Isa () is a

Classical Arabic Classical Arabic or Quranic Arabic () is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notably in Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid literary texts such as poetry, e ...

name which is the name given to

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

and other Islamic texts. The name Eesa (إيساء) or Isa in Arabic can also be interpreted as meaning “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh’s gift”. It is derived from the root word “Esa” (إيس) which carries the connotation of salvation or gift from God. While its most common association is with the religious context, its meaning outside of this is generally linked to divine blessings, salvation, and gifts from God.

Etymology

The English form of the name "Jesus" is derived from the Latin ''Iēsus'' and the

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old Latin ...

INRI (written on the Titulus/placard on the

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

according to John 19:19), which in turn comes from . The Greek is a Hellenized form of the Hebrew name

Yeshua Yeshua () was a common alternative form of the name Yehoshua () in later books of the Hebrew Bible and among Jewish people of the Second Temple period. The name corresponds to the Greek spelling (), from which, through the Latin /, comes the En ...

(), which is in turn a shortened form of , English ''Joshua''. East Syriac literature renders the pronunciation of the same letters as ishoʿ (išoʿ) /iʃoʕ/. The

Peshitta The Peshitta ( ''or'' ') is the standard Syriac edition of the Bible for Syriac Christian churches and traditions that follow the liturgies of the Syriac Rites. The Peshitta is originally and traditionally written in the Classical Syriac d ...

(c. 200) preserves this same spelling. The '' Encyclopedia of the Qur'an'' by

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers () is a Dutch international academic publisher of books, academic journals, and Bibliographic database, databases founded in 1683, making it one of the oldest publishing houses in the Netherlands. Founded in the South ...

quotes scholarship that notes that the Greek name Iesous, (Iēsoûs), also is known to have represented many different Biblical Hebrew names (which causes issues when seeking to find what Jesus' original Hebrew name would have been from the Greek) "Josephus used the Greek name lesous to denote three people mentioned in the Bible whose Hebrew names were not Yeshua', Y'hoshua' or Y'hoshua'. They were Saul's son Yishwi (Anglicized as 'Ishvi' in the RSV of 1 Samuel 14:49), the Levite Abishua' (mentioned in I Chronicles 6:4, etc.) and Yishwah the son of Asher (Anglicized as 'Ishva' in the RSV of Genesis 46:17). ... Josephus furnishes important evidence for the wide variety of Hebrew names represented in Greek by Iesous." Also, the classical theologians

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

and Cyril of Jerusalem both stated that the Greek name Iesous was allegedly Jesus' original name. There is a major discrepancy between the Hebrew/Aramaic and Muslim Arabic forms of this name, since the Hebrew form of this name has the voiced pharyngeal ʿayin or ʿayn consonant at the end of the name (as does Christian Arabic ''yasūʿ''), while the Muslim Arabic form ''ʿīsā'' has the ʿayn at the beginning of the name. It is also similar in the vowels to an

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

version of Jesus, viz. ''Eeshoʿ'' (Aramaic forms of the name, however, still have the voiced pharyngeal `Ayn consonant at the end of the name). [Other Aramaic pronunciations of the same name include yeshuuʕ (ʕ is the symbol for the Voiced Pharyngeal Fricative in the IPA). Vowels in Semitic languages are somewhat fluid between dialects while consonants are structurally more stable. The vowels in an Anglicized quote "Eesho`" by themselves are insignificant for this discussion since "i" and "e" and short "a" can interchange between dialects, and "u" and "o" can also interchange between dialects. The dominant consonantal discrepancy remains, between Aramaic yeshuʕ [consonantal y-sh-w-ʕ] and Arabic ʕīsa [consonantal ʕ-y-s-alef].] Scholars have been puzzled by the use of ''ʿĪsā'' in the Qur'an since Christians in Arabia used ''yasūʿ'' before and after Islam, itself derived from the Syriac form ''Yəšūʿ'' and ultimately Hebrew ''Yēšūaʿ'' by a phonetic change. The Encyclopedia of the Qur'an by

