The Name of Salvation

By Brother Rabbi Dani’el Rendelman
Emet Ministries
ravemet@comcast.net

MEMBER OF BNAI YAHSHUA SYNAGOGUES WORLDWIDE

When it comes to naming a baby, many parents are very picky. Sometimes a name is chosen in honor or memory of a loved one. Other names are inspired by movies, friends, our just the sound. A baby’s name usually evokes a special meaning or memory. Each year a list of the most popular names are compiled and then compared to previous years. Recently, the names Jacob, Joshua Abigail, Emily and Olivia were named some of the most popular monikers in 2006.

Over two-thousand years ago a little boy was given a special name by his parents. He wasn’t named after a soap opera star, but in harmony with the directions of angels. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins,” Matthew 1:21. Of course, this verse has been translated into English. Originally, the angels spoke the language of Hebrew to this Jewish couple. The baby was actually given a Hebrew name. (English wasn’t spoken for thousands of years later) The child was named “Y’shua,” which is the exact Hebrew word for “salvation.” This baby came to bring salvation. His name actually means salvation. Every time someone used his name, they were actually calling out the word “salvation.” This is easy to miss as most people don’t read or write Hebrew. Yet this proves that to gain the fullest comprehension, one should study the Hebrew language and learn about the Hebrew culture that the surrounds the Bible. Using His true Hebrew name puts Him back into the true context of His life, which helps us understand His actions and words better.

Hebrew is an amazing language. It resembles hieroglyphics more than it does English, in the sense that each Hebrew letter is full of meaning and symbolism. In English an “a” is an “a” and nothing more. Yet in Hebrew each letter is assigned a number and a word picture based upon ancient scripts. A Hebrew word can be better understood by examining each letter used and comparing how these correspond and relate to each other. For example, there’s nothing special about the English word “dog.” But in Hebrew, a dog is “kelev.” This Hebrew term for dog communicates depth and definition as to what a “kelev” really is. Kelev is a compound word made from two basic Hebrew terms. “Ke” in Hebrew means “as or like.” While “lev” is the Hebrew word for “heart.” Kelev is a Hebrew word picture showing that a dog is “like the heart” of man. Or a dog is a man’s best friend. Wow! (Or is it bow wow?)

It is no surprise then that the name of Savior is also highly symbolic. At the most basic meaning, the Messiah’s name is explained when it is given by the angels. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Y’shua, because he will save his people from their sins,” Matthew 1:21. Clearly, “Y’shua” means salvation. This meaning is further magnified by examining each letter of the Savior’s name.

In Hebrew Y’shua is spelled with the letters yod-shin-vav-ayin. Together, these letters powerfully exhibit the Savior’s life and ministry. The first letter in the Savior’s name is the “yod”. The yod is also the first letter in the Divine name of the Father, spelled Yod – Hey – Vav – Hay - YHWH.

YHWH is the name given to Moses at the burning bush. This name is to be used by all Bible believers as a “memorial forever,” Exodus 3:15. YHWH means “to be.” YHWH is and YHWH is His name. However, this name has been hidden behind the English words “LORD” and “GOD” in modern Bibles. Today, people all over the world are rejecting false titles and accepting the true name of the Father. The prophecy of Zephaniah 3:9 is coming true, “For I shall turn unto the peoples a clean lip, so that they all call on the name YHWH, to serve Him.” YHWH is restoring the holy Hebrew tongue and the majesty of his name, starting with the yod.

The modern script of the letter yod resembles a cama suspended in the air. The actual Hebrew word “yod” means “arm or hand.” The “arm or hand of YHWH” is an idiom repeated time and time again in the Scriptures. This phrase is a picture of strength and power, pointing to Y’shua the Messiah. It was the arm of YHWH that conquered Pharaoh and his army. And the psalmist declared, “You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm,” 89:10. The arm of YHWH brings deliverance and victory. Whenever you read about the hand or arm of YHWH in the Bible, this is prophetically referring to person of Y’shua.

Another letter in both YHWH and Y’shua’s names is the vav. This letter resembles a hook and means “nail.” The vav is also the number 6, the number of man. Y’shua came as the Son of Man. He is YHWH in the flesh. What does the vav teach us about Y’shua? Remember that Hebrew letters are pictures and symbols. The connection in these letters is apparent. Y’shua (the yod) came as the son of man (the vav) to offer His life as a sacrifice. His hands (yod) were pierced by a nail (vav) to bring salvation. Y’shua was crucified through his hands and feet, as prophesied in Psalm 22:16 – “The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and my feet.” The letters in Y’shua’s name foretell His death. There is no other name given unto man for salvation. But why did he have to die such a cruel death? This question is also answered in His name.

