Jesus's family name

[beso]

Were Jesus's parents Joseph and Mary Christ?

And where does Emanuel fit in. The Old Testament prophecy said He would be called Emanuel.

So is His name Jesus Emanuel Christ?

[jno]

Christ is a Greek name. People are unlikely to have had surnames then - they didn't have them in English until the late Middle Ages. He might have been known as Jesus, son of Jospeh

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08374x.htm

[beso]

What about Judas Iscariot? Was this his surname or some Greek too?

[ChuckFickens]

The significance of "Iscariot" is uncertain. There are two major theories on etymology:

* The most likely explanation derives Iscariot from Hebrew איש־קריות, Κ-Qrîyôth, or "man of Kerioth". The Gospel of John refers to Judas as "son of Simon Iscariot",[2] implying it was not Judas, but his father, who came from there.[3] Some speculate that Kerioth refers to a region in Judea, but it is also the name of two known Judean towns.[4]

* A second theory is that "Iscariot" identifies Judas as a member of the sicarii.[5] These were a cadre of assassins among Jewish rebels intent on driving the Romans out of Judea. However, some historians maintain the sicarii arose in the 40s or 50s of the 1st century, in which case Judas could not have been a member.[6]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Iscariot

[DTCwordfan]

Wasn't Jesus's surname 'Carpenter'?

That would explain why Richard and Karen Carpenter thought that they were gods of music.

[Count-A-Strong]

Must have been a nightmare for the postman.

[beso]

Thanks jno, I followed the link.

So Jesus was really Joshua. That is one of the really common names in English so all those Mohameds are not so unusual after all.

[beso]

Good work Chuck.

I like the assassin theory. The purveyors of the new religions would have liked to paint Judas as a bad boy to the Romans when they were on the membership drive.

The chronological implausibility would not have been a problem since the New Testament was written late in the first century in a historical setting.

[beso]

Karen Carpenter had the voice of an angel. I sing her songs sometimes just to indulge in the fantasy of the rich beauty of her voice.

Her demise was a tragedy. I sometimes wonder what more she could have brought to music had she lived.

[jomifl]

Hi Beso, playing 'Goodbye to Love' on the tenor sax is about as close as I can get.

[Mosaic]

In his own language his name would have been something like Joshua Ben-Joseph ie Josh son of Joe. The small communities of the time didn't use surnames as we do.
Immanuel = God is with us.
So, naming this person Immanuel is a way of saying he is god and has come to earth.
Christ and jesus are greek - the lingua franca of the Roman world. Jesus is Joshua in greek, and Christ means 'anointed' in greek. Anointing with rare valuable oils was an ancient tradition used in worship and as ameans of showing great respect to high-ranking people.

[Mosaic]

I think it is possible that a charismatic individual was caught up in the ructions of jewish resistance to roman rule. But I don't think dead men come back to life.

[ludwig]

So his name was Josh Josephson. Cool.

[Andyvon]

There were many Jewish resistance leaders to Roman rule in Judea and the figure that Christianity developed around was almost certainly one of those. Many accounts in the Old Testament probably relate to the resistance activities of the Jewish rebel we know as Jesus. For example:

The palm leaf was the recognised symbol of resistance to Rome. Jesus decided to enter Jerusalem at Passover which was always a flashpoint for the discontented crowd. All leave was cancelled for Roman soldiers at Passover and the city swarmed with spies. Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem - not on foot as everyone did including even the Roman governer - but riding an ass to show his contempt for the Jewish sanhedrin who ruled the city. The people then threw palm leaves as a sign of their support.

Jesus then entered the Temple and kicked over the moneychangers' tables. The Temple was sacred and no commerce allowed but the Sanhedrin abused that by permitting money changers who they then taxed. Roman spies quickly alerted the Sanhedrin of yet another troublemaker and they arranged his arrest. Pilate just wanted Jesus flogged and thrown out the city but the Sanhedrin insisted he be executed in the manner of traitors as an example - hence the mocking "King of the Jews" put on the cross.

There are many other accounts of Jesus's resistance activities during his life. After Jesus's death different sects of early Christians wove the tapestry we know today as Jesus. The concept of a divine Son of God was cemented by Constantine I at the Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325AD after adopting Christianity as the state religion of the empire in 313AD.

As Mosaic says 'Christos' is a Greek term for 'The Annointed One' (early Christians mostly spoke and wrote Greek). Jesus may well have been known as Yeshua ben Miriam - Joshua son of Mary.

[naomi24]

It was more likely that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an ass deliberately to fulfil the ancient prophecy in Zechariah 9:9.

//Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass.//

The prophecy speaks of 'your king', and one theory suggests that Jesus, as the son of Joseph and therefore a descendant of the House of David, was indeed the rightful king of Israel. (Herod held the throne by Roman appointment). If we dissect the story, disposing of the superstitious magic and hocus pocus, this theory would appear to make quite a lot of sense. It explains why the 'wise men' might have travelled specifically to see a supposedly insignificant infant born to a carpenter and his wife - (actually I think they came possibly to organise his education abroad) - it explains why those wise men thought this baby was so important that they went to King Herod to ask where to find the child, and it also explains Herod's slaughter of the innocents in an attempt to dispose of the threat to his throne. It even explains why Jesus was given the Greek title 'Christos' meaning 'anointed one'. I think this is precisely why the legend 'King of the Jews' was attached to the cross - because he was King of the Jews. There was nothing mystical or holy or supernatural about Jesus. He was a man - son of Mary and Joseph - but he was a troublemaker and a threat to the fragile political stability of a very volatile area of the world. He was dangerous and therefore he had to be disposed of.

Incidentally, I don't think he died on the cross - I think he was rescued - and I also think he would be appalled if he could see what men had created in his name and the stupidity that has grown up around his history - but both those thoughts are different stories. The history of Jesus is the ultimate Miss Marple mystery - but

[naomi24]

continued ....

but - tut! Weeping and wailing and speaking in tongues indeed!! What utter, utter claptrap - literally!

There is some information about the name Emmanuel here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immanuel

[beso]

When the whole story is is a fiction anything is possible.

Funny how a guy that could bring anything back to life at will bothered to go through dying on the cross.

I am sure he would have go a lot more attention if the nails just bent when they tried to drive them though his hands.

[naomi24]

I don't think we can assume the whole story is a fiction. The magical bits, yes, but not necessarily the rest.

[chakka35]

The OT never said that he would be called Immanuel/Emanuel. The part of Isaiah to which you refer had nothing to do with any future miracle-worker called Jesus. I can explain if you like.