What’s in a Name?

What’s in a name?

³ I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.⁴ Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?⁵ Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.(Proverbs 30:3-5)

A study into the name of Jesus is illuminating.  There are some obscure but fascinating details in Scripture that are intriguing.  God has hidden some treasures in a study like this that redound to a vibrant faith.  I will present these hidden gems in no particular order and rely on you, the reader, to piece the puzzle together.  I hope that you will find this article interesting.

The first gem is familiar to readers of the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).  Consider a major character first introduced in the book of Exodus.  He became Moses’s right-hand-man and was appointed by Moses to lead the people into the Promised Land.  We know this person by the name of Joshua.  The sixth book of the Bible was named after him.  As noted, he was a major character in the Bible.  And as we know, the Gospels and the Epistles were originally written by Jews primarily in Greek.  And this same person, Joshua, is referenced on two different occasions in those documents; once in the book of Acts and once in the book of Hebrews.  In both places, the KJV translators rendered this person’s name as … “Jesus”.

The first time that you read these passages you might do a double take because as you read along you are aware that the author is alluding to Joshua, the person who was Moses’ right-hand-man. However, both times the KJV translators rendered his name as Jesus. You almost think you have found a typo in the Bible.   You can read it for yourself.  

⁴⁴ 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. (Acts 7:44-45)     

 ⁶ Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:⁷ 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. (Hebrews 4:6-8)

Again, this quirky detail occurs only in the KJV.  These verses are a little difficult to follow, but as we analyze them carefully, it is clear that the author is referring to the person who was Moses’ servant (the person we know as Joshua), and yet he is named Jesus.  The modern translators take into account the context, and in so doing, the translators of today’s Bibles rendered this person’s name as Joshua in both Acts and Hebrews in order to avoid confusion.  The KJV was completed over 400 years ago and remains unchanged to this day.  In this instance, the KJV translators were just being unbiased and meticulous in their translation.   They read the name in the original Greek manuscripts in both Acts and Hebrews and they knew that it was the exact same name as the person who was described in the Gospels. (The person we know as Jesus) Therefore in those two places, the KJV translators translated Joshua’s name as Jesus even though they knew it was referring to the person who was Moses’ right-hand-man.  It’s funny when you read the name Jesus because you know that the text is referring to the person we know as Joshua. It’s funny, but it actually gives us a clue to something intriguingly important. It gives a clue to something that has been lost to all of us modern day Bible readers; Jesus and Joshua must have shared the same name!  At least according to the KJV translators and according to the Greek texts that they used as the platform for their translation.

If according to the KJV translators, Joshua and Jesus shared the same name, then why do we have two different names in our modern Bibles.  The reason that we have two distinct names has to do with the differences between Greek and Hebrew.  The person whom we know as Joshua was described to us in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Joshua.  Those books were originally written in Hebrew and also were copied in Hebrew down through the centuries.  Further, all Bible translators used the oldest extant Hebrew manuscripts as a basis for their translation of these books.  Consequently, we received the name of Joshua, Moses’ servant, from primarily a Hebrew lineage.  On the other hand, the person whom we know as Jesus is presented to us from the Gospels which were originally written in Greek.   The original autographs of the Gospels were copied through the centuries in Greek, and all Bible translators use Greek manuscripts as a platform for their translations.  Consequently, the name Jesus, as opposed to the name Joshua, has a distinctly Greek lineage. 

To give you an idea of how the differences might occur over time, we can examine the endings for the names of Joshua and Jesus.  Obviously, they are totally different. (“ua” vs “us”) However, those different endings are the result of masculine noun formulations in their respective languages.  The “ua” ending would make Joshua a masculine noun in Hebrew, but not so in Greek.  In Greek, a masculine noun needs to end in “ous”.  So in Greek, the male name of Yeshua was rendered as Iesous (transliteration) in order to conform with a masculine noun formulation.  In Hebrew, the name of Yeshua already had a masculine noun-ending.  So as you can see, it is very understandable that both Joshua and Jesus could have started from the same name, but each underwent slight variations because they were presented to us from different language heritages.  So, because of the different language paths, we think of them as two distinct names when in all probability, they shared the same name at the beginning. (see Wikipedia note in the addendum)

