• Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Translation hypocrisy?

Ben1445

Well-Known Member
I recognize that this is only a preference matter. But here it is.
I hear people all the time say that Jesus name is not Jesus it is Yeshua. It is not Joshua it is Yeshua. I don’t really care if people want to speak a different language, I just want to know why people are inconsistent.
When have you ever heard the story about Yoseph being sold into slavery and saving the world because of God’s provision in Egypt?
What about Yehoshaphat going to battle alongside Ahab and nearly losing his life?
How about Eliyah on Mt. Carmel?

Can the English people please speak English?
The English world knows who Jesus is.
I think it would be more edifying to English speaking people to speak English.
 
Last edited:

Ascetic X

Well-Known Member
I recognize that this is only a preference matter. But here it is.
I hear people all the time say that Jesus name is not Jesus it is Yeshua. It is not Joshua it is Yeshua. I don’t really care if people want to speak a different language, I just want to know why people are inconsistent.
When have you ever heard the story about Yoseph being sold into slavery and saving the world because of God’s provision in Egypt?
What about Yehoshaphat going to battle alongside Ahab and nearly losing his life?
Ho about Eliyah on Mt. Carmel?

Can the English people please speak English?
The English world knows who Jesus is.
I think it would be more edifying to English speaking people to speak English.
I agree, but never wanted to voice my opinion on this issue. So it’s nice to see someone present their views on the names Jesus and Yeshua. I also am bothered when people write G-d instead of God. It makes no sense.
 

Ben1445

Well-Known Member
I agree, but never wanted to voice my opinion on this issue. So it’s nice to see someone present their views on the names Jesus and Yeshua. I also am bothered when people write G-d instead of God. It makes no sense.
I agree with you on the vowel dropping also. When I call/write my Dad, I don’t address him as D-d. There is no barrier between us. I can recognize why some people do. But it comes across to me as a potential admission of a lack of understanding of the relationship between them and their Father, if there is any relationship at all.
 

Ascetic X

Well-Known Member
I agree with you on the vowel dropping also. When I call/write my Dad, I don’t address him as D-d. There is no barrier between us. I can recognize why some people do. But it comes across to me as a potential admission of a lack of understanding of the relationship between them and their Father, if there is any relationship at all.
How can anyone call on the name of the Lord, if they are forbidden to pronounce His name?

Romans 10:13

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
 

Ben1445

Well-Known Member
I’d like to note that I am not saying that nobody speaking English should ever acknowledge a name in another language. I am also not opposed to what would fall into the category of poetic license. There are opportunities to use it in English.

Put into practice, I think it would be weird to me to go to an English speaking church who didn’t say Jesus or Joshua.
 

Deacon

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
The letter J and its sound originated sometime in the mid 1500's. If you called out the name, JESUS, in a crowd during his lifetime in Judah, he wouldn't have turned around to look.

The derivation of the name, Joshua is mentioned in Numbers 13:16

אֵ֚לֶּה שְׁמֹ֣ות הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַ֥ח מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָת֣וּר אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּקְרָ֥א מֹשֶׁ֛ה לְהֹושֵׁ֥עַ בִּן־נ֖וּן יְהֹושֻֽׁעַ׃

Moses changed Hawšēʿ (Oh Save!) to Yahwšūʿ (Yahweh is salvation). Simply, Joshua “will be saved and will save others” - the new name being the future tense "he will save".

“Joshua” (in Hebrew) is spelled - יהושׁע‎ ; the LXX/Septuagint (Greek) translates it as Ἰησους; which is the way the name Jesus in spelled in Greek.

In Spanish, the name is pronounced as Heh-soos" and spelled, Jesús. "J" in Spanish is pronounced like an "H" in English.

So Jesus and Joshua are really the same name, although in different languages.
The Greek form (in English) is Jesus.
The Hebrew form (in English) is Joshua.
Both forms of the name mean “The Lord is Salvation.”

Compare Translations: Because of the similar spelling, the King James Version chose to translate Joshua’s name as Jesus in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8.

Then there's the Complete Jewish Bible:

The Good News of Yeshua the Messiah
Gospels: Mattityahu (Matthew), Mark. Luke and Yochanan (John)
and the general epistles: Ya‘akov (James [Jacob]), 1 Kefa (1 Peter). 2 Kefa (2 Peter), 1,2,3, Yochanan (Epistles of John) and Y’hudah (Jude)

Rob
 
Last edited:

Ben1445

Well-Known Member
The letter J and its sound originated sometime in the mid 1500's. If you called out the name, JESUS, in a crowd during his lifetime in Judah, he wouldn't have turned around to look.

The derivation of the name, Joshua is mentioned in Numbers 13:16

אֵ֚לֶּה שְׁמֹ֣ות הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַ֥ח מֹשֶׁ֖ה לָת֣וּר אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיִּקְרָ֥א מֹשֶׁ֛ה לְהֹושֵׁ֥עַ בִּן־נ֖וּן יְהֹושֻֽׁעַ׃

Moses changed Hawšēʿ (Oh Save!) to Yahwšūʿ (Yahweh is salvation). Simply, Joshua “will be saved and will save others” - the new name being the future tense "he will save".

“Joshua” (in Hebrew) is spelled - יהושׁע‎ ; the LXX/Septuagint (Greek) translates it as Ἰησους; which is the way the name Jesus in spelled in Greek.

In Spanish, the name is pronounced as Heh-soos" and spelled, Jesús. "J" in Spanish is pronounced like an "H" in English.

So Jesus and Joshua are really the same name, although in different languages.
The Greek form (in English) is Jesus.
The Hebrew form (in English) is Joshua.
Both forms of the name mean “The Lord is Salvation.”

Compare Translations: Because of the similar spelling, the King James Version chose to translate Joshua’s name as Jesus in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8.

Then there's the Complete Jewish Bible:

The Good News of Yeshua the Messiah
Gospels: Mattityahu (Matthew), Mark. Luke and Yochanan (John)
and the general epistles: Ya‘akov (James [Jacob]), 1 Kefa (1 Peter). 2 Kefa (2 Peter), 1,2,3, Yochanan (Epistles of John) and Y’hudah (Jude)

Rob
If they are the same name in English, why are we interrupting a language with another language like Sergeant Shultz when he is counting prisoners?
Why don’t we just use one language at a time?
 

Deacon

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
People come from various backgrounds.
Those that are of Jewish heritage may connect to more closely to Scripture that relates to their background.

Readers need to be reminded that the Bibles we read were not originally written in the English language.

The common joke relating to that is: "If the King James Version was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me".

Using original pronunciations of names might remind people that the Bible's we use are simply translations of the Word of God:
that our Scripture's were originally directed toward ancient peoples of different culture.

One of my favorite commentators is John H. Walton, he writes that the Bible's message was written to an ancient audience, and to be understood properly, today's readers need to understand that the text is embedded in the cultural of its time.

While I don't particularly like using foreign constructions of Biblical names, it may help others to more accurately engage with the text.

Rob
 

Jerome

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
They also get real agitated about the book titled James: should be Jacob, blah blah blah.

Hello?! "James" IS an 'Englished' form of Iacomus [Latin variant of Iacobus, "Jacob"].

Iacobus->Iacomus took several forms, centuries ago, to suit different languages, and pronunciation was altered or simplified to...

(in Italian) Giacomo
(in Spanish) Santiago ["St. James"], but shortened (in Portuguese) Tiago
(in English) James
 
Top