The Debate

In recent years, a debate has emerged regarding whether the name Yeshua is more correct than Jesus. Some claim that Yeshua is the true name of Christ and that Jesus is a later corruption meant to mislead believers. Others believe that “Yeshua” sounds more personal, reverent, or authentic than “Jesus”. Some use the name “Yeshua” because they want to better reflect His Jewish identity. There are several more reasons that we could address as to why some people insist on calling Jesus “Yeshua”, however, when we examine historical, linguistic, and scriptural evidence, we find that Jesus is actually the more biblically faithful name for the Son of God.

The New Testament Never Uses Yeshua

One of the strongest arguments against the claim that Yeshua is the “true” name of Jesus is the fact that the New Testament—written by the apostles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—never once records His name as Yeshua. Instead, every Greek manuscript of the New Testament exclusively uses the name Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς). This includes the writings of Jewish apostles such as Matthew, Peter, John, and Paul, who showed no concern for preserving the Hebrew or Aramaic form of His name.

Moreover, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament, completed before Jesus’ time) also translates the Hebrew name Yeshua as Iēsous. This shows that Greek-speaking Jews were already using this form of the name long before the New Testament was written. If retaining Yeshua were essential, why didn’t the inspired authors of Scripture use it?

Greek Was the Dominant Language

To understand why the New Testament authors used Iēsous, we need to consider the linguistic context of the first century. By Jesus’ time, Hebrew was no longer widely spoken in daily life. Instead, most Jews, especially in Galilee, spoke Aramaic as their primary language. Greek was also prevalent due to Hellenization—the cultural and linguistic influence spread by Alexander the Great. Greek had become the lingua franca, the common language necessary for trade, governance, and communication across the Roman Empire.

If someone wanted to function in society, they had to speak Greek. This is why the New Testament was written in Greek—it was the most widely understood language of the time. Jesus and His disciples likely spoke Koine Greek along with Galilean Aramaic, making Iēsous a natural linguistic adaptation of His name. When it came to the use of the actual Hebrew language it was largely confined to only scholarly and liturgical work in Jesus’ day. Meaning that no one was walking around and speaking the Hebrew language in common day interactions. When Jesus was interacting with those around him he would have been speaking Koine Greek or Galilean Aramaic, not the Hebrew language.

Yeshua Is Not Even the Correct Pronunciation

A second argument against the insistence on Yeshua is that even this pronunciation may not be historically accurate. As stated earlier, Hebrew was not widely spoken in Jesus’ day. The main languages spoken by Jesus and his contemporaries would have been Aramaic and Koine Greek. Being from Galilee Jesus would have spoken in a Galilean Aramaic dialect. In first-century Galilean Aramaic, final vowels were often dropped. This means Jesus’ name was more likely pronounced Yeshu rather than Yeshua. So if someone had called out Jesus’ name in Galilean Aramaic they would have said Yeshu, not Yeshua.

Interestingly, some early Jewish writings, including the Talmud, refer to Jesus as Yeshu, reflecting this likely pronunciation. Ironically, those who insist on using Yeshua may actually be relying on a later pronunciation that differs from what Jesus’ disciples would have spoken or would have even known.

Yeshua Comes from a Later Hebrew Tradition

Another key issue is that Yeshua is based on Masoretic Hebrew, which was developed centuries after Jesus’ time. The Masoretes (6th-10th century AD) introduced vowel markings into the Hebrew text, standardizing pronunciation. Before this, biblical Hebrew was written without vowels, making it difficult to determine exactly how names were pronounced in the first century.

The earlier Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient texts confirm that Hebrew pronunciation evolved over time. The apostles, writing in Greek, were not bound by later Masoretic Hebrew conventions. Instead, they used Iēsous, which naturally transitioned into Latin (Iesus) and then into English as Jesus. It is important to note once again that this Masoretic Hebrew would not have been known by anyone in the first century as it was developed somewhere between 500 and 900 years after Jesus walked the earth.

Key Takeaways

Why do we call Jesus Jesus and not Yeshua? The evidence is clear:

1. The Holy Spirit inspired the New Testament in Greek, and the apostles never used Yeshua—they always used Iēsous.
2. First-century Galilean Aramaic likely pronounced Jesus’ name as Yeshu, not Yeshua, making the modern Hebrew pronunciation historically inaccurate.
3. The Masoretic Hebrew pronunciation of Yeshua developed centuries after the New Testament was written.
4. The name Jesus is a natural linguistic evolution from Iēsous (Greek) to Iesus (Latin) to Jesus (English), just as other biblical names change across languages.
5. The New Testament shows no concern for preserving a Hebrew pronunciation, emphasizing instead the person of Jesus rather than the precise way His name is said.

Conclusion: The Power Is in the Person, Not the Pronunciation

At the heart of this issue, the power of Jesus’ name is not in how we pronounce it, but in who He is. Those who argue that Yeshua is more correct are actually using a later pronunciation that Jesus’ disciples may have never even known. The apostles who walked with Jesus, learned from Him, and were commissioned by Him called Him Iēsous in Greek, which eventually became Jesus in English. If it was good enough for them, it should be good enough for us. Instead of focusing on pronunciation, let’s focus on knowing, following, and proclaiming Jesus—the one who saves, no matter the language.