# Pronunciation of names in The Bible.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 24, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629 "2002-12-24T00:10:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629/1 "2002-12-24T00:10:07Z")

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How were names like Jesus, Mary, Peter, Paul, Matthew, etc. pronounced at the time?

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**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629/2 "2002-12-24T00:27:10Z")

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well, it depends if they were speaking in hebrew or greek. Jesus would be Joshua in greek, methinks. i’ll track down an interlinear greek ntonline and get back with you.

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**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629/3 "2002-12-24T00:35:48Z")

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hold on…i think that jesus would be ee-o-sus, matthew would be math-ee-on,…still on the track

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**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629/4 "2002-12-24T00:42:31Z")

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Yeshua, Miryam, Petrus, Paulus, Matityahu.

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**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629/5 "2002-12-24T00:43:11Z")

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ee-ay-soos for Jesus, peter would be petroo; matthion would be matthew, ee-o-sef for joseph; pol-ose for paul in greek…

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**Author:** ![Boxer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47774/32.png) [@Boxer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boxer)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629/6 "2002-12-24T00:45:20Z")

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This is a very difficult question. I assume you want to know how the Aramaic speaking people of the area pronounced them at that time?

Now, the Hebrew that is a close cousin to Aramaic did not write down vowels so one can not always be absolutely certain which vowel sound is even intended.

The one I have looked in to most seriously is Jesus and I am fairly certain that it would be pronounced Yeshua, with the main accent on the “u”. However,this only applies to the use of the name as a subject.

I really don’t know if you can get a very definitive answer on this, though. The New Testament is written in Greek and a backwater Greek, at that. And about the only place those names (as used of the actual characters in the Palestinian New Testament times) were recorded was in the New Testament. You might find the name “Paul” recorded in Josephes’ (sp) work.  
I believe that even the names, would have different endings depending on their use as a noun, direct object, or other part of speech in the sentence. If you are presenting a play or something and want to sound authentic, you would really have to know New Testament Aramaic.

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**Author:** ![Boxer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47774/32.png) [@Boxer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boxer)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronunciation-of-names-in-the-bible/144629/7 "2002-12-24T00:46:23Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Alessan \*  
> \*\*Yeshua, Miryam, Petrus, Paulus, Matityahu. \*\*

I would vote for that!