I have read and reviewed several copies of the text in pursuit of what I consider to be the "best" (the cleanest, clearest, unvarnished, most elegant, and eminently quotable version). I have chucked several of them over the years; I'm one of those who believe that for this text in particular, you should either read the appropriate translation or not read it at all.
The very best translation I've found is by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English, first published in 1972, printed by Wildwood House since 1991. In 2006, I ran this translation by a master Shaolin monk who escaped from his monastery in China, and it's the one he recommends for his American Kung Fu students.
I've also noticed verses of this exact translation quoted in a variety of settings, presumably because of the sheer elegance and accuracy of the text. As an example, consider the first two lines of Chapter 22:
"If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked." (S. Mitchell)
"To yield is to be preserved whole, To be bent is to become straight." (Chan)
"Allow yourself to yield, and you can stay centered. Allow yourself to bend, and you will stay straight." (Walker)
"Yield and overcome. Bend and be straight." (Fu-Feng/English)
(Further comparisons between many versions except this one: http://wayist.org/ttc%20compared/chap22.htm)
In trying to overexplain and simplify for a contemporary anglo audience, many translators dilute or totally offset the elegance and equipoise of the original meaning. They may still faithfully distill some of the kernels of truth for their readers, but it comes as too heavy a price for me. Many have found this version to be the most elegant and meaningful of all renditions for a lay audience.
What is the best edition of Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu?
The answer may depend on what you prefer to read. For instance,
if you like poetic interpretation, then the version of Ursula K. LeGuin may be the best one;
if you are looking for one of earliest translations, the James Legge’s one may be one of the best;
if you like new age and/or zen favor, then the version of Stephen Mitchell may be the one you want;
if you prefer a book with a lot of beautiful pictures, then the one offered by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English may be the best one;
if you want some practical advice for your daily life, then Dr. Wayne W. Dyer’s book may be the one;
if you like to read cartoon book, then Tsai Chih Chung’s book may be your choice;
if you want to read a book based on the new discovered materials, then Robert Henricks’s one may be a good choice;
if you prefer a book written by an university professor who can read the original text, then DC Lau’s book may be one of the best;
if you want a book written by an active speaker and educator on the Tao Te Ching, then Derek Lin’s book may be your choice; and
if you are interesting in latest research breakthroughs on the Tao Te Ching, and want the most accurate translation, then Yuhui Liang’s book may be the one you want.
While I’ve read and enjoy all the books listed above, I like the last one on the list the most. This book stands out of the crowd because the author lets TTC be understandable to readers. And this is in line with Lao Tzu’s saying “my teaching is easy to understand and easy to practice” (chapter 70).
As what I’ve learned from his book, there are three close related aspects about what the Tao Te Ching expresses:
- The words that it used.
- The imageries that it used.
- The philosophy that it based on.
Therefore, in order to obtain an accurate translation/interpretation of TTC, a translator needs to know the meaning of each of the important Chinese characters used in TTC, needs to know why a specific imagery used in the sentence, and needs to understand Lao Tzu’s philosophy very well.
Unfortunately, most of the translators may not have all these abilities, what they did usually is just using others’ translations/interpretations to come up their own versions. Although every translation or interpretation has its own value, but in such a way the translation may be far away from accuracy. And without accuracy, the translation/interpretation will be confusing to readers.
Based on his own research and study, Mr. Liang has made significant research progress in the above mentioned aspects
by having reexamined the most important Chinese characters (Tao,Te,Ming, etc.) used in Lao Tzu's book by analyzing their oldest written forms and figured out their true meanings in the context of the Tao Te Ching;
by having discovered that Lao Tzu had used an ancient nine-type system (the ancient Chinese version of the Enneagram) to form a system of eighty one pairs of symbols and drawn creative inspiration for the Tao Te Ching from them, thus he know why a specific imagery was used in the sentence;
and by having successfully revealed the relationship between Non-Being and Being, as well as their dynamic structures, thus he can understand Lao Tzu’s philosophy systematically.
And based on these research breakthroughs, he has successfully corrected all the centuries-old misinterpretations of Lao Tzu's book and translated the Tao Te Ching into English by himself. Thus he has a pretty reliable way to be true to Lao Tzu's original intent and is able to introduce Lao Tzu's teaching in form of a system of philosophy in a comprehensible way.
And after comparing his translation/interpretation with many others (I’ve read more than thirty of them), I believe his translation/interpretation is the most accurate and comprehensible one. Therefore, I do not think we can afford to ignore this unique book.
such long
answers
Lao
Tzu would
surely
laugh
I strongly advocate reading many versions, and if you really like what you read you should consider picking at the Chinese (of which there are several different "original" versions).
