YaHshua not in Torah
Q: I have been unable to find the name Yahshua in the Torah. I have, however, found Yeshua, Yehoshua in the Torah, how do you expalin this? (This question and variations of this question have come to me a few Christian teachers trying to justify their continued use of the false name "JESUS", a name that is most definitely not found in Torah. Also a couple of teacher in Hebrew and Biblical Heberew)
My Answer:
First let's set some ground rules of understanding concerning the Name and Names of our Creator -- the God and orignial author of Torah (first five books of the Old Testament): The Creator and God of Israel has a Name and this Name is composed of four letters and these four letters are called the Tetragrammaton (This term is actually from the Greek, meaning four). This term is used by biblical scholars in reference to the four letters Y-H-W-H, these letters represent the Hebrew characters in English. In ancient Hebrew (Paleo Hebrew) the "four letters" appear differently from what we see in "four letters" of Modern Hebrew. These "four letters" have been replaced by the scribes and translators of scripture with the title "LORD" in capital letters. This practice is a “tradition, a custom”, if you will, of the established Biblical Scholars, both on the Jewish side as well the Christian side (Mark 7:13). This is the simple rule, it is understood the Jewish scribes substituted the word "adonia" or "adonay" which means "lord" in place of the tetragrammaton. Today if you check any of the Hebrew Scriptures translated to English you will see this "adonay" as LORD, just as in the English translations by the Christians. They, the Jewish and the Chistian scholars are doing exactly the same thing with one exception -- when you go to the Hebrew Scriptures in Hebrew you will see the tetragrammaton in the four letters of His Name, represented in the English as transliterated, YHWH.
They, the scribes, have exchanged the "four letters" of our Creator's Name for a different set of four letters, in effect, changing His Name, the Name of the God of Israel, YHWH, pronounced as YaHWeH, not Yeweh. Jewish scholars have stumbled over this name as they have the Name given to our Savior, YaHshua. What is claimed is the Name Yahshua does not appear in the Hebrew, but the name Yeshua does, they admit. With this understood we should be able to determine why we do not find the Name of our Savior in the Torah with the spelling ,YaHshua (It is not denied the Savior's Name is in the Torah, the argument is over how it is presented -- remember, however, it is not JESUS) but we do find a spelling for Yeshua and an even more correct, YeHoshua (Some say, YaHushua). This latter spelling, YeHoshua, is His Name and is admittedly found in the Hebrew but the argument is that His Name, spelled as YaHshua is not found. Incredible, as both Names in either spelling means -- YH is Salvation, declaring just whom the Savior or the originator of Salvation is. The argument is over one letter and does not change the name at all, it may change a slight variation in pronunciation, which one might find depending upon a dialect spoken that invades the language of people of different nations. One thing I hope to prove, with good reasoning, and some facts, is that the Name “Yeshua”, the scholars say is found in the Hebrew, is misdirection and an attempt at hiding the true and complete Name of our Creator.
The "four letter" Name, YHWH, and its pronunciation is usually avoided by those responsible for the copying of the Torah (Hebrew Bible). Not all of the Jewish scholars believe this, but there is a majority of practicing Jews that believe the "four letters" are too sacred to mention and protect this by using, or saying "adonai" (spelling of this term varies, adonai is of Greek/Latin influence and “adonay” is of Jewish or Hebrew influences). This term, adonay, means "Lord", or "Master", the same definition as the four letters LORD. YHWH does not mean "Lord" or Master" but IS Master. YHWH is literally, YH is Creator. YH, as the personal Name of our Creator is indefinable and is in reference to the Creator, and sustainer of all things seen and unseen -- period.
