The original name of Joshua was Hoshea (^'v^JiS^, sacinrj), as appears in Numb, xiii, 8, 16, which was changed by Moses into Jehoshua {•JVir\'^, Jehovah is his sulratmi), as appears in Numb, xiii, IG ; 1 Chron. vii, 27, being elsewhere Anglicized " Joshua." After the exile he is called by the abridged form of this name, Jeshuu ("VJ"^, If/.), whence the Greek name 'I>;f7oi;c, by which this is always represented in the Sept. This last Heb. form differs "little from the abstract noun from the same root, il"Vd"', yeshuuh', deliverance, and seems to have been understood as equivalent in import (see Matt. i,22 ; comp. Ecchis. xlvi, 1).
The " name of Jesus" (Phil, ii, 10) is not the name Je- sus, but " the name above every name" (ver. 9) ; i. e. the supreme dignity and authority with which the Fatlier has invested Jesus Christ as the reward of his disinter- ested exertions in the cause of the divine glory and hu- man happiness; and the bowing iv ti^ ovoitari '\r]aov is obviously not an external marlc of homage when the iiime Jesus is pronounced, but the inward sense of awe I nd submission to him who is raised to a station so ex- aiti^d.
The conferring of this name on our Lord was not the result of accident, or of the ordinary course of things, but was the effect of a direct divine order (Luke i, 31 ; ii,21), as indicative of his saving function (Matt, i, 21). Like tlie other name Immanuel (q. v.), it does not neces- sarily import the di .'ine character of the wearer. This, however, clearly results from the attributes given in the same connection, and is plainly taught in numerous pas- sages (see especially Rom. i,3,4; ix, ,')).
For the import and application of the name Christ, see Messiah.
For a full discussion of the name Jesus, including many fanciful etymologies and explanations, witli their refutation, see Gesenius, Thes. Ileb. ii, 582 ; Simon. Onom. V. T. p. 519 sq. ; Fritzsche, De nomine Jesii (Freiburg, 1705) ; (Jlodius, De nom. Chr. et Marice Ai-abicis (Lips. 1721) ; llottinger, f/ist. Orient, p. 153, 157 ; Seclen, AM- i/uf. exerj. ii, 413 ; Thiess, Krit. Comment, ii, 395 ; A. Pfeif- fer, De nomine Jesu, in his treatise De Tulmude Judcno~ rum, p. 177 scj. ; Bauragarten, Betrcichf. d. A'amens .lesn (Halle, 173()); Chrysander, J)e vera J'orma atque <iii- jJiasi nominis ,/esu (Klntel. 1751) ; Osiander, llarmoiiia J-Auinrjeiica (Basil. 1561), lib. i, c.6 ; Chemnitius, De nom- ine Jesu, in the 'J'hes. Theol. Philol. (Amst. 1702), vol. ii, p. 02 ; Canini, Disquis. in loc. aliq. X. T., in the Crit. Sac. ix ; (iass, De titroqve J. C. nomine, Dei filH et nominis (Vratistl. 1840) ; and other monographs cited in Volbe- ding's Index, p. 6, 7 ; and in Hase's Lehen Jesu, p. 51.
