WE HAVE TO PERSEVERE PATIENTLY & GUARD AGAINST EVIL

BY WHAT NAME IS JESUS CALLED IN THE QUR'AN?

The Muslim world knows Jesus Christ as "al-MaseeHu `Eesa" meaning "Jesus the Messiah". This is illustrated in the following verse of the Qur'an:

3:45


"Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be al-MaseeHu 'Eesa, meaning 'Jesus the Messiah', the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah."

*- "al-MaseeHu `Eesa" = "al-MaseeH" = The Messiah + "`Eesa" = Jesus

...to be continued:

IS THIS NAME "`EESA" A DERIVATIVE OF "ESAU" THE DISAVOWED BROTHER OF JACOB?

They are completely unrelated etymologically and lexically. Esau is the Latinization of the Biblical Hebrew name for Jacob's twin brother, `Eshaw, who was disavowed. This name is spelled:

`Eshaw- (In Hebrew)  -  "AYN, SHIN, WAW" (in Arabic) ; Pronounced "`Ee"  + "shaw" (like "saw" with additional stress).

This is an archaic word which literally means "hairy". It connotes being hirsute, and dark ruddy body covered with hair. We have this fact illustrated in the following Biblical verse:

"The first came forth red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they called his name Esau."
[Genesis 25:25, RSV]

Due to Esau's dark and ruddy color, and the hair which enveloped his body, he was named `Eshaw,  meaning "covered with hair".

The corresponding word for this in Arabic is 'Athaa spelled "AYN, THAA, YAA". Like the Hebrew word 'Eshaw, this word means the same i.e   covered with hair. In Ibn ManTHoor's cohesive and authoritative work on the Arabic language entitled Lisaan al-`Arab (The Arabic Tongue), he states:


  
`athaa: al-`athaa: Having a murky color with an abundance of hair.."
[Lisaan al-`Arab (The Arabic Language), Ibn ManTHoor, under `athaa]

This is what Gesenus' Hebrew Lexicon states about the name of Jacob's twin brother "Esau":



(Above) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon of the Old Testament, H.W.F. Gesenius, 6215, page 658; the page was scanned for indisputable authenticity of sources.
  
Note that Gesenius himself refers to the Arabic word `Athaa,  as it is obviously the word which correlates with the Hebrew word `Eshaw.

As such, the Qur'anic name for Jesus is not related by any stretch of etymology to the words `Eshaw or `Athaa'.

Thus, for the christian missionaries to argue any further that the Qur'anic name `Eesa is related to the Hebrew name for Jacob's disavowed twin brother would mean that they (the missionaries) dispute canonized authorities in Semitic etymology. They are in fact  further discrediting their own selves, for lacking in knowledge.

To be continued....

[ Last edited by KENNKID on 17-2-2004 at 10:16 AM ]

WAS JESUS' NAME YAHUSHUWA` OR YESHU`, AND DID BOTH MEAN 'SAVIOR'?

Was his name Yahushuwa`?

- YAHUSHUWA`  - Theorized to be a combination of "Yahweh" and "Yasha`" to mean "Jehovah is Salvation". This was the name of Moses' companion Joshua Ben-Nun, who is referred to as Yasa` in the Qur'an.

The problem with this theory is that there were several people in the Tanach named Yahushuwa`:

1.Yahushuwa`  the son of Nun, companion of Moses, subject of the Old Testament Book of Joshua.

2. Yahushuwa` the Bethshemite (1 Samuel 6:18)

3. Yahushuwa`, the governor of Jerusalem under King Hosiah (2 Kings 23:8)

4. Yahushuwa`, the son of Josedech (Haggai 1:1) and so on and so forth...

The truth is, there exists not a single shred of historical evidence that the historical "Jesus" was ever called "Yahushuwa`" in his lifetime . Had he been this would have made great polemic material for the Christians, but, much to their chagrin, he never was.

The closest thing they have is the Talmudic entry:

"On the eve of the Passover, Yeshu` was hanged..." [Babylonia Sanhedrin 43A]

One will find this quoted over and over again in Christian polemics trying to prove the historicity of Jesus. However, this is erroneous due to the following reasons:

First this mentions someone named Yeshu` and not Yahushuwa` who was hung on the eve of Passover. Second, there is nothing to say or support that this was the Biblical "Jesus".

