Are "Yeshu" and "Yeshua" translated identically in Greek as "Jesus"?
Posted: April 13th, 2020, 4:14 pm
Hello everyone.
I had long been under the impression that the original Hebrew form of Jesus was "Yeshua", and that the form "Yeshu" was a Jewish derogatory acronym for "yimakh shemo" (may his name be obliterated). However, after a lengthy discussion with a Jewish friend, I've come to the conclusion that this is an urban legend. (Yeshu seems to be a pretty old form and is used in Judaism to refer to other Rabbi's, in a non-derogatory way).
I thought that perhaps I would turn to Greek, to see if I could find an answer to this.
There are three forms of Yeshua I would know to exist in Hebrew; Yehoshua, Yeshua, and Yeshu. I know that Yehoshua is translated in the Septuagint as Iesous, identical to Jesus in NT Koine. Would Yeshu have been translated the same way?
I guess more specifically, would a name ending in -u be considered feminine in Greek, the same way as -a? I know it's a noob question but I couldn't find anything by searching the internet.
If I understand correctly, Jehu/Yehu was translated as Ιου (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/2ki/9/14/s_322014). Why wouldn't it have been translated with an -s?
My theory is, if the original Hebrew from was Yeshua, then it's Greek form Iesous and Latinized Jesus are correct. But if the original was Yeshu, it would have been translated differently. Is there anything to this?
Also, why is Leah translated as Lea in Genesis 29:16 (Sept) but as Leas in verse 17?
Thank you for your time and patience!
I had long been under the impression that the original Hebrew form of Jesus was "Yeshua", and that the form "Yeshu" was a Jewish derogatory acronym for "yimakh shemo" (may his name be obliterated). However, after a lengthy discussion with a Jewish friend, I've come to the conclusion that this is an urban legend. (Yeshu seems to be a pretty old form and is used in Judaism to refer to other Rabbi's, in a non-derogatory way).
I thought that perhaps I would turn to Greek, to see if I could find an answer to this.
There are three forms of Yeshua I would know to exist in Hebrew; Yehoshua, Yeshua, and Yeshu. I know that Yehoshua is translated in the Septuagint as Iesous, identical to Jesus in NT Koine. Would Yeshu have been translated the same way?
I guess more specifically, would a name ending in -u be considered feminine in Greek, the same way as -a? I know it's a noob question but I couldn't find anything by searching the internet.
If I understand correctly, Jehu/Yehu was translated as Ιου (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lxx/2ki/9/14/s_322014). Why wouldn't it have been translated with an -s?
My theory is, if the original Hebrew from was Yeshua, then it's Greek form Iesous and Latinized Jesus are correct. But if the original was Yeshu, it would have been translated differently. Is there anything to this?
Also, why is Leah translated as Lea in Genesis 29:16 (Sept) but as Leas in verse 17?
Thank you for your time and patience!