AMAREL - It means "The Message or Word of God"

    Many speak often of The Messiah, the one who redeems us from our sin and provides forgiveness to us. They call Him by many different titles, including Messiah, Christ, Lord, Master, Jesus, Yeshua, Yahshuah, Yahushuah, Rabbi, Savior, etc.
    Most people believe His personal name is Jesus, or Jesus Christ, or Christ Jesus, or even The Lord. Yet these same people would be very surprised to know that none of these are His proper personal name. In what follows I’ll outline the problem and how it has developed. There’s a lot of history behind this.
    I don't tell you this to undermine or destroy your faith. I tell you this because it is the truth. Above all else, YAHWEH, The God of all creation, wants His people to know the truth. (See To Know The Truth) It's easy to follow what you think is the truth, only to find out later it was not really the truth at all. In today's world truth is very difficult to come by. Images are manipulated digitally so they no longer represent the truth. Half-truths are spoken regularly, seeking to get you to "buy the product", or believe the lying politician. False advertising, phony photos, distorted images and concepts are everywhere. Everything is given its own "spin" for the benefit of the "spinner".
    Sadly, even within the ranks of the faithful, the church, there are many deceptions and lies being told. People are hard-pressed to discover the truth. This should not be so. In this area in particular it's vital to know the truth. That's the purpose of this website, so far as it is within me to convey it to another. It's my goal to help you know and understand  the truth of Scripture.
    It is my heart’s desire to honor YAHWEH, The Father, and His only begotten Son, The Messiah – whose personal name I’ll present in a few moments. One of the best ways to do this is to get their personal names spelled and pronounced correctly. After all, how would you like it if someone who is supposed to know you and honor you kept getting your name wrong every time they spoke to you, or about you – and never corrected it? Surely, you would not be very happy. 
    Amazingly, for some 2000 years this is exactly what has happened with The Messiah. His name has been changed. In fact, it’s actually been removed and replaced with something that is not His proper personal name at all. It’s the same problem that exists with God The Father. His name was also removed and replaced with misrepresentations that do not follow the original text. These are most egregious errors. We should be doing everything in our power to correct this disrespect for YAHWEH and His Son, The Messiah. 
   We need to go back and begin with the understanding that The Messiah was a Hebrew child. He was born to a Jewish woman Miriam (Mary). His earthly father was a Hebrew man named Yoseph (meaning He will add - you know him as Joseph). He was born in a Hebrew town within a Hebrew culture. He is known as the only begotten son of YAHWEH, The Hebrew Supreme Being, and the only One in whom existence itself resides. Thus, His personal name was Hebrew in its very nature. It was not the English "Jesus" by which you typically know Him.

Take note of the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance definitions below: 

3137. Mari÷a Maria,  mar-ee´-ah; or Maria¿m Mariam, mar-ee-am´; of Hebrew origin (H4813); Maria or Mariam (i.e. Mirjam), the name of six Christian females: — Mary.

4813. MÎy√rIm Miryam, meer-yawm´; from 4805; rebelliously; Mirjam, the name of two Israelitesses:—Miriam.

4805. yîrVm mriy, mer-ee´; from 4784; bitterness, i.e. (figuratively) rebellion; concretely, bitter, or rebellious:—bitter, (most) rebel(-lion, -lious).

4784. h∂rDm marah, maw-raw´; a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) bitter (or unpleasant); (figuratively) to rebel (or resist; causatively, to provoke):—bitter, change, be disobedient, disobey, grievously, provocation, provoke(-ing), (be) rebel (against, -lious).

3130. PEswøy Yowcçeph, yo-safe´; future of 3254; let him add (or perhaps simply active participle adding); Joseph, the name of seven Israelites:—Joseph. Compare 3084.

3254. PAsÎy yacçaph, yaw-saf´; a primitive root; to add or augment (often adverbial, to continue to do a thing):—add, x again, x any more, x cease, x come more, + conceive again, continue, exceed, x further, x gather together, get more, give more-over, x henceforth, increase (more and more), join, x longer (bring, do, make, much, put), x (the, much, yet) more (and more), proceed (further), prolong, put, be (strong-) er, x yet, yield. 

In Matthew 1.16 we read: 

Jacob became the father of Yoseph (Joseph), the husband of Miryam (Mary), from whom was born Ieosus (Jesus), who is called The Messiah (Christ). 

