Yeshu
/ˈjɛʃuː/noun
A Hebrew or Aramaic personal name and a form used in Jewish sources when referring to Jesus.
Did you know?The hostile acronym sometimes associated with Yeshu—“may his name and memory be erased”—is generally considered a later polemical reinterpretation, not the name’s original etymology.
Etymological Timeline
Iron Age Hebrew
Hebrew
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yəhōshūaʿ)
“Joshua; “Yahweh is salvation,” from the divine name Yahweh and a root meaning “to save.””
Second Temple Period
Aramaic/Hebrew
יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēshūaʿ)
“A shortened form of Yəhōshūaʿ, used as a personal name.”
Rabbinic Era
Rabbinic Hebrew/Aramaic
יֵשׁוּ (Yēshū)
“A shortened form appearing in Jewish textual traditions, especially in references to Jesus.”
1st Century
Koine Greek
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)
“The Greek form of Yeshua, used in the New Testament.”
Late Antiquity
Latin
Iēsus
“The Latin form inherited from Greek.”
Modern English
English
Jesus
“The standard English form of the name; Yeshu remains a distinct historical and literary form.”