This brings us to our next supposition regarding his name.

Was his name Yeshu`?

- YESHU` - This is a word meaning "safety" in the Hebrew language. Christians attempt to proselytize their theories of a "man-god" Jesus by saying this name of his meant "Salvation". The Problem with that is the fact that it does not have a static definition of Salvation because it also means - Saved.

.......to be continued

[ Last edited by KENNKID on 18-2-2004 at 04:53 PM ]

"And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies." [Numbers 10:9]

Another problem is that the type of "safety" which "yasha`"  refers to is in a very worldly sense, and mostly having to do with being saved from the hands of Israel's worldly enemies.

Every single usage of "yasha`"  in the Bible has to do with warfare and violence. There is not a single reference to deliverance from sin, or salvation of the ethereal soul. It only refers to salvation of the physical body and life.

"Thus the LORD saved  Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore." [Exodus 14:30]

"For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." [Deuteronomy 20:4]

"And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines." [1Samuel 7:8]

David laments in reference to something similar to an ethereal salvation:

"Return, O LORD, deliver  my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake." [Psalms 6:4]

Only to later clarify:

"Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog." [Psalms 22:20]

There are 200 other examples like this in the Old Testament. All can't be addressed for the sake of brevity but the reader is encouraged to research this in detail.

The fact remains that the Jews were and still are waiting for a Warrior-King Messiah.  They viewed Jesus as someone who aspired to be this Messiah and failed miserably.

We all know that Jesus' mission was not to be a warrior, but to prepare the world for the coming of another. Though his enemies may see him as a failure, in this he was a success.

Similar to there being a complete absence of any reference to Jesus in history as Yahushuwa', there is likewise, absolutely  no information whatsoever linking Jesus to the name Yeshu'  in his lifetime. The Talmud was written between 300-600 A.D.

Other commonly quoted books like the Toledoth Yeshu` were satires written to defame Christianity as late as the 10th century A.D. nearly 1000 years after Jesus.

Ironically, from the disparaging writings against Jesus came the Arabic Yesu抂/b]  as they are the only source for this name being attributed to Jesus in the Middle East. The Christian world is left at a loss to find a historical Jesus who fits the description given in their sadly sparse Biblical sources.


To be continued....

[ Last edited by KENNKID on 19-2-2004 at 11:38 AM ]

WHAT WAS JESUS' NAME HISTORICALLY?

Jesus and even the earliest Christians spoke Aramaic. Much of the Old Testament, such as the Book of Daniel, was originally in Aramaic though a large bulk of those codices are lost forever. Neither the Greek of the Textus Receptus upon which the New Testament is based, nor the Hebrew of the standardized Tanach upon which the Old Testament is loosely based were their native tongues.

"..portions of the Old Testament books of Daniel and Ezra are written in Aramaic...Jesus and the Apostles also spoke this language.
  
"In the early Christian era, Aramaic was divided into east and West varieties. West Aramaic dialects included Nabataean (formerly spoken in parts of Arabia), Palmyrene (spoken in Palmyra, which was northeast of Damascus), Palestinian-Christian, and Judeo-Aramaic. West Aramaic is still spoken in a small number of villages in Lebanon."
[Encyclopedia Britannica, Reference Index I, "Aramaic Language", page 476]

Jesus spoke Aramaic. Thus, the New Testament would have to be dependent upon it. Much of the Old Testament was in Aramaic as well, and the earliest Christian societies throughout Arabia from Palestine, to Syria, to Nabataea spoke Aramaic. So what is Jesus' name in Aramaic?

"Eesho M'sheekha" meaning Jesus the Messiah.

- "Eesho M'sheekha" in Syriac. Syriac is a late variant of Aramaic widespread in Christendom, thus coined "Christian Aramaic".

- "Eesho M'sheekha" in Aramaic, taken directly from the "Peshitta". The "Peshitta" is the Aramaic New Testament and closely resembles the language of Jesus.

Thus, Jesus would have called himself "Eesho" or more specifically "`Eesaa" since the Northern Palestinian Jews pronounced the letter "shin" as "seen". Interestingly enough we find a striking parallel in Hebrew which tells volumes and uncovers astounding facts.

