Salvation: Yeshuah יְשׁוּעָה , feminine noun (Strong’s 3444).
Root: From Yasha “to save”, יָשַׁע (yod, shin, ayin)
Sounds like: y’shoo-a
Salvation is a word we often hear bantered around during Sunday service… but what does it really mean? Take theology out of it and it means deliverance from harm, ruin or loss. Theologically it also means the same thing, with the harm/ruin/loss being death. Salvation, in the Judeo-Christian sense, is to be saved from death…it takes you beyond death and into eternity. Who brings salvation? Jesus, whose name is pronounced Yeshua in Hebrew.
What makes this so perfect is that Yeshua, in Hebrew, means “salvation”. Really, there is no better name to have given Him!
Luke 1:30-33
The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus [Yeshua: Salvation]. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Songs of Salvation
Throughout the Biblical text we are called to claim God’s salvation through song:
1 Chronicles 16:23
Sing to YHWH, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation [Yeshua-tow יְשׁוּעָתֽוֹ] from day to day.
Many of God’s greatest followers took that to heart, singing songs that magnified the Lord. Notice how each of their songs highlighted the word salvation:
Song of Moses:
Exodus 15:2-3
“YHWH is my strength and song, and to me He has become salvation [li-yeshua לִֽישׁוּעָ֑ה]; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. YHWH is a warrior; YHWH is His name.”
Hannah’s Song:
1 Samuel 2:1
“My heart exults in YHWH; My horn is exalted in YHWH, my mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation [bi-yeshua’teka בִּישׁוּעָתֶֽךָ].
There is no one holy like YHWH, indeed, there is no one besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.”
David’s Songs:
2 Samuel 22:50-51
“Therefore I will give thanks to You, O YHWH, among the nations, and I will sing praises to Your name.
He is a tower of salvation [yeshu’oht יְשׁוּע֣וֹת] to His king, and shows lovingkindness to His anointed [Messiah: li-m’schiach-ow ], to David and his descendants forever.”
Psalm 13:5-6
And I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation [b-yeshua-teka בִּֽישׁוּעָ֫תֶ֥ךָ]. I will sing to YHWH, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Habakkuk’s Song:
Habakkuk 3:12-13a, 17b-18
In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled the nations. You went forth for the salvation [l-yesha לְיֵ֣שַׁע] of Your people, for the salvation [l’yesha לְיֵ֣שַׁע] of Your Anointed (Meshiach or “Messiah” in Hebrew)…
…Though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in YHWH, I will rejoice in the God of my Salvation [bey-Elohey Yishi].
Isaiah: Salvation the Servant
Of all the prophets, Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah more than any other. The Messiah was God’s salvation plan for His people. He was to be a light to the nations, a suffering Servant, the Lamb of God, and a Salvation for the people, that would last forever:
Isaiah 49:6
He [YHWH] says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation [Yeshua-ti יְשׁוּעָתִ֖י] may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah 51:5-6
“My righteousness is near, My salvation [yishi יִשְׁעִ֔י] has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands will wait for Me, and for My arm they will wait expectantly.
Lift up your eyes to the sky, then look to the earth beneath; for the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants will die in like manner; but My salvation [wi-y’shua’ti וִישֽׁוּעָתִי֙] will be forever, and My righteousness will not wane.”
Yeshua is Salvation
At the crucifixion of Yeshua many mocked Him, while He hung on the cross, for not being able to save Himself. The wordplay between Yeshua (meaning salvation) and “to save” is lost in our English translation. Ultimately it’s ironic that a man named Salvation appeared to not be able to save himself:
Mark 15:29-31
Those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, come down from the cross and save Yourself!”
In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves, saying, “He who saved others cannot even save Himself!”
And, in a way, there is truth in that. Could Yeshua have miraculously escaped the cross? Theoretically, yes… but Yeshua was so good and perfect that He could not make Himself do it; because of His goodness He could not abandon His purpose. Having been made perfect He became the source of eternal salvation for all:
Hebrews 5:7-10a
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered, and having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…
It is for this reason that He willingly offered Himself to die… to be Salvation for everyone:
Luke 23:44-46
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The perfect name for our Saviour
Whenever you come across the word Salvation in your Bible, as an exercise, try saying the Hebrew word Yeshua or, if you prefer, Jesus. In every instance it will make perfect sense!
Isaiah 12:2
“Behold, God is my Yeshua [Salvation: Yeshua’ti יְשׁוּעָתִ֛י] , I will trust and not be afraid; for YHWH is my strength and song, and He has become my Yeshua [become my Salvation: li-Yeshua לִֽישׁוּעָֽה].”
Isaiah 52:6-7
“Therefore My people shall know My name. In that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I Am.’ How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness; who announces Yeshua [יְשׁוּעָ֑ה], and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Every Hebrew name is heavy with meaning, Yeshua (Jesus) is no exception. He was named exactly what He was: the Salvation of us all.
Next week: Healer
Hebrew Word Lessons 
From root word, verb-yasha which is masculine and means to save. Yeshua is said to be a feminine noun derivative of yasha and yesha is the masculine form. In what world is the word salvation or to save ever a noun? Only in the world of Masoretic texts and modern Hebrew with the goal of masking sacred names. Even if Yasha is in a name, in Hebrew, does it make it a noun? When the intent of the name is to describe a job or title or action of a person? Only in very modern times do names like Joseph, just mean Joseph. In biblical times every name meant something and they were never just nouns. In the OT nearly 200 characters or prophets were of Godly belief and carried the sacred name of God as Jesus also carried the sacred name of God. This topic has become so convoluted and annoying but the one thing is the truth may be hidden but it’s always there somewhere. God does not permit for the full lie to takeover. Most scholars agree to YAHWEH but EVERYONE agrees that YAH is that shortened form of God that’s in the OT more than 50 times and it’s literally in 200 plus OT names. Isaiah- YashaYAHU which literally means Yah saves or Yah is salvation or Salvation is Yah’s or To save is Yah’s. Some would even argue that the name Yah is in Yasha, therefore it’s a double use of Yah. In the OT, in the earliest translations this was the name of Joshua before he went to spy on the land for Moshe. He was Husha son of Nun. Sometimes it’s Hosea, Osee, Osea but most likely the trouble comes from the Hu being an oo sound like usha but that’s all very confusing in a sense because we are told that Yeshua means salvation but we are told that Osea/Hosea means salvation and Moshe simply adds the name of God to his name and the old KJV style bibles add JEHO but we now know that’s not right. It’s Yahu/Yah like the rest of the people with God’s name. So Yahusha because Yasha is salvation and Yahu is God’s tag. Maybe it should be Yasha plain and simple but to take in all this information and somehow come to Yeshua means salvation but say nothing about it meaning Yah is salvation is odd. The corruption of the World is deep but the corruption of the Word is just as deep or the attempt at it. Think about all those challenges to the name I’ve given and ask yourself is it simply yeshua means salvation? In the concordance they write Y’sha which they do that to stop from putting together the letters of the tetragrammaton, it’s a Jewish tradition. Yeshua can’t just mean salvation. It has to mean Yah is salvation or it doesn’t mean anything. Just like Joshua’s name means Yah is salvation. I’m no one so you can just ignore this message or you could ask yourself how the word shua which means to cry out or cry out for help became attached to the Son of God. I could be wrong but if I know the ways of this world this is their perfect setup to have an entire world saying something disrespectful, thinking it’s respectful.
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Thanks Joe. You make some interesting points worth investigating. A deep dive is always worth it… even if it just adds a new perspective!
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