Laozi (Tr. Arthur Waley, Chen Guying, Fusheng / Hunan People's Publishing House)
This is my favorite "intense study" text. An interesting translation that includes Waley's good translation to English, several classical Chinese variations, and a modern Chinese translation. It is great for study and comparison for people who know modern Chinese.
Te-Tao Ching (Tr. Robert Henricks)
This is my favorite "light study" text. Well-thought, scholarly translation based on the Ma-wang-tui texts. The title reflects the fact that the Ma-wang-tui texts have a substantially different ordering of the chapters, which I agree "flow" better.
Tao Teh Ching (Tr. Ursula K. LeGuin)
My favorite translation for "easy" reading. LeGuin's may not be the most scholarly translation, but LeGuin is a brilliant writer, and her style makes it the most accessible to modern English readers.
Tao Te Ching (Tr. John Wu)
My favorite "practice" translation. While a little awkward in some parts, I think this is a pretty faithful translation that flows well and reflects the pacing of the original. I find that this is the text that clings to my brain most, and so I relate to it and recall it most frequently when I "stumble upon" Daoism in my daily living.
Tao Te Ching (Tr. Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English)
Great translation, and one of my copies is a big picture book edition with photographs and calligraphy, which makes it a great coffee table (or tea table) book.
Tao Te Ching (Tr. D.C. Lau)
Probably the current "standard" for English translations. It is pretty solid in all respects. I use it frequently as baseline for evaluating other translations.
Taoteching (Tr. Red Pine)
A good translation by a translator who has done a great job translating the poetic and spiritial nature of dozens of Buddhist and Taoist texts. It fits in well with a body of work that Red Pine has built.
Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic (Tr. Thomas Cleary)
A good translation with Buddhist insights from Takuan Soho. Cleary is one of my favorite translator of East Asian texts, and I think he does a remarkable job with this one.
Tao Te Ching (Tr. Stephen Mitchell)
Good translation. I refer to it in study, but rarely use it as a primary text.
The Tao Speaks (Tr. Brian Bruya, illustrated by Tsai Chih Chung)
Great cartoon edition of the Tao Teh Ching. My kids love it.
Dao De Jing (Tr. Moss Roberts)
Well thought scholarly translation. Some insightful line by line commentary.
The Way of Life (Tr. Witter Bynner)
An older translation. Has some good insight.
The Daodejing of Laozi (Tr. Philip J. Ivanhoe)
Good modern translation. It has a nice no-nonsense feel to it.
Tao Teh King (Tr. James Legge)
An obsolete text, but one of the first good English translations, which makes it relevant today as many translators have used it as a foundation.
Tao Te Ching - THe Definitive Edition (Tr. Jonathan Star)
Helpful because it has pictogram-by-pictogram study of the text.
Tao Teh King (Tr. Archie Bahm)
Interesting, translation, but I'm afraid Bahm obscures too much of the original text with a loose interpretation.
World literature students need to keep in mind that different translations, particularly of the classical texts, can impact interpretation. In general, there seem to be four major concerns for translation.
- Accuracy (Whether the translation accurately portray the original meaning of the text)
- Coherence (Whether the translation as a piece itself is able to get its point across)
- Style (Whether the translation captures the style, e.g. meter and rhyme, of the original piece)
- Contextualization (Whether the translator makes the context of the text clear)
By definition, academically rigorous translations focus on characteristics one and two, to the extent that it sometimes diminishes the quality of the second two. Non-academic translations usually focus on the second two traits. While this is not intrinsically a bad thing, it is essential to remember that some amateur "translators" may not know Classical Chinese and may not be maintaining fidelity to the original text.
With this in mind, I usually select academic translations, ones that favor interpreting the Daodejing as a political text first and foremost. Historians who intend to invoke the classical text should really take this context into mind before citing passages. Translations focusing on Daoist cosmology and alchemical theory tend to overanalyze in way that can be detrimental for classical historians, even if it is incredibly useful for understanding Daoism as understood during the Han Dynasty (e.g. for understanding the work of Ge Hong).
As for authors: James Legge offers the earliest accurate translation, but tends to be a bit wordy at time.
D.C. Lau is just as accurate and little bit more concise.
Poetic reinterpretations can be good, but I suggest you only seek out ones that have been generated specifically with the guidance of a proficient translator.
A good example of a good poetic reinterpretation is Ursula K. LeGuin.
A bad example is Stephen Mitchell's "translation", which was an attempt to adapt Legge's work poetically, but without consulting those proficient at translation.
Finally, it is also very fruitful to practice comparing translations personally. Studying Classical Chinese is a smart move if you want to grasp some of the more complicated nuances of the original text. www.ctext.org is an invaluable site for doing Chinese-English comparative analysis on any of the classics. Their version of the Daodejing features the Legge translation.
If you cannot manage to devote the time to study Classical Chinese, I suggest at least trying an English-English translation comparison. www.duhtao.com is a good resource for giving this a shot.