    Immediately, we can see there’s a problem. We know there has never been a “J” in the Hebrew language. Because of this His name cannot, and should not, properly be pronounced with a “J” sound, or written with a “J” at the beginning of it. Even the Greek does not include a “J”. (See Letter "J")  His Greek name begins with an "I", and is pronounced yay-sous. It is a transliteration, albeit a poor one, from the original Hebrew. I’ll detail this a bit more as we proceed. James Strong, in his Exhaustive Concordance, correctly identifies the Hebrew origin under his number H3091. 
    When you check that reference you'll find the name in Hebrew is Yhowshuwa, or more properly, Yahushua. There are some reasons for this alteration of the name, and they are based on the traditions of men. In English this has been transliterated into Jehoshua, or Joshua, as a shortened form. Thus, if you were to follow the same protocol as the one used for translating Joshua’s name in the Old Testament, Jesus would be called Joshua.
    I’ve provided the Strong’s definitions below so you can verify this for yourself. I believe it’s very important that you do exactly that. Don’t take my word for it. Read it yourself and then decide if what I’m saying is correct. 

2424. ∆Ihsouvß Iesous, ee-ay-sooce´; of Hebrew origin (H3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites: — Jesus.

3091. Ao…wvwøh◊y Yhowshuwa{, yeh-ho-shoo´-ah; or Ao¨vwøh◊y Yhowshua, yeh-ho-shoo´-ah; from 3068 and 3467; Yhwh-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader:—Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare 1954, 3442.
Note: Originally this was pronounced yah-hu-shoo'-ah. It was altered to prevent the common people from "accidently" pronouncing the proper name of God, YAHU (a variation of YAHWEH) out of the false sense of "respecting and honoring" His name.

3068. hDwøh◊y Yhwh; from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; name of God:—the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.

3467. oÅvÎy yasha{, yaw-shah´; a primitive root; properly, to be open, wide or free, i.e. (by implication) to be safe; causatively, to free or succor:—x at all, avenging, defend, deliver(-er), help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring (having) salvation, save(-iour), get victory. 

3442. Ao…w´vy Yeshuwa{, yay-shoo´-ah; for 3091; he will save; Jeshua, the name of ten Israelites, also of a place in Palestine:—Jeshua.

3091. Ao…wvwøh◊y Yhowshuwa{, yeh-ho-shoo´-ah; or Ao¨vwøh◊y Yhowshua, yeh-ho-shoo´-ah; from 3068 and 3467; Yhwh-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader:—Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare 1954, 3442.

3068. hDwøh◊y Yhwh; from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; name of God:—the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.

3467. oÅvÎy yasha{, yaw-shah´; a primitive root; properly, to be open, wide or free, i.e. (by implication) to be safe; causatively, to free or succor:—x at all, avenging, defend, deliver(-er), help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring (having) salvation, save(-iour), get victory. 

3443. Ao…w´vy Yeshuwa{, yay-shoo´-ah; (Aramaic) corresponding to 3442: —Jeshua.

3442. yv´w…oA Yeshuwa{, yay-shoo´-ah; for 3091; he will save; Jeshua, the name of ten Israelites, also of a place in Palestine: —Jeshua.

3091. Ao…wvwøh◊y Yhowshuwa{, yeh-ho-shoo´-ah; or Ao¨vwøh◊y Yhowshua, yeh-ho-shoo´-ah; from 3068 and 3467; Yhwh-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader: —Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare 1954, 3442. 

3444. y◊vw…oDh yshuw{ah, yesh-oo´-aw; feminine passive participle of 3467; something saved [it has already been saved, set free, etc.], i.e. (abstractly) deliverance; hence, aid, victory, prosperity: —deliverance, health, help(-ing), salvation, save, saving (health), welfare.

3467. oÅvÎy yasha{, yaw-shah´; a primitive root; properly, to be open, wide or free, i.e. (by implication) to be safe; causatively, to free or succor: —x at all, avenging, defend, deliver(-er), help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring (having) salvation, save(-iour), get victory. 

Note: The name of the Hebrew leader, Joshua, is actually translated twice in the KJV NT as “Jesus”, where the reference is clearly to the Israelite leader. I’ve provided the two verses below where this occurs. You’ll need to read the context to verify this is referring to Joshua, the son of Nun, but you’ll soon see the mistake the translators made. The real question is this: Did they make a mistake in these two verses, or did they make a mistake in every other verse where this same term occurs? 

