Q.  Is it Yeshua or Yahshua?  I know the name Jesus is suspect and was not the name his disciples used but I keep hearing the name Yeshua and the Jews say Yeshua and the many Christian teachers use Jesus and Yeshua together, which is it?

A.  I once thought Yeshua was close enough then realized it was not and when challenged by an Orthodox Jew telling me Yeshua was in the Torah but Yahshua was not, I began to take a deeper look.  The name Yeshua is supposed to be pronounced as YaHshua, and in that corrected pronunciation the name YaHshua is in the Torah.  Let me repeat -- the name, as seen in print as YESHUA is supposed to be pronounced, YAHSHUA.  Some, realizing this, have chosen to writ it like this, Y'shua, or Y' Shua.  This insisting on the pronunciation, Yes Shua, or Yesh ua, are wrong, and the Rabbis know it even if the Jewish student does not.

Within the scrolls rolled out to be read during the Sabbath readings at Synagogue certain vowels were used to help the reader pronounce the different names.  Originally the Hebrew text had no vowels, or vowel points and was understood with out the vowels, but as the language of the Hebrew began to slip away the Scribes and Priests began supplying vowel points and this was not always to help in the pronunciation but also, at times, to direct the reader away from a certain pronunciation.  We see this in the name of the God of Israel, and our Creator, YaHWeH.  Looking at this Name you will see the "a" and the "e" supplied and are not really part of His Name.  His Name can stand alone and need no vowels to properly pronounce it, try it and you will see -- YHWH, how would you pronounce this Holy Name?  Y  H  W  H  --  YaHWeH? 

Later, much later, people wanted to be able to read the Scriptures at home, or at least parts of it and so tracts were printed up for private readings and in these certain consonants were dropped and were to be replaced "mentally" by the reader, this was to protect the sacredness of certain names.  This is born out by the admission of this practice in the Preface of the Holy Scriptures from the Masoretic Text, produced by the Jewish Publication Society.  This practice, to my knowledge, continues to this day.  When we see the name of the Living God presented in any form and said to be a name it will have been changed in some way, a letter dropped or a - dash - used, or an accent mark, or something to disfigure the name under the guise of His Holy Name being too holy to pronounce -- and this is according to ...?  This is how we end up with Yeshua, Y' Shua, Y-shua, G-D, and even L-RD, in some circles. 

(Zec 13:9) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

How would this be possible if His Name is not known?  Israel knows His Name, the Rabbis know His Name, the decsendants of tje Pharisee know His Name and if any of them do not, they will soon.  How else will He hear them?  This is the condition, "they shall call on my NAME...".

 An odd thing happened on the way to destroying the Holy Name of our Creator -- Those attacking the titles and terms such as "lord" and "god", AS NAMES, have resorted to using the dash symbol in a effort to show their disrespect for such titles being used as a Name for our Creator.  But, and this is a big but, others, especially in the Messianic movements do this, they say, our to respect for His Holy Name.  Not wanting to pronounce His Name, whatever it is, they drop a letter and supply a dash ( - ) or, in some cases, an accent mark ( ' ).  One side of Holy Name teachers do this claiming these titles are of pagan origin and "dash" them to death, while others do this as a sign of respect.  You can literally get lost in this.

So, now, back to the question, Yeshua or YaHshua?  I think you already have my answer but let's take a look at a source used by many in their study of Scripture: When checking with the Strong's numbering system in the Hebrew Dictionary (H3442) I found the word, Yeshua, and an example of the correct pronunciation for this word: YaH - shoo - ua, or YaH-shoo-ah, not Yes -shoo- ua, and the definition for this word is "salvation".  Technically speaking, when this word is used as a name in the form presented, with the missing letter "H" it means "salvation".  With the restored letter "H" it means, "YaH is Salvation"   The word, or term, as a name was and is supposed to be pronounced as YaHshua.  The missing "H" is to be supplied by the read or the speaker but we see is not happening.  Those in the Messianic movements and those in the Christian communities using this term as a Name leave the "H" out of the Name (HaShem) and mispronounce His Name.  Actually it is not a mispronunciation, it is more than that, it is a fabrication and a deception handed down in an effort to keep Christians and Jewish converts from including the Holy Name of the God of Israel into the Name our Savior was Named -- YaHshua.  One more time:  Yeshua means, "salvation" and YaHshua means, YaH is Salvation, or YaH is my Salvation.  You could say, YaH my yeshua is Messiah and Savior.   

For more information on this go to the following links --  YaHshua's Name  and Jesus name origin

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