Jesus vs Yeshua

[David Huston]

Dear brethren, I recently became involved in a discussion about the name of Jesus with a women who posted a question on the Glorious Church website. Her name is Teuila Holding. Teuila maintains that we must use the name Yeshua and not Jesus. Below is the discussion beginning with the question she posted on the website and my response. The discussion has continued from there via email. I need your help in this because I feel as though I’ve used about everything in my arsenal. What am I missing here that might persuade her of her error?

Note: My comments begin with DH and her’s with Teuila.

　

Teuila’s original question: Where do you find in Scripture to support your theory that people were baptized in the name according to the language they speak, or that His name was changed based on what language you speak?

Answer on website: The very fact that the New Testament was written in Greek and the name Jesus written as Iesous rather that Yeshua is a good place to start. Also, the Bible recognizes that the peoples of the earth speak different languages according to God's own purpose (Genesis 11). We reject the idea that the Lord's name is being changed when it is transliterated from one language to another. It doesn't matter if a person is baptized in the name of Jesus, Yeshua, Yesha, Jesu, or Iesous. These are simply Anglicized versions of the letters which spell God’s name in various languages.

Notification to Teuila: Thank you for posting a question or comment on the Glorious Church website. We take all postings very seriously and do our best to provide solid and responsible answers. We have recently posted our response to your posting. Please keep in mind that we sometimes change the title to make the nature of the question clearer to others visiting the site. Thank you for participating and please continue to visit.

Teuila: Thank you. But with all due respect, you didn't give me scripture besides stating that there were different languages spoken, which we all know to be true. The response is telling me that man is the one who changed the name of God from language to language however where do we find in scripture that His name changed when speaking to someone in a different language, especially Baptism?

DH: The name did not change. If you spell Yeshua in Hebrew letters, no one in Greece will be able to say it (unless they speak Hebrew). So when you transliterate the Hebrew letters into Greek, it comes out Iesous (except it would be in Greek letters). This is not changing the name, it is only changing the language in which the name is said. It still means Yahweh is Salvation. When people read the New Testament letters in their original languages, they would have read the Lord’s name as Iesous. When it was translated into English, it became Jesus. When I was baptized, the name Jesus was called over me. I have baptized hundreds of people and have always called the name Jesus. You seem to be suggesting that we are not saved because we didn’t say Yeshua. If that is what you are saying, please explain why God had the NT written in Greek and why He didn’t make clear that the name must be uttered in the original Hebrew. I am interested in this, so I honestly want to know your explanation.

Teuila: Who came up with the name Iesous?You would like to know why he didn’t specify that His name had to be uttered in the original Hebrew but I’d like to know where he said that it was pronounced diff according to the language you spoke? My name is Polynesian, you don’t have to be or speak the Polynesian language to say my name. My husband speaks Spanish, my name wouldn’t change if he was introducing me to someone who speaks Spanish. In High School I had foreign exchange students who came down from Japan, one of their names were Jin Soo, didn’t have to speak their language to be able to call him by his name.

And I’m quite confused when you say the name did not change yet Yeshua, Iesous and Jesus are all spelled 3 different ways and pronounced differently so how is that a direct transliteration or the same? How would you know how to pronounce Yeshua if you don’t speak Hebrew ( unless you do) those are not Hebrew letters so then wouldn’t Yeshua be the direct transliteration from Hebrew to English? I can’t read Hebrew but I can read/say Yeshua just fine.

DH: The name Iesous in Greek letters is the name as it appears throughout the New Testament. So I guess you could say that the New Testament writers came up with it under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. If we use your logic, then we should always use the Greek name Iesous and never use the Hebrew name Yeshua. But I have answered enough questions for a while. My question to you is, where does this leave all of us who were baptized in the name of JESUS?

Teuila: You can’t start from Jesus and try to figure out how that name came about. You have to start from the beginning in the old Testament with Yahweh (which they changed that too) then you will see that Yahweh was a lot of things to them but the greatest thing he could become for us was our salvation. Yahweh-Yasha. Yeshua. It’s the fulfillment of scripture of Yahweh coming himself to save his people when you say Yeshua. There’s no salvation in any other name. Singular. He wasn’t called anything other than Yeshua bc then that would break scripture. In Isaiah 56 he said that he’d give an everlasting name (singular) that would not be cut off. When names were changed in scripture it was obvious, for instance in Revelation 9 it specifically states that the name was diff in the Hebrew and Greek. We don’t find anywhere that his name was called something else from one language to the next.

