The pronunciation of names and so on. This serves as a brief explanation of my belief regarding the Names of people in Scripture.
First, the most important Name of all: the Name of God. Most people know that “God” is not His Name. To the Christian, God is the most common title by far, followed by “The LORD.” To the Jew, they too use “God” (though sometimes written without the “o” such as G-d). They also use Hebrew terms such as Adonai (master) and HaShem (lit. “The Name”). These, too, are titles. Most Jews and many Christians realize that Yod-hay-vav-hay, YHVH (or YHWH or YHUH) is His name. More commonly known as the tetragrammaton (lit. “having four letters”), it is left unsaid by most follows of either faith. Christians simply choose to stick with what their English Bibles have written, and Jews fear speaking the Name out of respect. Most Jews believe that the pronunciation of the Name was hidden when they went into captivity to keep the gentiles from profaning it. This may be the case, yet as time passed they stopped speaking it altogether. Now, in modern times, it seems impossible to know the correct pronunciation. Is it Yahweh, Yehoveh, Jehovah, Yahuah, Yaooay, or any combination thereof?
Perhaps most people are missing the point. The Father HAS a name. It is NOT God or Lord or Adonai or HaShem or Elohim. He said in Isaiah 42:8 “I am The LORD that is My Name…” But then, that doesn’t make much sense, does it? What is actually written in Hebrew is “ani YHWH hu shemi” which means “I Am YHWH that is My name.” So He Himself did not declare His Name to be “LORD” (which, again, is a title not a name). He declared his name to be יהוה, yod-hay-vav-hay, YHWH.
So is it WRONG to call Him Lord or God? I do not believe so. (Save the "god is pagan, and lord means ba'al!" comments and hate mail. For a response to this, see article Concerning 'The Lord Jesus') I will suffice it to say it is more accurate to call Him Elohim or Adonai (for in Scripture He is called both). All throughout the Torah He is referred to as “YHWH Elohim” and in Ezekiel (and other books) He is many times called “Adonai YHWH.” Now Elohim and Adonai are not NAMES, yet they are more accurate titles. Still, His Name is יהוה.
How is it pronounced? Well Google “true pronunciation of God’s name” and you will get arguments for all different kinds of pronunciations. Personally, I prefer 'Yahweh.' A brother in the faith and friend of mine, is in the process of writing an article (which I hope to share on Bechirah) which explains it from a grammatical standpoint, as well as giving evidence from the Greek writings of the first couple centuries that give the pronunciation. Though I will also say that I don’t mind when people use Yehovah or Yahuah and any of the others. One thing I can say, though: it is NOT Jehovah. Can’t be, there is no letter “J” in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. So that being said, yes, I say "Yahweh" but I am not dogmatic about it. I will never turn anyone away, or treat anyone differently, simply because they say Yahuwah, or Yehovah. All I ask is for the same respect and love in return.
The next question is, is it wrong to mispronounce the Name of Elohim? The Jews think so. Even many Messianics, including a few very prominent teachers, do as well. Personally, I do not. If it was wrong, He would have clearly stated so in Scripture. Now what I do see in the Torah, specifically in Deut. 12:3, is that we are told to "obliterate the names of [their false gods]." We also see that we are NOT to do unto YHWH as is done unto the pagan gods (continue in chapter 12). So now we must wonder...since the names of false gods are to be removed, does that mean the Name of YHWH is NOT to be removed? Then have English Bible translators and compilers not done just that by removing His Name, and replacing it with "Lord" and "God"? I do have to wonder.
That is why I personally like translations of the Scriptures that place the Hebrew יהוה right into the English script, and is one of the primary reasons I created the Shem Qadosh Version of Scripture. It is simple to translate His name with the Hebrew letters or even with just the English YHWH, but they did not do that.
So then what about our Savior’s name? It is not Jesus. Jesus is an anglicized version of the Greek Iesous. Now I know there are many ideas out there regarding this. Many are quick to point out that the Greeks had a god named Ies, and so the name Iesous must be pagan. Be that as it may, Iesous is the only way to write His Hebrew/Aramaic name in Greek. Most Scholars agree that the name “Yeshua” is most likely His original name. Many will argue it is short for “Yehoshua” or that it is actually Yahshua or even Yahusha. Regardless, I choose to stick with what I believe His name to mean. Salvation (more specifically, "He will save" which is what Yeshua means). [See also the article "Concerning 'The Lord Jesus'"]
So, as I said, Iesous is the only way to write “Yeshua” in Greek. There is no Y in Greek and there is no H or SH sound. So in place of YE there is IE (which makes a “yeh” sound). Instead of the SH there is just an S. Lastly, in Greek, names ending in A are feminine, names ending in S are masculine. (Think: Stephanos (Stephen), Apollos, Iakobos (Jacob) etc.) So the YE got written as IE, the SH as S and the ending has to be an S on account of grammar rules.