....... to be continued

THE STAR OF THE MESSIAH (NUMBERS 24:17)

Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament states the following:



The Hebrew word "`Esh" is by definition a star or stars in the Ursa Major constellation being of Northern stars. Ursa Major is translated into "Big Bear". More specifically heed the note in the side margin which is displayed below.



"Eesh" is also a reference to "the constellation of the bear".
  
H.W.F. Gesenius goes on to illustrate the collaborative relationship between the Hebrew word "`Esh" and the Arabic word "`Aasa" and "`Essa" and defines this as "nightly watcher". Immediately this begins to collaborate in great detail with the Qur'an.

The Chapter entitled "al-Taariq" meaning "The Nightly Visitant" states in verses 1-3:


By the Sky and the Night-Visitant (therein);-


And what will explain to thee what the Night-Visitant is?-


(It is) the Star of piercing brightness;-   

Regarding Verse 3 of this Chapter, the Master Qur'an interpreter, Imam Suyuti states in his book "al-Durr al-Manthoor fee Tafseer al-Ma'thoor":
  
"And it has been narrated that Ibn Jareer said, by the report of Mujaahid, about the verse: "It is a star of piercing brightness" that this means the star of Pleiades."

["al-Durr al-Manthoor fee Tafseer al-Ma'thoor", Jalal ad-Deen al-Suyuti, under "Surat al-Taariq

"Ibn Zayd stated, Verily, it is the star of Pleiades."
[Imam Qurtubi, Tafseer al-Qurtubi, under "Surat al-Taariq"] "

Thus, the Qur'an also refers to the star of Pleiades of Taurus ["Thaur ath-Thurayyah"] as a nightly visitant. The correlation is clear and the consistency between the Qur'an and early pre-Biblical prophetic thought, as old as 2000 years before its compilation, is to its credit.

To be continued..

But what does the "Star" have to do with Jesus?

First and foremost, it is probably one of the most historically significant signs of the Messiah foretold.

I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not night: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel..." [Numbers 24:17]  

The Hebrew word for "Star" in this verse is "Kokab" . From this word "Kokab" came the title "Kokhba"  which was given unto Simeon bar-Koziba when he was endorsed as the Messiah by the revolutionary Jewish Rabbi, Akiba ben-Yosef.

"Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph, a highly esteemed teacher of the period, enthusiastically supported the rebels and conferred the name Bar Kokhba (Son of the Star) upon their leader. Akiba also hailed him as the Messiah."
[Encyclopedia Britannica, Reference Index V, page 872]

As Bar-Kokhba was falsely assumed as the Messiah he was killed in battle against the Romans in the year 135 A.D.

Regarding the "Star" being the sign of the Messiah:

The Theological Word Book of the Old Testament which is a compilation of entries from Brown-Driver-Briggs and Gesenius defines "Kokab" as:

"1. star - a. of Messiah, brothers, youth, numerous progeny, personification, God's omniscience."
[Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, Brown-Driver-Briggs, H.W.F. Gesenius]

Prophets are named after the events surrounding their birth:

Adam -   ("Aadam") - from -   ("Dum") - meaning "blood" and/or "reddish". The Bible gives no explanation as to why Adam was called by this name and does not even detail when God gave him this name. It just suddenly starts talking about "the man" as "Adam". It could possibly refer to the blood which gives mankind life, or it could refer to the blood which mankind is often wanton to shed.

However, the Qur'an does give an idea as to why Adam may have been named after "blood". In surah al-Baqara 2:30, Allah says:


Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."

sonny~~

top  :re:

For Muslims in this forum to read,  ponder & maybe discuss during the tranquility of this beautiful month of Ramadan...

BeanDiesel

Originally posted by KENNKID at 1/15/04 11:34 PM

Christians seem to have an incredible ego, especially when it comes to other religions. Almost without exception, a Christian believes that his is the only true religion.

:hmm: I think most, if not all of us here have that in us, regardless of our religion.

i212

WAH... THANKS KENNKID.... WHAT AN EXPLANATION....

yusmar

excellent KENNKID.....but I guess evil lurks everywhere ya....even in CARI, therefore we must be patient when front with this situation.

Truth.8

Originally posted by BeanDiesel at 4-10-2006 02:15 PM


:hmm: I think most, if not all of us here have that in us, regardless of our religion.

agreed. in another word , they should look at mirror in this ramaddan

i212

HEHEHEH... TRUTH.8, DO YOU NEED AN AID?