It’s true. There is no letter “J” in the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
So, Muslims argue that Jesus’ name must be a fabrication. Is that plausible?
Transliterating a word from one language to another has to take into account the rules and limitations of both the languages. Sometimes the phonetics in one language cannot be directly rendered in a secondary language.
Yerushalayim in Hebrew is rendered as Jerusalem in English.
Would you then say that because there is no J in Hebrew, so Jerusalem, in English, must be a fabrication. Of course not!
That is just how the name is transliterated from the original language.
How about Yeriho? That’s Jericho in English. Or Nehar haYarden? That’s the River Jordan.
Do you see how Hebrew names with Y are consistently rendered into the English language with a J.
Let’s look at more examples:
| HEBREW | ENGLISH |
| Yaakov | Jacob |
| Yosef | Joseph |
| Yonah | Jonah |
| Yohanan | John |
| Yirmiyahu | Jeremiah |
| Yehudah | Judah |
| YESHUA | JESUS |
Do you see the consistent way the names are transliterated?
Jesus’ name in Hebrew is Yeshua. This is rendered into English as Jesus.
So there is no problem with this at all
What about in Arabic?
Notice how the following Hebrew names are transliterated into Arabic in the Quran:
| HEBREW | ARABIC |
| Yaakov | Yakob |
| Yosef | Yusuf |
| Yonah | Yunus |
| Yohanan | Yahya |
| YESHUA | Y… ??? |
When it comes to Yeshua, why does the Quran stray? As you can see, names beginning with Y has been consistently and correctly rendered into Arabic EXCEPT for Yeshua? Why?
The Arab Christians say, “Yasuwa”. The Arabic Bible says “Yasuwa”.
Yeshua is Yasuwa in Arabic. (يَسُوعَ)
How and where did the name Isa come? (عيسى)
Is Isa a fabrication?
Muslims had believed that the name Jesus is a fabrication, but I have shown it was simply accurate and consistent rendering into English.
The tables have turned. It is the name, Isa, that is now in question.
Is the name Isa a fabrication? How did the name Yeshua become Isa?
Interested in Christian-Muslim apologetics?
Read more articles like this and learn how to expose lies
Get my book. Now available on Amazon.
Asalaamu Alaykum (peace be upon you) Allah The Almighty Lord and God of all mankind Mentioned 25 of His prophets by name in the Quran and of them 2 Allah named before He created them and is Al Massih Esa or Isa ibn (son) Maryam and Yehya ibn Zakariya (May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them. No one has the right to translate there names to Jesus and John, these are names that were created by non other than the Shaytan (Satan, Devil, etc.) to throw mankind off the straight path. And you are helpers of the Shaytan. Al Massih Isa ibn Maryam will not accept the name Jesus nor will Yehya accept the name John neither will Allah The Almighty who named them. May Allah Al Rahman (The most merciful) have mercy on you and guide you to the truth… Islam Is the only true way and the Arabic Quran is the truth.
Dear Yousef
Do you know you have just condemned your religion as being from shaytan and Muhammad as helper of shaytan?
What do I mean?
All the prophets had Hebrew names! Not Arabic names! No one spoke Arabic!
By your logic, Allah changed all their Hebrew names to Arabic!
In fact, you have also condemned your English translated korans as satanic because they also use the names Jesus and John!
Do you think Moses name was Musa? No.
His real name in Hebrew is משה. Can you read that? Here is the pronunciation: MOSHE.
Why did Allah and Muhammad change the Hebrew name משה (MOSHE) to موسى (MUSA)?
Is משה the same as موسى ? Absolutely not.
What you have failed to understand is that languages are not the same. There are over 6000 languages. When you transliterate one name from one language to another language, many things need to be considered ~ letters, vowels, sounds, syntax, etc. Language rules differ from language to language.
Hebrew has 22 alphabets, and some sounds or letters may not even exist in another language, so different language rules apply.
Moshe in Hebrew. Moses in English. Mouses in Greek. Moise in French. Moises in Portuguese. Musa in Arabic, and so on.
Great response!! 👏🏽
Wow that was an amazing exchange!!!!!!!
