Iēsous

Semantic range

1. 1the Greek form of Hebrew Yēšûaʿ / Yəhôšûaʿ
2. 2the name of Joshua son of Nun, in the Septuagint and Hebrews 4:8

Jesus and Joshua are the same name. Yəhôšûaʿ means "YHWH is salvation" or "YHWH saves," shortened in later Hebrew to Yēšûaʿ and Hellenised as Iēsous. It was a common name in first-century Judea.

Matthew 1:21 gives the angel's instruction as an explanation of the name: "thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." The typology with Joshua — the one who brings Israel into the promised land after Moses and the law cannot — is developed at length in Hebrews 3–4.

See also

• יְשׁוּעָהyəšûʿāh
• ΧριστόςChristos
• κύριοςkyrios