So from Yeshua -> Yesua -> Iesua -> Iesous. If I only speak Greek, and you say the name “Yeshua” to me and I, in turn, go to write it down, the only way I can write it in GREEK is to write Iesous. If I only speak English, and you say "Yeshua" to me, I know how to transliterate "Yeshua" and write it in English.
One could wonder why the writers did not choose to write “soterios” which is Greek for salvation. Jesus and Iesous technically do not mean anything. They are merely translations (placeholders) of His Hebrew Name.
The problem comes in when modern day translators go back and translate it as Jesus. They know this is not His name, and they even know how to differentiate between Iesous in place of Yeshua and Iesous in place of Joshua (Acts 7:45, Hebrews 4:8 and Luke 3:29). Yeshua (or Yahshua, or Yahusha, or whatever) is what He was called by His people while He was on Earth. Not Jesus.
If you are interested in a grammatical discussion (I would recommend this only to those who know at least a minimal amount of Hebrew) about the Name of the Messiah, then I would suggest reading this article here, written by Adam Drissel of over at TruthOfYah.net.
And Christ? It simply comes from the Greek meaning “oiled” (linked to 'anointed'). Same as Messiah comes from Mashiach meaning "anointed one."
The last thing I want to mention is the names of others in Scripture. I know there are a lot out there that prefer Sha’ul over Paul, Kepha over Peter and so on. They say that since names mean things, the original meaning should not be lost. I’m fine with that. In most of my writings, I prefer to simply use Peter, Paul, John, James, etc. except when quoting directly from Scripture. In Greek, the names listed are translated as Peter, Paul and John. James, however, should be rendered Jacob. In the Tanakh (Old Testament) names such as Joshua and David are fine with me. To keep it simple for myself as well as my audience, I frequently use these anglicized names. Most people will recognize if I write “Josiah” though few would recognize “Yoshiyahu.” And Peter, Paul, David, John, etc. being dead and currently asleep in the grave, I doubt they’ll mind if I call them by anglicized names. I do recognize that these names have meanings, and when pertinent I will point that out. Though as I said, for the sake of readability and familiarity, anglicized names work for me. Sometimes I may make use of their Hebrew names, but that just depends on my mode of thinking while writing.
I am not dogmatic about the pronunciation of the Names. If you believe it is actually "Yahuah" instead of "Yahweh" that's perfectly fine by me. If you believe it should be "Yahushuah" instead of "Yeshua" then by all means, live out your beliefs and convictions. I ask, however, that you do not degrade others based on their belief. You may think you know how it's pronounced, but believe me, I can give you "proof" of something else. I simply ask that we all, as believers, respect one another in our walks. I say "Yeshua" and the reason is explained in the article above by Adam Drissel. Please understand this: if I say "Yeshua" I am talking about the Anointed One of Scripture, the Son of YHWH Elohim; even if you call Him something else.
As a slight side-note, I do not personally like the term "Old Testament." This implies that it is old and abolished and the other is new and "in." Every covenant that The Eternal Elohim has ever made has not abolished the one before it. He established a covenant with Adam (Genesis 2) and then later with Noah (Genesis 9) and later with Abraham (Genesis 17) and then Isaac, then Jacob and so on all throughout the ages. However, every time He establishes a “new covenant” He does not dismantle the former. For instance, from Noah until Abram was one covenant. Yahweh then established a “new” covenant with Abraham. Did that do away with the covenant with Noah? Certainly not! He made a covenant with Isaac, did it do away with the covenant He made with Abraham? As Paul would say, “May it never be!” With that in mind, as I said, I do not care for the term "old covenant" as opposed to a "new covenant" or "old testament" vs. "new testament." I prefer to use the term Tanakh for OT and Gospels and Shelichim Writings for NT. As I said, I prefer the term Tanakh because it is more accurate, for it DOES contain the Torah, prophets and writings (If you don't know, basically T-N-K is an acronym in Hebrew). It is a lot more than simply a storybook containing the stories of the previous covenants. As for the NT, I prefer the term Shelichim Writings, because they are the writings of the Shelichim. (Note: Shaliach is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek "Aspostolos" from which we derive the English "Apostle." The plural of Shaliach is Shelichim.) Though I still say "New Testament" fairly often for the sake of understanding.
So what was the point of all of this? Simply put to explain why, in my writings, the names Yeshua, Yahweh/YHWH, Messiah, Elohim and so on are used instead of the typical English names; as well as to shed some light on why you won’t see "old testament" or "Lord" or "God" very often.
