Jesus (name)

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For other uses, see Jesus (disambiguation).
"Jesu" redirects here. For the band, see Jesu (band).

Jesus
Given Name
Pronunciation /ˈdʒiːzəs/ or /heɪˈsus/
Gender Male
Meaning "Yahweh is salvation"
Wikipedia articles All pages beginning with Jesus
Look up Jesus in
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The proper name Jesus, (meaning "Yahweh (Yahweh/Jehovah) is salvation") referring to Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of the New Testament, is attested in English from the 12th century (spelled Iesus or Ihesus), transliterating the Greek word Ίησους (Iēsous), from the original Hebrew Yeshua or Yehoshua (i.e. Joshua).[1]

Other historical characters named Jesus include Jesus ben Ananias and Jesus ben Sirach. Jesus is also a contemporary given name, in particular in the Spanish-speaking world (spelled Jesús and pronounced [xeˈsus]), e.g. Jesús Alou (born 1942).

Contents

[edit] Greek and Latin declination

The original Greek of the New Testament uses the name Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous), a rendition of the Hebrew Yeshua.[2] As in Greek, Iesus in Latin was declined as an athematic stem (u-stem).

Latin Iesus Greek Iēsous
Nominative Iesus Nominative Ιησους
Genitive Iesu Genitive Ιησου
Dative Iesu Dative Ιησου
Accusative Iesum Accusative Ιησουν
Vocative Iesu Vocative Ιησου
Ablative Iesu
Locative Iesu Locative Ιησου

The plural is not attested for obvious reasons.

[edit] Jesu

Jesu (IPA: /ˈʤiːzuː/, from Latin Iesu) is sometimes used as the vocative of Jesus in English. Latin Iesu besides the vocative ("O Jesus!") also represents the genitive case ("of Jesus") and the dative and ablative cases ("to/from/for Jesus"). The Latin forms derive from Greek Ἰησοῦ (Iēsou), the vocative, genitive and dative-locative of Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous). Use of the inflected Latin forms in English is now considered an archaism. It is, however, still encountered in Early Modern hymns and prayers: most famously in Johann Sebastian Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. However, in Jesus bleibet meine Freude, the hymn's original title, Jesus appears in the nominative. Compare Jesu meine Freude, Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen (both vocatives), Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod (genitive) and other titles. The use of the inflected forms remains common among educated German speakers also outside of fixed titles and expressions.

The oblique form, Iesu., came to be used in Middle English: John Wycliffe (1380s), who spells the name Jhesus, does use Jhesu in oblique cases, and also in the accusative, and sometimes, apparently without motivation, even for the nominative.

  • Luke 4:34, and seide, Suffre, what to vs and to thee, Jhesu of Nazareth? art thou comun to leese vs? (vocative)
  • Luke 27:27, Thanne knyytis of the iustice token Jhesu in the moot halle (accusative)
  • Mark 2:15, many pupplicans and synful men saten togidere at the mete with Jhesu and hise disciplis (dative)
  • Mark 15:45, and whanne he knewe of the centurion, he grauntide the bodi of Jhesu to Joseph. (genitive)

Tyndale in the 16th century has the occasional Iesu in oblique cases and in the vocative; The 1611 KJV uses Iesus throughout, regardless of syntax.

Jesu came to be used in English, especially in hymns. The use of the form Jesu is not limited to the possessive case, but, as in the Greek, also applies to the vocative case ("O Jesu, I have promised!" and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring") and the dative case ("to Jesu"). Indeed, in most instances, Jesu is used in the vocative in English. As a possessive, this form is mostly used with of: "the love of Jesu my Lord". However, in some cases it may simply be placed before the noun: "Jesu heart".

[edit] Jesus' or Jesus's

Main articles: Possessive apostrophe and Saxon genitive

[edit] As expletive or attribute

Further information: wikt:Jesus H. Christ and Jeez

Used as part of an oath or exclamation of surprise or annoyance, the name appears in the 1377 Piers Plowman (Bi iesus), in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1592) in Iesu a very good blade, a very tall man. Joyce's 1922 Ulysses has, for example Yes, sir. No, sir. Jesus wept: and no wonder, by Christ (39). The 1923 issue of Dialect Notes (V. 212, cited by the OED) records that Jesus Christ was an expletive common to both men and women, and was not considered in any way profane.

The name is also used to identify an evangelical Christian, e.g. "Jesus-shouters", "Jesus freak", "Jesus shop". la vierege a la fan est une putte

[edit] People with the given name Jesus

[edit] See also

Look up Jesus in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Liddell and Scott. Greek-English Lexicon, pg. 824.
  2. ^ Liddell and Scott. Greek-English Lexicon, pg. 824.
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