“Yeshua” in Hebrew
Most Israelis today, while calling Jesus “Yeshu,” mean no disrespect; they simply believe that it was his real name – the one that his mother called him. And maybe it really was! According to some academic studies, Yeshu was how the name Yeshua was pronounced by Galileans in the 1st century. We know from the gospels, that the dialect of the Galilean Jews was different from the one of the Judean Jews.
Learn What’s Behind the Real Names
There were several differences between the Judean and Galilean dialects. Among others, the Galileans did not pronounce the Hebrew letter “Ayin” (ע) at the end of the word. Thus, instead of saying “Ye-shu-ah” they would say “Ye-shu.” It is therefore probable that this was the name that the young mother from Nazareth whispered tenderly to her baby son. Enroll in our live, online Biblical Hebrew course today and learn the secrets behind the real names of the characters in Scripture.