A small, but growing, number of Christians prefer to call
Jesus “Yehshua” and prefer to refer to God as “Yahweh.” There are variations of
this. For example, some Christians use “Yahshua,” “Yehoshua” or some other
variation for the name of Jesus. I’ve noticed this in facebook conversations
and in Christian songs. I’m also aware that there are some churches which have
embraced this practice. In this post, I will try to explain this issue.
Names are Often
Pronounced Differently in Different Languages
There are some advantages to having lived in another
country and spoken another language. For one thing, it becomes obvious that it
is perfectly normal for English names to be pronounced differently in other
languages and vice versa. Sometimes the difference in pronunciation is small
and sometimes the pronunciation is so different that you would never guess it
was the same name. Here are some examples:
Many more examples could be given of how names change in
different languages. Since it is totally normal for the way names are written
and pronounced to change in different languages (and even in the same language
over time), there seems to be no good reason that the same thing should not be
true for the name of Jesus. After all, while the Bible contains extraordinary
truths and revelation, it is written in ordinary human language. But since the
Bible says things like “there is no other name under Heaven given to people by
which we may be saved” (Acts 4:12, CSB), some people feel it is important to
not to change how the original name of Jesus is pronounced. Let’s look at this
more closely.
The New Testament
Example
The short version: Jesus name in Hebrew was Yeshua, but
the New Testament never uses His Name in Hebrew, but rather translates it into
Greek as Iēsous.
Since God inspired the authors of the Greek New Testament to translate the name
of Jesus into the form usually used in Greek, it is proper for us to translate
the name of Jesus into English as – Jesus!
The long version:
1.The New Testament was
written originally in Greek. In the original Greek, Jesus’s name was Ἰησοῦς
(Iēsous).
2. There is abundant evidence that the Greek name Iēsous
was a translation of the Hebrew name Joshua. For example, all throughout the LXX
(the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament which was produced before
Jesus was born) the name Joshua was translated as Iēsous.
3. In Hebrew, at the
time Joshua lived, his name was יהוֹשׁוּעַ (Yehoshua).
Later this name was shortened and it appears that by the time Jesus was born
the same name was more commonly pronounced יֵשׁ֙וּעַ (Yeshua).
4. Based on all this, it is most likely that Mary called
Jesus “Yeshua.” The fact that this is nowhere explicitly stated in Scripture
supports our view that it is proper to translate the name of Jesus into
different languages. Nowhere do the inspired New Testament authors ever use the
Hebrew version of Jesus’s name in the original text of the New Testament.
5. If the inspired authors of the New Testament did not
think it was important to call Jesus “Yeshua,” why should we?
The Slightly more
Complex Issue of Yahweh
God’s name in the Old Testament was Yahweh. When the Old
Testament was translated in Greek before Jesus was born, instead of using the
personal name Yahweh, they used the title “Lord,” which in Greek is kurios. In most English translations, Yahweh
is translated by LORD, where all capital letters are used to show that the
original was Yahweh. Was it alright for the translators of the LXX to use the
title LORD instead of using the name Yahweh? We know that it was alright
because when God inspired the New Testament authors to quote passages from the
Old Testament, they consistently used kurios
(LORD) rather than Yahweh.
The name Yahweh never appears in the Greek New Testament
except in the shortened form “Yah” in the word “hallelujah.”
As with the name of Jesus, we know that it is not wrong
for us to use “LORD” instead of Yahweh because we are following the inspired
example of the New Testament.
Are Christians
wrong when they use Yeshua or Yahweh?
I’ve explained why it is acceptable to use Jesus and LORD.
But is there anything wrong with English speaking Christians using Yeshua or Yahweh?
I think it depends on their reasons, motives, and attitudes as explained in
this chart:
There are a number of reasons a Christian might occasionally
use Yahweh and/or Yeshua. They might want to catch people’s attention, or make
a song with a Jewish feel, or remind people of the Jewish/Old Testament roots
of names and of our faith. If this is done humbly, I see no problem with it. I
personally like and feel blessed by some of the Christian praise music that
uses the name Yahweh.
However, if a Christian using Yeshua or Yahweh begins to
feel that they are better, or more accurate, than their brothers and sisters in
Christ who use Jesus and LORD, that can become dangerous, harmful pride. Do
they think they are better than John, Peter, and Paul, all of who never used
Yeshua or Yahweh when they were writing parts of the Bible! And if a Christian
or a church begins to teach that other Christians are wrong because they use
the common “LORD” and “Jesus” instead of “Jehovah,” “Yahweh,” “Yeshua,” or
something similar, that’s a big problem. That’s wrong, judgmental, and
divisive. Such Christians should be gently warned, and efforts should be made
to explain to them why they are wrong. If they don’t listen, avoid them as you
would avoid any Christian or church which is stubbornly causing division (Titus
3:10).
Learning from the
seven sons of Sceva
In the book of Acts (Acts 19:11-17), we are told about
seven sons of Sceva who heard that demons could be cast out by using the name
of Jesus. They attempted to do this, but the evil spirit mocked them, and the
demon possessed man severely beat all seven of them. The problem was not that
they were pronouncing the name of Jesus wrong. The problem is that they didn’t
have a personal relationship with Jesus and thus were not filled with the Holy
Spirit and did not have power to confront the demons. Jesus’s name does not
work like a magic spell in Harry Potter, where if you don’t pronounce it just
right it doesn’t work. The Name of Jesus is powerful to the extent that we know
Him as Lord and Savior and are walking with Him.
Conclusion
In light of all the above, I feel that most of the time
when we are speaking in English and are speaking to other English speakers, we
should use Jesus and LORD. This is less confusing, and less likely to result in
pride and division. This is also in line with the New Testament example of
translating the name of God and of Jesus into the normal, common way people in
a given language say those names. However, when done humbly and with the right
motives, the occasional use of Yahweh or Yeshua is acceptable, and occasionally
even beautifully uplifting.
Other Bible Questions
I’ve Tried to Address on My Blog:
You are correct. However, I have also noticed that those who make a big issue about the name have screwy christologies, too.
ReplyDeleteVery informative, Mark. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you for a very helpful article!
ReplyDeleteMay I add that it's OK to adopt other titles for God (such as Allah) when you're carrying the Gospel into other cultures?
Paul did!
When reaching out to Greeks, Paul did not use any of the many Hebrew titles for God.
He used "Theos," which was the creator deity to the Greeks.
A Hebrew word would have made God sound foreign to the Greeks.
It's as if Paul was saying, "You believe in Creator Theos, which is good. Let me correct some ideas you have about him, and let me tell you about his Son."
Don't most denominations exist because someone took a doctrine or teaching(man-made or biblical)and elevated it to the point that they had to divide themselves from other Christians and other churches. Think of all the minor teachings that are elevated to the point that a person has to start a new church. There's a lot of Pride and and "I am better and more holy" than you are
ReplyDelete