The Lamb of God - Etymology of Names

Etymology of Names

A typical Jew in Jesus' time had only one name, sometimes supplemented with the father's name or the individual's hometown. Thus, in the Christian Bible, Jesus is referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth" (Matthew 26:71), "Joseph's son" (Luke 4:12), and "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:45). The name "Jesus", which occurs in a number of languages, is derived from the Latin "Iesus", a transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), which is a rendition of the Hebrew ישוע‎ (Yēšhūă‘). The name Yeshua appears to have been in use in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus. The first-century works of historian Flavius Josephus refer to at least twenty different people with this name. The etymology of the name Jesus in the context of the New Testament is generally given as "Yahweh saves", "Yahweh will save", or "Yahweh is salvation".

Since early Christianity, Christians commonly refer to Jesus as "Jesus Christ". The word "Christ" is derived from the Greek Χριστός (Khrīstos), which is a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Māšîaḥ), meaning the "anointed" and usually transliterated into English as "Messiah". In postbiblical usage, "Christ" became viewed as a name—one part of "Jesus Christ"—but originally it was a title. Since the first century, the term "Christian" (meaning "one who owes allegiance to the person of Christ") is used to identify the followers of Jesus.