Hebrew word Amen “wait for it “English Amen Translated, Amen, French, Amin, Italian Amen, AHmen, German, also, Ame’n, “Ek/is/in’, (Afrikaans)but Amin Amen all originated from Egypt. Amen, Lithuanian, and it goes on. what is up with the names?
Leslie dillinger,
Yes, Amen is a Hebrew word. What is your point?
Amen is not translated. It is TRANSLITERATED.
What’s the difference?
TRANSLATION
When words flow from one language to the other, they are often translated into a word that fits that language.
Most words in English don’t match up with words/letters in other languages, which is why translation is necessary between languages.
TRANSLITERATION
A transliteration is when the word is pronounced roughly the same way it was in the original language, and just given letters
that makes sense in the new language. A few subtle differences notwithstanding, the word amen is one of the few words
that is pronounced almost exactly the same way in every language in the world.
Are you Muslim?
Can you tell me why Muslims argue about the usage of the word “Amen”?
Some scholars say you should not say it, some say you should; others say you must say it quietly, while there are those who insist it must be said loudly.
Honestly im arguing with a person who thinks that Jesus was fake but Yeshua was real,..what do u think guys..i think Yeshua is Jesus
Yvette,
You are right. Yeshua is His name in Hebrew.
When transliterated into Greek, it is Iesous, which is the name used in the New Testament text.
This, in turn, is transliterated into English as Jesus.
No.. Yeshua does not translate into Jesus. At all. The correct transliteration of Yeshua is Joshua.
The name “Jesus” comes from the Greek ιησούς Iesous.
So with all that in mind. How can I persuade a Jehovah’s Witness that the name Jehovah is a corrupt, erroneous transliteration of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton?
The whole issue over this subject for me IS NOT who is right or wrong. Its FACTS & AUTHENTICITY
If YESHUA’s name IS NOT JESUS, transliteration or not
Its INCORRECT.
If I go to Israel my name is still Chantz, not Chance, not Chase, not Henry. When i die my name will not change over time.
HUGE ISSUE for me is most background figures of the Bible with unthinkable hard names were not “transliterated” or totally CHANGED but ALL major players were… I smell something fowl (always have) in this stupidity
CALL HIM BY HIS NAME and quit playing games
There is no J in Hebrew or Aramaic (FACT)
JESUS is a very young name
Was he EVER called JESUS while he was alive?
No, the J didn’t exist
So when someone calls you Ceicil and your name is Jake…
Does that person KNOW YOU?
Dear Chantz,
I asked a Chinese friend how to write and pronounce the name “Edwin” in Mandarin. He told me it is spelled and written as “Ye Wen.”
It is impossible to write and say “Edwin” in Mandarin.
So, my friend, you cannot demand what you want. Different languages have different rules, different alphabets, different phonetics.
Your name is Chantz. But do you know how it is spelled and pronounced in Russian, or Hindi or Korean?
Let me give you an example in Korean:
The best way to write “Chantz” using the Hangul script is “찬츠” and it is pronounced as “Chan-chu,” with “찬” (Chan) and “츠” (chu).
“What are you going to say now, Mr Chan-chu?”
No one is calling Jake as Cecil. Dont be ignorant.
There’s a whole wide world out there. There are 6500 languages in the world. Not every language works the way you want it to.
Wake up.
Can i ask who wrote the Bible and how many Bibles are there,if the Bible was God’s word how come there are so many different Bibles written by man
Hi Dawood,
Yes, you can ask.
1. The Bible was written by prophets and apostles.
Now your turn. Who wrote the koran?
2. There is not many different Bibles. There is one Bible and it has 66 books and 31, 102 verses.
Catholics add a collection of books known as Apocrypha, but it is not part of the Bible.
Now your turn.
How come there are many different korans? In the 7th century, itself Uthman burned many korans. Where did they come from?
Even your koran today was only standardised in 1924 in Cairo. The Egyptian government threw all other variant korans into the Nile.
Do you know how many verses are there in your koran?
