# Is Jesus connected to Esau? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jesus-connected-to-esau/975051 "2022-11-16T20:10:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jesus-connected-to-esau/975051/1 "2022-11-16T20:10:38Z")
I just noticed that Jesus in Aramaic is something like “Yeshua” which in turn is something “Esau.” Is this just a coincidence or is there some sort of etymological connection? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jesus-connected-to-esau/975051/2 "2022-11-16T20:27:39Z")
Not that I’m aware of. They have different meanings. The /sh/ and /s/ aren’t the same letter (though as letters, I assume they derive from the sae proto-Semutic source marked as aspirated or not aspirated). ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jesus-connected-to-esau/975051/3 "2022-11-16T21:16:20Z")
Just coincidence. Esau (meaning “hairy”) is ayin-shin-waw. Jesus = Yeshua, short for Yehoshua (meaning “God saves”), which is yodh-he-shin-waw-ayin. Ancient Hebrew didn’t write the vowel sounds. Ayin is a rough breathing sound. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jesus-connected-to-esau/975051/4 "2022-11-16T22:11:26Z")
But, if I understand correctly, “Jesus” _is_ connected to “Joshua.” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jesus-connected-to-esau/975051/5 "2022-11-16T22:24:54Z")
Well, it’s obviously the exact same name (or at most a slight variation) if you take into account Latinization ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2022, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jesus-connected-to-esau/975051/6 "2022-11-17T00:33:39Z")
Link here: [Jesus (name) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_(name)) > The name _Jesus_ is derived from the Hebrew name _Yeshua/Y’shua_, which is based on the [Semitic root](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic_root) _y-š-ʕ_ (Hebrew: ישע), meaning “to deliver; to rescue.”[[12]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_(name)#cite_note-12)[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_(name)#cite_note-13)[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_(name)#cite_note-14) Likely originating in [proto-Semitic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Semitic) (yṯ’), it appears in several Semitic personal names outside of Hebrew, like in the Aramaic name [Hadad Yith’i](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadad_Yith%27i), meaning “Hadad is my salvation”. Its oldest recorded use is in an [Amorite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorite) personal name from 2048 B.C.[[15]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_(name)#cite_note-Aitken-15) > > By the time the [New Testament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament) was written, the [Septuagint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint) had already transliterated ישוע (_Yeshuaʿ_) into [Koine Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koine_Greek) as closely as possible in the 3rd-century [BCE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCE), the result being Ἰησοῦς (_Iēsous_) Which isn’t anything new to the thread, but gives you plenty to dive into if you want to follow up on the linked articles and analysis.