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Joshua (name)

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Joshua (name)
Joshua and the Israelite people by Karolingischer Buchmaler, c.840
Pronunciation/ˈɒʃuə/[1]
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameHebrew (יהושעYehoshua)
Meaning"YHWH is salvation"
Region of originMiddle East
Other names
Related namesJesus, Josue, Josh, Jason, Yeshua, Joseph
[2][3][4]

Joshua is a given name derived from the Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ‎‎ (Modern: Yəhōšūaʿ, Tiberian: Yŏhōšūaʿ),[5] prominently belonging to Joshua, an early Hebrew leader of the Exodus period who has a major role in several books of the Bible. The name was a common alternative form of the name יֵשׁוּעַ‎ (Yēšūaʿ) which corresponds to the Greek spelling Ἰησοῦς (Iesous), from which, through the Latin Iesus, comes the English spelling Jesus.[6][7] As a result of the origin of the name, a majority of people before the 17th century who have this name were Jewish. A variant, truncated form of the name, Josh, gained popularity in the United States in the 1920s.

Popularity

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Information from the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics from 2003 to 2007 shows "Joshua" among the top-five given names for newborn males.[8] In Scotland, the popularity of "Joshua" has been substantially lower than in the rest of the United Kingdom, appearing at rank 35 in 2000 and rising to rank 22 in 2006.[9][10]

Biblical figures

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  • Joshua, leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses
  • Jesus, known in his own tongue as Yeshua, an Aramaic form of Yehoshua (Joshua)
  • Joshua the High Priest, High Priest ca. 515–490 BC after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity

Ancient world

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Ordered chronologically
  • Joshua ben Perachiah (given name יהושע‎ = Yehoshua), Nasi (prince) of the Sanhedrin in the latter half of the 2nd century BC
  • Joshua ben Hananiah (given name יהושע‎ = Yehoshua) (died 131), a tanna (sage)
  • Joshua ben Levi, Jewish amora (scholar) in the first half of the third century
  • Joshua the Stylite, author of a chronicle of the war between the Later Roman Empire and the Persians between 502 and 506

Medieval period

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Modern era

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Pre-20th century

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20th and 21st centuries

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Fictional characters

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Joshua at Oxford Dictionaries Online
  2. ^ A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament Francis Brown, with S.R. Driver and C.A. Briggs, based on the lexicon of William Gesenius. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 221 & 446
  3. ^ Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for Yĕhowshuwa` (Strong's 03091)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996–2008. 16 Feb 2008. http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H3091 Archived 2008-03-06 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Behind the name – Joshua- feminine form http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/39476
  5. ^ Khan, Geoffrey (2020). The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1. Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1783746767.
  6. ^ Ilan, Tal (2002). Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity Part I: Palestine 330 BCE–200 CE (Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum 91). Tübingen, Germany: J.C.B. Mohr. p. 129.
  7. ^ Stern, David (1992). Jewish New Testament Commentary. Clarksville, Maryland: Jewish New Testament Publications. pp. 4–5.
  8. ^ "Top 100 names for baby boys in England and Wales". National Statistics Online. Office for National Statistics. 2007-12-19. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-02-17. (#2 2003–2005; #3 2006; #4 2007)
  9. ^ "Top 100 boys' and names, Scotland, 2000 (provisional) – listed alphabetically" (PDF). Occasional papers. General Register Office for Scotland. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-25.
  10. ^ "Top 100 boys' and names, Scotland, 2000 (provisional) – listed alphabetically" (PDF). Occasional papers. General Register Office for Scotland. 2006-12-18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27.