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What Does the Name Jesus Mean
耶穌，這個名字的意思
作者
Jason Soroski
I am a worship pastor, and I love studying the history of Christian music. Throughout the centuries, thousands upon thousands of songs have been written about our faith, and specifically about Jesus, our Savior and the Son of God whom we worship. Many of these songs are about the name of Jesus itself. We sing that there is power in the name of Jesus, that His is the Name above all names, that the name of Jesus is a beautiful name, a powerful name, and the only name strong enough to save. We pray in the name of Jesus, and we do good deeds in His name.
我是敬拜牧師，我也很愛研讀基督音樂的歷史。過去幾百年來，有上千首關於信仰的歌曲被撰寫，尤其是耶穌，我們敬拜的救主以及上帝的獨子。很多歌曲也是關於耶穌這個名字。我們唱出耶穌這名字的力量，祂的名勝過世界上所有的名字，耶穌的名字很美麗，有力量的名字，唯一有無堅不摧而可以拯救我們的名字。我們奉耶穌的名禱告，也以祂的名行善。
But what is it about the name of Jesus itself that is so special? What makes his name so unique, and what is it that makes his name stand out from all others? The name Jesus means, “God is Salvation.”
但是耶穌這個名字為甚麼如此特別? 為甚麼祂的名字如此獨特，還有是甚麼讓祂的名字出眾? 耶穌這個名字，意味著 "上帝的救贖"。
You Are to Give Him the Name Jesus 你要給他起名叫耶穌
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary as recorded in Luke 1, he tells her that she would conceive a child that would be ‘the Son of the Most High’ and that ‘he will reign over the house of Jacob forever’. There was no doubt that this was referring to the long-awaited Messiah. The prophets had been silent for 400 years, and through this angelic announcement, the time of silence was not only over, but the words of the prophets were finally being fulfilled.
當天使加百列在路加福音第一章裡面告訴瑪利亞，祂說: "馬利亞，不要怕！你在神面前已經蒙恩了。你要懷孕生子，可以給他起名叫耶穌。他要為大，稱為至高者的兒子；主神要把他祖大衛的位給他。他要作雅各家的王，直到永遠；他的國也沒有窮盡。" 這無疑的是在說等待已久的彌賽亞。先知已經沉默了四百年，而透過這個天使傳的訊息，沉默的時間不但已經結束了，而且先知的預言也終於被實現。
It is also made clear that it was important that this child be named Jesus. Gabriel says to Mary in Luke 1:31, “Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. The name Jesus was so important that not only Mary was given this instruction, but so was Joseph. Matthew 1:21 tells us that, “she will give birth to a Son, and you shall give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins”.
這也很明確的表示把孩子取名為耶穌很重要。加百列對馬利亞在路加福音1:31說: "你要懷孕生子，可以給他起名叫耶穌。"耶穌這個名字很重要，不僅是馬利亞被指示這麼做，約瑟也是。馬太福音1:21告訴我們: "馬利亞將要生一個兒子，你要給他起名叫耶穌，因為他將要把自己的子民從他們的罪孽中拯救出來。"
A Reminder of Joshua 讓我們想起約書亞
The name Jesus is actually an English version of the Greek version of a Hebrew name. Confusing? Not really, once you know how we got there.Here’s how it works: In His time, Jesus would have been known as and called by the Hebrew name Yeshu’a. Yeshu’a is also the Hebrew name of Joshua in the Old Testament, who became the leader of Israel after the death of Moses and led the people into the promised land. Yeshu’a translates into English as the more familiar Joshua.
耶穌這個名字其實是西伯來名字希臘文版本的英文版本。很疑惑嗎? 不會的，只要你知道來龍去脈。告訴你在那時候的狀況: 在耶穌的時代，祂會被稱呼祂的西伯來文名字，也就是耶書亞。耶書亞也是在舊約中約書亞的西伯來文版本，也就是摩西死後變成以色列領導者並且把以色列人帶入應許之地的人。耶書亞翻譯成廣為人知的英文就是約書亞。
If that is the case, why is Jesus not just called Joshua? The reason is because of the time periods and cultures they lived in. Joshua is translated into English straight from Hebrew, whereas the name Jesus is also translated through the Greek. Unlike Joshua, Jesus lived in a Greek-speaking world, and once the gospel spread out of Israel into places like Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and Rome, Christianity became a faith of Greek-speaking people.
如果是這樣，那為何耶穌不叫做約書亞? 那是因為祂所處的時代還有文化。約書亞是直接從西伯來文翻譯成英文，而耶穌也是從希臘文翻譯的。而與約書亞不同的是，耶穌活在一個說希臘文的世界，當福音從以色列傳開到柯林斯，以弗所，腓立比，還有羅馬，基督教就變成說希臘文的人的信仰。
In Greek, Yeshu’a becomes Lesous, and that is the name we translate into English as Jesus. He came as the Savior of all humanity, and it was not long before even His name reflected this in the language that was, at the time, a global language. Joshua saved his people by leading them into the promised land, and Jesus would lead His people into the kingdom of God.