DH: You did not answer my question. You also did not explain why the New Testament uses Iesous instead of Yeshua. Please respond to these issues. Thanks.

Teuila: The New Testament was written during a period called Hellenism where King Alexander the Great came in and was changing everything to Greek, names and all. Also weren’t there some names used both in the Old and New Testament? Why didn’t those names change then too? Can you please answer then where Iesous was derived from?

DH: The New Testament was written in the first century AD. Alexander the Great lived in the 4th century BC, 400 years before the New Testament era. Your explanation is historically impossible. The name Joshua (Yehoshua) of the Old Testament appears as Jesus in the KJB. The Old Testament name Elijah (Eliyahu) appears as Elias in the New. There are other examples. These names were not changed or translated; they were transliterated. This is the practice of exchanging the letter equivalents of the two languages (in this case Hebrew and Greek). That’s where Iesous came from. It is a transliteration from Hebrew letters to the equivalent Greek letters. It is the same name. You still haven’t said where your ideas leave me and all the others who have been baptized in the name of JESUS. Do we need to be re-baptized in the name of Yeshua to be saved?

Teuila: I understand what transliteration means and it would be to get the same sound so we would be pronouncing it the same way in our own language. What name was Iesous derived from? Yeshua correct?

Yes, I believe you have to be re baptized. The letter J wasn’t even created until the 16th century and the name Jesus wasn’t even used in the Bible until 200+ years ago. In the KJV 1611 Bible the scripture recorded his name as Iesus, 1617 it was Lefus and in 1722 it was Jefus Chrift.. So that’s the English language, so then that means that since the name Jesus wasn’t used in the English bible all those years, no one up until that point has a chance to make it to heaven bc they weren’t baptized in the name Jesus?

DH: You are incorrect about the name Jesus in the King James Bible. The letter J existed in 1611, it’s just that it was formed differently in formal type setting. Same with the letter S. The people of England knew the name Jesus in 1611 just as they do today. You seem to be suggesting that according to my beliefs, no one could have been saved in 1611 because they could not know the name Jesus. If I need to be baptized again to be saved, how should that baptism be done, what should be said? I am very serious about asking this because if I have it wrong, I want to get it right. I don’t really care about winning arguments, I just want to be saved. So what do I need to do?

Teuila: Well I can’t say whether or not they knew the name Jesus or not in 1611 but it wasn’t recorded in scripture until after 1722. I don’t find anywhere in the scripture where Yeshua’s name changes from on language to the next. Your name doesn’t change if you go to another country where they speak another language. Who are we to change God’s name? Salvation is in The name of Yeshua. Baptism in the name of Yeshua.

DH: It is not true that the name Jesus did not appear in the King James Bible until 1722. It was there in 1611, it’s just that some of the letters were formed differently from what we recognize today. It is also not true that your name would not change if you went to a foreign country. If you a man named Joseph went to Mexico, he would be called Jose. If a woman named Ruth went to Israel, she would be called Rut (with a long u sound). If a man named Michael went to Russia, he would be called Mikhail. When the writers of the New Testament wrote the Lord’s name, they wrote Iesous. They never wrote Yeshua. It almost seems as though you do not consider the New Testament to be part of the holy Word of God. Is that true?

Teuila: Well in my research the name Jesus did not appear until after 1722. I would say that if you were born in Mexico, you’re more likely to be named Jose not Joseph. That doesn’t mean that’s what they’re going to call you. That may be more common in their language but they’re not going to change your namer you go there, they have no right to. Where would your identity be in your name changed everywhere you went? And of course I consider the NT as part of the holy Word. Just bc it was never written doesn’t mean that wasn’t his name. It was man who changed the name of God, something we had no right to do.

