Why do you say ‘Yeshua’ instead of ‘Jesus’? What about ‘Yahshua’?

There have been some who claim that Jesus has pagan origins because it is derived from Zeus, the Greek deity. However, that teaching doesn’t consider how ַיֵשׁוּע Yeshua, the Hebrew name for the Messiah, came to English via Greek, Latin, Old French and Middle English.

Here is a short explainer from Mark Steven Francois, Ph.D., a university teacher of Hebrew and Syriac, on that linguistic journey:

At Hallel Fellowship, we are seeking to roll back the teachings about the Messiah to what the apostles knew, heard and taught. Using the Hebrew name of the Messiah can help us approach the Master’s teachings and those of His faithful apostles in the original context, rather than via meanings and interpretations that were foreign to the Scriptures.

What about ‘Yahshua’ instead of ‘Yeshua’?

In recent years, some claim that the original name of Yeshua actually was יהושע Yahshua. It is said to be made up of יהו Yah (shortened form of the four-letter name of the LORD) and שע shua (“salvation”), making the sentence-name “Yah is salvation” or “Yah saves.” It is claimed that ַיֵשׁוּע Yeshua by dropping the Hebrew letter ה hey obscures the short form of the name of the LORD.

Here is a six-page in-depth examination on how the short form of the divine name is used in the TaNaKh and the Hebrew grammatical issues with יהושע Yahshua.