If at one point, Jesus and Joshua shared the same name, then was their shared name Joshua or Jesus? Ironically, the one thing that we do know for certain is that it was neither Joshua nor Jesus because neither Hebrew nor Greek have the “J” sound in their phonetic alphabet. The “J” sound was introduced into English in the seventeenth century.  So that is how English changed the Hebrew name from Yeshua to Jeshua and also changed the Greek name from Iesous to Jesous.  So where does that information leave us? If they shared a name and it wasn’t Joshua or Jesus, then what was it? For starters, we can guess that the shared name was probably one with Jewish roots because we know that Joshua was Jewish, and although Jesus was born into a culture that had Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek influences, his mother and step-father were 100% Jewish. Joseph and Mary both traced their Jewish lineage back to Abraham [Matthew 1 and Luke 3]).  It would stand to reason, then, that they would have named their son something with a Jewish heritage.  Further, the angel Gabriel explicitly told Joseph what to name the baby.  Again, it would have been in keeping with what we know about all of Gabriel’s pronouncements, that he would have instructed them to name the baby something Hebraic.  Many scholars have suggested that the shared name of Joshua and Jesus may have been Yeshua which was a fairly common Jewish name in the Second Temple Era which was when the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah were written. (circa 500 BC) Our English Bible render that name as Jeshua.  One example of that name appears in the Book of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 8:17)  It is a transliteration of four Hebrew letters. (“yod-shin-vav-ayin”) The English translation of that name appears 29 times in Scripture.   But again, there is no “J” sound in Hebrew.  The “J” in the shared name appeared only in the 17^th century in our English Bibles.   The transliteration of those four Hebrew letters is Yesua and would have been pronounced as yay-shoo’-ah. (Strong’s 3442)

At this point, you may be wondering about the significance of any of this.  Jesus, Joshua, Jeshua, Yeshua! What difference does any of this make?   The reason that it is important is so that we can understand the prophecy that was imbedded into that name.  There are four hidden gems regarding that name, and we will explore all four in this study.  But before we examine those details, we should probably say a word about the name of Jesus.  Christians hold this name in the highest regard.  The name of Jesus is sacred to Christians.  I am reminded of the admonition in the Gospel of John.  But these are written, [i.e., facts in the Gospel of John] that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:31) And in Acts, Luke informs us that, Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) Obviously, the name of Jesus is extremely important as these Scriptures indicate.   But as I already stated, neither Hebrew or Greek had the “J” sound in its alphabet, so we know that the Messiah’s name was not pronounced Jesus.  I think that what those two above referenced verses are alluding to is the fact that no one can be saved apart from trusting in the person of Jesus.  And the person of Jesus is represented by the name.  It’s the person of Jesus that is the key. That person is the Son of God and is the one who is the central focus of all four Gospels.  That person died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead.  That person promised to make His home in our hearts if we invite Him.  It is belief in that person that will save us as Jesus himself reminded us. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) So knowing the literal phonetic pronunciation of the name that represents the person is not the key.  Knowing the person behind the name is the key. I happen to think Jesus’ name was most probably Yeshua, and when I’m alone that is how I refer to Him when I pray.   However, when I am in public, I refer to that same person as Jesus because that is how He has come to be known (at least in my culture).