Acts 7:45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

Heb. 4:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 

    We really need to address some additional issues in connection with this mis-translation. But for the moment, let it suffice to say that the personal name of The Messiah is not Jesus. His proper personal name is YAHUSHUA. 
    I understand this is likely to cause great consternation for many of “the faithful”. For almost 2000 years we have mis-translated and mis-pronounced the personal name of The Messiah, The Only Son of YAHWEH.
I repeat, His personal name is not, correctly and properly, Jesus. It is YAHUSHUA. 

From YAHUSHUA to Jesus – How We Got Here

     Probably the next question you’ll ask, then, is how did this happen? How did we get involved in using the name “Jesus” instead of His proper personal name? A brief chart will provide at least part of the answer. Listed below is the basic progression of the metamorphosis His real name went through.

Transliteration of YAHUSHUA into Jesus

Original Hebrew	Yahushua(h)	Yahu, (Yeho)	Shoo	ah
Late Hebrew	Yeshua	Yeh (yeah)	Shoo	ah
Greek	Iesous	Yay (yeah)	Soo	s
Late Latin	Iesus	Je (yeah)	Soo	s
English	Jesus	Jay-ee	S	us

    As you can see by means of this chart, there was a progression that was followed. Each in its turn attempted to carry the sounds, at least, of the original into the new language. The problem started with the Hebrew, for some reasons I’ll address in a moment. We then moved to the Greek, which did not have a “Y” sound. The letter “I” was the closest in pronunciation, since it was pronounced as a “yay” sound. This was close to the Hebrew, “yah”, but the Greeks could not produce the guttural sound that exists in Hebrew. They settled for the next best thing in their language, which became a “yeah” sound.
    The Latin followed the Greek quite closely, with the sound also being “yeah”, and using the letter “I”. English had both the “I” and the “Y” letters and sounds, though the “I” sound was like “eye” or “ay”, instead of “yay”. Even English lacked the letter “J” until in the 1500’s. Only then did the letter “J” begin to be used, following the German usage of the hard jay sound found in many of their scholarly writings. Please see Letter J… for a more complete review of this history.
    From a study of the origin of letters that make up the word "Jesus" in our English Bibles, it can readily be seen that the name of the Messiah underwent considerable change as it was moved from one language to another. The Messiah of Israel has been given a Latinized hybrid name that never existed in Hebrew, and did not exist in English until approximately 500 years ago.
    Clearly, the name of The Messiah was changed from YAHUSHUA, through contraction and other adulterations, to Jesus. Even a close approximation would have more correctly been Joshua. The meaning of that name in Hebrew is of great importance to us. Strong tells us it meant, literally, YAHWEH saved (or saves). This is precisely the essence of The Messiah’s character and work, and it is the essence of His proper personal name.
    One’s name, in Hebrew culture, identifies the character of the person, the essence of the individual. YAHUSHUA means YAHU saves, or is salvation. YAHUSHUA is the means of our salvation, or deliverance, from the powers of sin and death. The name, Jesus, does not exist in the Hebrew tongue, and therefore it has no Hebrew meaning. YAHUSHUA, on the other hand, is very rich with great meaning. It specifically and clearly identifies the purpose and ministry of The Promised Messiah.
    The Jewish leaders of His day would have understood this perfectly. When you consider this reality, it places a whole new perspective on the stories of His life, ministry, death, and resurrection. Scripture comes alive in a whole new way.

    Read what some of the scholarly writings have to say on this subject (emphasis added for clarity): 

The Acts of the Apostles by Jackson and Lake:

Jesus—This is the regular Greek translation of the Hebrew Joshua. The latter assumed a shorter form Jeshua ~ in later times, which explains also the e in the Greek spelling. Among the Biblical instances Joshua the son of Nun, and Jeshua the son of Jehozadak, high priest in the time of Zerubbabel, are well known. The Greek spelling occurs in the LXX (with some exception) for the Hebrew name. It is included in the title of Ecclesiasticus. It is used in the New Testament at Luke 3:29, Acts 7:45, and Hebrews 4:8 of ancient Hebrews, and of Jews of the early Roman Empire at Col. 4:11, by Josephus frequently (see Niese, Index, 8.V.) and many other Jewish sources.