His name is YAHOVAH YAHSUA. In Hebrew there are no J’S. HALLELU(YAH), Means PRAISE YAH, short for (YAH)OVAH (YAH)SUAH. NAMES DO NOT CHANGE.
Christine,
I agree. Names do not change. But names have to be transliterated from one language to another and is not always rendered as in the original.
The writers of the New Testament spelled Yeshua’s name as “Iesous” in Greek. They didnt change his name. That’s how it is rendered in Greek.
Did the name of the city of Yerushalaiyim change to Jerusalem? No.
It is still pronounced Yerushalaiyim in Hebrew, but it is called Jerusalem in most of the English-speaking world.
Are they talking about 2 different cities? No.
But there’s no J in Hebrew. Again, correct. Translisteration from one language to another.
Why is Joshua written as Joshua in the English New Testament, but Jesus not written as Joshua? Their Greek names are identical.
Hi Sarah,
That’s a very good question.
This page may be helpful in answering your question.
https://www.compellingtruth.org/Joshua-Jesus.html
His name was and is Yeshua. Why the vanity of English speaking people makes them believe it is ok to change the name of the Son and the city of Yahweh is beyond me. Who believes they have the right to go around changing names, Holy days and commands of Yahweh? – the Roman Catholic Church, and she has no right. What do they call Vladymer Putin?
Hi Ellen,
How did the writers of the New Testament write the name of Yeshua in Greek?
Ἰησοῦς, transliterated as Iesous.
Did they change his name? No. That is how the name Yeshua is rendered in Greek.
Nothing to do with English or the Roman Catholic Church, neither of which existed when the NT was written.
Names tend to change form from one language to another. The English name Matthew becomes Mateo in Spanish,
Mattieu in French, Matthaeus in German, Matvei in Russian, and Mattathias in Greek.
I speak 3 languages. The name Yeshua is pronounced differently in all 3 languages I speak.
Whether it is Yeshua or Iesous or Jesus, or Yesus in Indonesian or Yaso in Cantonese, you’re calling on the same person.
The name means the same thing in whatever language i.e. Yahweh is Salvation.
Except for the name Isa, which means nothing.
Interesting conversation! I enjoyed It!
Thank you, sir. I appreciate your comment.
I appreciate that proper names do not change, but agree that the pronunciation may change due to language. For example, when I was11, my family moved to a small town in Puerto Rico where very little English was spoken, and, when sent to public school there, a teacher said to me ” In Spanish, your name is Ricardo.” I replied no, my name is Richard, and she tried to argue! So I asked if Jose came to Brooklyn would his nemesis be Joe or John, and she said No, his name is still Jose, upon which I said, by the same rule my name is Richard…like Coca-Cola is still Coca-Cola in Spanish…Proper names do not change!!
Dear Richard,
Yes. Proper names do not change. But as you pointed out pronunciation and spelling may differ.
The Spanish equivalent to Richard is Ricardo.
“Jerusalem” is the English equivalent to the original Hebrew “Yerushalaiyim”.
Does it mean the proper name “Yerushalaiyim” has been changed? No.
Are English speakers wrong to call the city Jerusalem instead of Yerushalaiyim? No.
In the original Hebrew their is no J. In Hebrew it is Y. Yahweh and Yahshua are the true names. They are Hebrew not Latin or Greek.
Dear Joella,
Correct. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh and Yeshua.
The New Testament was written in Greek. How did the followers of Yeshua write his name in Greek?
Here it is: ==> Ἰησοῦς
Can you read that? It is pronounced Iesous.
Its pronounce Eesa not Isa, Isa is more common to english speaker Aramaic Iesho, Hebrew Iesho/yeshu, Arabic Eesa christian Arab yeshu
The Messiah is Hebrew with a Hebrew name..His name is YAHshua..He says He comes in His Father’s name..The heavenly Father’s name is YAHweh..YAHshua means YAHWEH is salvation..HalleluYAH! Praise YAHWEH!