Shalom,
J. A. Brown
First, the most important Name of all: the Name of God. Most people know that “God” is not His Name. To the Christian, God is the most common title by far, followed by “The LORD.” To the Jew, they too use “God” (though sometimes written without the “o” such as G-d). They also use Hebrew terms such as Adonai (master) and HaShem (lit. “The Name”). These, too, are titles. Most Jews and many Christians realize that Yod-hay-vav-hay, YHVH (or YHWH or YHUH) is His name. More commonly known as the tetragrammaton (lit. “having four letters”), it is left unsaid by most follows of either faith. Christians simply choose to stick with what their English Bibles have written, and Jews fear speaking the Name out of respect. Most Jews believe that the pronunciation of the Name was hidden when they went into captivity to keep the gentiles from profaning it. This may be the case, yet as time passed they stopped speaking it altogether. Now, in modern times, it seems impossible to know the correct pronunciation. Is it Yahweh, Yehoveh, Jehovah, Yahuah, Yaooay, or any combination thereof?
Perhaps most people are missing the point. The Father HAS a name. It is NOT God or Lord or Adonai or HaShem or Elohim. He said in Isaiah 42:8 “I am The LORD that is My Name…” But then, that doesn’t make much sense, does it? What is actually written in Hebrew is “ani YHWH hu shemi” which means “I Am YHWH that is My name.” So He Himself did not declare His Name to be “LORD” (which, again, is a title not a name). He declared his name to be יהוה, yod-hay-vav-hay, YHWH.
So is it WRONG to call Him Lord or God? I do not believe so. (Save the "god is pagan, and lord means ba'al!" comments and hate mail. For a response to this, see article Concerning 'The Lord Jesus') I will suffice it to say it is more accurate to call Him Elohim or Adonai (for in Scripture He is called both). All throughout the Torah He is referred to as “YHWH Elohim” and in Ezekiel (and other books) He is many times called “Adonai YHWH.” Now Elohim and Adonai are not NAMES, yet they are more accurate titles. Still, His Name is יהוה.
How is it pronounced? Well Google “true pronunciation of God’s name” and you will get arguments for all different kinds of pronunciations. Personally, I prefer 'Yahweh.' A brother in the faith and friend of mine, is in the process of writing an article (which I hope to share on Bechirah) which explains it from a grammatical standpoint, as well as giving evidence from the Greek writings of the first couple centuries that give the pronunciation. Though I will also say that I don’t mind when people use Yehovah or Yahuah and any of the others. One thing I can say, though: it is NOT Jehovah. Can’t be, there is no letter “J” in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. So that being said, yes, I say "Yahweh" but I am not dogmatic about it. I will never turn anyone away, or treat anyone differently, simply because they say Yahuwah, or Yehovah. All I ask is for the same respect and love in return.
The next question is, is it wrong to mispronounce the Name of Elohim? The Jews think so. Even many Messianics, including a few very prominent teachers, do as well. Personally, I do not. If it was wrong, He would have clearly stated so in Scripture. Now what I do see in the Torah, specifically in Deut. 12:3, is that we are told to "obliterate the names of [their false gods]." We also see that we are NOT to do unto YHWH as is done unto the pagan gods (continue in chapter 12). So now we must wonder...since the names of false gods are to be removed, does that mean the Name of YHWH is NOT to be removed? Then have English Bible translators and compilers not done just that by removing His Name, and replacing it with "Lord" and "God"? I do have to wonder.
That is why I personally like translations of the Scriptures that place the Hebrew יהוה right into the English script, and is one of the primary reasons I created the Shem Qadosh Version of Scripture. It is simple to translate His name with the Hebrew letters or even with just the English YHWH, but they did not do that.
So then what about our Savior’s name? It is not Jesus. Jesus is an anglicized version of the Greek Iesous. Now I know there are many ideas out there regarding this. Many are quick to point out that the Greeks had a god named Ies, and so the name Iesous must be pagan. Be that as it may, Iesous is the only way to write His Hebrew/Aramaic name in Greek. Most Scholars agree that the name “Yeshua” is most likely His original name. Many will argue it is short for “Yehoshua” or that it is actually Yahshua or even Yahusha. Regardless, I choose to stick with what I believe His name to mean. Salvation (more specifically, "He will save" which is what Yeshua means). [See also the article "Concerning 'The Lord Jesus'"]
So, as I said, Iesous is the only way to write “Yeshua” in Greek. There is no Y in Greek and there is no H or SH sound. So in place of YE there is IE (which makes a “yeh” sound). Instead of the SH there is just an S. Lastly, in Greek, names ending in A are feminine, names ending in S are masculine. (Think: Stephanos (Stephen), Apollos, Iakobos (Jacob) etc.) So the YE got written as IE, the SH as S and the ending has to be an S on account of grammar rules.