Before we uncover the four hidden gems, we need to stir one more name into the pot: Jehoshua! (aargh!)  Jehoshua is the name that started it all, so we need to explore that name too.  We will examine the significance of that name in our first hidden gem, but for now we only need to establish that he was Moses’ right-hand-man.  Further, it is important to establish that Jehoshua was identified with other details when he is introduced in the narrative. When we are introduced to Jehoshua, he was described as Moses’ servant and the son of Nun.  Those two details will follow this person all throughout Scripture.  When the Bible refers to this person, it will identify him as a servant of Moses and the son of Nun.   And the reason that these details are important is because the name of Jehoshua would undergo slight variations, but the person being identified would remain the same.  In other words, the person would have a slightly different spelling on the name, but they would consistently retain the same two identifying details.  Jehoshua referenced in Numbers 13:16 is the same person as the Joshua referenced later in the Biblical narrative because he is described using the same two markers.Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,² Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.(Joshua 1:1-2) So Jehoshua and Joshua are slight variations on a name, but both variants reference the same person.  Further, this is the same person referenced in the Book of Nehemiah.  This time the actual Hebrew name was different. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths,[a reference to the time of the Exodus from Egypt and Moses] and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun[same father] unto that day had not the children of Israel done so.(Nehemiah 8:17) So the name Jeshua is different than Jehoshua and Joshua, but it’s the same person because the Scripture still identified this person as the one who was the son of Nun and the one who lead the Israelites into the promised land.  So by the time of Nehemiah, Jehoshua had been shortened to Jeshua.  Finally, all three of these names reference the same person who is called Jesus by Luke in the Book of Acts.  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.(Acts 7:44-45)   The bottom line is that Jehoshua is the same as Joshua is the same as Jeshua is the same as Jesus.  All four names are the same, and in this study, those names will be used interchangeably.   I liken it to the difference in our culture between Jonathon, Johnny and John (or Juan in Spanish for that matter). I have a grandson named Jonathan, for example, and we all call him Jonny.  It’s two slightly different renderings of that name, but both variations refer to the same person.

Now let’s consider our first hidden gem.  There is an obscure and extremely minor detail that is none-the-less intriguing.  It occurs when we are first introduced to Jehoshua/Joshua/Jeshua/Jesus.   About 1,400 years ago, Moses was preparing God’s people to enter into the Promised Land.  This was a pivotal moment in the life of the young Jewish nation.  However, before they attempted to conquer the land, Moses decided to send in a few spies in order to gain some intelligence on the people with whom they would eventually be fighting.  Moses picked out twelve men to be spies; one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the Book of Numbers chapter thirteen, the twelve names are recorded.  And from the tribe of Ephraim, a man named Oshea, the son of Nun was selected. (Numbers 13:8). This is pretty standard information up to this point in the story.  Then Moses did something extremely curious.  Of the twelve men listed in the Bible, Moses changed the name of one of them.  Scripture gives absolutely no explanation for this name change.  And the name change does not appear to be germane to the main point of the story.   Further, this one man is the only one of the twelve who has his name changed.   As a matter of fact, there is no record of Moses ever doing that with anyone else in the entire Bible. Let’s read it for ourselves.  ¹⁶ These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. (Numbers 13:16) 

In summary and quite inexplicably, Moses changed one man’s name!   Was Moses sending future generations a signal?  Why change the man’s name to Jehoshua unless the name itself had some significance?  The name change did not help Jehoshua accomplish his goal.  His name change served only to highlight that name.  For what purpose was the name highlighted in God’s Holy Word?  Again, we aren’t specifically told the reason. We only know that God was highlighting that name. As we follow the life of Jehoshua we realize that he developed into a very significant person.  He was the person who Moses assigned the task of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.  That is significant.    In fact, it was one of the most important events in the life of the young Jewish nation.  So Jehoshua was an extremely prominent figure.  Was this a foreshadowing of things to come with the other people named Jehoshua/Jeshua/Jesus?  The name and mission of Jesus come to mind.  He too led the Israelites into a promised land. (An eternal spiritual promised land) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:17) Obviously, Jesus was also a prominent figure just like Jehoshua, and the magnitude of each of their missions mirrored each other.   So, when Moses’ changed Oshea’s name to Jehoshua, was he prophesying about the name of the future Messiah?  Was Moses alerting us to be on the look-out for someone with that name? Or on the other hand, when we read about the life of Jesus and look back, does it serve to confirm His identity as the Messiah?  As we see the same pattern of leadership and importance can we conclude that God is in control and He had it planned out from the start?

Sometimes prophecy is like that.  When God makes a prediction and records it in Scripture, the people weren’t always able to see or understand it at the time it was written.  But after these prophecies were fulfilled, we realize that the event had been predicted before it happened.  Take Psalm 22 for example.  It was a poem written by King David one-thousand years before the crucifixion.  When he wrote it, the lyrics must not have made any sense for anyone who heard it.