H. Personal Circumstances of our Lord. — (In this branch of our subject we largely translate from Winer, i, 5.56 s(i.)— 1. General Vieit:— The following is a naked statement of the facts of his career as they may be gath- ered from the evangelical narratives, supposing them to be ciilitled simjily to tlic credit due to ]irofane history. (For literature, see Volbeding, p. 5G; Hase, p. 8.) The founder of the Christian religion was born (B.C. G) at Bctlilehcm, near Jerusalem, under the reign of the em- peror Augustus, of Mary, at the time betrothed to the carpenter (rfK-nuv) Joseph, and descended from the royal house of Uavid (Matt, i, 1 scj. ; Luke iii, 23 sq. ; comp. John vii, 42). Soon after his birth he was com- pelled to escape from the murderous designs of Herod the Great by a hasty flight into tlie adjacent p.irts of Egypt (Matt, ii, 13 S(i. ; according to liie tradition at
:Matarea, see Evam/el. infant. A rab. c. 24 ; apparently a place near old Heliopolis, where is still shown a very old mulberry-tree under which Mary is said to have rested with the babe, see Prosp. Alpin, Rer. JEg. i, 5, p. 24 ; Paulus, Saniml. iii, 256 sq. ; Tischendorf, Reisen, i, 141 sq. ; comp. generally Hartmann, Erdbeschr. v. Afri- ca, i, 878 sq.). See Egypt ; Herod. But immediate- ly after the death of this king his parents returned to their own country, and settled again (Luke i, 26) in Nazareth (q. v.), in Lower Galilee (Matt, ii, 23; comp. Luke iv, 16; John i, 46, etc.), where the youthful Jesus so rapidly matured (Luke ii, 40, 52), that in his twelfth year the boy evinced at the metropolis traits of an un- common religious intelligence, which excited astonish- ment in all the spectators (Luke ii, 41 sq.). With this event the historj- of his youth concludes in the canon- ical gospels, and we next find him, about the thirtieth year of his age (A.D. 25), in the neighborhood of the bead Sea, at the Jordan, where he suffered himself to be consecrated for the introdueti,>n of the new divine dispensation (/jauiXctct tov Oiov) by the symbol of wa- ter baptism at the hands of Jolni the Baptist (Matt, iii, 13 sq. ; Mark i, 9 sq.; Luke iii. 21 sq.; John i, 32 sq.). He now began, after a forty-days' fast (comp. 1 Kings xix,8) spent in the wilderness of Judrea (Matt, iv, 1-11; Mark i, 12 sq. ; Luke iv, 1-13) in quiet meditation upon his mission, to publish openly in person this " kingdom of God," by earnestly summoning his countrymen to re- pentance, i. e. a fundamental reformation of their senti- ments and conduct, through a new birth from the Holy Spirit (John iii, 3 sq.). He repeatedly announced him- self as the mediator of this dispensation, and in pursu- ance of this character, in correction of the sensual ex- pectations of the people with reference to the long- hoped-for Eedeemer (comp. Luke iv, 21), he chose from among his early associates and Galitean countrymen a small number of faithful disciples (Matt, x), and with them travelled, especially at the time of the Paschal festival and during the summer months, in various di- rections through Palestine, seizing every opportunity to impress pure and fruitful religious sentiments upon the populace or his immediate disciples, and to enlight- en tlicm concerning his own dignity as God's legate (n'tuc Tov HioT), Avho should abolish the sacrificial ser- vice, and teach a worship of God, as tlic common Father of mankind, in spirit and in truth (.John iv, 24). With these expositions of doctrine, which all breathe the no- blest practical spirit, and were so carefully adapted to the capacity and apprehension of the hearers that in respect to clearness, simplicity, and dignified force they are still a pattern of true instruction, he coupled, in the spirit of the Old-Testament prophets, and as his age expected from the IMessiah, wonderful deeds, especially cliarit'dile cures of certain diseases at that time very lin\nlcnt and regarded as incurable, but to these he liiniscif appears to have attributed a subordinate value. By this means he gathered about him a considerable company of true adherents and thankful disciples, chief- ly from the middle class of the people (John vii, 49 ; and even from the despicable publicans. Matt, ix, 9 sq. ; Luke v, 27 sq.) ; for the eminent and learned were re- pelled by the severe reproofs which he uttered against their corrupt maxims (Mark xii,38 sq.), their sanctimo- nious (Luke xii, 1 ; xviii, 9 sq.) and hypocritical jiunctil- iousness (Luke xi, 39 sq.; xviii, 9 sq.), and against their prejudices, as being subversive of all true religion (John viii, 33; ix, 16), as well as by the slight regard which (in comparison with their statutes) he paid to the Sab- bath (.lohn V, 16); and as he in no respect correspond- ed to their expectations of the IMessiah, fuUof animosi- ty, they made repeated attempts to seize his person (Mark xi, 18; John vii, 30, 44). At last they succeed- ed, by the assistance of the traitor Judas, in taking him prisoner in the very capital, where he had just partaken of a parting meal in tlie familiar circle of his friends (the Passover), upon which he engrafted the initiatory rite of a new covenant; and thus, without exciting any