Friday, March 30, 2012

Yeshua


Two interesting etymologies to keep in mind as we hear about Jesus' entry into Jerusalem in our first Gospel this weekend:  Hosanna, which means "Save us, we pray!" and comes from "yeshua," or "salvation," which is also the root of the name "Jesus" in Hebrew.  How cool is that?

From the Online Etymological Dictionary:


hosanna Look up hosanna at Dictionary.com
O.E. osanna, from Heb. hosha'na, probably a shortening of hoshi'ah-nna "save, we pray" (cf. Psalms cxviii.25), from imper. of y-sh- (cf. yeshua"salvation, deliverance, welfare") + emphatic particle -na. Originally an appeal for deliverance; used in Christian Church as an ascription of praise, because when Jesus entered Jerusalem this was shouted by Galilean pilgrims in recognition of his messiahhood (Matt. xxi.9, 15, etc.).
Jesus Look up Jesus at Dictionary.com
late 12c. (O.E. simply used hælend "savior"), from Gk. Iesous, which is an attempt to render into Greek the Aramaic proper name Jeshua (Heb.Yeshua) "Jah is salvation," a common Jewish personal name, the later form of Heb. Yehoshua (see Joshua). 
Source:  http://www.etymonline.com/

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