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

⁷ All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

⁸ He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax

They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.(Psalm 22, selected verses)

When King David wrote those words, again, the people who heard them or read them probably had no idea what he was talking about.  But as Jesus hung on the cross one thousand years later and uttered the first line of that poem, then it all made perfect sense. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  The lyrics that followed that opening line were a description of Jesus as he hung on the cross. (please see the article on the crucifixion for a further exploration of those lyrics) When Jesus spoke the first line of David’s poem, it became the key that unlocked the mystery and then the lyrics exploded with meaning.  They were an exact description of what Jesus endured. Psalm 22 was a prediction that lay dormant until the time that Jesus fulfilled it.  The sub-plot to all of those descriptive phrases in Psalm 22 is that God knew it was going to happen before it happened. That’s the conclusion that we can draw when we look back. The lyrics had too much detail to merely be coincidental.  So after the fact, we realize that God had predicted it before it happened.  And that realization strengthens our faith in the God who predicted it.  Is it like that with the name of Jesus?  Two people shared the name of Joshua/Jesus: one in the Old Testament and one in the New.  And as we look back, we realize that the first man foreshadowed the second one.  The first man served as a template for the second.  The first man helps us understand the second man. Joshua/Jesus led them into the promised Land and Joshua/Jesus also leads us into the promised land (an eternal spiritual promised land). So the first time that a man named Joshua/Jesus is introduced it foreshadows the mission of the later man named Joshua/Jesus.  And when Jesus arrived, faith is confirmed.

You may be thinking that I’m making too much of a coincidence.  You may be thinking that it doesn’t mean anything that one man came to lead the people into the Promised land and then a second person, albeit with the same name, came to do the exact same thing except in a spiritual sense.  Again, you may be thinking that I’m making too much of a coincidence? There are some similarities but that doesn’t mean that the Old and New Testaments had the same author.  But what if I told you that there was another Joshua/Jesus that the Old Testament highlighted?  And what if he foreshadowed different aspects of the Joshua/Jesus in the Gospels.  Would that cause faith to spring up in your heart? Let’s read it for ourselves and then decide.

There were essentially only two men named Joshua that the Old Testament introduced to us with any depth of explanation.  The one is Joshua who was Moses’ servant, and we discussed him already.  The other one was a High Priest during the time of the rebuilding of the Second Temple.  Zechariah writes about him.   And not surprisingly, he, too, was significant.  But before we describe what he did, we need to give ourselves a little back round. We will present this back ground information quickly.  The phrase “the branch”, has a very strong connection to the coming Messiah. Listen to the prophet Isaiah make the connection between the Branch and the Messiah.   And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:² And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord… And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. (Isaiah 11:1-2,10) This prophecy creates an image in our minds.  Israel was like a large and flourishing tree that had been cut down when God allowed Babylon to conquer them and take them into exile.  But God allowed a small remnant to return, and a branch grew out of the sawed-off trunk of that once mighty tree.  That branch was the lineage of Jesse who was the father of King David and became the line from which the Messiah would eventually descend.  The point is that the moniker of THE BRANCH is a Messianic title.   Because of the prophecies regarding the fact that the Messiah would come from the lineage of King David, the phrase, “son of David”, also became a title for the Messiah for the people of Jesus’ day. You can read and example of someone using that title in the Book of Matthew (Matthew 12:23).  And this passage in Isaiah established that connection between “the branch” and “the son of David” and “the Messiah”. In addition, Jeremiah makes another strong connection between “the branch” and the Messiah.   ⁵ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.⁶ In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:5-6)Jeremiah repeated this prophecy again in chapter 33.   The point is that the Messiah would come from the line of Jesse, David’s father, and the Messiah would be called “the branch”.  Finally, there is a strong connection between the Messiah in Isaiah 53 and the title of the Servant.  (Isaiah 52:13) So all three titles are messianic: the Branch, the son-of-David and the Servant.

