Matthew 1: 21-23
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name (1) Jesus [“Yeshua”??], for He will save His people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the prophet, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name (2) Immanuel, “which is translated, God with us.”
Isaiah 7: 14
Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and [‘they’] shall call His name (2) Immanuel (“God with us”).
NOTE: Isaiah 7: 8b; 10b use both the word “Immanuel” as well as the phrase “God is with us,” interchangeably.
Luke 1: 30-31
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus [‘Jeshua’].”
NOTE: Curiously, LUKE doesn’t choose to quote from Isaiah’s prophesy.
Isaiah 9: 6
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government [kingdom] will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful (Cp. Isaiah 28: 29), Counselor (Cp. Isaiah 28: 29; Romans 11: 33-34), Mighty God (Cp. Proverbs 11: 23a; Psalms 24: 8; Isaiah 10: 21b; Titus 2: 13), Everlasting Father (Cp. Isaiah 40: 28b; 63: 16b; Micah 5: 2b; John 10: 30; 14: 8-10a), Prince of Peace (Cp. Acts 5: 31; Ephesians 2: 14).”
COMMENTARY: There are numerous other Scriptures which could be used to verify the “Oneness” and revealed mystery of the Godhead, but the issue under consideration now is a most important one in the Christian ‘faith,’ namely, veneration for the Name “JESUS.” Of course, in the Greek and Latin translations, this is what the Name of the Savior turns out to be, but does this necessarily have to be the case? It must be kept in mind that the Jewish prophets revealed this information to the Jewish people (tribe of Judah, primarily) and preserved these oral transmissions on papyrus scrolls down throughout the centuries in what is called the “Tanakh” (Old Testament).
The contemporary Jewish family living in Israel, Galilee, Samaria, and Judea in the Middle East nearly two thousand years ago would certainly not have given any child, especially a male, a non-Jewish name. Also, the many names in the Christian Bible are translated for convenience and understanding in behalf of those English-speaking, mostly Western Europeans as well as others who would not readily grasp the meaning of Aramaic or Hebrew words and writing. Some would vigorously argue that it doesn’t make a difference and that “JESUS” is the same as or equivalent to “YESHUA,” but is that the way God might look at it?
Now, when Moses asks God what to say to the children of Israel when they inquire as to the Name of the God who sent him to deliver them from Egyptian bondage, God says, “I AM WHO I AM;” and He said, “Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ “(Cp. Exodus 3: 13-14). God further instructs Moses that the Lord God was the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but that this Name [previously mentioned] is His memorial Name to all generations (Cp. Exodus 3: 15). God had appeared to the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty (El-Shaddai), but was unknown by the “Name” which He revealed to Moses (Cp. Exodus 6: 3).
Transliteration of the Hebrew/English Alphabet, all the equivalent English consonantal sounds from Hebrew to English exclude C, J, W, and X. Of course the inclusion of vowels sounds added by Jewish scholars to the Old Testament Scriptures is helpful, and perhaps the closest approximation to the Name of God is again found in Exodus 3: 14, which use the Hebrew verb ‘hayah’ (“to be”). This verb and its equivalent occurs approximately 5,200times in the Jewish Old Testament Scriptures (http://www.hebrew4christians.com). It is from this verb that the Tetragrammaton or 4letters (YHVH) are used as symbols of the unpronounceable Divine Name. If vowel soundings are placed between the 4 consonants, then one could conceivably come up with the name “Yahveh”; which is close to what the Psalmist and the Prophet Isaiah wrote.
Psalms 8: 1
O Lord, our God, How excellent is Your Name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens.
68: 4
Sing to God, sing praises to His Name; Extol! Him who rides on the clouds; by His Name ‘Yah’, and rejoice before Him.
Isaiah 12: 2
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He has become my salvation.
Isaiah 26: 4
Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
Isaiah 38: 11a
I said, “I shall not see YAH, the LORD in the land of the living.”
Isaiah 42: 8
I am the LORD, that is My NAME; And My glory I will not give to another.
Isaiah 48: 11b
For how should My Name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.
Looking again at the last references in the book of Isaiah, the LORD was warning against idolatry and false gods which the Children of Israel adopted from their pagan neighbors or captors, and of which He never commanded them to worship in place of or alongside Him; so is there a lesson in this for us today? The one way to deprive God of His glory is to refer to His Holy One with a Name that He did not choose; no matter how reverentially, devoutly, and worshipfully one may call upon and invoke the Father’s blessings through this Name. In “YESHUA” is the divine Name made known and reflected as opposed to that of Greek Jesus (Iesous) or Latin Jesus (Iesvs), which apparently does not.
At the Last Supper before Jesus and His disciples entered the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, “I have manifested Your Name [YAH] to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. And I have declared to them Your Name [YAH], and will declare it. . .
“O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent me. “And I have declared to them Your Name, and will declare it. . . (Cp. John 17: 6a, 25-26a).
Philippians 2: 5-6, 9-11
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Aramic: ‘Yeshua Mashiyah’ {“Christ”}), Who, being in the form (likeness) of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus [“Yeshua”] every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus [“Yeshua”] is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
The Name of the LORD “YAH” is contained as derivative in the sacred letters ‘YHVH’ and is part of the single word in Revelation (Cp. 1: 1b, 3a, 6b), and according to the Aramaic, is ‘Allelu-YAH’ (meaning, “praises to YAH”); which Christians say all the time without realizing that they are actually speaking God’s Name as well as honoring the Son’s Name [Yeshua] at the same time. In praising God the traditional form of the word (Allelujah) is not correct, and instead, ‘Allelu-Yah’ is the most scripturally sensible and not the traditional “Jah” like in ‘Hallelujah.’
It is not always easy to change the way one looks at things and there is usually resistance, uncertainty, and discomfort before accepting anything new; especially if it is unpopular, controversial and uncomfortable.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
September 12, 2009
pbks@hotmail.com
