The paper discusses the historical and linguistic problematic surrounding the name Jesus/‘Isa, and reviews the attempts of some Christians in the modern age to create a parallel language and to distance themselves from the terms shared with Muslims, calling in return for openness and the adoption of the shared linguistic commonalities as a tool for evangelization and dialogue, exactly as the early Fathers and saints did.
The ideas of the research revolve around the following main points:
The background of the linguistic distinction: the attempt of some Christians to use Greek or Latin words or to avoid the common terms (such as “‘Isa”) under the influence of sectarian anxieties, versus the necessity of openness in order to reach the other.
Historical evidence for the use of the name “‘Isa”: the presence of the name in the early Arab Christian heritage, such as the poems of the companion, or the pre-Islamic saint, Al-Harith ibn Ka’b.
The early Arabic translations of the Gospel in the region of Najran (the fifth century AD). The manuscripts of the Monastery of “Al-‘Isaniyya” in southern Syria.
Liturgical and historical texts, and the names of patriarchs and poets (such as Nasif Al-Yaziji).
The origin of the name ‘Isa and its development: a review of the various linguistic theories concerning the transformation of the name from Hebrew (Yeshua), Syriac, and Greek (Iesous / the sacred symbol IC), down to the Arabic form “‘Isa”.
The conclusion and the theological vision: emphasizing that the fundamental aim is to convey the message of salvation and the Savior regardless of the verbal form, and the acceptance of linguistic diversity within the framework of witnessing to Christ.
Keywords: Jesus and ‘Isa, the Arab Christian heritage, historical proper names, the Najran manuscripts, Al-Harith ibn Ka’b, the theology of dialogue.
Christians in the last historical phase tried to create a distinction in the Arabic language by distinguishing themselves with the terms that the Arab Muslims use, and many even of the shared expressions were rejected (“there is no god but God,” for example). This attempt at distinction through language was an attempt to clarify the difference between the Arab Christians and the Arab Muslims. Christians often used the names in their Greek or Latin pronunciation without Arabizing them; for example, Athanasius in Arabic is Khaled, Epiphanius: Zaher, Andronicus: Muzaffar, and Dominic: Abd al-Ahad — in an attempt by some Christians to affirm that we are not Arabs. And the writers tried to create a kind of parallel language that distances itself from the Islamic terms, out of fear of drawing the Christians toward the Islamic religion, especially since the language of the Qur’an is literary and poetic, while the language of the Bible is simple and narrative. The other reason, no doubt, is that political and sectarian partisanship always works to create differences between the religions and the denominations.
One of the most important of these names over which there is disagreement is the name Jesus. While we call Christ Jesus, the Qur’an calls Him ‘Isa, and the conflicts continue that ‘Isa in the Gospel is not ‘Isa in the Qur’an, so that this distinction remains present. But I will return to what I wrote in the article on the term Nazarenes: if our concern is evangelization in the name of Christ, then we must always search for doors through which to enter and meet the other, as the Apostle Paul did when he saw an altar on which was written “to the unknown god,” and considered it an opportunity to speak to them about Christ, and said to them: this unknown god is the one I proclaim to you. Thus we must always search for the common factor with the Muslims to create a state of dialogue, because our work in the end is the salvation of the world and evangelization with Christ. So the Christian must say that he became an apostle: (yes, we believe in ‘Isa the son of Mary mentioned in the Qur’an, but come, let us tell you more about Him, what the Qur’an does not tell you about Him) — if our concern is truly the face of Jesus.
It is worth mentioning that the name of Christ is not called ‘Isa only in Arabic, but in many languages: Turkish isa, Persian: Isa, Kurdish Isa, Amazigh Ɛisa, and Azerbaijani İsa.
1. The poems of Saint Harith ibn Ka’b:
The name ‘Isa ibn Maryam appears in the poems of the (Orthodox) saint Harith ibn Ka’b[1]:
I turned to ‘Isa son of Mary, guided aright, and the Christ named me an apostle.
My sons, fear God who is your Lord; He created you for Him as He created and created me.
Let us worship Him, glory be to Him, and none other; let us ward off through Him calamity and the great misfortunes.
And let us believe in the Gospel and the scriptures by which he who recites the revelation is guided.
