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Trust in the Name of YHWH
Part 2 – The Name of Mashiach

Ma’aseh (Acts) 4:12
And in no other is there salvation; for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.

In part one, we demonstrated the importance of knowing and calling upon the Name of YHWH/Yeshua.  In this study we are going to examine the spelling and pronunciation of the name of our Mashiach.  Please keep in mind that this study is given for your edification and is not the final say on this matter.  For I myself continue to study this, and as new material comes to light that may require an update or an outright change, then YHWH willing I will be open to His leading and guidance. 

One of my foremost concerns in this study and this subject is that there are many splinter groups who declare that if a person does not spell and pronounce His name according to their understanding, then they cannot be saved.  I do not believe this type of attitude to be of His Spirit.  We need to give grace to one another and allow YHWH to be Sovereign instead of attempting to force light upon another; which in no way can we do no matter how hard we try and no matter what tactics we may employ in such an endeavor.

If even after going through this study you are still convinced of a different way, and the position you take is being honest with yourself and the leading of His Spirit in you, then halleluYah, we are brothers and sisters in Mashiach.  The thing is that each one of us must examine ourselves carefully in this matter as to why we hold to what we hold to.  And above all, we need to be completely honest with all the evidence available in this matter.  Only then can we get to where YHWH desires to take us.

Keeping these things in mind, then, let us proceed.

As one can see in the opening verse of this study, there is only one name given by which any man might be saved.  This verse then illustrates to us the great importance of knowing that one name, and perhaps also knowing how properly to speak it, i.e., its phonetic value.  Since this seems to be the obvious pashat meaning of this verse, then we should expect that without too much difficulty, since YHWH has preserved this truth for us to find.  All we need to do is search out the matter.

Matithyah (Matthew) 7:7 
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.”

ABBA YHWH, we ask You to open our eyes and our heart to Your truth in this matter.  May You allow us to see through all the rhetoric and other things that cloud the truth in this, that we may walk before you in truth and in Spirit; in the name of Mashiach Yeshua.  Amein.

Frankly, this question is fraught with emotions.  For one even to broach this subject, he risks being embroiled in all sorts of controversy.  There are many pitfalls into which one may fall as one attempts to make his way through this virtual minefield of supposed facts and information available today.  It is easy to become disoriented and sidetracked by well-meaning, albeit, misdirected individuals or groups.  It is still easier to become overly dogmatic and static in one’s position, becoming unwilling to entertain the idea that another may have pertinent and relevant information which may require one to change His position.  This is exacerbated further when one finds some seemingly good information in print that is incorrect, but heretofore unknown to the reader.

Here is a case in point.  In the Preface of ISR’s The Scriptures we find this:

In the same way the Messiah’s Name in Hebrew, יהושׁע , was chosen in order to avoid controversy.  All the available authoritative sources and references are in agreement and clearly admit that our Messiah’s Name was יהושׁע (see for instance even Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, under Iesous).

This one passage along with the use of the spelling יהושׁע throughout this work has spawned many groups which are so adamant that this is the only correct way to spell the name of the Messiah that it is shocking and disconcerting, to say the least.  This is so because Kittel never makes this claim.  In fact, he actually states that the Messiah’s name was spelled ישוע – “Yeshua.”  For example here is one quote from Kittel’s work:

page 289
4.  According to Mt. and Lk. the name יֵשׁוּעַ == ’Ιησους is not accidental.  It is given to the child of Mary by virtue of the divine promise.

page 290 – quoting H. Lamer
In any case, the formation of ’Ιησους for יֵשׁוּעַ is centuries older than the Christian period.

page 285
2.  Up to the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. the name יֵשׁוּעַ or ’Ιησους was very common among the Jews.

Kittel explains that from the time of the exile up to the second century it was the name יֵשׁוּעַ that was in common use rather than the full form of יְהוֹשֻׁעַ – “Y’hoshua.”  The name יֵשׁוּעַ came into disuse by the beginning of the 2nd century because of Messiah being named יֵשׁוּעַ , and the full spelling began to be used among the Jews once again.

It is not possible to quote all of Kittel as his section concerning the name of Messiah is ten pages long.  However, in my having read and studied this section for many years, I have found that in no place does Kittel state that the Messiah’s name was spelled any other way except יֵשׁוּעַ .

There is no way for us to know why or how this error occurred in the preface of the ISR, but it has caused many to have a misunderstanding of the history and the historical name of our Messiah, Yeshua.

However, Kittel does include in this section a very important bit of information found on page 289.

The י indicates the tetragrammaton.

 Let us then illustrate this truth from Scripture.  The name “Yoseph” is found in the Scriptural record.  What does this name mean?  Brown’s, Driver’s and Brigg’s tells us that this name means “YHWH has added.”  As we can see from the spelling of this name, יוֹסֵף , the only portion of YHWH’s name is the beginning  י .  Thus we see that all that is necessary for the name of YHWH to be included in the meaning of the name is the beginning  י . 

This concept becomes even clearer and dead on point when we consider the following.

D’varim (Deuteronomy) 32:44 
And Moshe came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.

Both Strong’s and Brown’s, Driver’s and Brigg’s tell us that the meaning of the name הוֹשֵׁעַ – “Hoshea” means “salvation.”  Thus, when the  י   is added to the front of the name making it יְהוֹשֻׁעַ – “Y’hoshua,” the name now means “YHWH saves” or “YHWH is salvation,” and both Strong’s and Brown’s, Driver’s and Brigg’s agree with this meaning.  Please note that it is not יהו at the beginning of this name that means and stands for “YHWH” and His name, for only the י was added at the beginning of the name and it is only the initial י that stands for the name of YHWH; for the הו was already present in this name.