In sum, I would strongly advise both students and disciples of Daoism to seek out academic translations of the Daodejing as authoritative sources, and to use these sources as the foundation of their own understanding of the text and branch off into comparative translation.
I would have to recommend the Stephen Mitchell version. I've seen several others, but none have worked as well for me as his. Indulge me a short story...
I used to travel a lot for a job I had many years ago. This travel was by car, driving on long trips twice a month or so. I love to read, and I read a lot, but reading in the car is frowned on when you're the one driving. I came to love books on tape for trips like this, especially unabridged versions of books. A nice 8-hour book on tape is heaven for chewing up the miles. So I had gone through most of the local library's books on tapes, and for one trip I was grabbing up whatever I hadn't heard yet. One of the books came from the Self Help section, of all things. It was, of course, Tao Te Ching, the Stephen Mitchell version.
Somewhere between GA and FL I ended up popping it in, and I was utterly transfixed for the rest of my trip. I ended up listening to it 3 or 4 times on that trip, and I liked it more each time I heard it. Mitchell was reading it, and his voice was so calm and so kind that it was like going into some kind of fugue state when the tape started rolling. Hundreds of miles would roll by and I was just listening to this incredible book roll on and on, back and forth.
Maybe I was at just the right place to receive it, I don't really know. It had a huge impact on me. It was like finding a succinct, poetic, and lyrical expression for things I had felt all my life but had never heard expressed before. I've read the Bible cover to cover, but I found more spirituality, more truth, and more beauty in the 81 short chapters of the Tao Te Ching than I ever did in such a ponderous tome.
After seeing so many other versions of it, I don't think I would have felt the same way if I had been introduced to Taoism with one of the other translations. Mitchell's has a certain user-friendly aspect to it, for sure, but some people detest his version. I know it's not perfect, but who's to say what is? As others have pointed out, it’s debatable if Lao-Tzu even existed, or if the writing was even the work of one person.
In my opinion, debating which version is better is counterproductive, anyway. Getting too hung up on the words can only distract us. The Tao Te Ching itself says the more you talk about it (the Tao) the less you understand it, so why overanalyze it? It’s like the old adage of fingers pointing at the moon: our discussions, debates, and analysis all become distractions from what we should be paying attention to, i.e. the MOON.
This falls under a little something I like to call my Theory of Chocolate Cake Spirituality. Indulge me again, dear friends. Imagine you know someone who’s never had chocolate cake, and they ask you what it is, since you know so much about food and all. The theologicalapproach says, well, first I would tell my friend about what’s in it. Flour, eggs, sugar, cocoa, etc. I would explain flour, going back to talk about our transition from hunter/gatherers to an agrarian society. I would talk about various types of flour, the pros and cons of each and so on. I might launch into an explanation of wheat allergies, and the debate around gluten-free products in contemporary society. To fully understand eggs, we must also understand animal husbandry and domestication, of course. I would also discuss at length why eggs are needed as an emulsifier in this concoction. Sugar and cocoa is an in-depth analysis of botany, slavery, and imperialist expansion into the pristine jungles of Mesoamerica. Then we can talk about heat settings, how long to bake a cake, and all the nuances of tweaking both those things. So that’s chocolate cake, ok? Oh, wait, is there icing on the cake? OK, let me explain that, too. Butter, you see, is another animal product derived from…
That’s one way. Another way, the spiritual path, is to ask your friend to wait in your living room for about an hour thinking happy thoughts while you prepare an answer to their question about this food mystery. You come back, plop a beautiful honkin’ slice of chocolate cake in front of them, and hand them a fork. Here you go, friend. I’m going to stand back now and let you experience it for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
You see the difference? Which one answers the question better?
There is no best translation. Actually for anyone to claim there is an absolute best would probably not be much of a Taoist. The reason is, the Tao cannot be totally captured in words. So every translation approachs the Tao as best as the author understands it. And everyone has their own wisdom.
That being said, I have my favourites. The "interpretation" (as he terms it) that I like the best is by a Unitarian Universalist Minister Jake Trapp, a former minister of the Unitarian Church in Summit New Jersey.. This was the first version I read and I still love it. You won't be able to find it though. It came out in a limited edition of a few hundred copies. There weren't many copies left when I came across it, and I snapped up the last dozen copies at a book sale at the church. I have only a few left. Even Jake's widow asked me for a copy at one time. It is a lovely version of the Tao te Ching.
The copy I carry in my knapsack with me is the Mitchell version, because I really like it and because it is in a small little version that is easy to carry.
I am not a scholar of Chinese philosophy, so I prefer a poetic translation over a literal one. I prefer to experience that classic filtered through another person's understanding. That is also why I like reading a number of versions. Each reveals new insights into the Tao.
