By Anthony Lester - Amazing Facts

Continued from page 19.
Greek word Theos,“God,”and Yahweh by the Greek Kurios,“Lord.”
The Hebrew word “Adonai” [“Lord”] is changed to “Kurios” as well.
The LXX Used by Jesus and the Apostles
With the Old Testament in Greek, the way was prepared for the
Greek New Testament. The LXX was widely understood. Most all
the quotations from the Old Testament found in the New are given
according to the LXX. It became the Scriptures in the hands of the
apostles to proclaim the gospel story through the prophecies of the
Old Testament, the prophecies of Messiah to come and salvation.
We have no record that Jesus tried to change the LXX names back
to their Hebrew forms of ‘”Elohim”,“Yaweh” (the Tetagramaton,
YHWH the most sacred name of the Old Testament) or “Adonai.”
He taught the disciples what He wanted in the new church. He did
not teach them to go back to the Hebrew forms of divine names, nor
did He teach them to retain the Aramaic name of “Yeshua.” The New
Testament in Koine Greek followed the same pattern for divine
names as that of the Septuagint.
We know too that the disciples quoted from the LXX freely, never
once mentioning other than the Greek forms of the sacred names
and the New Testament name of “Iesous” for the name of Jesus.
In his Pentecostal sermon in Acts 2, Peter makes a bold statement
before the Jews present from all nations. In verse 21, he declares,
“Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord” (“Kurios” the LXX
form of the Tetagramaton). This statement showed that Peter accepted
the highest claim of divinity for Christ.
Jesus and the apostles had set precedence for the bridging of
holy names into the vernacular of other languages, and they
accepted the LXX names for God in their New Testament writings.
It was an example to be followed in preparation for the soon-todevelop
Neo-European language family.
“Iesous” Becomes “Jesus”
As the gospel spread into areas
where Greek was not known,
other translations appeared.
The next major transition was
into Latin, a Neo-European
language. Soon the Vulgate
(A.D. 382) became the authorized
Latin Bible version. The name of
Jesus when transliterated from the Greek
“Iesous” into Latin was “Iesus.” This Latin form
of the name of Jesus dominated Bible translations in the Neo-
European language family for 1,000 years.
Yes, it was Latin that bequeathed the transliterated “Iesus” into
English translations. When the “I” became “J” in the English language,
it became natural to change the “I” of Latin into the “J” of
English in the name of Jesus.
Conclusion
The Hebrew language preserved the Old Testament for the world,
as Greek did for the New Testament. But it is English that has spread
God’s two witnesses to the world. The British and Foreign Bible
Society in 1804 and the
American Bible Society in
1816, still active now, and
other Bible societies
have given the
Bible to the
language groups
of the world. The
Semitic, the Neo-
European, the Hamitic,
the Negroid, the Mongolian
languages all have a translation
in their language families. And the Wycliffe Bible Society continues
to study new dialects, taking the Bible to the ends of the earth.
By the end of 2002, parts or all of the Bible have been translated into
2,303 languages or dialects.“This gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall
the end come” (Matthew 24:14).
Should each of these 2,303 languages and dialects go back to the
Hebrew “Yehoshua” or the Aramaic “Yeshua” forms? Or the Greek
“Iesous”? Or the Latin “Iesus”? When viewed from a worldwide perspective
and the example of Jesus and the disciples, the answer is a
definite “no!” Each language deserves the name of Jesus in its own
vernacular form, including the English “Jesus” spelled with “J”.
Jesus understands all languages and reads the love in the
heart when an individual prays in “His name,” not by specific
letters and words, but by the respect held for His nail-pierced
hands and the shed blood and the reverence with which His
name is breathed in prayer. Let all nations pray on in His name
in their own vernacular form.
Pray on in the name of “Yesuha”
Pray on in the name of “Pra-Yesu”
Pray on in the name of “Gesu”
Pray on in the name of “Yel-Sul”
Pray on in the name of “Jesus”
Interested in learning more on this topic?
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The Faithful Witness
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JAN/FEB 2004 INSIDE REPORT 29