2. The translation of the Gospel of the Church of Najran:
The oldest Arabic use of the name ‘Isa, instead of Jesus, apparently goes back to an Arabic translation of the Gospel, made most likely in the region of Najran (5th c. AD):
“And when ‘Isa had said this, He lifted His eyes to heaven and said: O Father ܐܳܒ݂ܝ πατερ, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You” (John 1:17), and “‘Isa said: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God and praise, that the Son of Man may be glorified through it” (John 4:11)[2].
3. The Monastery of Al-‘Isaniyya:
Mingana found the word “ܥܝܣܢܝܐ ‘Isaniyya” in a Syriac manuscript (the sixth century AD), and this expression goes back to the followers of ‘Isa. It is clear that the word is of Arabic origin, and it appears to refer to a monastery located in southern Syria, in the region of the Ghassanids[3].
- The liturgical Vespers service of the martyr (patriarch) Christophoros:
His biography says that his name at first was ‘Isa, and that he was born in Baghdad[4], and the Vespers service of his feast mentions him by his name ‘Isa:
“You took, O ‘Isa, the schema from the metropolitans and were named Christophoros, the bearer of Christ, as appeared from your deeds, for you were carrying every good thing in your breast, and you embraced Christ in your heart and lived all the days of your life.[5]” What did the writer of the venerable service mean? Did he place his name ‘Isa in the sense of Jesus, in opposition to Christophoros the God-bearer? No doubt — even if the writer did not intend this — the placing of his name before the schema and his name after it carries a strong indication of such a connection.
- Maronite patriarchs named ‘Isa:
The eleventh patriarch bears the name Yeshua I and Yeshua II: Al-Duwayhi was surprised at the existence of a Maronite patriarch named Yeshua, because the Maronites did not name anyone Yeshua, “out of reverence for the One who redeemed us by His death.” However, he went back and clarified that his name is ‘Isa, which means Yeshua in Syriac.
- The verses of the poet Nasif Al-Yaziji:
The poet Nasif Al-Yaziji uses the word Nazarenes and ‘Isa in his poem[6]
We are the Nazarenes, the kin of ‘Isa, belonging — according to the Incarnation — to the Virgin Mary.
And He is God, the Son of God, and His Spirit — three in One, not divided.
To the Father belongs the divinity of His Son, and likewise His Son, and likewise both of them, and the Spirit, under one economy.
It is useful to ask ourselves: where did the name ‘Isa and Jesus come from in Arabic?
The name Jesus, as we have heard, was not a unified pronunciation, but is subject to dialects, just as George, Gerges, Georgios, Georges, Girgi, and Giorgio… The name of Christ was heard in the pronunciations Yeshua, Yishua, Yashua, Ishua, Iesua, and Yasua, just as it was heard by some in Greek, Ethiopic, and Chaldean as Iesous, Iesou, Yesu, Isha, Isha, and Isa… This no doubt led to ‘Isa.
The name Jesus is the Arabic form of the Hebrew name (Yeshua יֵשׁוּעַ)[7], and in Syriac: ܝܫܘܥ), for the shin turns into sin in Arabic, just as Shams in Arabic is Shemesh in Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ. And His name in Greek, in the language of the Bible, is ιησου χριστου Iesou Christou, and one should note the similarity between Iesou and Isa.
Jesus with the addition of (a)
In the Arab Christian heritage, the name Jesus appears with the addition of an alif (i or a), becoming Iesu‘a. It appears in Bishop Sulayman Al-Ghazzi: “Iesu‘a was in Zion, making them speak”[8], and also “My blood was shed in the love of Iesu‘a the Christ”[9]. It appears in the biography of the two saints Ishaq Hanak and Rizqallah ibn Naba‘: “O my Lord Iesu‘a the Christ”[10], and it appears in many liturgical manuscripts: “We celebrate the birth of our Lord and God Iesu‘a the Christ”[11], and also in another manuscript: “Iesu‘a went out,” and in the book The History of Al-Ya‘qubi, in his talk about Jesus son of Mary, he writes it with the addition of (i), saying, for example: and ”Iesu‘a went out”[12].