The first two letters of the Tetragrammaton (YH, YaH) is found in the Savior's birth Name -- anything between these first two letters is a vowel, supplied by the translator, or scribe, and not part of the actual Name -- it is a preceived aid as some use the vowel "a" and others the "e". the constant, however will be the two letter representation of our Creator's and our Heavenly Father's personal Name -- a Name He has given Himself. Vowels act as pronunciation aid and is not part of the Sacred Name in its purist form. Some wish to use the pronunciation Yeshua as this is what is found in the Torah, as copied by the scribes. It should be realized, the scribes, the copyist and the publishing houses add the vowel "e" at their own discretion. You will notice the obvious, the second letter of the Tetragrammaton, "H", has been dropped and essentially replaced with the "e" vowel. Where is the second letter of the Tetragrammaton? Why has if been dropped? When you go to the difinition of Yehshua, a name found in several place of the Hebrew Scriptures, you will see it is the same as YaHoshua, also found in the Hebrew Scriptures and you will see another thing -- in the Hebrew Dictionary you will be given this pronunciation, Yah - shoo - ah, for Yeshua, now you explain that? Here is where logic comes in and it is your mental abilities that should show you the truth. The name in the Hebrew Scripture, reporduced by the Hebrew Scribes is Yeshua, but it is to be pronounced, Yahshua or as the dictionary has it, Yah-shoo-ah. Amazing but true, the scribes have dropped the second letter, so when you read Yeshua in the Hebrew or otherwise you should be saying, YaHshua.
H3442 ye^shu^a?
yah-shoo'-ah
he will save; Jeshua, the name of two Israelites, also of a place in Palestine: - Jeshua.
H3091 yeho^shu^a? yeho^shu^a?
yeh-ho-shoo'-ah, yeh-ho-shoo'-ah
Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (that is, Joshua), the Jewish leader: - Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua.
Note: Remember the Greek influence eventually led to the Hebrew "Y" being tranliterated into the Greek "I" which eventually becam the English "J" which is anything but a transliteration. Thus, the "J" letter appearing in the lines of definition shoulbe be retains as the Hebrew "Y" and not the "J" as seen -- merely pronounce the "J" as "Y" as in Yod, or Yawn. Notice the names themselves are not presented in the dictionary with the "J". This is another example of the scholars muddying the waters.
This like a mystery novel entilted "The Case of the Missing Letter", but in this case it is not a mystery, men have decided, in their own wisdom, to drop part of our Savior's Name. The Name of our Savior is weakened by the dropping a letter from from His Name, a letter that points toward His Father, His Birth Name. The Christian community have gone along with this as it fits nicely along side the accepted bogus name "Jesus".
In many prefaces found at the front of most Bible translations, you will find the excuse for why the translators have decided not to use the Sacred Name of the God of Israel -- in most cases they say they are following the "traditions of the fathers" – excusing themselves by following the practice of the fatherly scholars before them (Acts 7:51). A prime example of this is found in the preface to the NIV Bible. Ultimately, this "tradition" comes down to the Christian translators from the Jewish scribes and from the Roman/Greeks a people all too anxious to change names to suit themselves or to make a god their god, their property, so to speak.
So, the next ground rule to recognize, aside from understanding the Tetragrammaton is: The Translators on both side of the aisle have decided not to use the true identity of the Creator, the Creator of all the things, having identified Himself to Moses, giving him a name to declare for all generations to the people and Moses did just that, just as the Apostles of the Christ preached in His Birth Name -- but the people, Israel, soon the Chrisitains too, refusing, in their own wisdom, purging the Father's Name from Scripture and from that of His Son. The Christians have gone the Jewish scribes one better -- they have changed the Name and the true identity of our Savior, changing it completely to something else. Realize this one rule and you will begin to see through the deception, the lie, and contrary to what they say it does matter (Act 4:12, Rom 4:11, Php 2:9-11).
So, the answer to the question is, the reason you do not find "YaHshua" but you do find “Yeshua” and “YeHoshua” is -- the scribes and translators decided to use the "e" vowel instead of the "a" vowel and decided to drop part of the Sacred Name altogether by leaving the second letter of the Creator's name on the floor, so to speak. In their efforts to treat the Name as too sacred to use they have "profaned" it by making the Name useless, by hiding it, covering it and resorting to mutilating His Holy Name.