Note: the original form cannot be “Joshua”, since there is no “J” in Hebrew. 

Alford's Greek Testament, An Exegetical and Critical Commentary:

 "Jesus — The same name as Joshua, the former deliverer of Israel." 

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature:

 "Jesus Christ — There can be no doubt that Jesus is the Greek form of a Hebrew name. Its original and full form is Jehoshua. By contraction it became Joshua or Jeshua; and when transferred into Greek, by taking the termination characteristics of that language, it assumed the form Jesus."
Note: The original form cannot be “Jehoshua”, since there is no “J” in Hebrew. 

A Dictionary of the Bible, by James Hastings:

"Jesus — the Greek form of the name Joshua or Jeshua. Jeshua — Yahweh is salvation or Yahweh is opulence." 

Encyclopedia Americana:

 "Jesus Christ — ...Although Matthew (1:21) interprets the name originally Joshua, that is, 'Yahweh is salvation,' and finds it specially appropriate for Jesus of Nazareth, it was a common one at the time." (Vol. 16, p. 41) 

Encyclopaedia Britannica (15th ed.):

 "Jesus Christ — In the Septuagint it is the customary Greek form for the common Hebrew name Joshua; i.e., 'Yahweh helps.' " Vol. 10. p. 149. 

Smith's Bible Dictionary:

 "Jesus Christ — The name Jesus means Savior, and was a common name, derived from the ancient Hebrew Jehoshua."
Note: The original form cannot be “Jehoshua”, since there is no “J” in Hebrew. It also does not mean “Savior”. Look it up in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. 

The Oxford English Dictionary:
            ”In ancient Latin Jesus is spelled Iesus, in ancient Greek (I-ee-sous), ad.
             late Heb. or Aramaic yeshua, Jeshua, for the earlier y’hoshua,
            Jehoshua or Joshua (explained as ‘Jah (or Jahveh) is salvation’: cf.
            y’shuah ‘salvation, deliverance’.”

Webster’s New World Dictionary
            Jesus – [L. Iesus; Gr. Iesous: Heb. yeshua, contr. of yehoshu’a, help of
            Jehovah < yah, Jehovah + hoshia, to help], a masculine name.  n.  1. the
             founder of the Christian religion.  

Word Studies in the New Testament,' by Marvin R. Vincent —

Jesus. The Greek form of a Hebrew name, which had been borne by two illustrious individuals in former periods of the Jewish history—Joshua, the successor of Moses, and Jeshua, the high-priest, who with Zerubbabel took so active a part in the re-establishment of the civil and religious polity of the Jews in their return from Babylon. Its original and full form is Jehoshua, becoming by contraction Joshua or Jeshua. Joshua, the son of Nun, the successor of Moses, was originally named Hoshea (saving), which was altered by Moses into Jehoshua (Yah~veh (our) Salvation) (Num. 13:16). The meaning of the name, therefore, finds expression in the title Savior (Luke 1:47; 2:11; John 4:42).
Note: The original form cannot be “Jehoshua”, since there is no “J” in Hebrew. 

I’ve lost the source for the following comments, but they are of interest:

Let us now follow the various transliterations that the original Hebrew name, Yahushua, went through to finally come upon the name Jesus. Starting from the name Jesus and working back through time, the first thing to understand is that the letter 'J' was unknown in any alphabet in form or sound until the 14th century. Therefore, it is at once impossible that anyone living during the time of the Messiah, i.e. ancient Rome, referred to Him as Jesus. Before the soft 'G' sound, currently attributed to the letter 'J', came into general use in England in the early seventeenth century, 'J' was pronounced with the consonantal 'Y' sound. Hence, the Latin rendition of Janaurius was pronounced 'Yanaurius'. Traces of this are still evident in our modern pronunciation of the word 'hallelujah'. Here the letter 'J' is plainly pronounced with a consonantal 'Y' sound. Prior to fourteenth century, the letter 'J' did not even exist in written form and the letter 'I' was the original letter used where 'J' now appears in words in the English language. Thus in Latin, during these times, Jesus was written Iesus and was pronounced 'Yesus'. This, in turn, was derived from the Greek version of the sacred Name, Éçóïõò Iesous (pronounced ee-ay-sooce'). The Greeks transliterated this from the late Hebrew or Aramaic Yeshua. The 'sh' sound in Yeshua could not be properly transliterated by the Greek alphabet so this was replaced with Greek sigma s, a character that simply produced an 's' sound. Likewise, the 'a' ending in Yeshua was problematic because it had a feminine connotation in Greek (although it didn't in Hebrew). Hence the 'a' ending was changed to 'us' to make the name masculine. This was how the late Hebrew/Aramaic 'Yeshua' became the Greek 'Iesous'. Yeshua, in turn, was a syncopated variant or short form of the original Hebrew Yahushua. 

