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Ἰησοῦς

Iēsoûs

G2424 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Personal name. Most prominently refers to 1) Iēsoûs of Nazareth, figure from 1st-century Judea; 2) Joshua son of Nun—the successor to Moses in Israelite tradition—as well as lesser-known Israelites in the Greek Bible. The core meaning is 'Yahweh is salvation' but the Greek term is used as a proper name for various individuals, primarily in reference to Yeshua/Joshua. In Hellenistic and Roman contexts, Ἰησοῦς designates persons with the Hebrew/Aramaic name Yĕhōšūaʿ or Yēšūaʿ, and does not inherently carry theological meaning.

Semantic Range

personal name used for: (1) Joshua son of Nun, (2) Iēsoûs of Nazareth, (3) other Israelites or Judeans named Yĕhōšūaʿ/Yēšūaʿ; generic Hebrew/Aramaic personal name rendered into Greek; does not inherently carry theological meaning

Root / Etymology

From Hebrew יְהוֹשׁוּעַ (Yĕhōšūaʿ; later abbreviated to יֵשׁוּעַ, Yēšūaʿ), via transliteration into Greek as Ἰησοῦς. The name is constructed from יהוה (Yahweh) + the root י-ש-ע ('to save, deliver'). The Greek form represents a phonetic rendering adapted to Greek morphology, with a masculine nominative singular ending -ς.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Ἰησοῦς first occurs as the Greek rendering of 'Joshua' in the Septuagint, referring to Moses' successor (e.g., LXX Exodus, Joshua). In 1st-century Judean and Hellenistic settings, Ἰησοῦς was a relatively common personal name, especially among Israelites/Judeans. The New Testament uses Ἰησοῦς almost exclusively for Iēsoûs of Nazareth but also for other figures (e.g., Luke 3:29, Colossians 4:11 = 'Jesus called Justus'), as well as Joshua son of Nun (Hebrews 4:8, Acts 7:45). English Bibles often use 'Jesus' for the central figure of the New Testament and 'Joshua' for the ancient leader, though the Greek form is identical. The translation tradition has influenced the semantic separation between 'Jesus' and 'Joshua' which did not exist in Greek or Hebrew usage. The use of Ἰησοῦς in the New Testament is context-dependent and does not automatically convey later theological import. In the Septuagint, Ἰησοῦς is found not only as a personal name but occasionally as a type of Hellenistic onomastics rendering Hebrew names ending in -shua. The form does not occur in classical Greek prior to the Septuagint.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

of Hebrew origin (יְהוֹשׁוּעַ); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:--Jesus.

Root Family

Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) — personal name, Yahweh is salvation, Joshua/Iēsous

Root Ἰησοῦ- personal name, Yahweh is salvation, Joshua/Jesus
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G2962 κύριος Yeshua

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G2424-03 Ἰησοῦς iesous N NOM M SG Iēsous Iēsous Iesous 457
G2424-01 Ἰησοῦ iesou N GEN M SG Iēsous of Iēsous Iesous 331
G2424-02 Ἰησοῦν iesoun N ACC M SG Iēsous Iēsous Iesous 126
G2424-04 Κύριον kurion N ACC M SG Lord master Iesous 1

Occurrences in Scripture

915 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G2424-01 Matthew 1:1 Ἰησοῦ iesou N GEN M SG of Iēsous of Iēsous Iesous
G2424-03 Matthew 1:16 Ἰησοῦς iesous N NOM M SG Iēsous Iēsous Iesous
G2424-01 Matthew 1:18 Ἰησοῦ iesou N GEN M SG Iēsous of Iēsous Iesous
G2424-02 Matthew 1:21 Ἰησοῦν iesoun N ACC M SG Iēsous Iēsous Iesous
G2424-02 Matthew 1:25 Ἰησοῦν iesoun N ACC M SG Iēsous Iēsous Iesous
G2424-01 Matthew 2:1 Ἰησοῦ iesou N GEN M SG was born of Iēsous Iesous
G2424-03 Matthew 3:13 Ἰησοῦς iesous N NOM M SG Jesus Iēsous Iesous
G2424-03 Matthew 3:15 Ἰησοῦς iesous N NOM M SG Jesus Iēsous Iesous
G2424-03 Matthew 3:16 Ἰησοῦς iesous N NOM M SG Jesus Iēsous Iesous
G2424-03 Matthew 4:1 Ἰησοῦς iesous N NOM M SG Jesus Iēsous Iesous
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