Names, page 2
The definitions and historical use of some of the names we use:


Jesus
 
is an English transliteration of the Greek word Iesous; which is said to be a transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua (or Jehoshua).

[By definition, to transliterate means to write or print (a letter or word) using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or language.]

iesous (2424) is a transliteration of the Heb. "Joshua," meaning "Jehovah is salvation," i. e., "is the Savior," "a common name among the Jews, e. g., <Ex. 17:9; Luke 3:29> (RV); <Col. 4:11>. It was given to the Son of God in Incarnation as His personal name, in obedience to the command of an angel to Joseph, the husband of His Mother, Mary, shortly before He was born, <Matt.1:21>. 
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)
(Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)


Strong's definition:

2424 Iesous (ee-ay-sooce');
of Hebrew origin [3091]; Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:
This is how the name "Jesus" appears in the Greek text:

 
It is spelt Iota (I) eta (e) sigma (s) omicron (o) upsilon (u) and sigma (s); Iesous.

The Latin spelling is slightly different, and was used in this English Bible (printed in 1560 ad) before the letter "J" came into use.


[click image for full page view].
Jesus is spelt (as shown above), Iesus.

This is a name any 1st Century Greek would recognize as being a derivation of the name Zeus. 
The Chief God, head of the Greek pantheon. Greek name endings of "sus," "seus," and "sous" are phonetic pronunciations for Zeus. This is just a simple matter of grammar and articulation, which can be easily researched and confirmed. These endings were attached by the Greeks to names and geographical locations to honor their supreme deity. The sacred mountain in Greece was named Parnassus. The deity of wine, son of Zeus, was Dionysus. Another of Zeus' son was Perseus. The Greek hero of the Trojan war was Odysseus (or Ulysses in Latin).
The translators of the 1611 King James Bible understood how to articulate "sus," or "sous;" at the end of a name. Shown below is an excerpt from the first edition of the 1611 KJ version. In Luke Chapter 4 , verse 27, They  spelt the prophets name, "Elizeus."


 
[click image for full page view.]

Subsequent editions change the "Z" to an "S." You can view these pages at the Electronic Text Center, at the University of Virginia's Library.

The New Testament writers place a great deal of importance on the name, as shown below in just a few examples:

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Acts 10:43 (KJV)

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(KJV)

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Phil 2:10 (KJV)

Yet, the name "Jesus" didn't exist at the time the Messiah was born. Neither is it used in any Old Testament Messianic prophecy. 
Why would the Hebrew-Torah observant parents of the    Mashiach (Messiah)
give their child a Greek or Latin (Iesous) name ? Especially one that pays homage to Zeus. 

So then, what was the name Yosef and Miriam gave their child?
It is written in the New Testament that Christ came in his Father's name:


I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
John 5:43(KJV)


Did his name incorporate the Father's name within it? Vine's Dictionary says that the name given to Christ, ( "Joshua" or "Yehoshua") was a common name among the Jews. The NT says:

Wherefore Yhwh also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Phil 2:9 (KJV)


This verse seems to contradict Vine's findings. A name above every other name can hardly be considered common.

What about Yeshua and Yashua?

Both are nouns, neither are proper names (as shown below):

3444 yeshuw` ah (yesh-oo'-aw); feminine passive participle of 3467; something saved, i.e. (abstractly) deliverance; hence, aid, victory, prosperity:

[Genesis 49:18 from the Masoretic text.] 


Why was Mashiach accused of blasphemy?

Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.
Matt 26:65(KJV)


What was the definition of blasphemy, in 1st century Palestine?
Written below are excerpts from an excellent article written by Daniel Geary, which explains the definition of blasphemy:


In Leviticus 17-27, that portion of the Torah known as “The Holiness Code,” YHWH dictates to Moses several lists of laws, prohibitions, and practices that the Israelites must obey once they enter the land of Canaan.......midway through chapter 24, we encounter a short, obscure narrative that momentarily interrupts the flow of legal prescriptions. Here we read that during a scuffle between two men, one of them, who is identified as half-Egyptian, commits the crime of blasphemy, to which the community responds by stoning him to death. 

What does the blasphemer actually say?

Translated literally, the Hebrew phrase that describes the crime committed in Lev 24:11,
wayyiqqob ben-haishah hayyisreelit ‘et hashem wayeqallel, should read, “The son of
the Israelite woman pronounced the name and cursed.” Moreover, we should interpret this as the culprit invoking the name of YHWH for the purpose of cursing YHWH,

In another competing theory, J. B. Gabel and C. B. Wheeler propose that this text actually criminalizes the mere invocation of the divine name, something that becomes taboo during the post-exilic period.  They claim that one of the Torah’s final redactors, who lived during this period, took a story that dealt with some other issue and inserted the prohibition of merely pronouncing the name of God into v.11 and v.16, thereby creating an entirely new definition of blasphemy

[to read the complete article, click here.]

Blasphemy was considered to be (among many Jews) the act of pronouncing the Creator's name.
This is one of the reasons why I believe HaMashiach did bear the name:

  Yahuahshua (Yaw hoo ah shoo ah).

This name is different from the 160+ Hebrew names that used 3 of the 4 letters of the Creator's name (as shown on the names chart on page one). This unique name, different from all others, requires the person speaking it, to say the Creator's full name (YHWH,  Yaw- hoo-ah). This was blasphemy in the eyes of the Sanhedrin, requiring the death penalty. Pronunciation of the Sacred Name is still forbidden today among many (if not most) Jews.

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