Let’s put everything together that we know about “the Branch”, “the Messiah”, “the Servant” and the shared name of Joshua/Jesus as we read about a prophetic vision in the Book of Zechariah.  There are two separate passages that reference this person. This is the first one:  Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch.⁹ For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.(Zechariah 3:8-9) Let’s analyze these two verses phrase by phrase. Joshua was the High Priest.  There are two titles in verse eight which as we discussed are connected to the Messiah: my servant and the BRANCH. In this vision there is a group of men who are sitting before Joshua the High Priest. Joshua is the apparent leader, but it would seem that from this group God will call forth his servant the Branch. (For they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH) In other words, God will call forth the Messiah from this group.    And then in verse nine it is clear that God called forth Joshua to be that Messiah because Zechariah referenced a stone that was laid before Joshua who had been called forth.( the stone that I have laid before Joshua )  That word stone is the same word that is used in Exodus 20:24-25 when referencing an altar that God instructed Moses to “make” that would be dedicated to burnt offerings to God.( An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings…. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone [Ex 20:24a &25a]) A burnt offering was meant to make atonement for sin which connects to the phrase at the end of verse nine about removing sin. (I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.)   The word stone is used for other purposes in the Bible, but the reason that this stone before Joshua is connected to an altar is because of something else that Zechariah said.  God had said to Joshua who was before the altar that He, God, would engrave it Himself.  ( I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts )  This is an intriguing detail because God gave very specific instructions for the Israelites to not engrave anything on their altar for burnt offerings.  As a matter of fact, God did not want them to touch that stone altar with a tool of any kind. (And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. [Ex 20:25]) Here in Zechariah as Joshua stood before the altar, it was God Himself who made an engraving.  It was God who wanted to memorialize that event with His own explanation.   And God’s explanation was that the stone that was laid before Joshua would be the instrument that God would use to remove the iniquity of the land. (i.e., remove everyone’s iniquity) So God specifically instructed Moses not to engrave the stone altar that he made, but here in Zechariah, God said that he would engrave it. Perhaps God did not want Moses to engrave it because He wanted to engrave it himself later.  Finally, the reference to seven eyes is also fascinating.  The only other time where the seven eyes are referenced in the Bible is in the last book, and interestingly, this image is connected to a sacrificial lamb.   And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne … stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.(Revelation 5:6)  God defines the seven eyes in Revelation as the seven Spirits of God.   God was indicating through Zechariah’s vision, that the seven Spirits of God would witness this sacrifice.  The seven eyes or seven Spirits of God witnessing the event highlights the importance of it. The idea in Revelation that the seven eyes would look at the sacrificial lamb confirms that the eyes in Zechariah’s vison were looking at a stone altar. It is all stunningly interconnected: the Servant, the Branch, the Messiah, Joshua, an altar and an atoning sacrifice for sin. So Joshua, Moses’ servant, foreshadowed an important element of Jesus’ mission.  The first Joshua came to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  This other man named Joshua foreshadowed another element of Jesus.  Jesus is defined in the Gospels as an atoning sacrifice. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.(John 1:29)  But Zechariah’s vision regarding Joshua/Jesus is still not finished. 

Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;¹² And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord 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 the Lord:¹³ Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; 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.(Zechariah 6:11-13)  Again, Joshua is the High Priest.  Zechariah was directed to make a crown and put it on the head of the High priest.  A crown is a sign of kingship.  In this vision, the role of priest and king were being combined in one person, Joshua. Verse thirteen repeated this idea that the priesthood and kingship would be combined in the person of Joshua (he shall be a priest upon his throne.)  This vision also defines Joshua/Jesus’s mission. (and he shall build the temple of the Lord) I am reminded of the accusations that the priests hurled at Jesus during His “show-trial”.  we heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.(Mark 14:58)  Zechariah was predicting Jesus’ actual mission.  The temple that Jesus would build would be built with the faith of believers in His resurrection (a temple built in three days is an allusion to the resurrection). But the absolutely stunning phrase in Zechariah’s vision is the one in verse twelve.  Zechariah is instructed by God to make a crown and put it on the head of Joshua/Jesus and say to him, “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch.” Say that again!  Did Zechariah just tell us that the actual name of the Branch (i.e. the Messiah when he came) would be Joshua/Jesus?  “Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch.”

