Yeshua in the Tenach (name Jesus in original Hebrew O.T.)

[Guest guest]

Yeshua in the Tenach (the name " Jesus " in the original Hebrew Old

Testament)....

 

 

In dealing with my Jewish brethren for the past many years in Canada, the United

States, Argentina, and Uruguay, I had one great difficulty, and it was this: my

Jewish people would always fling at me this challenging question, " If Jesus is

our Messiah, and the whole Old Testament is about Him, how come His name is

never mentioned in it even once? "

 

I could never answer it satisfactorily to their way of thinking, and I admit I

often wondered why His name was not actually written in the Old Bible. Oh, yes,

I could show them His divine titles in Isaiah 7:14, 9:6 and Jeremiah 23:5,6,

and, even the word " Messiah " in several places; but the Hebrew name that would

be equal to Jesus, that I could not show. Then one day the Holy Spirit opened my

eyes, and I just shouted. There was the very name, Jesus, found in the Old

Testament about 100 times all the way from Genesis to Habakkuk! Yes, the very

word - the very name - that the angel Gabriel used in Luke 1:31 when he told

Mary about the Son she was to have. " Where do we find that name? " you ask. Here

it is, friend: Every time the Old Testament uses the word " salvation "

(especially with the Hebrew suffix meaning " my " , " thy " , or " his " ) with very few

exceptions (when the word is impersonal) it is the very same word " Yeshua "

(Jesus) used in Matthew 1:21. Let us remember that the angel who spoke to Mary

and the angel who spoke to Joseph in his dream did not speak in English, Latin,

or Greek, but in Hebrew; and neither were Mary or Joseph slow to grasp the

meaning and significance of the name of this divine Son and its relation to His

character and His work of salvation. For in the Old Testament all great

characters were given names with a specific and significant meaning.

 

For example, in Genesis 5:29, Lamech called his son " Noah " [Comfort], saying,

" This same shall comfort us concerning our work and tell of our hands. " In

Genesis 10:25, Eber calls his firstborn son, " Peleg " [Division]; for in his days

was the earth divided. " The same is true of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob

(changed to " Israel " [God's Prince], and all of Jacob's sons (see Genesis,

chapters 29-32). In Exodus 2:10, Pharaoh's daughter called the baby rescued from

the Nile, " Moses " [Drawn-Forth]: and she said, " because I drew him out of the

water. " And so we can go on and on to show the deep significance of Hebrew

names.

 

Now then, when the angel spoke to Joseph, husband of Mary, the mother of our

Lord, this is what he really said and what Joseph actually understood: " And she

shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus [ " Yeshua "

(Salvation)]: for he shall save [or salvage] his people from their sins "

(Matthew 1:21). This text was so forcibly brought home to my soul soon after I

was converted over 24 years ago, that I saw the whole plan of the Old Testament

in that one ineffable and blessed Name.

 

So let us proceed to show clearly the Hebrew name " Yeshua " (Greek = Iesus:

English = Jesus) in the Old Testament.

 

When the great patriarch Jacob was ready to depart from this world, he by the

Holy Spirit was blessing his sons and prophetically foretelling their future

experiences in those blessings. In verse 18 of Genesis 49 he exclaims, " I have

waited for thy salvation, 0 Lord! " What he really did say and mean was, " To thy

" Yeshua " (Jesus) I am looking, O Lord " ; or, " In thy " Yeshua " (Jesus) I am hoping

(trusting), Lord! " That makes much better sense.

 

Of course " Yeshua " (Jesus) was the One in Whom Jacob was trusting to carry him

safely over the chilly waters of the river of death. Jacob was a saved man, and

did not wait until his dying moments to start trusting in the Lord. He just

reminded God that he was at the same time comforting his own soul.