Research for yourselves the Hebrew language to see for yourself that in fact YAHWEH reveals His name to those who truly want to seek Him and know Him and humbly pray for Him to reveal HIS TRUTH and you will be blessed
If the j is a relatively new letter, where did the term “Jewish ” come from? I want to worship my Savior in truth and this controversy has me so mind boggled and frustrated. Thanks
Hi Sheri,
The term Jew/Jewish” is in English. The Hebrew word is Yehudi.
There is no confusion. It’s about the language that you speak.
Same thing with the name Jerusalem. The Hebrew name is Yerushalaiyim.
How can the bible have thousands of mistakes and contradictions if it is truly the word of God?
The Bible does not have thousands of mistakes and contradictions.
Stop listening to frauds like Zakir Naik.
Read the Bible honestly for yourself instead of cherry-picking verses.
I have read the bible and have hundreds of mistakes and contradictions highlighted within it so for a fact you are a liar and deceiver.
Did Judas die by hanging or his guts spilled out? Did Jacob beget Joseph or Heli begot Joseph? Jehoiachin was 8 years old when he became king or was he 18 years old when he became king? God had regrets he made Saul king? Jacob wrestled with God and put him in a headlock? Prophet Lot dis incest with his daughters? A woman has to marry her rapist?
Should I continue or thats enough from the fraud Bible you want to peddle as “the word of God”?? Stop lying to yourself.
Do you know what a contradiction is?
It is a statement in which two or more elements or ideas are incompatible and CANNOT be reconciled.
Let me give you one example: Who was the first Muslim?
1. Muhammad was the first Muslim. (39:12, 6:14, 6:163)
2. Adam was the first Muslim.
There can only be one FIRST Muslim. Hence this is a contradiction. Either Muhammad was the first Muslim or Adam was the first Muslim. They both cannot be the first Muslim. Clear?
Now let’s get to the issues you mentioned. First of all, ALL of these have been answered.
You knew how to search out for these “contradictions” online but you pretend that you don’t know how to search for how they have long been refuted.
WHATEVER Biblical “contradiction” you bring has already been resolved. Be honest.
Don’t act as if you are the one who has discovered something no one else knew.
Let’s look at one of your “contradictions.”
How did Judas die?
1. He hanged himself. (Matt 27:3-8)
2. His body fell headlong and his bowels spilled out. (Acts 1:16-19)
Where is the contradiction? Both statements are true.
It is not a contradiction to describe something differently: Judas hanged himself. Judas fell down. No contradiction.
Both are possible since neither negates the possibility of the other.
Notice that Matt. 27:3-8 tells us specifically how Judas died. By hanging.
Acts 1:16-19 merely tells us that he fell headlong and his bowels gushed out.
Acts does not say that this is how he died whereas Matthew does.
He died by hanging. The branch or the rope probably broke due to the weight of the body.
See? Resolved. No contradiction.
(Note: Muslims have to find a problem with the death of Judas because many of you believe that it was Judas who was crucified on the cross of Jesus!)
Like I told you before, READ the Bible for yourself. Don’t swallow what your deceptive teachers feed you. Study for yourself.
Another one:
Did Jacob beget Joseph or Heli begot Joseph?
Joseph’s father was Jacob. Heli was his father-in-law, Mary’s father.
Matthew traced the genealogy of Jesus through his adoptive father. Luke gives the genealogy through his birth mother, Mary.
No contradiction.
I even have an article here on this topic which I wrote years ago. It might be helpful in your education journey.
https://www.faithbrowser.com/why-are-there-two-genealogies
So, again, no contradictions. I could go on but I’ll do you a favour so you can do your own study.
https://www.pfander.uk/debate-topics/apologetic/contrads/
(Note: Muslims have to find a problem with the Biblical genealogies because Allah told you that Mariam’s father was Imran and her brother was Haron! What a joke! Amram and his children, Aaron, Miriam and Moses lived 1500 years before Mary, the mother of Jesus! Muhammad aka allah got confused between the two Mariams. He thought they were the same person.)
In conclusion:
Are there passages in the Bible that are difficult? Yes.
ARE THERE CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE? NO.
All alleged contradictions can be resolved by simply carefully reading and understanding the passages and the context.
Fantastic responses here 👏🏿🙌🏿