The Savior's Name is found in the Hebrew Scriptures, as the original question suggests, in two different forms and it is a small argument to worry over a "vowel", of being "one point" to the left or to the right. When being pronounced, whether the "a" vowel or the "e" vowel, the Name itself is maintained as YH, and YHWH -- you pronounce it, forget about what the scribes have done, look back into the Hebrew Ditinary and you see evidence of this. The travesty is what the Christians have done, they acknowledge the God of Israel, for the most part, as YHWH (YaHWeH) but refuse the Savior's Identify, replacing it with a different name entirely. They have one-upped the Hebrew scholars changing the Name of our Lord completely, from YaHshua (Joshua) to Jesus a name alien to the Scriptures, a name added, a name that did not exist until 400 - 500 years ago.
This is the answer to the question but perhaps we should continue, as we uncover what has always been before the Bible believing people of the earth. Wake up and realize, the name of our Savior is in the Torah and is seen as YaHoshua, and as Yeshua (to be pronounced YaHshua). I prefer YaHshua, some say YaHushua. The Name is not hidden, only ignored and refused. For the Jew it suggests that YaHshua is the Savior of the people, for the Christians it means nothing, for the most part, as it is another name, another Christ that they preach and teach. So, I will not stop here, being satisfied the question has been answered but we should go into some more detail. I know those refusing this will do just that, so be it.
There is an interesting message to the Church of Philidelphia --
(Rev 3:8)I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Everyone I know of wants to be part of this Church, as it is state they will be saved from the "time of trouble" or the "tribulation". But look at the two characteristics of this Church and ask yourself, is this the Christian church you see today? Also, the saving from the "time of trouble" may mean that that generation of the Church will have gone to the grave just before the "Great Tribualtion" breaks out. Think about it.
One thing I know, YaHshua, of the New Testament, said that in the end days “Many will come in my name and deceived many”, and that is a prophetic statement. Really, in the end-days of man’s rule we know this is to happen and this means this knowledge, concerning His true identity, must become common knowledge and it is becoming juist that. Refuse and deny all you want but the fact remains, our Savior said a time is coming when many will come in His Name and if His Name is not Jesus (easy to prove) then He must have been speaking of another name from that which is accepted by the majority of the Christians today -- after all, he did say, "...come in MY NAME". This prophetic statement also suggests His name having been lost or rejected, how? Simple, if He were speaking of the name “Jesus” or “Iesus”, or ”Isus”, or “Isous” the endtime statement would not mean anything, as it is common knowledge these names have been used to deceive people for centuries but YaHshua was speaking of a certain time in the future and that time is closing in. This also points out, just because you have this truth is not a sign you have the whole truth, but it is this Name you must call on when the blinders are remove. I know, it is a kind of a catch 22, but there it is, all that will be saved will be saved under the Name given our Savior by His Heavenly Father and not by some name men have made up (Acts 4:12). "There is not other name ...", but men have chosen to change his name to something else as opposed to accepting the Name given Him by His Heavenly Father.
It is not Hidden
The name "Joshua" is in the Bible and that is the very Name our Savior was Named at birth. Who has not heard of the Book of Joshua? It is seen or printed in the Torah as YeHoshua, being translated, over the centuries by the English as "JOSHUA", but not in the New Testament -- it is strangely changed to a false name, JESUS -- and name more in common with the Roman Latin, or convoluted Greek distortion, IEOUS. Anything but His birth Name as deliverd by the Messanger to both Mary and Joseph (Mat 1:21) Look again at the Hebrew Dictinary definitions I presented earlier in this article and you will see how His Name is seen, written, and pronounced and they all agree.
In the Latin and Greek language the letter "s" is their letter of ownership. Roman and Greek names are notorious for finishing in the letter "s" or "us" . With the Hebrews it is the letter "a", or of the "a" sound, or "ah". This can be explained as a type of dialect, setting the sound of one language apart from another. The vowel letters most favorable to the Hebrew scribes is a, o, and u. The vowel letters most favored by the Romans and Greeks -- e, u, s. Isn't it strange how a name that is supposed to have the short form of the Sacred Name in it is missing a primary letter as seen in the Torah in the name Yeshua, as opposed to YeHshua? Isn't it strange the vowel used in place of this missing letter is an e when it is obvious, from a Jewish point of view, it should be the "a" vowel. When the Torah (not, Toreh) does produce the Name matching the Name given to our Savior, restoring the "H" to its proper place they still supply the "e" over the "a" as the vowel choice, following the Greek scribes -- this is incredible.