DH: You seem to be unwilling to deal with the fact that the entire New Testament identifies the Lord’s name as Iesous (in Greek letters). It never calls Him Yeshua (using either Greek or Hebrew letters). So you can say all you want that everyone must call Him Yeshua, regardless of their language, but your whole theory falls apart as soon as you read Matthew 1:1.

Teuila: I’m sorry, I would’ve responded sooner but for some reason your email went straight to my junk folder. I’m not quite sure how it all falls apart after reading Matthew 1:1.

In Revelation 22:2 shows us that Paul (Saul) was speaking in the Hebrew tongue. Not for their benefit bc they knew what language they were speaking but for ours. They spoke, taught and preached the name Yeshua so why aren’t we doing what the apostles did? John 3:18 But he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name ((singular, one name)) of the only begotten Son of God.. Couldn’t have been Jesus bc that name never existed.

DH: Are you American or Polynesian? Or something else?

Teuila: My mom is Puerto Rican, my dad was mainly Polynesian and Italian. My husband’s mom is Puerto Rican and black and his dad is Irish and Native American.

DH: Do you live in the US and speak English as your primary language?

Teuila: Yes, of course.

DH: So you are an English speaking American who has a Polynesian name. Is that right?

Teuila: Yes. Which then you will try to justify that even tho He was a Jew who spoke Hebrew had a Greek name, and I would justify it saying that just bc I’m not Hebrew nor speak Hebrew doesn’t mean I cant say his name in Hebrew. Just like you don’t have to be or speak Polynesian to say my name. But again you haven’t answered any of my questions nor do I find in scripture where his name was pronounced differently from one language to the next. As we know names are very significant and have meaning and purpose throughout the whole bible. Esau means Red bc he came out that way, Jacob heel-holder, supplanter. Sarah to Sarai, Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel and many more yet we don’t find that about Yeshua’s name. So the fact that you’re trying to downplay the significance of a name, especially when it comes to our Saviour is not so convincing. Our God is very specific, the Arc, The Tabernacle, so again hard to see where His name would just be called anything and change from one language to the next.

[Mike Gibson]

JR said:

Mike Gibson:  You are obviously more versed in this arena than I am and I can see that you take it very seriously as we do. I would be interested in hearing more from you on this. A lot of Sacred Name people fall away but few of them resort back to Jesus Name. 

I don't assume to be more well versed than you about it. It sounds like we have a similar path concerning the desire for the truth of the name and the problems associated with it.

This statement by you is so crucial:

The most unfortunate thing about this conversation is the difficulty in finding scripture to solidify either case.  Wouldn't it be nice if we found one that said "thou shalt not use other translations when it applies to my Name"? But we do not, only rules of grammar that we either feel have been manipulated or have taken natural course. 

Me:

This seems to make it more of a translational issue than a doctrinal one.

[David Huston]

Mike, certainly when Paul wrote, "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord...," he used the name Iesous (written in Greek letters of course). I have heard that Matthew and Mark "may" have originally been written in Hebrew, but I have never heard it suggested that any of the other NT books were. Greek was the lingua franca of the day in the entire Middle Eastern area. I think there is every reason to believe that when the Corinthians were immersed, it was in the name of Iesous. I'm not saying you disagree with this; I just want to clarify this point, because I think it may be the one irrefutable point that finally persuades Teuila. 

[David Huston]

Both Josephus and Philo wrote in Greek. Both were contemporaries of the aspostles and both were Jews. It is inconceivable to me that Paul's letters to the primarily non-Jewish churches in Europe would have been written in anything but Greek. But since it cannot be proven one way or the other, it seems to me we need to go with what we have, not what we suppose. To my knowledge, there are no first century manuscripts in existance of the New Testament writings in Hebrew, only Greek. If God had wanted us to know that they were originally written in Hebrew, He certainly could have preserved a few. I think me must move forward on the basis that God intended that the New Testament be written in Greek. As J.R. has said, the revelation of God was no longer confined to the Jews; it was now for the whole world.  