I totally agree with Toni Galanis's recommendation of the translation by Jane English and Gia-Fu Feng.
I bought my copy of this wonderful book when I was at college in the early 80s, and actually read it in a single stretch while on a train journey back to my home town during a college break. I can still remember sitting there, as the green English countryside slid past the window, repeatedly muttering 'Wow!' under my breath as each successive verse revealed a new nugget of wisdom, or confirmed something I had always suspected about the way life, and the universe, worked at a deep level. It was so simple, so true, and yet so easy to miss if you went through life without really paying close attention to the fundamental patterns and processes operating in the world around you. That train journey was one of my life's epiphanies.
When I got off the train at my destination, I was so blown away by the beauty and wisdom of the book that my mind was on a completely different plane, and I felt to be in something of a daze. It was one of those moments of insight and sublime enlightenment that changes you forever. And I have English's and Feng's translation to thank for that.
The clarity and accessibility of the translated verses really conveys the profundity and poetry of the original book. The translated English verses are accompanied by the beautiful calligraphy of the original text (and I have always been fascinated by Chinese calligraphy, having learned a bit of it when I was teaching myself Mandarin for a while, after first becoming interested in the martial art of Tai Chi, and consequently Taoism). The verses are also 'illustrated' with beautiful monochrome photographs of very atmospheric scenes of nature - mist-shrouded forests, mountain landscapes, rivers, and so on, which serve to connect the reader with the essential message of Taoism - the importance of living in harmony with nature and the 'natural order' (as far as one is able to in the modern, technological world, at least).
English's and Feng's book does this ancient treatise of philosophical wisdom the justice it really deserves. It should be regarded as the most faithful and aesthetically attractive translation of it that has yet been produced for English readers.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tao-Te-Ching-Lao-Tsu/dp/0307949303/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333990411&sr=1-2
Name Translator
Tao Teh Ching John C.H. Wu
Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with Commentary Ellen M. Chen
Lao-tzu's Taoteching Red Pine
I've read many translations, and here are my current top 5:
- 1992 Stephen Mitchell has a way of making profound concepts in the Tao very succinct, like "If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial." (and there is a pocket-sized version of it which is great for gifting)
- 1998 Ursula K. Le Guin (author) A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way for the same reasons Dan Saffer mentions.
- 1958 Archie Bahm Tao Teh King examines the notion that the Way is what happens naturally, so what happens naturally?
- 1972 Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English for the same reasons Toli Galanis mentions.
And this one is more stylized and slanted, and sometimes corny, but it's an excellent example of applying the principles of the Tao Te Ching to everyday life, which is what the Tao is all about. Much of this work is relevant to any relationship, not just romantic relationships.
5. 1999 William Martin The Couple's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Lovers
I have read and enjoyed the Ursula LeGuin for many years now. As Jonathan Reiter notes, it is not an exact translation, but a more poetic one. What it really captures is the humor that I haven't found in other translations. And her notes on some of the passages are illuminating as well.
I have several translations that I liked, but only recently understood enough of classical Chinese to start reading and translating the original text.
Your best bet is not to try to dig up a bunch of different translations to figure out what Lao Tzu is saying. What he is saying is very simple: meditate.
If you don't practice mindfulness, you will not understand the Tao Te Ching, even if took time to study the classical Chinese and read the original.
When you develop a regular practice, you will encounter difficulties and experiences. When you read Tao Te Ching then, you'll find practical advice on dealing with those obstacles. You'll find descriptions that suddenly make sense. You'll find discussions on how mindfulness applies to daily life -- modern daily life, even.
Update: Having said all of that, I had just came across User's translation and flipped through a few of the verses. It is pretty good, gets to the heart without being burdened by "local flavor". I've picked up a few ideas for my own translation. Worth checking out.
I just stumbled on this resource which places different translations next to each other, allowing you to come to your own conclusions. Pretty amazing to see the interpretations shape the meaning.
1) Translator: Derek lin. His explanations are very good, and his translation has a nice flow to it.
2) Translator: Red pine. Another Good translation. Here, he gives the translation of five different people.
3) Stephen Mitchell: The translation did not flow. Keep this as a last option.
You can easliy choose from this link as it contains comparisons among four translations
I recommend Tao Te Ching (Skylight Illuminations): Lao Tzu, translated by Derek Lin. According to several native Chinese speakers I know, this is the most authentic translation. And, personally, I find it to be beautifully written as well.
My favorite is Derek Lin's. I think it has the ~best~ rhythm and balance to it, and is written in the plainest speech. It also happens to be available online: Accurate Translation of the Tao Te Ching
I personally do not like Stephen Mitchell's, at all. I don't think it flows well, and doesn't come close to capturing the "essence".