From here we understand how the name transformed from Iesu‘a to ‘Isa. Al-Zajjaj said: ‘Isa is Arabized from Aysu‘a, and if you make it Arabic it does not decline in the definite or indefinite, because it contains the alif of the feminine, being derived from ‘asa-hu ya‘usu-hu’ (he governed him and managed him)[13]. And Al-Zamakhshari said: «And it is said: ‘Isa in Syriac is Aysu‘a»[14]. And another says: ‘Isa, peace be upon him, is a Syriac name, and therefore it does not decline; it is Aysu‘a in Syriac, which the Arabs turned into ‘Isa, and its plural is ‘Isun with a fatha on the sin, and the nisba to it is ‘Isawi[15].
Father Hanna Iskandar[16] favors the following: From the dialogue with Luxenberg, and the knowledge of the historical environment of the Gospel of ‘Isa the Christ, and its relationship to the Eastern Syriacs, and the existence of the name ‘Isa in the region of Najran on the tongue of Al-Harith ibn Ka‘b (+523), and the existence of many proper names of Arab poets that appear in the Gospel of ‘Isa, I favor that this Gospel is the source of the word ‘Isa, … The transition to this form occurred from the reading of the Syriac word Yeshua, which was translated into Arabic, in some translations, such as Vatican Arabic 13, as “Iesu‘a,” and it is pronounced “Isho” among the Syriacs, so it transitioned into Arabic as “Iesou.” And since the alif is with a kasra, it was written as an ‘ayn, and the Arabs pronounced it “‘Isu.” And perhaps to distinguish it from “‘Isu” the brother of “Jacob,” or perhaps because of an Arabic dialect in that area that pronounces the waw as alif, they pronounced it “‘Isa,” as is the case between the Eastern Syriacs and the Western Syriacs: the Easterners pronounce the accusative vowel on the alif at the end of the word, while the Westerners pronounce it as damma. And this is an example of that: “ܐܶܡܪܰܐ = amra; ܐܶܡܪܳܐ = amru”[17].
‘Isa from Yeshua
As for Sheikh Rashid Rida, he says: ” The word ” ‘Isa ” is an Arabization of ” Yeshua ” by the inversion of the letters, after making the dotted letter undotted [that is, after making the shin into sin], and this is frequent in what is transmitted from Hebrew into Arabic. For the sin of Christ and Moses is a shin in Hebrew (the Messiah), and likewise the sin of the sun is, among them, with two dots. ” End of quote from ” Tafsir Al-Manar ” (3/251). And Al-Qasimi said:” ‘Isa is an Arabization of Jesus, a Greek word meaning (Savior), and its equivalent is (Yeshua) with the dotted letter, except that it is Hebrew” (2/318).
And Father Hanna Iskandar says: I had explained that the name ‘Isa is derived from the Greek “Iesous ιησους,” and the alif turned into an ‘ayn, and the last sin turned into a shortened alif, to become ‘Isa. And this is a possible theory[18].
‘Isa from the Greek symbol ΙΣ
The priest Hikmat Kashouh[19] recently proposed a completely new theory in his latest book, The Gospels in Arabic, suggesting “that ‘Isa comes simply from Greek, written as a sacred name (nomen sacrum).” The sacred names of God and the saints were often abbreviated in both manuscripts and icons in the classical world because of their great frequency and — no doubt — to save precious space on manuscripts and icons. Almost every occurrence of the name of Jesus on Greek icons is written in the abbreviated form “ΙΣ” (the two Greek letters iota [Ι] and sigma [Σ] in capitals, with a line above the two letters indicating the abbreviation). Kashouh argues that “it is very likely that ‘Isa comes from the Greek sacred name IC (pronounced I Sa).” And he concludes: in the end, one may consider that the fact that the Qur’anic tradition preferred “‘Isa” for IC, instead of “Jesus” for Ἰησοῦς, could indicate the veneration of this name in the early Islamic era, and it was already considered a sacred name[20].