[David Huston]

Brethren, here is Teuila's response to J.R.s latest comments. It seems to me she is hardening. I also do not think her facts are correct. For instance, what's this business about the name Jesus being invented in the 1760s? This is absurd. Also, she is incorrect about the dating of the Septuagint. Anyway, read it for yourself and please comment. I have drafted what I think will be my final statement to her on this matter. I'll post it separately, and I humbly seek your comments before I send it to Teuila. I will also be glad to forward to her any comments you make, if you so request.

From Teuila: All in all, a Trinitarian named benjamin blainey invented the name jesus in the 1760s. He was in charge of the group revising the 1611 kjv bible at oxford university. The thing is we don't find in scripture that he was called anything other than one name no matter who he was talking to, it was man who decided to change it. During a period of time called Hellenism in 167 BC King Antiochus Began changing everything from Hebrew to Greek and changing names and that was when the Septuagint was written. Again, man changed The name of God. It is fact that his name was Yeshua bc he was a Jew. Where is your identity if your name changed depending on what country/language they spoke? Do you have to get a diff passport every time you visit a diff country bc your name would be/sound diff? No, bc your name is your name no matter where you go. Isaiah 56 states that an everlasting name (singular) would be given that couldn't be cut off. A name that keeps changing over time/language does not sound like the everlasting name.

[David Huston]

Here is what I intend to send Teuila. Unless who shows some openness, I think this will be my last salvo. Please comment.

I would like to offer a different take on this very important topic. I submit that it is impossible to know with certainty the actual name uttered by the angel in his instruction to Joseph concerning what name to give the Christ child. I say this because the only divinely given record of this event is written in Greek. Some may suggest that Matthew was first written in Hebrew, but even if it was, there are no known surviving manuscripts.

So what do we know for certain? All we know is that Matthew 1:21 says, "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." In the oldest texts, the name is written as Iesou (the Greek letters iota, eta, sigma, omicron, upsilon). In the New Testament, the letter simga is sometimes added at the end, which denotes a masculine identity. This is the only actual starting place we have for determining what to call the Son of God.

Iesous may or may not have been derived from Yeshua, since some notable second century writers insist that it was an independently Greek name. But either way, to determine what the Son of God was named, we have to work backward from the Greek into the Hebrew, because the Greek is all we have. Everything else is mere speculation.

Some may say that Iesous is the Greek form of Yeshua, but in fact it is also the Greek form of Yehoshua and Yeshu. Both the Septuagint and the New Testament translate the names Yeshua and Yehoshua by the name Iesous. When the Jews brought the name Iesous back into Hebrew, they transliterated it as Yeshu, which is what many Middle Easterners call the Son of God today.

In Hebrew letters, the name Yeshua is spelled yud-shin-vav-ayn, whereas the name Yehoshua is spelled yud-hey-vav-shin-ayn. These two names may be related to each other, but they are not the same name any more than James and Jimmy are the same name. Yeshua undoubtedly derived from Yehoshua (just as Jimmy derived from James), but it is clearly a different name consisting of different letters. The angel may have instructed, "You shall call His name Yeshua" or he may have said, "You shall call His name Yehoshua." If it was the first, then it would be incorrect to call Him by the second and vice versa.

This may seem like a minor point, but it goes to the heart of the contention that we must call the Savior by His given Hebrew name. There is no way to determine with certainty what that name is. To further complicate the matter, some say His name should be pronounced Yahshua, which is possible since there is no vowel after the yud. How do we know if it had an eh sound or an ah sound? Others say Ye-shua (with the emphasis in the first syllable instead of the second). Even if we presume that the given name was Hebrew and are able to extrapolate the name from Iesous and other Old Testament references, which Hebrew name is it? It seems to me that it is impossible to know.

Let’s consider for a moment what a name actually is. First of all, it is a word, and a word is a combination of sounds intended to convey meaning to the hearers. In the case of a name, it identifies a person; and in the Bible, a name often reveals certain attributes of the person who bore it. But in the end, it is a specific combination of sounds. That’s what comes first. Only afterward does the name take on written form with letters, which are nothing more than symbols that represent certain sounds.

