![]() ![]() But the vocalization of the word known to English readers, “Jehovah,” is a fairly modern invention, arising in the middle ages 1, in fact a philological monstrosity. This name consists of four consonants which may be represented in English by the letters YHWH. Whether we call on Him in English, Korean, Hindi, or Hebrew, the result is the same: the Lord is salvation.One of the mysteries of Biblical scholarship is the correct form and pronunciation of the name of the God of Israel. ![]() The command is to “call on the name of the Lord,” with the promise that we “shall be saved” (Acts 2:21 Joel 2:32). Scripture does not value one language over another, and it gives no indication that we must resort to Hebrew when addressing the Lord. We refer to Him as “Jesus” because, as English-speaking people, we know of Him through English translations of the Greek New Testament. In the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was made known to every language group in a way they could readily understand. Rather, when the message of the gospel was being proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles spoke in the languages of the “Parthians, Medes and Elamites residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene” (Acts 2:9–10). The Bible nowhere commands us to only speak or write His name in Hebrew or Greek. Jesus and Yeshuah and Iesus are all referring to the same Person. Jesus is the Savior, and He is the Saviour. ![]() Spellings can change even within a language: Americans write “Savior,” while the British write “Saviour.” The addition of a u (or its subtraction, depending on your point of view) has nothing to do with whom we’re talking about. But that doesn’t mean the Bible never refers to “Jerusalem” or “Judah.” And it doesn’t mean we cannot use the spelling “Jesus.” If a person speaks and reads English, it is acceptable for him to spell things in an English fashion. It is true that the languages in which the Bible was written had no letter J. In any language, His name means “The Lord Is Salvation.”Īs for the controversy over the letter J, it is much ado about nothing. In the same way, we can refer to Jesus as “Jesus,” “ Yeshua,” or “ YehSou” (Cantonese) without changing His nature. As Shakespeare said, “That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet” ( Romeo and Juliet, II:i). The language changes, but the object itself does not. In Spanish, it is a libro in French, a livre. We call a bound and covered set of pages a “book.” In German, it becomes a buch. In both cases, the word Jesus refers to the Old Testament character Joshua.)Ĭhanging the language of a word does not affect the meaning of the word. (For examples of how the two names are interchangeable, see Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 in the KJV. Yeshua is the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Joshua.” Iesous is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name, and its English spelling is “Jesus.” Thus, the names “Joshua” and “Jesus” are essentially the same both are English pronunciations of the Hebrew and Greek names for our Lord. ![]()
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