states this has also come about because many Western scholars have held a "conviction that Jesus' authentic Hebrew name is Yeshua'" and because of this they often "have been puzzled by the Qur'an's reference to him as 'Isa". Brill's Encyclopedia of the Qur'an further states "It is not certain that Jesus' original name was Yeshua'" However, the early Syriac/Aramaic form of the name Yeshua, the etymological link with 'salvation' (note the Hebrew consonantal root y-sh-`) in Matthew 1:21, all of the correspondences of in the Greek OT and Second Temple Jewish writings, and the common attestation of Yeshua among first century Jewish names have led to a consensus among scholars of the gospels that Yeshua was "Jesus"'s original name. "Esau" (and derivatives with ayin as a first letter) is not a realistic possibility. With all this in mind, some scholars have proposed several explanations. James A. Bellamy of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

suggested that the Quranic name is a corruption of ''Masīḥ'' itself derived from ''yasūʿ'', suggesting that this resulted from a copyist error and an attempt to conceal the Arabic verb ''sāʿa''/''yasūʿu'' which has obscene connotations, though no evidence has been found to support this claim. Josef Horovitz on the other hand holds that the Quranic form is meant to parallel ''Mūsā'' (Moses). Similar pairs are also frequently found in the Quran as well which supports this theory. For example, compare Ismā‘īl and Ibrāhīm (Anglicised

Ishmael In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Isla ...

and

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

), Jālūt and Tālūt (Goliath and Saul), Yājuj and Mājuj (Gog and Magog), and Qābil and Hābil (

Cain and Abel In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. The brothers made sacrifices, each from his own fields, to God. God had regard for Ab ...

). It is thus possible that the Arabs referred to him as Yasaʿ, but the Quran reversed the letters to parallel Mūsā. Another explanation given is that in ancient Mesopotamia divine names were written in one way and pronounced in another. Thus borrowed words can have their consonants reversed. Another explanation is that Muhammad adopted ''Isa'' from the polemical Jewish form ''

Esau Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...

''. However, there is no evidence that the Jews have ever used ''Esau'' to refer to Jesus, and if Muhammad had unwittingly adopted a pejorative form his many Christian acquaintances would have corrected him. A fourth explanation is that prior to the rise of Islam, Christian Arabs had already adopted this form from Syriac. According to the '' Encyclopaedia of the Qurʼān'', "Arabic often employs an initial 'ayn in words borrowed from Aramaic or Syriac and the dropping of the final Hebrew 'ayin is evidenced in the form Yisho of the 'koktiirkish' Manichaean fragments from Turfan."''Encyclopaedia of the Qurʼān'' Volume 3 General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe (Georgetown University, Washington DC). Brill Academic, 2003, pp. 8-10 This is supported by Macúch with an example in classical Mandaic, a variety of Eastern Aramaic (hence closely related to Syriac) used as liturgical language by the Mandaean community of southern Mesopotamia, where the name for Jesus is rendered ''ʿ-š-u''
ࡏࡔࡅ
, though the pharyngeal ('ayin) is pronounced like a regular

long i Long i ( or '' itterai longa''), written , is a variant of the letter i found in ancient and early medieval forms of the Latin script. History In inscriptions dating to the early Roman Empire, it is used frequently but inconsistently to transc ...

("Īshu"). Also the name Yeshu (ישו in Hebrew and Aramaic) lacking the final 'ayin is also used to refer to Jesus in the Jewish work the Toledot Yeshu, and scholar David Flusser presents evidence Yeshu was also a name itself rather than claims it was meant to supposedly be an acronym to insult Jesus. The Brill Encyclopedia of the Qur'an notes scholar Anis al-Assiouty as noting the fact that "In the Talmud, however, he (Jesus) is called Yeshu." Scholar David Flusser and other scholars like

Adolf Neubauer Adolf Neubauer (11 March 1831 – 6 April 1907) was a Hungarian-born at the Bodleian Library and reader (academic rank), reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University. Biography He was born in Bittse (Nagybiccse), Upper Hungary (now Bytča ...