Chronologically speaking then, the various transliterations can be charted as follows: 

Language Original rendition - English transliteration

Early Hebrew - Yahushua

Late Hebrew - Yeshua

Greek Éçóïõò - Iesous

Late Latin Iesus - Iesus

English Jesus - Jesus 

Today many Christians and others assume that the Greek name Jesus was the original name of the Savior who was Hebrew.  If one does the research, one finds out that it is impossible for the Savior’s name to be Jesus.

    It’s clear from this material that the proper personal name of The Messiah is YAHUSHUA. It’s also clear that much confusion has prevailed in The Body of The Messiah, and in the world in general, because of the manipulation of the languages that resulted in the corruption of His personal name.
    One does not have to look very far to find the root cause of the problem. It is “the traditions of men”. YAHWEH’s Word is constant and unchanging. When He speaks, whatever He speaks is done in accordance with what He speaks. His Word is pure and reliable. Only when sinful human beings get into the mix do we find a problem developing.
    We need to keep our perspective on these matters – always. Since the first humans were placed on the earth there has been one who has sought to deceive them, “the serpent” in the garden in Eden. Satan is the “father of lies”. The words of YAHUSHUA, The Messiah, confirm this reality:

John 8:44 You are of your Father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. (45) But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me.

    This, then, is the real source of our problems. We have been deceived, lied to. We’ve been lead forth into confusion. Tradition has been used to eliminate the proper name of The Messiah, YAHUSHUA, (and His Father, YAHWEH) from our bibles. It's time to put it back.
    Every person who professes faith, belief, and trust in “Jesus” should be outraged! Every Jew should be livid over the fact that YAHWEH’s name and the name of His promised Messiah, YAHUSHUA, have been stripped from their Scriptures, The Tanach,  making it extremely difficult of them to know The Truth –YAHUSHUA. Remember, He told us He is “the way, the truth, and the life”.

John 14:6 YAHUSHUA (Jesus) said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. 

    It’s time for The Church, those who truly believe in the sacrificial life, death and resurrection of “Jesus”, YAHUSHUA, to begin to correct this grave injustice. If you’ve read the rest of this site you know the personal name of God is YAHWEH, not “God”, not “The LORD”, not “Jehovah”, not G-d, Not Adonai, not “The Heavenly Father”, etc. Any person who claims they believe in the God of The Bible, or the G-d of The Torah or The Tanach, needs to begin – today – to correct the great dishonor and abuse that’s been done and continues to be done to the personal names, and the reputations, of YAHWEH and YAHUSHUA.
    Please, start today to correct these matters. If you’d like some suggestions on how to do that please look at What Can You Do. No one can correct your own practices in this area. You must take the initiative and make the changes yourself. I personally believe YAHWEH and YAHUSHUA will bless you beyond measure for your faithfulness as you seek to correct these wrongs. Surely you will bless them by such actions.
    And please keep in mind that YAHWEH is the God of grace and mercy. He knows what we do in ignorance. He forgives us, especially when we do things in ignorance. Tell Him you’re sorry for not understanding His personal name and the personal name of His Messiah. Then change your actions to match your regrets. This is the real heart of “repentance”.
    It’s not as if He has not heard your prayers. It’s not as if He doesn’t love you. It’s not as if misusing His name is the sin that will condemn you to an eternal hell. Only rejecting YAHWEH and His Messiah, YAHUSHUA, will do that. If you believe in YAHWEH’s Word and His promised redemption, then keep on believing in these things. Simply change the way you honor Him by beginning to truly honor His Holy and precious name – YAHWEH, and His Son's name, YAHUSHUA. Start worshipping and serving, truly, “in His name”.

    Be sure to check out the other pages on this site for more information on these and other issues.

    Below is  a link to a fairly well written article that addresses this same issue. The author goes into a bit more detail than what I've presented, but I found it to be quite informative. You may find it of interest as well.

    http://www.eliyah.com/yahushua.html