在希臘文裡，耶書亞變成 LESOUS，翻譯成英文就是JESUS耶穌。祂變成全人類的救贖者，而不久後祂的名字也就反映在當時全球的語言了。約書亞帶領他的人民進入應許之地，也拯救了他們，而耶穌則是帶領祂的人們進入上帝的國。
The letter Y becomes the letter J 字母Y變成J
To take the language thing a step further, there is actually no letter J in the Hebrew or Greek alphabets, which is why neither Jesus nor Joshua originally had a J at the beginning of their names. Several hundred years ago, the English letter J was actually pronounced as a Y, which explains how names like Yeshu’a became Joshua. At a certain point in time, they sounded about the same. As the sound of the letter J changed, the spelling did not.
再深入討論語言的議題，在希伯來文或是希臘文字母裡面，並沒有J這個字母，也就是為甚麼耶穌或是約書亞的開頭沒有J。幾百年前，英文字母J被唸成Y，也可以解釋為甚麼耶書亞變成約書亞。到了某一特定的時期，他們發音都很像了。當J的讀音變了，拼音卻沒有變。
Was Jesus an Uncommon Name? 耶穌在當時是不常見的名字嗎?
The name Jesus stands out to us today as a name that is unique in most cultures. When we hear the name Jesus it generally reminds us of Jesus of Nazareth. When we see a sign that says, "Jesus Saves," or "Trust in Jesus," there is little doubt as to which Jesus that sign is referring to. Yet this was not always the case.
耶穌在今日不論在任何文化裡都是獨特的名字。當我們聽見耶穌的名字，我們都會想起拿撒勒人耶穌。當我們看到"救主耶穌"，或是"相信耶穌"的標誌，我們不會疑惑這幾個標誌到底在說哪位耶穌。但是不是一直都這樣。
The name Jesus was not an uncommon name in the first century but was a fairly common name that did not stand out as it does today. There is even another Jesus listed among the early believers in the New Testament, Jesus Justus, who is mentioned by Paul in Colossians 4:11, “Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me”.
耶穌這個名字在第一世紀的時候，原本很普遍。但是不像今日一樣比較特殊。在新約聖經裡面還有另外一位JESUS，耶穌猶士都，也就是保羅在哥羅西書4:11裡面提到的:
"耶數又稱為猶士都，也問你們安。奉割禮的人中，只有這三個人是為神的國與我一同做工的，也是叫我心裡得安慰的。"
The Name Jesus Truly Makes Him One of Us 耶穌這個名字使祂成為我們之一
For centuries before the birth of Christ, the true name of God that was given to Moses at Mt. Sinai was considered too Holy and too sacred to be spoken, and so the vowel sounds were left out. One of the ten commandments was to not take the name of the Lord in vain, and so avoiding it all together was seen as a good way to avoid breaking that commandment. This practice left us with the consonants YHWH, which has been transliterated as Yahweh, or as Jehovah (because of the whole English ‘Y’ to ‘J’ thing).
在耶穌出生以前的幾百年前，在西奈山透露給摩西真正屬於上帝的名字，曾被認為太聖潔還有太神聖而不能被說，所以母音就沒有被讀出來。十誡之一就是不能不可妄稱耶和華─你神的名；因為妄稱耶和華名的，耶和華必不以他為無罪。這個作法讓我們只能讀子音YHWH，移譯成為雅威，又或是耶和華(因為英文 "Y"變成"J"的事情)。
Just how the name of God was actually pronounced remains uncertain. To this day, devout Jews will not write out the word God, but instead write it as G-d, for the same reason, because it is a Holy and sacred name, not to be taken lightly. In our modern Bibles, YHWH is typically written out as LORD in all capitals to signify this name.
上帝的名字要如何發音也還是不確定。至今，很虔誠的猶太人不會寫出上帝(GOD)，而寫成G-D，因為上述理由，因為那名字很聖潔也很神聖，不能被輕視。在我們現在所讀的聖經，YHWH通常被寫成以全大寫的LORD(上帝)。
The name Jesus, however, is not like this. Because of Jesus, God is no longer inaccessible and far away, and His very name signifies this. Because of Jesus, we have a great High Priest who can relate to us in every way. Because of Jesus, there is no longer anything separating believers from God. Because of Jesus, we have a Savior who was tempted as we are and yet did not sin.
但是耶穌這個名字，並不是這樣。因為耶穌，上帝不再是無法接近或是很遠，而祂的名字正顯示如此。因為耶穌，我們有一個大祭司可以在我們生活各個面相連結。因為耶穌，我們有一個救世主，祂被誘惑但是沒有犯罪。
Certainly, Jesus is the name above all names, and the name by which we are saved, but it is also the name chosen by the God who loved us, humbled Himself to be one of us, dwelt among us, and gave Himself up for us that we might have eternal life. Because of the wonderful name of Jesus, the unspeakable may now be spoken, the unknowable is now known, and we can truly live the full, forgiven life that God intended.
當然，耶穌的名字超越所有的名字，倚靠祂的名得救，但是這也是愛我們的上帝選的名字，讓祂委身於我們，在我們裡面居住，拋開自己為了我們可以得到永生。因為耶穌的美名，不能說的可以說了，不能參透的可以參透了，我們也可以活出上帝要我們活出完全又被赦免的生命。
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