I‘m Chinese. Last year I met a Taoism master and he told me a piece of old Chinese proverb: ”书读百遍，其意自现 (Read a book for 100 times then the meaning will emerge)”. I listened to him, started to read Tao Te Ching again and again, and I even transcribed it on my notebook. Months passed, I really felt something profound in Tao Te Ching.
Picture below is the first chapter of Tao Te Ching I transcribe.
If you know how to read classical Chinese words, I suggest you to read original Tao Te Ching again and again. Don’t be depressed if you feel it’s hard, we Chinese also feel not so easy to understand it for the first few times’ reading. You just need to slow down the speed and dive into it while reading, discriminate every classical Chinese word correctly.
If you can only read English version, read it repeatedly too. As you grow older and older and have much more life experiences, you will understand it deeper and deeper. In China we agree that Tao Te Ching is a book of life so it worths a life-time reading, some of us even recite it.
It’s an inefficient way to learn something by mechanic repeating but it works all the time, and repeating makes sure that you grasp knowledge thoroughly. Who says the dumbest method couldn’t be the smartest method?
Hope my answer helps. Good luck!
Absolutely yes! The Tao te Ching is well worth the read. It is probably the best book of wisdom I have ever read, bar none.
Three points, though.
1 Lao Tzu is probably a fictional character. After all, the name translates to “The Old Master”. I think that the Tao te Ching is a collection of 81 best selections from a variety of Taoist masters.
2. Don’t read too much into the Tao te Ching. Chapter 1 says it well: The Tao that can be written is not the Tao. Don’t rely on other people’s writings. Take the Tao te Ching for what it’s worth and then go find out about the Tao by direct experience.
3. Every book of wisdom is written by human beings and therefore is fallible. Don’t expect the Tao te Ching to be perfect. It’s not.
You asked- "Which English translation/interpretation of the Tao Te Ching (道德經) is most accurate?"
This is a difficult question to answer. Firstly, we have enough difference of opinion of which is the best Tao Te Ching text in Chinese let alone the best translation into English.
As you know the way Chinese is written at a 'tertiary' level or here in relation to religious philosophy, written at an esoteric level, it lends itself to various nuances and interpretations.
So, I will simply inform you what English texts on the Tao Te Ching that I have found most useful in getting to the deeper profound essence of what the Tao is.
1 book by Wang Keping and 3 books by Taoist Master Nan Huat-Chin.
I am putting up photos which would be self explanatory. Just take the photos and show it to the librarian at your local library.
Remember the most important maxim from the Tao Te Ching is - "The man of superior virtue takes no action and so acts without purpose" ('shang de wu wei er wu bu wei') - better translated as 'the selfless egoless man acting with equanimity takes action as if there was inaction' - or in common parlance 'the virtuous man acts with honesty probity and propriety for the better good of the world 'at large' without personal gain or self-vested interest'. That is Taoism in a 'nutshell' as a spiritual philosophical practice.
Vincent Cheok
The Tao Te Ching 101: A Modern, Practical Guide, Plain and Simple
By: Matthew Barnes is a very comprehensive translation.
The Zhuang Zi and Lie Zi; the other Taoist Masters.
The Tao Te Ching is more like a lecture, about how enlightened people should behave from the master Lao Zi. The Zhuang Zi is more like walking in nature with a Master explaining what it is like to be enlightened. Lie Zi is actually writing fables to show how we can be enlightened. All three Taoist classics are good.
That’s an interesting question.
Your assumption of the Arabic equivalent is not true. This is a Jewish name, and the Arabic rendition/transliteration of it is Iesa or Isa.
The interesting facts about Jesus in Islam are :
- Jesus in the Quran is mentioned 500% more than prophet Muhamed.
- The Quran confirms that Jesus is the Messiah, the word of God, and a mighty prophet of God who performed mighty miracles by permission of God.
- The Quran confirms that Jesus, like the prophets preceding him, was a strict monotheist who believed in and worshiped the one true God, the Heavenly Father.
- The Quran confirms th
Anyone from any walk or religion may learn from the Tao Te Ching. The concepts are universal and fit in with any type of religious concepts and beliefs that one may hold. Actually, I would go so far as to say that the Tao Te Ching adds to and expands upon the knowledge that a Christian has acquired from biblical teachings.
One take away from Dao De Jing is that it's the only Chinese classic thought that truly explained a Chinese's perspective of the origin of the world that is not of mythology and folklores.
Laozhi said that everything that exists (有) came from nothing (无), and Dao (道) was the “force” that willed it. Dao is eternal. It neither exists or not exists. How it does is an enigma.
The Dao (Dao can also be translated as the “ Way) is nameless, if it can be named then it's not it is not the eternal dao.
