Bill Mounce

For an Informed Love of God

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Ἰησοῦς

Ἰησοῦς means “Jesus, Joshua.”

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘ Ἰησοῦς is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Mounce's Expository Dictionary (abridged): 

Noun: Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous), GK G2652 (S G2424), 917x. The name Ἰησοῦς is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name “Joshua.” The name Ἰησοῦς was common among Jews at the time of Jesus Christ and prior to the first century (for other individuals named Joshua/Jesus, see, e.g., Neh. 3:19; possibly Mt. 27:16f; Lk. 3:29; Col. 4:11). The personal name given to Jesus is an especially appropriate one for the Messiah to bear since its Hebrew antecedent, Joshua, means “The LORD [Yahweh] is salvation.” The words of the angel to Joseph in Mt. 1:21 emphasize this very point: “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who will save his people from their sins.”