Joshua (name)

This article is about the given name. For people with the surname, see Joshua (surname).
Not to be confused with Josiah (given name) or Joseph.
Joshua (name)
Joshua and the Israelite people by Karolingischer Buchmaler, c.840
Pronunciation/ˈdʒɒʃuə/[1]
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameHebrew (יהושע‎ Yehoshua)
Meaning"YHWH is salvation"
Region of originMiddle East
Other names
Related namesJesus, Josue, Josh, Jason, Yeshua, Joseph
[2][3][4]

Joshua is a given name derived from the Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ‎‎ (Modern: Yəhōšūaʿ, Tiberian: Yŏhōšūaʿ),[5] prominently belonging to Joshua, an early Hebrew leader of the Exodus period who has a major role in several books of the Bible. The name was a common alternative form of the name יֵשׁוּעַ‎ (Yēšūaʿ) which corresponds to the Greek spelling Ἰησοῦς (Iesous), from which, through the Latin Iesus, comes the English spelling Jesus.[6][7] As a result of the origin of the name, a majority of people before the 17th century who have this name were Jewish. A variant, truncated form of the name, Josh, gained popularity in the United States in the 1920s.

  1. ^ Joshua at Oxford Dictionaries Online
  2. ^ A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament Francis Brown, with S.R. Driver and C.A. Briggs, based on the lexicon of William Gesenius. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 221 & 446
  3. ^ Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for Yĕhowshuwa` (Strong's 03091)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996–2008. 16 Feb 2008. http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H3091 Archived 2008-03-06 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Behind the name – Joshua- feminine form http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/39476
  5. ^ Khan, Geoffrey (2020). The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1. Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1783746767.
  6. ^ Ilan, Tal (2002). Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity Part I: Palestine 330 BCE–200 CE (Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum 91). Tübingen, Germany: J.C.B. Mohr. p. 129.
  7. ^ Stern, David (1992). Jewish New Testament Commentary. Clarksville, Maryland: Jewish New Testament Publications. pp. 4–5.