I would say that the most important take away from Laozhi was that he was the perhaps the first Chinese thinker that truly explained original the of the universe and the nature of existence. He captured it in the most succinct way that even today they seem to be just as valid as they did millenia ago.
(The Biblical word — Word/God— is translated into Chinese Bible as the same character of Dao 道).
Once, while walking in beautiful nature of Sumava forest on a meadow, while listening to a translation of Tao Te Ching, my connection with the Nature and the Universe suddenly deepened.
Picture of Zdeněk Hajný - “Indian's summer” - Babí léto, 1982, olej, 37 x 32.
My unification with all what was created and even with that what was not deepened so profoundly that it is impossible to describe. It can be only compared to an afterlife experience, which I do have too.
Suddenly, you see, feel, and become the pure energy that has the power to create anything and everything. You become within an instant a part of all of it.
Suddenly, you perceive yourself in this or that flower, nearby trees, in the earth, in the heavens, you are roaming sky like a cloud. All of it at one and nothing at all simultaneously. :-)
Suddenly, a realization of our limitlessness arrives with the power of thunder. Then, only quietness, peace and deep relation to all remains.
I wish you to read this ‘book' :-)
It is one of the most and the message resonates thousands of years later. The Tao Te Ching is probably one of the wisest ancient books, reported to be written by the sage named Lao Tzu over 2500 years ago. It about living in unity with nature. With 81 chapters, it should be savored page by page, line by line, like good poetry-read, pondered and reread again.
During ancient times as today, people believe they can gain the truth by visiting churches, synagogues, temples, monasteries, mosques and other sacred places. Followers of Tao recognize that spirituality comes from within instead of searching the material world. The Way, Infinite Intelligence also known as God, cannot be comprehended by looking out a window or to travel any particular place. To master what is within each of us, one has to realize the power within.
Thank you for your question and enjoy your journey.
In Biblical Aramaic Aramaic, Jesus would of refered to God as "Elah", which cognates to the Arabic word "Allah". If he spoke Syriac Aramaic, he would of said "Alaha". Since he also spoke Hebrew Hebrew he might of also said "Elohim" or "Yahweh". Since there are a lot of Hebrew words for God like "Eloah" it would be hard to determine what Hebrew words he used.
Sources: http://biblehub.com/hebrew/426.htm
http://learnaramaic.blogspot.com/2012/06/god-in-aramaic.html?m=1
A2A
⚫ Jesus Christ name in Arabic is:
- عيسى المسيح (Iesa Al Maseeh) for Muslims
- يسوع المسيح (Yasou’ Al Maseeh) for Christians
Al Maseeh; is common for both, meaning The Messiah.
And Iesa is Arabic while Yasou’ is Aramaic.
⚫ John son of Zachariah in arabic is:
- يحي Yahya for Muslims,
- يوحنا Yuhanna in Arabic new testament for Christians.
⚫ John was the first individual to ever carry this name
This was stated in Qur’an chapter of Mary 19:7
“[He was told], "O Zechariah, indeed We give you good tidings of a boy whose name will be John. We have not assigned to any before [this] name."
⚫ A very important note here about name of Yahya (John)
- The Qur’an is telling of the unknown
- There is no traceable origin/past use of this name.
- A very compelling challenge which is very widely overlooked, and am unaware of anyone was able to counter this challenge.
- If it ever were at any stage to be found, then it would have been the talk of the world! And an easy tool to attack the Qur’an and Islam. (Much in the same way other “trending” anti Muslim topics.)
You have to remember that we’re talking about 500 BCE. Very few people could read, so writing and books were not important for society at large. Most people probably never saw a book in three generations of their family, so in a sense, any book was a private book.
There is some doubt as to whether or not the TTC is entirely composed by Lao Tzu. He seems to have collected a lot of old songs and added his own.
What we call literature now was mostly sung, partly because it sounds nice, and partly because it’s easier to remember that way. Again, they didn’t depend on writing the way we do now, so the “literature” was not something to be written down and looked at. It was passed down verbally, most likely singing, and probably with dancing.
For that matter, we don’t even know if Lao Tzu could read or write. I get the feeling it’s not something he would have wanted to do.
Yes, that whole point of being catholic sweetie.
The Aramaic word for God is "alaha"/"aloho", which is related to the Hebrew word "elohim". In the version of Jesus' last words found in gMark and gMatt this word is transliterated into a Greek form as "eloi", so Jesus is depicted as using this word for God in his native language in this last cry before dying. It is most likely that this is the word he used for God, though there is also the word "mar-yah" which translates as "Lord Yahweh" and is sometimes found as "maria"/"morio". He may have used that form as well. As noted by Stephen Frantz, he is also depicted as using the familiar term "abba" or "father/daddy" to refer to God, though this was not strictly speaking an Aramaic word for God.
Unless one counts Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews as “modern European groups”, and I don’t, the answer is “none”.