Now let us understand the historical context and use of the name יֵשׁוּעַ .  Let us take the name of “Matthew” to illustrate what happened.  “Matthew” is a fairly common name in our society today.  In fact, it is often common practice that when parents name their child “Matthew” they will often call him “Matt.”  “Matt” is a short form of the name “Matthew.”  This is easily seen.  What is not as readily seen is that there are some parents who actually name their child “Matt.”  In this case the name “Matt” is not short for “Matthew.”  While “Matt” is still a derivative of the name “Matthew,” in this case it stands alone and is not actually short for the longer form.

As we all know from Scripture the name יֵשׁוּעַ is a shortened from of the name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ .  However, this does not make every usage of the name יֵשׁוּעַ a shortened form of the name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ .  In fact, the plain historical record clearly indicates to us that the name given to our Messiah by His parents was the name יֵשׁוּעַ .  In this case this was His actual given name and it is not short for the longer full version of this name.  It is still a derivative of the longer form, but the longer form was not the given name of Mashiach, the shorter form was.

Let me say this.  I am open to any historical evidence that shows otherwise.  If you have in your possession a picture or photocopy of an ancient document showing some other spelling than ישוע , then please do me the kindness of sending it to me.  At this point I do not believe that such a document exists.  Now mind you such a document needs not only to have a different spelling than ישוע , but it also must be referring to Messiah.  As we know from extra-Biblical records, this was a very common name.  So just because one can produce a document with a particular spelling does not prove that this was the way Mashiach’s name was spelled unless that particular document is actually referring to Mashiach Himself.  Also, I am not interested in your sending me some teaching that is attempting to “prove” that His name just had to be spelled a certain way, which has no historical evidence to back up what is being put forth.  Such teachings are not worthy of our time or attention.

The Peshitta throughout clearly has the spelling of Mashiach’s name as ישוע .  We need to be honest enough to admit this to ourselves and to one another.  As we do this it will help to bring unity to His body as we all serve the same Master!  In the meantime let us be careful to give grace to those who are not where we are in our present understanding.

We need to discuss one other aspect that seems to confuse this question.

Yochanan (John) 5:43 
“I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.”

One of the common fallacies found today in the Hebrew Roots movement is that one of the things that this means is that one must find in the name of Mashiach the name of YHWH.  This could not be further from the truth.  Let us illustrate.

I have three sons, Lemuel, Nechemyah and Othniel.  My name is Zerubbabel.  Often I send one of them to the feed store to pick up some feed where I have a charge account.  My sons do not pay for the feed, I do.  When I send them to pick up feed they charge it to their father, me.  They do not go in their own name, they go in my name.  As you can see, my name is not in their name.  However, they go in the authority of my name because I have given them that authority.  This is what this verse means.

Yochanan (John) 5:27 
“and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is a Son of man.”

Yeshua clearly taught us that the Father gave Him authority

Matithyah (Matthew) 28:18 
And Yeshua came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Who gave all this authority to Mashiach Yeshua?  It was the Father in heaven.

Matithyah (Matthew) 11:27 
“All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does any know the Father, except the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son wills to reveal Him.”

Are you beginning to see that when Yeshua stated that He came in the name of His Father He was not dealing with the spelling of His name, but rather that He had been given authority; and that He did not come of His own initiative, but rather He came because the Father sent Him and He came in the power and authority of His Father?

Please make careful note of this next passage.

Matithyah (Matthew) 8:9-10 
9 “For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers; and I say to this one, ‘Go’, and he goes; and to another, ‘Come’, and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this’, and he does it.”
10 And when Yeshua heard it, He marveled, and said to them that followed, “Amein I say to you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

You see this Roman centurion understood the concept of authority.  And even more to the point he understood that Yeshua had come in the name of His heavenly Father and one cannot have any more authority than that!

Now, just in case you may still have a small nagging doubt as to the veracity of this truth, please take note of the prophet Moshe.

Shemot (Exodus) 5:23 
“For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has dealt ill with this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

When YHWH found Moshe in the wilderness He sent Moshe to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in His own Name, the name of YHWH.  Now I ask you, where in the name of Moshe is the name of YHWH?  It is simply not there.  What this is dealing with is that YHWH sent Moshe on an errand and Moshe had the authority of YHWH to get that errand done, because he went in the name of YHWH.  In fact, this is true of every single prophet in Israel.  Every single one of them came and spoke in the name of YHWH, for He had sent them.  They were not speaking of their own accord; they were speaking by the authority He had given them.

D’varim (Deuteronomy) 18:18 
“I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like you; and I will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I shall command Him.”

Does this mean that YHWH was going to bring another prophet by the name of Moshe?  How silly!  It means that He will raise up another prophet who will come in the name of YHWH with all the power and authority necessary to get done that which YHWH has commanded Him to get done.  Such is Yeshua our Mashiach. 

Yeshua came in the name of His Father, meaning that He has been given all the power and authority necessary to get done that which YHWH needs to get done.  Furthermore, it is by this authority which He then commissioned us to go in the name of the Father.

Matithyah (Matthew) 28:19 
“Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, immersing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

We are sent in the authority of His name to immerse those who believe into that same name.  This simply teaches us about the authority vested in us by Mashiach through His Spirit.

May YHWH continue to teach each and every one of us His truth!

ABBA YHWH, remove all those things which hinder us from knowing and understanding Your truth; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach.  Amein.

Shabbat shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com

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