Jesus' Last Name

I would agree that on earth he was likely known as Jesus bar Joseph, Jesus son of Joseph, or even just Jesus of Nazareth, at least at that time. I don't know that last names were really used back then.

However I don't think that Christ would be considered a last name. It's more of a title, as "Christ" is the English term for a Greek word that means "The Anointed One". (thank you wikipedia!)

But the beauty of it is that Jesus needs no last name. :D
 
okay, I'm at home where I have my study guides again. Here's some relevant Judaism history (from this site):
A Hebrew name begins with a given name, followed by ben (son of) or bat (daughter of), followed by the person's father's Hebrew name. If the person is a kohein (descendant of Aaron), the name is followed by "ha-Kohein." If the person is a Levite (descendant of the tribe of Levi), the name is followed by "ha-Levi." If the person or his father is a rabbi, some follow the name with "ha-Rav." This format of naming is seen as early as the Torah where, for example, Moses' successor Joshua is repeatedly referred to as Yehoshua ben Nun (Joshua, son of Nun). Note that the surname is not the same from generation to generation: Abraham's son Isaac is Yitzchak ben Avraham; Isaac's son Jacob is Ya'akov ben Yitzchak, and so forth. Moses' Hebrew name would be Moshe ben Amram ha-Levi (because he is a member of the tribe of Levi but not a descendant of Aaron), while his brother Aaron would be Aharon ben Amram ha-Kohein (because Aaron was a priest).
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So, while I said Jesus bar Joseph, it should have actually been Jesus ben Joseph. Additionally, "Christ" is not His last name, but rather his title.
 
I think everyone knows it, but, if we are on the subject of Jesus' name his first name was not Jesus that's the anglicized version. "Yeshua" is said to have been his Hebrew name although there is some debate over it. It would have been Hebrew whatever it was. Of course the important fact is he is the Son of God not what name you call him. I'd probably use the Hebrew name if I wanted to talk to a Jew about Jesus as they may be more receptive to it. Hebrew names have meanings too. "Yeshua" means "salvation" (once again people debate over that too).
 
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Very neat stuff.

Here's my next question, when people take the Lord's name in vain on TV shows or in a movie, they'll say, "Jesus H. Christ." What's the 'H'?
 
tjguitarz said:
Very neat stuff.

Here's my next question, when people take the Lord's name in vain on TV shows or in a movie, they'll say, "Jesus H. Christ." What's the 'H'?
Click to expand...

A quick google http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_H._Christ . I think cadence is the main reason other letters aren't used.

I've thought about cussing in depth and psychologically speaking people use "H" for the same reason they cuss overall. To convey emotional emphasis or to show a power or dominance, in either case it's about getting attention. When one cuss word becomes to common it either falls out of fashion or is modified to draw more attention. Therefore the "H" was obviously added by someone because simply taking Jesus' name in vain did not garner enough attention for them.
They might as well say Jesus "popsicle sticks" Christ, same idea. In much the same way I've heard other expletives appended together too. Now people can cuss because it was a learned behavior from their environment, however, I don't believe people do anything without choice thus a sub-conscious motivation remains (if they know how the word could be received). Example: I played Metal Gear a while back and on one occasion (after playing) I had to stop myself from saying D*** because the word is used repeatedly by the main character. However I've heard the word used often enough in other circumstances and never used it. The difference was the character using it was portrayed to be "cool" thus I think sub-consciously I was identifying with the main character and in some small way wanted to be like him or powerful/dominant.

Note I've heard Jesus ****in' Christ more often than the "H" variant... sigh :(.
 
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