There are modern European groups who have Phoenician ancestry though. Sicilians, Central Italians, and Greeks have Phoenician ancestry, and this pulls them closer to modern Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews.
It’s rather a subtle book that dances gracefully around the idea that life can be ordered at its best by insights into the natural harmonies that flow through it. The reader will find him or herself asking: what is this “way” to which the book refers, and what is this “power” that it invokes? But as the text itself declares at the outset, the way that can be named is not the real way, and the power that can be named is not the real power. So to understand the book, one needs to set aside one’s desire to have a name and a form for everything. There is a source for names and forms that does not belong to any one of them. We cannot possess or define the Tao as though it were an object. One realizes it or becomes it. One acts from it or within it. There are people who are close enough to this realization that the book unfolds its meaning for them right there in their hands. There are others who are so far distant that they put it aside and shrug their shoulders. and maybe laugh uncomfortably. Either way, it’s part of what the book is about.
God’s official Hebrew name is YHWH. The name is called “the Tetragrammaton “ which is a fancy way of saying “that four-letter thing.” Under no circumstances are you to pronounce it, on the chance that you might take it in vain . If you are reading the scriptures aloud you substitute “Adonai” which sounds like “Odd-annoy” if your ancestors are from Northern Europe. It means “the Lord” more or less (“lord” meaning “person in authority” is adon. “My lord” is adoni. Venus’ Syrian boy friend is Adonis. He was also known as Ba’al, but I digress.).
Since “Adonai “ is the name read for God’s real name, it is too holy to use in conversation, so among themselves rabbis say “Ha Shem” meaning “The Name.”
In the Septuagint YHWH is translated Kurios, which means, you guessed it, “Lord.” But the word is also used for the male head of the household, especially in ancient Athens. In the New Testament Kurios often refers to Jesus, especially in Luke. Kurios could be a title of respect or it could be a claim that Jesus is YHWH. I think Luke is intentionally ambiguous. In modern Greek ‘kurios’ means “mister.”
The other name used for God in the Hebrew Scriptures is Elohim. It is usually translated “God.” Proto-Hebrew-Syrian-Canaanite used El to refer to the high God, Ba’al’s dad. Elohim is used exclusively in Genesis chapter one and is combine with YHWH in chapters two and three. (Look up Pentateuch Documentary Hypothesis) Some argue that since Elohim looks like a Hebrew plural then the Israelites were really polytheists. Elohim always takes a singular verb when it means “God.” When used with a plural verb it means “angels.”
I see I have just enough time to explain the actual meaning of YHWH. Out of respect I will ask Orthodox Jews to leave the room. (Waiting) Now YHWH is pronounced, we think, “Yahweh” or “Jahveh” if you are German. Hebrew doesn't have vowels. Vowels are indicated by marks above, below, or inside letters. YHWH was often written with the vowel points of Adonai. This confused the Renaissance humanists who tried to pronounce it and came up with “Jehovah.” “Jehovah” was never God’s name in Hebrew, but it had a short but virulent life from the 16th to the 19th century, when we finally figured out “Yahweh.” Unfortunately, “Guide Me O Thou Great Yahweh” doesn't scan.
Now for the really interesting part. “Yahweh” is a verb! It is the third masculine imperfect hifil of the archaic verb HWH, which means “to be.” So what’s imperfect? The only tenses Hebrew had were perfect for completed action and imperfect for incomplete or continuing action. And the hifil? A feature of Hebrew grammar that does not correspond to any idea in European language. The hifil alters the vowels a bit and adds a causative idea. Don't make too much of the masculine form of the verb. Hebrew only has masculine and feminine and they don't raise the notion of gender.
OK, “Yahweh” means (drum roll) “He is causing being.” Pretty sophisticated for a bunch of nomads. Yet the archaic verb HWH, rather than the more modern HYH, indicates this idea is from the second millennium BCE. That pre-dates Plato by at least 500 years.
Hope that answers the question and was a little bit interesting.
The idea is that, basically, it is impossible to reduce a thing into words, particularly something so divine, abstract, and cosmic. You cannot imbue someone with wisdom or understanding just by writing a book and having them read it, just as a parent cannot teach an infant to walk by moving their hands and feet.
What you can do is guide someone by stimulating them with certain information, wisdom, and stories, just as a parent can help a child exercise their legs, or help them practice walking together. In the end, the child must stand on their own and move their own feet, and the would-be Daoist must understand the existence of this shapeless force on their own terms. To quote the wonderfully kitschy TV series Andromeda, which had a stand-in for a Daoist priest, “Wayists don't try to convert people. We simply show them that they're already Wayists.” ‘Dao’, of course, is just Chinese for ‘The Way’.