, Hugh J. Schonfield, and Joachim Jeremias also further argued that the name or pronunciation Yeshu (ישו in Hebrew and Aramaic) could also be "the Galilean pronunciation" of Yeshua' that came about because of an inability to pronounce the 'ayin in the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

region where Jesus came from. Scholar Alphonse Mingana writes there may have been a monastery named ''ʿĪsāniyya'' in the territory of the Christian Ghassanid Arabs in southern Syria as early as 571 CE. Christoph Luxenberg's '' The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran'' equates the quranic name with Hebrew '' Jesse''. However, neither ''Yeshu'' nor ''Jesse'' begins with a pharyngeal consonant in their original Hebrew forms. The earliest archaeological evidence of an Arabic name for Jesus is a Jordanian inscription. Enno Littman (1950) states: "Mr. G. Lankaster Harding, Chief Curator of Antiquities Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan, kindly sent me copies of a little more than five hundred Thamudic inscriptions. ..It is the inscription arding No. 476that interests us here. ..Below the circle there are four letters: a y, a sh, a ʿ, and again a y." He also states: "These letters are so placed that they can be read from right to left or from left to right y-sh-ʿ, probably pronounced Yashaʿ, and this name is the same as Yashuaʿ, the Hebrew form of the name of Christ." An archaic Arabic root for 'Salvation' exists in Yatha, which may have later formed this name: y-sh-ʿ. The lack of a ''Waw'' is still unexplained. Also, the closer correspondence with another name 'sha'yá, "Isaiah" in Englishneeds explanation or discussion before this inscription can be entertained as an Arabic "Jesus".

Non-Islamic uses

ʿĪsā is used as well by several

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

groups in Muslim countries and Lebanon (which is technically a Christian Arab country with a mandatory Christian president). However, these occurrences, which appeared after the advent of Islam, are not found in any Christian or pre-Qur'anic manuscripts or archaeological records. A 14th-century Persian translation of Matthew, one of the earliest surviving Persian manuscripts of the scripture, uses ''ʿĪsā''. Ahmad Al-Jallad has argued that a precedent of the quranic name ''ʿsy'' was already used in a Christian Safaitic inscription from the fourth century. Later translations in other languages also follow suit. Some modern Evangelical translations also use Isa, such as David Owen's ''Life of Christ'' (Arabic 1987). Unrelatedly to the name of Jesus, Isa is used as a given name in many European languages, generally as a nickname or shortening of

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...

, Isabella, and related names. Isa is also an unrelated

Japanese given name in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...

, with various

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

spellings including 伊佐 and 勇.

Given name

Literature

* Isa Hasan al-Yasiri, (1942) Iraqi-Canadian poet

Religious people

* Isa ibn Maryam, last Israelite prophet and penultimate prophet in Islam * Isa ibn Aban (died 836), early Muslim scholar of Second Islamic century during the early Abbasid era. * Isa Qassim (born 1937), Bahraini Shia cleric

Politics and military

* Isa ibn Musa, (d. 783) was the Arab statesman, nephew of Abbasid caliph

al-Saffah Abu al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās (‎; 721/722 – 8 June 754), known by his laqab, ''laqab'' al-Saffah (), was the first caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the longest and most impor ...

(r. 750–754) and

Al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

( r. 754–775). * ''Isa ibn Abdallah al-Mansur'' (b. 760s) was the son of

Abbasid caliph The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The family came ...