Y’shua came to offer His life as the remedy to sin and death. Whenever you read the term “salvation” in an English Bible, it is almost certainly the name of the Messiah translated from the Hebrew. His name is actually found all throughout the Older Testament. . When the Patriarch Jacob (Ya’acov in Hebrew) prayed in Genesis 49:18, he actually used the name of the coming Savior. He said, “I have waited for thy salvation / Y’shua.” Jacob trusted in Y’shua even before Y’shua was born into this world! In Psalm 62:6, David too proclaims his faith in Y’shua, “He alone is my rock and my Y’shua / salvation, I will not be moved.” People living during Older Testament times were redeemed by putting their faith in Y’shua. The sacrificial system did not save anyone. In Hebrews 10:4 we read, “for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” Salvation has always been by grace through faith in the salvation of the Almighty.

His very name doesn’t just mean salvation, it is salvation! “Neither is there salvation / Y’shua in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," Act 4:12. Y’shua came to save us from our sins and to redeem man from the curse of the law. He did NOT come to remove the Law, or “Torah” in Hebrew. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible. These books explain how a believer is to walk out their faith. Instructions are given in the Torah for every part of life, including how to get along with fellow man and how to properly worship YHWH. Disobedience to the commands in the Torah is called “sin.” The Torah explains what sin is. But the Torah is not sin. Romans 7:12, "So then, the Torah is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good." Y’shua didn’t come to save us from the Law but from our breaking of the law. He said, “think not that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets,” in Matthew Chapter 5. Y’shua paid the price for mankind’s Torah breaking. He suffered the curses of our disobedience. The last remaining letters in Y’shua’s name show how He conquered the curse of sin.

These last two letters in the Messiah’s wonderful name are the “ayin” and the “shin.” These letters have a special connection, so they will be discussed together. The shin resembles a “w” and is one of the most widely used Hebrew letters. In paleo-Hebrew, the shin was a picture of a tooth. Today the Hebrew word “shin” means “tooth or chewing.”

The final letter in the name of Y’shua is the “ayin.” In ancient times, this letter was drawn as an eye. In modern Hebrew, the word ayin means “eye.” The eye and the tooth, the ayin and the shin, show us the power of sin. Combined, the yod, vav, shin, and ayin show us the power of YHWH.

In the legal world there is a principal called “lex talionis.” This form of law says that the punishment must fit the crime. In the Law of Moses, the Torah, punishments are given for different offenses against YHWH or man. The Torah explains in exact terms how a person is to treat their neighbor and worship YHWH. Sin comes when a person one doesn’t follow the Torah. “Sin is lawlessness,” says 1 John. The punishment for sins, big or small, is separation from YHWH. This is the curse of the Torah. “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23. All have sinned and fallen short of the requirements of the Torah. All, that is, except one – Messiah Y’shua. The sinless son of YHWH paid the price for sin and died a sinner’s death. The Torah required justice for all of humanity’s sin. The Torah mandated an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

“If there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise,” Exodus 21:23-25. The torah requires an eye for an eye – an ayin for an ayin, and a tooth for a tooth – a shin for a shin. Here the Torah called for “lex talionis,” or exact punishment for the crime. The crime is sin. The punishment is death. We are the accused. Y’shua willingly took our punishment and died in our place. Torah justice required by the ayin (eye) and the tooth (shin) was met by the nailed (vav) hand (yod) of Y’shua. Mercy answered justice’s call. Y’shua offered His life for us, meeting the demand for an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Colossians 2:14 says, that “He Blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”

We are told in John 1:17 that the “word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” This verse isn’t kidding. The word spoken of in this verse must be the Older Testament books. Of course, these books were written in Hebrew. So to paraphrase, “the Hebrew alphabet was made flesh and dwelt among us.” The Living Word came and gave His life as His Name foretells. “But now in Y’shua, you who were once far off have been brought near by His blood,” Ephesians 2:13.

The baby born over two-thousand years ago was named appropriately. The world is guilty of sin and therefore deserves justice and wrath. Yet a person can be saved from judgment and wrath by trusting in YHWH Y’shua. His life is a living example for us to follow. Have you trusted Y’shua for your salvation? Obedience to the Torah does not save you. Good works do not save you. Jewish lineage does not save you. Church membership does not save you. We are saved by the person and the name of Y’shua! Blessed be His wonderful name!