Sometimes the letters suggest alternative sounds. For example, my name is spelled Huston and is pronounced like the big city in Texas, but not the street in New York City. Yet sometimes people call me Huh-ston or Hoo-ston or even How-ston. When traveling in foreign countries, I can’t even spell how some people pronounce my name. With all the different accents, I bet I’ve heard it pronounced 15 or 20 different ways. None of these are the way I say my name, which is what my name actually is, but I respond to each of these varied pronunciations, because I can easily discern that the person speaking is referring to me.

Language is a very interesting phenomenon. Moving from one language to another is not nearly as cut and dried as we might sometimes think. It was in Genesis 11 that God Himself separated humanity into nations by confounding their languages. After doing so, He was still able to understand each person regardless of the language being spoken. I believe the same is true today. The name Iesous was used to translate the name Yeshua at least 250 years before Jesus was born. As I said before, in the first century AD, many Jews had Greek names. I don’t know if the Son of Mary was called Yeshua, Yehoshua, or Iesou, or Iesous. I’m rather confident He wasn’t called Jesus. In point of fact, I would like to believe that He was called Yeshua, because I really like the sound of that name. Yet I am convinced that when an English speaking child of God addresses Him by the name Jesus, He knows that He’s the One being addressed and He responds, just as He would have responded to His mother when she called Him Yeshua. If anyone can prove biblically that He does not respond to that name, I am open to considering their evidence.

[Stan Hallett]

I'm sorry, this discussion is amazing to me.  Have you asked her how long she had been saved?  By her own words she appears to have been baptized in Jesus' name and filled with Holy Ghost.  Have you questioned her about what she wrote, assuming it is her?

I can hear the Lord saying, hey, I'm in the room! It's like someone is sitting in our living room, and we are having an argument with each other about what his name is, when he's sitting right there!

If she has been in the Church for a while has she not seen people healed in Jesus name?  Has she not had prayers answered when she prayed in Jesus name?  If she now thinks that is not His name, who does she think was answering her all those prayers and doing all those miracles?

We have a cloud of witnesses that have seen countless miracles in the name of Jesus.  I am surrounded by great men of God,  don't you think if we were calling Him the wrong name that He would have corrected us long ago?

If someone called me Bob, I don't think I would have answered.  But when I caught on that they were talking to me, I would have said "Hey, you talking to me?  My name is Stan!"

This is not some obscure, unknown god that most religions, and many so-called Christians pray too.  This is my closest friend, who walks with me, guides my every moment and dwells within me.  I know His name!

[Mike Gibson]

Saints,

It is off the table to me to think one must use Yeshua to be baptized or be saved period. I may still baptize in the name of Yeshuah we shall see. The response by Dave is really good. If it were just a simple matter that we could know the name and use it it would be something we could use to unify believers. Having a common name.

 I no doubt will continue to use Yeshuah in my prayer time as well as Iesou or Jesus. I want to show something that I feel makes a case for keeping the Hebrew names  as close as possible. The Oneness message is almost always drawn from the Hebrew. I have hardly heard a Oneness teacher using "Theos" to prove anything tho it certainly is in the singular.

Jesus makes an unusual statement to the woman at the well.

 10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.  11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:  14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:10-14

What did Christ mean when he told this woman he could give her water that springs up to eternal life?

Perhaps he was thinking about this:

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:2-3  KJV

Same verses with the Hebrew names inserted.

2 Behold, EL is my YESHUAH; I will trust, and not be afraid: for  YAH YHWH is my strength and my song; he also is become my YESHUAH. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of YESHUAH.

El is the singular for what we call "God". Meaning only one. Yeshuah is the Hebrew word for salvation. This means the one God is Yeshuah.

Next we see that YAH is BECOME Yeshuah! So somewhere along the line at the incarnation YAH became Yeshuah!
 
Because of this incarnation YAH was standing right in front of this blessed women! He tells her she can draw water out of the wells of Yeshuah if she knew who he was!

We learn 2 things from this encounter.

1. Yeshuah is both YAH and EL. The only Lord and God.
2. Jesus name in Hebrew is Yeshuah.

He was surely referring to  himself as the one from which the wells of living water must be drawn. He is Yeshuah.

So a case can be made for the name Yeshuah being the sacred name. It can be used to prove the Oneness message.