I’m imagining the first encounter between Peter, Andrew and Jesus. This is the scene where the Bible describes how Jesus called His first disciples. The Bible indicates that Jesus just walked up to them and said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  Let’s read the passage for ourselves.  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.¹⁹ And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.²⁰ And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-20) It is quite a remarkable story that absolutely begs the question as to why two men would quit their jobs and immediately follow this man without explanation. What if anything did Jesus say to elicit this extreme response.   Jesus’ public ministry had just begun but the Bible gives absolutely no indication that Peter and Andrew had been involved with Jesus in any way prior to that matter-of-fact encounter.  The Bible implies that there had been no previous interaction between Jesus and his first followers prior to Jesus saying simply, “Follow me….”  And yet they did.  I wonder if anything is left out of the narrative.  I wonder if some kind of introduction was left out. (or perhaps they knew Jesus’ name already because Jesus had been preaching in their town.)  But let’s imagine that when Jesus matter-of-factly invited them to follow Him, they replied with something to the effect of, “Can we ask who you are?”.  To which Jesus would have replied, “I am Jesus.” (i.e., My name is Jehoshua, Joshua, Jeshua, Jesus)  To the Greek speaking person at that time that name would have meant nothing, but to those two Jewish men who may have had some understanding of Hebrew Scripture, that name was overflowing with prophetic meaning. Perhaps Peter and Andrew looked at each other and wondered, “Did He actually just tell us that His name was Jesus?  Could He really be the long-awaited Messiah of which the Scriptures have predicted?”  They may have stared at each other in astonishment because someone had actually walked up to them and identified Himself as Jesus.  A man with that name is described only twice in their Scriptures.  One man with that name had led the Israelites into the Promised Land, but only after the great Father Moses had changed that man’s name to Jesus thereby highlighting the importance of it.  The other man named Jesus was a priest/king whom Zechariah had said bore the name of the Messiah.  Peter and Andrew may have given each other an incredulous look and decided that the name alone was enough to compel them to drop their nets (i.e., quit their jobs) and follow Him.

So those are the first two hidden gems imbedded into the name of Jesus: the name and mission of the servant to Moses and the name and mission of the priest/king in Zechariah’s vision.  The mission of the men who were represented by that name carried prophetic meaning.   The third hidden gem regarding the name of Jesus involves an exploration into the meaning of the name itself.   Beginning with Oshea, which was the name of Joshua before Moses changed it means “salvation”.  When Moses changed it to Jehoshua, he changed it’s meaning as well.  The meaning went from “salvation” to “God will save”.  The meaning holds true for the name Joshua as well.  When the angel Gabriel came to tell Joseph and Mary what to name the baby, he said that you should call him Jesus because He will save his people from their sins. ²⁰ But while he (Joseph) thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:20-21) Imbedded into the very meaning of Jesus name is also His mission from God which he fulfilled when He was sacrificed on the cross as a substitutionary offering for sin.  Parenthetically, the stated meaning of this name by Gabriel, confirms that Jesus’ actual name was probably Joshua because the meaning that Gabriel declared matches the meaning of the name Joshua. (Joshua means he will save-3442 Strong’s Concordance) The father of Joshua in Zechariah’s vision was called Josedech which means God is Righteous.  So, to put that in context, the Messiah in Zechariah’s vision was called Joshua, the son of God is righteous.(or perhaps it could be articulated as Jesus, son of the righteous God)  Can you picture Peter and Andrew contemplating the meaning of the name as well.  The Israelites had been looking for the arrival of their redeemer and Jesus showed up with a name that means God will save. Again, the name alone may have been enough for them to drop their nets and follow Him.

And now we can explore the fourth hidden gem within the name of Jesus. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for salvation is “yeshuah” which is basically the name of Jesus or Yeshua with an “H” added to the end. (Strong’s 3444)  In Hebrew it is spelled yod-shin-vav-ayin-cheit and according to Strong’s Concordance it is pronounced yesh-oo’-aw.  This word sounds almost identical to the pronunciation of the name Yeshua which is pronounced yay-shoo’-ah. (Strongs 3442) Adding an “h” is of reminiscent of how God changed both Abraham and Sarah’s name.  In both cases he added an “h” to their name.   ⁵ Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.   ¹⁵ And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. (Genesis 17:5,15) But the interesting point is that when you read the word, salvation, in the Hebrew Scriptures, it sounds like Yeshua or Jesus (the name of the Messiah in the Gospels) with an “h” at the end. And when you read some verses in the Holy Scriptures with the word “salvation” in it, it presents an interesting audio experience.   

Let’s read a few passages in the Bible with this auditory detail in mind. 