So from Yeshua -> Yesua -> Iesua -> Iesous. If I only speak Greek, and you say the name “Yeshua” to me and I, in turn, go to write it down, the only way I can write it in GREEK is to write Iesous. If I only speak English, and you say "Yeshua" to me, I know how to transliterate "Yeshua" and write it in English.
One could wonder why the writers did not choose to write “soterios” which is Greek for salvation. Jesus and Iesous technically do not mean anything. They are merely translations (placeholders) of His Hebrew Name.
The problem comes in when modern day translators go back and translate it as Jesus. They know this is not His name, and they even know how to differentiate between Iesous in place of Yeshua and Iesous in place of Joshua (Acts 7:45, Hebrews 4:8 and Luke 3:29). Yeshua (or Yahshua, or Yahusha, or whatever) is what He was called by His people while He was on Earth. Not Jesus.
If you are interested in a grammatical discussion (I would recommend this only to those who know at least a minimal amount of Hebrew) about the Name of the Messiah, then I would suggest reading this article here, written by Adam Drissel of over at TruthOfYah.net.
And Christ? It simply comes from the Greek meaning “oiled” (linked to 'anointed'). Same as Messiah comes from Mashiach meaning "anointed one."
The last thing I want to mention is the names of others in Scripture. I know there are a lot out there that prefer Sha’ul over Paul, Kepha over Peter and so on. They say that since names mean things, the original meaning should not be lost. I’m fine with that. In most of my writings, I prefer to simply use Peter, Paul, John, James, etc. except when quoting directly from Scripture. In Greek, the names listed are translated as Peter, Paul and John. James, however, should be rendered Jacob. In the Tanakh (Old Testament) names such as Joshua and David are fine with me. To keep it simple for myself as well as my audience, I frequently use these anglicized names. Most people will recognize if I write “Josiah” though few would recognize “Yoshiyahu.” And Peter, Paul, David, John, etc. being dead and currently asleep in the grave, I doubt they’ll mind if I call them by anglicized names. I do recognize that these names have meanings, and when pertinent I will point that out. Though as I said, for the sake of readability and familiarity, anglicized names work for me. Sometimes I may make use of their Hebrew names, but that just depends on my mode of thinking while writing.
I am not dogmatic about the pronunciation of the Names. If you believe it is actually "Yahuah" instead of "Yahweh" that's perfectly fine by me. If you believe it should be "Yahushuah" instead of "Yeshua" then by all means, live out your beliefs and convictions. I ask, however, that you do not degrade others based on their belief. You may think you know how it's pronounced, but believe me, I can give you "proof" of something else. I simply ask that we all, as believers, respect one another in our walks. I say "Yeshua" and the reason is explained in the article above by Adam Drissel. Please understand this: if I say "Yeshua" I am talking about the Anointed One of Scripture, the Son of YHWH Elohim; even if you call Him something else.
As a slight side-note, I do not personally like the term "Old Testament." This implies that it is old and abolished and the other is new and "in." Every covenant that The Eternal Elohim has ever made has not abolished the one before it. He established a covenant with Adam (Genesis 2) and then later with Noah (Genesis 9) and later with Abraham (Genesis 17) and then Isaac, then Jacob and so on all throughout the ages. However, every time He establishes a “new covenant” He does not dismantle the former. For instance, from Noah until Abram was one covenant. Yahweh then established a “new” covenant with Abraham. Did that do away with the covenant with Noah? Certainly not! He made a covenant with Isaac, did it do away with the covenant He made with Abraham? As Paul would say, “May it never be!” With that in mind, as I said, I do not care for the term "old covenant" as opposed to a "new covenant" or "old testament" vs. "new testament." I prefer to use the term Tanakh for OT and Gospels and Shelichim Writings for NT. As I said, I prefer the term Tanakh because it is more accurate, for it DOES contain the Torah, prophets and writings (If you don't know, basically T-N-K is an acronym in Hebrew). It is a lot more than simply a storybook containing the stories of the previous covenants. As for the NT, I prefer the term Shelichim Writings, because they are the writings of the Shelichim. (Note: Shaliach is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek "Aspostolos" from which we derive the English "Apostle." The plural of Shaliach is Shelichim.) Though I still say "New Testament" fairly often for the sake of understanding.
So what was the point of all of this? Simply put to explain why, in my writings, the names Yeshua, Yahweh/YHWH, Messiah, Elohim and so on are used instead of the typical English names; as well as to shed some light on why you won’t see "old testament" or "Lord" or "God" very often.
Shalom,
J. A. Brown
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