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Names
Aug 1, 2007 9:50:41 GMT -5
Post by Child of Immanuel on Aug 1, 2007 9:50:41 GMT -5
After a long period of knowing the Hebrew names of God and Jesus but translating them according to English custom, I have decided to change my modus operandi.
The word LORD has been almost completely deprived of its once-rich significance in the minds of people who use it so much; I will begin translating the Hebrew letters yud-he-vav-he as YHVH.
Jesus, whether one pronounces it Jee-zuss (English) or Yesoos (Greek) has no meaning. His Hebrew name, Yeshua, however, means 'YHVH saves' or 'YHVH is salvation' and is the masculine form of yeshuah, meaning 'salvation'. The Greek Iesous will henceforth be translated as Yeshua.
It irritates me to hear people refer to God's son as 'Christ', as if that were a proper name. 'Christ' is not a name but a title, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew 'Messiah' (mashiach), meaning 'the anointed one' (if the speaker wants to use Christ instead of Messiah, he should say 'the Christ'). 'Christos' will now be translated as 'the Messiah'.
I am still debating about changing my translations of the names other characters such as John (Yochanan) and Peter (Kefa). It is not my intention to obscure but to provide a translation that more accurately brings out the meaning of the text. The names of God, at least, have a significance that should be remembered when one uses them.
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