 

In Psalms 9:14, David bursts forth, " I will rejoice in thy salvation. " What he

actually did say and mean was, " I will rejoice in (with) thy " Yeshua " (Jesus). "

 

In Psalm 91:14-16 God says, " Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore

will I deliver him: I will set him on high [raise him above circumstances],

because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I

will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life

[eternal life] will I satisfy him, and show him my [ " Yeshua " (Jesus)]

salvation. " Of course that promise is realized in Revelation 22:3,4: " And there

shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it:

and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see HIS face. "

 

In Isaiah 12:2,3 we have something wonderful. Here " salvation " is mentioned

three times. The reader will be much blessed by reading these glorious verses in

his Bible, but let me give them as they actually read in the original Hebrew

with Jesus as the embodiment and personification of the word " salvation " :

" Behold, might (or, God the mighty One) is my " Yeshua " (Jesus-in His

pre-incarnation and eternal existence); I will trust and not be afraid: for

JAH-JAHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my " Yeshua "

(Jesus).... And the " Word " (Jesus incarnate) became flesh, and dwelt among us.

(John 1:14)... Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of

" Yeshua " [Jesus - waters of salvation flowing forth from Golgotha]. "

 

Something very interesting occurred one spring in St. Louis: I was visiting in

the home of our friends, Brother and Mrs. Charles Siegelman, and another Jew was

present there. He claimed Jewish orthodoxy for his creed. Of course the

conversation centered around Him who is the Center of all things -- Jesus. This

good Jewish brother opposed the claims of Yeshua in the Old Testament verbally,

and in a friendly fashion, most violently. His best offensive weapon, he

thought, was to fling at me and at all of us there the well-known challenge:

" You can't find the name of 'Jesus' in the Old Testament; " and this he did.

 

I did not answer him directly, but asked him to translate for us from my Hebrew

Bible, Isaiah 62:11. Being a Hebrew scholar, he did so with utmost ease,

rapidly, and correctly; and here is what and how he translated that text

verbatim: " Behold, Jehovah has proclaimed unto the end of the world. Say ye to

the daughter of Zion, Behold thy " Yeshua " [Jesus] cometh; behold, His reward is

with Him, and His work before Him. " Just then he crimsoned as he realized what

he had done and how he had played into my hands, and he just fairly screamed

out, " No! no! You made me read it 'thy Yeshua' [Jesus], Mr. Glass! You tricked

me! " I said, " No, I did not trick you, I just had you read the Word of God for

yourself. Can't you see that here " salvation " is a Person and not a thing or an

event? 'HE Comes, HIS reward is with HIM, and His work before him.' " Then he

rushed at his own Old Testament, talking away frantically saying, " I'm sure mine

is different from yours. " And when he found the passage, he just dropped like a

deflated balloon. His Old Testament was, of course, identical. All he could use

as an escape from admitting defeat was to deny the divine inspiration of the

book of Isaiah.

 

Then skipping on to Habakkuk, we have the greatest demonstration of the name

" Jesus " in the Old Testament; for here we have both the name as well as the

title of the Saviour. In 3:13 we read literally from the original Hebrew: " Thou

wentest forth with the " Yesha " [variant of " Eshua " - Jesus] of [or for] thy

people; with " Yeshua " thy " Messiah " thine Anointed One: i.e., with 'Jesus thy

Anointed'] thou woundest the head of the house of the wicked one [satan]. " Here

you have it! The very " Name " given to our Lord in the New Testament - Jesus

Christ! So don't let anyone - Jew or Gentile - tell you that the Name " Jesus " is

not found in the Old Testament. And so, when the aged Simeon came to the temple,

led there by the Holy Spirit, and took the baby Yeshua in his arms, he said,

" Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For

mine eyes have seen thy salvation [ " Yeshua " (Jesus)] " (Luke 2:29-30). Certainly,

not only did his eyes see God's salvation, God's " Yeshua " (Jesus) - but he felt

Him and touched Him. His believing heart beat with joy and assurance as he felt

the loving heart of God throbbing in the heart of the holy infant " Yeshua " .

 

" And thou shalt call his name Jesus (Salvation = Yeshua): for he shall save

[salvage] his people from their sins. "

 

Isaiah 53

 

http://www.menorah.org/yeshname.html