Another small detail -- the common teaching among Christians is that the Jews never spoke His Name and this is just so muck bunk. This wishful thinking fits in nicely with the false teachings concerning names and their importance. What is odd, is the Chistian teachers will battle tooth and nail over the Name of Jesua being the Name of Salvation until you can prove otherwise then suddenly, name don't matter?
Details
Sometimes things get lost in the details. Certainly the Name Yeshua, Yehoshua are correct on the surface and do prove His Name is in the Bible and is not lost, as some would have you believe -- remember, it is from the Hebrew Scriptures we get our Holy Book, it is from this Holy Book we call the Scriptures we have the New Testament and it is this Book the Apsotles and our Savior taught from. Where, then is the consistency between the two when it comes to rendering the Name of our Creator God, the Name or our Savior, the Name of our Heavenly Fahter?
It is my short coming that I cannot read Hebrew and must rely on others and sometimes that can be a little misleading, even frustrating, but I do recognized the Name when I see it in Hebrew, and my mind is not block by years of mis-readings and teachers misdirecting my thinking. And in this there is an advantage, however, being on the outside looking in, if you will, as I can see the forest, I can see what is plain and in front of me not being prejudiced by those of higher learning already set in their ways. The scholars, over time, begin to assume certain truths just because someone before them said it, or wrote it, so they don't bother to prove anything for themselves.
I agree with the question concerning the Name YaHshua not appearing in the Torah (Five books of Moses) as it is presented by the scholars but in fact this should not be the case -- we see the Name Yeshua does occur the Hebrew Scriptures, and is even the name of one of the Books of the Scriptures.
The first book following the Torah is the book of Yeshua (Joshua, first book of the Prophets). As a believer in the Messiah, Yeshua, YaHshua, or YeHoshua (Aren't they the same Name? Do you see the name Jesus in any of these?) I prefer the Name pronounced as YaHshua for the simple reason our Messiah said He came in His Father's Name, and that it was a Name given to Him by His Father (John 5:43, John 17:12), and in thst name the Name of the Father is seen complete as YH-shua, not Ye-shua. You would agree, I believe, that the Name YHWH does appear in the Torah -- please notice the Y and the H in Hebrew characters and you should see these same characters, or Hebrew letters, as the first two characters our Savior's Name.
As you can see in the name Yeshua -- a primary Letter has been dropped from the Name, the Hebrew "H" while it is maintained in the Name of the God of Israel, YHWH. This being the case, would it not seem reasonable the Name Yeshua is missing the second letter in the Sacred Name? The restoration of this error would then be up to the reader or the scribe, and we already see what the scribe has done, yet by the very definition of the Name of Yeshua (YHWH is salvation, or more accurately, YH is Salvation) we must admit a letter has been dropped, but still in its pronunciation you do actually restore the missing letter, mentally or verbally. YHWH of the Torah is not YeWH any more than Torah is Toreh, is it? No, please, correct me if I am missing something here.
I admire the fact you (the person submitting the orginal question) are able to read Hebrew and I would count your opinion over that of someone like me and with that in mind I would appreciate your correction as to where I may be off track.
Thank you Richard for the opportunity to serve you and I will be looking for your response, thanks again, Dan
To date (07/21/2015 to 02/23/2017) there has been no response to this answer, not only from Richard but from others asking this same quesiton. It points to the question not being a desire for an answer but a question set as a trap -- Sometimes silence is admission.
This has happened before cponcerning this very same question from others, from high and low. Some critics with a little or a lot of knowledge in the Hebrew language bring this up, from time to time, as a trap for those who believe it is absolutely necessary that we use and call on Him correctly. The accusation that the Name we use is not in the Bible falls apart under the banner of "transliterations" as opposed to translation. His Name, given Him by His Father in Heaven is NOT translated JESUS nor IESVS and this is not a "transliteration" either, not even close. The simple truth is also found in a question already asked, "is the name JESUS, a true transliteration of the Hebrew, YeHoshua, or YaHushau, or YaHshua, all of which are transliterations? The truth prevails -- peace
Readers Opinions are encouraged:
email questions to: dan@servantsofyahshua.com