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יֵשׁוּעַ

𐤉𐤔𐤅𐤏

Yeshua

H3442 noun

SILEX Entry

Root ישע to save, deliver, help

Definition

Yeshua: a Hebrew personal name, most often used as a shortened or contracted form of the name Yehoshua (Joshua); in biblical texts, it identifies multiple Israelite individuals, especially significant after the Babylonian exile. Semantic range includes: personal name of various Israelite men, notably a priestly leader during the return from exile, and a geographical location.

Semantic Range

proper name (personal), leader of post-exilic Judahites, high priest (Ezra–Nehemiah), one of several Israelites in post-exilic period, name of a location in the Negev (Neh 11:26)

Root / Etymology

From the root י-ש-ע (ישע), meaning 'to save, deliver', with יֵשׁוּעַ functioning as a contracted or shortened form of יְהוֹשׁוּעַ (Yehoshua, 'YHWH is salvation'). The contraction likely reflects a later linguistic development where the theophoric element (YHWH) became abbreviated.

Historical & Contextual Notes

יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshua) is most prominently the name of the high priest who led Judahite returnees from Babylonian exile in the early Persian Period (Ezra–Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah). The name appears mostly in post-exilic texts, reflecting a period when shortened forms of traditional theophoric names became common among returning exiles. Earlier in Israelite history, Yehoshua (Joshua) was the standard form. Yeshua does not originally denote a religious practitioner or identity but is simply a personal name. English translations often render Yeshua as 'Jeshua' to distinguish it from 'Joshua,' though ultimately both derive from the same root—by the Persian period, the name also came to identify a town in territory assigned to Judah (Neh 11:26). The connection of 'Yeshua' to the later Anglicized 'Jesus' is not present in the Hebrew Bible, and use of 'Jew' or 'Jewish' in describing biblical characters named Yeshua is anachronistic for pre-Roman contexts. The alternate spelling with final -a (`יֵשׁוּעַ`) reflects late biblical Hebrew and Aramaic linguistic shifts. Relates specifically to individuals and a site, not to theological concepts of salvation.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

for יְהוֹשׁוּעַ; he will save; Jeshua, the name of ten Israelites, also of a place in Palestine; Jeshua.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ישע (y-š-ʿ) — save, deliver, help

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1954 הוֹשֵׁעַ in Deliverance
H1955 הוֹשַׁעְיָה Yahweh has saved
H3091 יְהוֹשׁוּעַ in YHWH-saves
H3443 יֵשׁוּעַ and Yeshua
H3444 יְשׁוּעָה my deliverance

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3442-04 יֵשׁ֡וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua 19
H3442-03 וְ/יֵשׁ֨וּעַ veyeshua HC/Np and Jeshua and Yeshua 8
H3442-01 לְ/יֵשׁ֨וּעַ֙ leyeshua HR/Np to Jeshua to Yeshua 1
H3442-02 וּ/בְ/יֵשׁ֥וּעַ uveyeshua HC/R/Np and in Jeshua and in Yeshua 1

Occurrences in Scripture

29 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3442-04 Ezra 2:2 יֵשׁ֡וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua
H3442-04 Ezra 2:6 יֵשׁ֖וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua
H3442-04 Ezra 2:36 יֵשׁ֔וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua
H3442-04 Ezra 2:40 יֵשׁ֧וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua
H3442-04 Ezra 3:2 יֵשׁ֨וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua
H3442-03 Ezra 3:8 וְ/יֵשׁ֨וּעַ veyeshua HC/Np and-Jeshua and Yeshua
H3442-04 Ezra 3:9 יֵשׁ֡וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua
H3442-03 Ezra 4:3 וְ/יֵשׁ֗וּעַ veyeshua HC/Np and-Jeshua and Yeshua
H3442-04 Ezra 8:33 יֵשׁ֛וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua
H3442-04 Ezra 10:18 יֵשׁ֤וּעַ yeshua HNp Jeshua Yeshua
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