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

(r. 754–775) * Isa Alptekin (1901–1995), Uyghur political leader * Isa Boletini (1864–1916), Albanian nationalist * İsa Çelebi (died 1406), Ottoman prince * Isa Dongoyaro (1977-2024), Nigerian politician * Isa Gambar (born 1957), Azerbaijani politician * Isa Guha (born 1985), British female cricketer * Isa Bey Ishaković, 15th-century Ottoman general * Isa beg Isabegović, one of the largest landowners of the 19th century Bosnian aristocracy * İsa Kaykun (born 1988), Turkish footballer * Isa Kelemechi (ca. 13th century),

Church of the East The Church of the East ( ) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches o ...

scientist and diplomat *

Isa Khan Isa Khan (Middle Bengali: , 17 April 153629 August 1599) was one of 16th-century Baro-Bhuyan chieftains of Bengal. During his reign, he successfully unified the chieftains of Bengal and resisted the Mughal invasion of Bengal. It was only afte ...

(1529-1599), 16th-century Bengali nobel and military leader * Isa Mustafa (born 1951), Kosovar politician * Ma Qixi (1857–1914), Chinese Muslim Xidaotang leader, also known as Ersa (Isa) * Isa ibn al-Shaykh al-Shaybani (died 882/3), Arab tribal leader *

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa (; 3 June 1933 – 6 March 1999) was a Bahraini royal who served as the first Emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death in 1999 (after having previously ruled as Hakim of Bahrain until 16 August 1971). Bo ...

(1931–1999), Emir of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, UAE Sheikh * Isa Kahraman (born 1974), Turkish-born Dutch politician

Sports

* Isa Guha (born 1985), British female cricketer * Isa Аskhabovich Chaniev (born 1992), Russian lightweight boxer

Music

* Isa Tengblad (born 1998), Swedish singer

Others

* İsa Şahmarlı (ca. 1993 – 2014), Azerbaijani LGBT activist

Fictional characters

* Isa, the original identity of Saïx from the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series * Isa the Iguana, a character in '' Dora the Explorer''

Derived name

* Umm Isa bint Musa al-Hadi, was the Abbasid princess, daughter of caliph al-Hadi ( r. 785–786) and wife of caliph

al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

( r. 813–833).

Surname

* Abu Isa, Isaac ben Jacob al-Isfahani, Jewish prophet * Ali ibn Isa al-Asturlabi, Arab astronomer * Ali ibn Isa al-Kahhal, Arab ophthalmologist * Issa El-Issa (1878–1950), Palestinian journalist * Dolkun Isa, Uyghur activist * Facundo Isa (born 1993), Argentine rugby player * Isabegović, Isajbegović or Isabegzade, Bosnian noble family after Isa-bey Ishaković Hranić * Ismail Isa (born 1989), Bulgarian footballer * Qazi Faez Isa (born 1959), justice at the Supreme Court of Pakistan * Qazi Muhammad Isa (1914-1976) *

Aguila Saleh Issa Aguila Saleh Issa Gueider (; born January 11, 1944) is a Libyan jurist and politician who is the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives (Libya), House of Representatives since 2014. He therefore served as the List of heads of state of Li ...

(born 1944), Libyan jurist and politician * Salman Isa (born 1977), Bahraini footballer *

Darrell Issa Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 48th congressional district. He represented the 50th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A memb ...

(born 1953), American politician

Variations

Variations of the name include Ğaysə ( Tatar: Гайсә) and Ğaysa ( Bashkir: Ғайса); in Russian transcript as Гайса, Айса (Aysa) or Айся (Aisya). As a surname in Russia the name morphs into Айсин / Гайсин (Aysin / Gaysin). * Gaisa Enikeev (1864–1931), Tatar/Bashkir ethnographer, politician * Gaisa Khusainov (1928–2021) Bashkir writer, scientist * Aisa Hakimcan (1896–1972), Tatar artist in Finland * Ruslan Aisin (born 1980), Tatar activist, political scientist

References

Bibliography

* * {{given name, type=both Arabic-language masculine given names Arabic-language surnames Bosnian masculine given names Bosniak masculine given names English feminine given names Feminine given names Italian feminine given names Masculine given names Spanish feminine given names Swedish feminine given names Turkish masculine given names