And some say: the transmission of the name Yeshua Mashihu ” into Arabic did not occur from Hebrew or Aramaic directly into Arabic, but through Greek, then Syriac. For the name Jesus in Greek ” Iesous ” is, in the vocative, ” Iesou,” because the ancient world spoke Greek. So the name came to be pronounced in the Aramaic language surrounding the Arabian Peninsula as ” ‘Isho” in the eastern Iraqi dialect, and ” ‘Isa ” in the western Aramaic dialect, or Syriac specifically. And when the Nazarenes of the children of Israel migrated to the Hijaz fleeing from the state religion, they used to combine in sanctification and naming: ”Moses and ‘Isa,” in their western Aramaic Syriac language, so it became widespread in the Hijaz in this form, and the Qur’an came down with it. And we see the great similarity between Iesou in the original Greek and Iesa, then ‘Isa.
We, as Christians, transmitted the name Jesus from the Hebrew Yeshua, while the Muslims transmitted the name Jesus from Greek. The name ‘Isa is an Arabization of the name ιησου Iesou in Greek, which became Iesa then was pronounced ‘Isa, just as the word Emesa Ἔμεσα turned into Homs, and as most researchers settled on considering that ” Emesa ” was shortened to ” Emes ” then ” Homs.”
A question arises in my mind: can we say to the American, for example, that the name of the Savior is Jesus and not jesus? Jesus was given several titles (Light, Life, Bread, Water), etc., and all of them symbolized Jesus. So why do we want to close doors that open for us so that we may evangelize others with Christ? Our role as Christians is to create doors and prepare the way for the name of Jesus to enter people’s hearts, languages, and terms. Therefore we must humble ourselves and accept the name ιησου in all languages, for the apostles did not write it as Jesus, but wrote it in Greek as Iesou, and all translations are forms in the languages of people. Our concern is that people believe in the crucified ‘Isa/Jesus, as Saint Harith ibn Ka‘b believed in ‘Isa the son of Mary.
References
- Harith ibn Ka’b (Al-Madhhiji), Al-Diwan website: https://www.aldiwan.net/poem712.html
- Father Hanna Iskandar, article “‘Isa the Christ in the Gospel of the Church of Najran in the Fifth Century AD,” published in Al-Mashriq magazine year ninety-five | part two | July – December 2021, downloaded from the academia website: https://2u.pw/gitNVnMj
- Bible Dictionary, Al-Bishara website, the name Jesus, the link: https://albishara.net/dict/K/read/4161
- Sulayman Al-Ghazzi, The Arab Christian Heritage (7), edited by Metropolitan Naufitos Edelby, part one, a general introduction to his works and poems, the Paulist Library, 1984, p. 51.
- Sulayman Al-Ghazzi, the same reference, p. 206.
- The Forgotten Saints in the Antiochian Heritage, pp. 496–497.
- Manuscript: NEST0008, Vespers of the Nativity, 25 December, University of Balamand – Center for Digital Humanities: https://pavone.uob-dh.org/?q=node/1176
- Ahmad ibn Abi Ya‘qub ibn Ja‘far ibn Wahb Ibn Wadih, the Abbasid scribe, known as Al-Ya‘qubi, Tarikh Al-Ya‘qubi (The History of Al-Ya‘qubi), volume one, sixth edition 1995, Dar Sader, Beirut, p. 69.
- p. 202, the book Studies on the Style of the Noble Qur’an, the names of the earthly ones, Al-Maktaba Al-Shamela: https://shamela.ws/book/17037/6841#p2
- p. 494, Al-Durr Al-Masun fi ‘Ulum Al-Kitab Al-Maknun, Al-Maktaba Al-Shamela: https://shamela.ws/book/9057/557#p1
- p. 30 – the book Al-Najm Al-Wahhaj fi Sharh Al-Minhaj – the book of Ila’ – Al-Maktaba Al-Shamela: https://shamela.ws/book/13783/3662#p9
- Father Hanna Iskandar, article “‘Isa the Christ in the Gospel of the Church of Najran in the Fifth Century AD,” published in Al-Mashriq magazine, year ninety-five | part two | July – December 2021, downloaded from the academia website: https://2u.pw/gitNVnMj
- See the article: The Book in Arabic since the Days of the Jahiliyya, in “Al-Mashriq,” vol. 2, 2018, pp. 541–542.
- Mirat Aqqad, Does the Name Make a Difference? An Argument for Using “‘Isa” in the Arabic Translations of the Bible, Arab Baptist Theological Seminary website, dated 27 May 2021, the link: https://2u.pw/cxcfdj57