I understand what Dave said about the vowels maybe it should be an a instead of e? However consider this if we judge all Hebrew words that way we could admit that we don't know how we should write or say ANY name in Hebrew! So we may never know the name with exactness until he comes. But surely we can believe  we will know it then.

If YAH has become Yeshuah it is what Paul meant when he said:

  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 1 Tim. 3:16

So I prefer on the basis of Isaiah 12:2-3 the name Yeshuah for the Messiah when I speak it in Hebrew.

Again for me not a salvation issue but an important one. Hopefully in the end it will be something YAH will use to bless and unify his people. Until then Jesus Christ is altogether beautiful and glorious. 

[David Huston]

Mike, I'm just curious why you put an "h" at the end of Yeshua? The Hebrew spelling ends with the letter "ayn," which does not call for an "h" as the letter "hey" does.

[Mike Gibson]

Because it is the Hebrew word in the verses I quoted.

Isaiah 12:2-3

All 3 times the word salvation is "Yeshuah"

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:2-3  KJV

Check this:

http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3444.htm

[Stan Hallett]

J.R.  would you go into a little more detail on your exchange with Mr. Hafley?  More importantly what you alluded to in the revelation of the name?  I would be interested in hearing more about that.  Please share. Perhaps another discussion thread would be in order?  Bro. Huston?

[David Huston]

By all means start a new thread, J.R.. That would help us to keep this one focused on the current topic.

Mike, I looked in my Hebrew Bible and in Isaiah 12 the word "yeshua/yeshuah" us found three times. The first time it is spelled yud-shin-vav-ayn-tav-yud (pronounced ye-shu-a-ti). This means "my yeshua." There is no hey at the end. The next time it is spelled lamed-yud-shin-vav-ayn-hey (le-ye-shu-ah). This means "to yeshuah." The third time it is spelled hey-yud-shin-vav-ayn-hey (pronounced ha-ye-shu-ah). The means "the yeshua." Each of these is a compound word and none are used specifically as a proper name. They are all used to identify Yahweh as the One who will be salvation for the people. The only one that could potentially be a proper name is the first, since the ti (tee) sound is sometime appended to a name to indicate, in an informal way, that the person belongs to another. For example, I might call my youngest daughter "my Angela" in an affectionate way. In Hebrew it would be Angelati. The other two times yeshuah is used it is clearly being used in the sense of a common noun to refer to salvation. The definite article would not normally be attached to a proper name (although Donald Trump is called sometimes The Donald). It seems to me that this lends credence to the spealling Yeshua rather that Yeshuah. On the other hand, if Yeshuah is on the table as a possibility, then we have another possible name for Messiah, since Yeshua and Yeshuah are no more the same name than Michelle and Michele or Corey and Kory.

[Mike Gibson]

Dave,

Well remember early on I said the reason I had somewhat cooled over promoting a certain name was because something was always coming up to change my understanding. I understand Yeshua and Yeshuah are not the same name.

Nonetheless they sound the same when spoken as I understand it. It seems to me Yeshuah applied this "name" to himself to the women at the well from Isaiah 12:2-3

What else could he have been telling her? It is the/a Hebrew  word meaning "salvation".

It also reminds me of when Simeon had the baby Messiah in his arms and said :

25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Simeon seemed to have this in mind:

5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. 7 Isaiah 49:5-6

Salvation in verse 6 is "Yeshuah". Yeshuah was the glory of Israel and the light to the Gentiles.

Also Simeon may have remembered Isaiah 52:10

9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Again salvation in verse 10 is "Yeshuah". The following verses ending that chapter are:

13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Isaiah 52:13-15

So I am reading into the context of what Simeon said in prophecy as well as how Jesus introduced himself to the women at the well.

I do not know Hebrew so I am going by context more than grammer. It seems to make sense from here. I know there are plenty of sites on the net that hold this for basically the same reason.

Now if this is not possible I want to take this attitude: Lord help me not be discouraged in my search for truth. Help me not to be like the ones Yeshua/Yeshuah said they did not desire the new wine because the old is better.

Lastly since both words are pronounced the same at least in English it seems like a safe version of the name. I will have open ears to any assistance from you. Peace, Mike