Yahshua

Etymology and claimed Hebrew origins

The spelling Yahshua (יהושע) is found in Hebrew texts transliterated as Yothe He Waw Shin Ayin. The Hebrew Bible uses Yehoshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ for Joshua, which means "Yah is Salvation." Christians, historians, and linguists outside the sacred name movement for the most part reject the term Yahshua (יהשע) in favor of Yeshua (ישוע) as the original pronunciation. Tal Ilan's Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity (2002), notes Yehoshua (יהושע), and the later Aramaic form Yeshua among many names containing Yah derived from YHWH.

An additional variant Yahshuah (Hebrew: יהשוה) is found in Christian Kabbalah or occult speculations. Like Yahshua this variant is not found in the Hebrew Bible. Another variant Yeshu occurs in polemical rabbinical texts, connected with Jesus in the Talmud and is the modern Israeli secular spelling of Jesus. The spelling is not applied to other Yeshuas and Yehoshuas.

A silent 'waw'

Critics say that in their labor to get the pronunciation "Yahshua" out of יהושע, they are ignoring Hebrew linguistics that do not allow the waw to be silent so "Yahshua" is a questioned transliteration. However, the Assemblies of Yahweh point out that the following:

We must recognize that pronouncing two vowels together when they are standing side by side in a word produces a DIPTHONG

The problem with that assertion is that in the above case the vowels are NOT side by side but separated by a consonant: Yehoshuah'.

Yeshua or Yahshua

Most prefer to use the term Yeshua rather than Yahshua, using the "Ye" instead of "Yah", but the Assemblies of Yahweh believe that was a ploy to prevent the name of Yahweh (or Yah) appearing in the Messiah's name as follows:

While some advocates of the "Yahshuah" spelling have asserted that "The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament states that the "Greek form of a list of Old Testament characters who in pre-exillic Hebrew are called Yahshu'a and usually after the Exile Yeshu'a." That spelling does not appear anywhere in the mentioned Theological Dictionary. What Kittel actually says is, "The Greek form of a list of OT characters who in pre-exilic Hebrew are called יְהוֹשֻׁעַ [Yehoshua'] and usually after the Exile יֵשׁוּעַ[Yeshua'].

Definition of Yahshua

The Assemblies of Yahweh believe that the definition of the Messiah's name can be found in Matthew 1:21: "for he shall save his people from their sins". The 'he' relates to Yahweh, 'shall save' can relate to one of the four Hebrew verbs meaning salvation, most likely (-Yahsha) and 'his people' means Israel. Here you find an indication of the name Yahshua. Also in scriptures such as Acts 4:12 are found indications that the name of the Messiah was Yahshua meaning "Yah(weh) is salvation".

Usage

The transcription of Hebrew-alphabet Yehoshua (יהושע) as Latin-alphabet "Yahshua" is first documented during the early days of the Sacred Name movement in the 1930s, perhaps developed by leaders such as Angelo B. Traina and C.O. Dodd. The name "Yahshua" cannot be found with that spelling anywhere in history or in Hebrew writings prior to the 1900s.

The Assemblies of Yahweh believe that it is an aid to salvation to use the correct pronunciation.

"Yahshua" supporters, such as those of the Sacred Name movement, teach that since the Messiah will "come in his Father's Name",{John 5:43} then he must have the name of Yahweh, or at least the abbreviated form (Yah) in his spoken name. Another popular contraction is Yah'shua with the apostrophe ( ’ ) serving as a division to emphasise the "Yah" aspect of the name and the Hebrew shua (salvation), found in the Natural Israelite Bible, English Version.