Exodus 15:2 reads, The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation.  And it sounds like: The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my Yeshua(h).  (i.e., Jesus)

Psalm 62:1 reads, Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.  And it sounds like:Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my Yeshua(h).  (i.e., Jesus)

Psalm 88:1 reads, O lord God of my salvation. And that sounds like:O lord God of my Yeshua(h).   (i.e., Jesus)  

And finally Psalm 78:22 reads, Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation.  And that sounds like: Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his Yeshua(h). (i.e., Jesus)  

These are just a few of the many references to the word salvation in the Hebrew Scriptures which sound like the name of the Messiah. The name Yeshua and the word yeshuah (“salvation”) do not sound identically alike but they are very similar sounding.

Maybe this audio connection between the name Yeshua or Jesus and the word yeshuah or salvation is what prompted the Pharisees to insist that the apostles stop preaching in that name. “Do whatever you want, just don’t preach in the name Jesus!!”  That’s a paraphrase, of course.  Let’s read it for ourselves in Acts 4.

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.¹⁴ And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,¹⁶ Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.¹⁷ But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth 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 Jesus.(Acts 4:12-18)

But off course, the apostles kept saying the name of Jesus, and so the High Priest hauled them before the counsel again.²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,²⁸ Saying, Did not we straitly 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.²⁹ Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.(Acts 5:27-30)  In the end, the council decided to simply beat them up a bit and tell them to stop saying that name. and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. (Acts 5:40)

The religious leaders really just didn’t like to hear that name/word spoken.  So again, a loose paraphrase would be that the Pharisees said, “Do whatever you want, just don’t keep saying the name of Yeshua/Jesus”.  Was it because it was just too powerful of an auditory connection?  Was the similarity between Jesus and salvation too meaningful and prophetic?

Again, I hope you found this study interesting.  I hope you were able to put these puzzle pieces together to discover something that is encouraging to your faith.  God is in control.  He had the Bible written and recorded before Jesus/Yeshua was born, and then Jesus/Yeshua fulfilled hundreds of predictions about himself right down to the smallest detail.   God was foretelling back when Moses changed Oshea’s name to Yeshua that the Messiah’s name would be Jesus/Yeshua.  Then God reminded us of that detail before Jesus/Yeshua came by highlighting the actions of a key high priest named Yeshua. And ultimately, God flat-out predicted in the book of Zechariah that the name of the Messiah would be Jesus/Yeshua. Praise the name of Jesus/Yeshua!

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Addendum Wikipedia entry for the etymology of the names Joshua and Jesus

This early biblical Hebrew name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ‎ (Yehoshuaʿ) underwent a shortening into later biblical יֵשׁוּעַ‎ (Yeshuaʿ/Y’shuaʿ), as found in the Hebrew text

Yeshua/Y’shua was in common use by Jews during the Second Temple period and many Jewish religious figures bear the name, including Joshua in the Hebrew Bible and Jesus in the New Testament.^[2][1]

The name Jesus is derived from the Hebrew name Yeshua/Y’shua, which is based on the Semitic root y-š-ʕ (Hebrew: ישע‎), meaning “to deliver; to rescue.”^[11][12][13] Likely originating in proto-Semitic (yṯ’), it appears in several Semitic personal names outside of Hebrew, like in the Aramaic name Hadad Yith’i, meaning “Hadad is my salvation”. Its oldest recorded use is in an Amorite personal name from 2048 B.C.^[14]

By the time the New Testament was written, the Septuagint had already transliterated ישוע (Yeshuaʿ) into Koine Greek as closely as possible in the 3rd-century BCE, the result being Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous).

From Greek, Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) moved into Latin at least by the time of the Vetus Latina. The morphological jump this time was not as large as previous changes between language families. Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous) was transliterated to Latin IESVS, where it stood for many centuries. The Latin name has an irregular declension, with a genitive, dative, ablative, and vocative of Jesu, accusative of Jesum, and nominative of Jesus.

Modern English Jesus derives from Early Middle English Iesu (attested from the 12th century). The name participated in the Great Vowel Shift in late Middle English (15th century). The letter J was first distinguished from ‘I’ by the Frenchman Pierre Ramus in the 16th century, but did not become common in Modern English until the 17th century, so that early 17th century works such as the first edition of the King James Version of the Bible (1611) continued to print the name with an I.^[17]