Jesus is Not the Name Joshua

I was recently watching an episode of Victory with Kenneth Copeland and he declared that Jesus’ name is really Joshua in Hebrew. This is utter falsehood. So lets look at the eptimology of the names.

Joshua means “God Will Save,” or “Jehovah is Salvation,” as in I believe God will save us from the wrath of the Philistines and Jehovah is in whom I receive salvation. Jesus means “Savior,” which means He is the Specific Person who Saves, He is Jehovah (God of Israel). The name Jesus derives from the Latin Iesus which comes from the Greek Iesous which comes from Aramaic Isho, and in Hebrew is Yeshua. The truth is that Hebrew was not the language of Jesus’ times, it was Aramaic, and the Old Testament was written in Aramaic. Hebrew is a later language. It is a child of the parent Aramaic. But even if we must compare Joshua and Yeshua’s names in Hebrew they arn’t even spelled the same:

יהושע (yəhôšūʿa) Joshua

יֵשׁוּעַ (yēšūʿa) Yeshua/ Jesus

Copeland is mistaken. Jesus is not Joshua, it is a unique name that the Angel of the Lord gave to Joseph in his dream, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20). Joshua never tried to be a Savior, he was a warrior who lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. The names are not the same, even when spelled in Hebrew. I wish people with a major ministry to preach would do some research before espousing error that harms people.

This attack on the name of Jesus and trying to nullifying its uniqueness is dangerious! For we are told by the apostles there is only one name by which we are saved, “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12). To question the name of Jesus, to caste doubt on it and its meaning, to confuse it with Joshua is an assault on salvation itself, because it is by the name of Jesus we are saved! So do not heed those who question the name of Jesus Christ! Trust in Jesus who is our Great Savior, whose name all shall bow to, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” (Philippians 2:10). Amen.

11and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lordto the glory of God the Father.”(Philippians 2:10-11)

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