The opening passage of the Daodejing (use whatever Romanization you want, really doesn’t matter) is one of its most opaque, although it’s pretty intuitive once you understand and accept Laozi’s core theses. However, the real meaning of the work, and Laozi’s motive for writing it, are a lot clearer if you just skim that first chapter and look to the second and third:
“All in the world deem the beautiful to be beautiful; it is ugly. All deem the good to be good; it is bad. What is and what is not give birth to one another, What is difficult and what is easy complete one another, Long and short complement one another, High and low incline towards one another, Note and noise harmonize with one another, Before and after follow one another.
Therefore the sage dwells in the midst of non-action (wuwei) and practices the wordless teaching. Herein arise the things of the world, it does not turn from them; what it gives birth to it does not possess; what it does it does not retain. The achievements complete, it makes no claim to them. Because it makes no claim to them, they never leave it.”
So here we see some of Laozi’s core philosophical principles and theses, as well as the first introduction of wuwei. We see his motives and goals in the third passage:
“Do not honor the worthy. This will keep the people from contention. Do not prize rare things. This will keep the people from becoming thieves. Do not display the desirable. The hearts of the people will not be turbulent. Hence the governance of the sage: Empty their minds and fill their bellies, Weaken their wills and strengthen their bones. Always render the people free of knowledge and desire. Ensure that the clever do not dare to act. Engage in non-action (wuwei) and nothing will go unruled.”
This is a book written from a philosopher to a king, advice on how to govern a country in the best possible way. According to traditional history, Laozi was a historical archivist for the Zhou court, although history from that far back is very sketchy. He was watching his government slowly collapse into moral decadence and civil war between its fiefdoms, and was surrounded by an environment of opulence, waste, brutal warfare, and needless, fruitless death, and lots of ignorant, greedy, bloodthirsty men trying to slice themselves off the greatest possible share of this dying empire. Laozi was also a very learned man, one very in touch with the Zhou’s highly spiritual religious tradition and cosmology Religion and World View in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. He used this to either invent or elaborate the theory of the Dao, and primarily used it for political means, to explain some key points how to best be a king:
- Chill the fuck out, dude.
- Do not place so much value on the material, or on aggression. The harder you strive for something, the more likely it is to elude you.
- Go with the flow, but do not be idle.
- Keep things simple.
- Less is more.
- The more wars you fight, the more you make yourself a target, and the more you string yourself out.
- If you have to attack something, attack indirectly, and through softness. Do not hit where your enemy is hardest. And think about the long-term when you do.
- Bread and circuses, dude. Keep the people fed and dumb, and leave them alone. All that scheming just gets you in trouble and attracts attention and bad vibes.
He did not speak like a surfer, obviously. But this reads a lot more easily than the things he actually wrote, which include “It is better to stop pouring than to grasp it until it is full; the blade forged to full sharpness will not last long. Halls filled with gold and jade can never be secured; pride in wealth and rank brings disaster upon itself. The work being done, step out of view – that is the Dao of Heaven.”
I’m using the very readable and practically annotated translation of Robert Eno, found here http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Daodejing.pdf I usually prefer ctext Dao De Jing since it’s bilingual and very flexible, but the translations they use are really archaic, flowery, and obtuse, and the subject matter is already too much of all of those things.
The truly political content of the text isn’t that obvious at first, but very much is if you jump around to the middle (it’s a short text, if dense):
“He who assists a ruler by means of the Dao does not coerce the world by means of arms. Consequences come back around like a ring. Where troops encamp, brambles grow; After great armies, crops always fail. The good man is simply resolute; he never employs coercion. Be resolute without boast, resolute without threat, resolute without pride. Resolute from necessity, be resolute without coercion.”
“When things in their prime grow old, they are called ‘contrary to the Dao’. What is contrary to the Dao comes to an early end.” -the concept is that things are weakest at their point of greatest strength; this is when they begin to shrink and die. Much better to stay low-key instead, to be Switzerland than Prussia.
“Weapons are ill fortuned tools. Things may detest them, hence the man of the Dao does not rely on them. When a junzi is at leisure he honors what is at his left; use of weapons honors the right. Thus weapons are not tools of a junzi.”
“Weapons are ill fortuned tools; they must be used only from necessity. It is best to use them without gusto, to prevail without relish. To relish victory is to take joy in killing men. The man who takes joy in killing men will never attain his ambition in the world. Affairs of good fortune honor the left; affairs of ill fortune honor the right. The lieutenant’s place is to the left, the commander’s place is to the right. This means that mourning rites are the model. When the masses of another lord are killed, one should mourn them with wailing – for victory in battle, mourning rites are the model.”
Obviously this doesn’t mean that Daoism can’t be studied and applied by ordinary people, it just means that there’s a big layer to the text that isn’t immediately obvious and can be quite confusing if you don’t know about it. Understanding that this was originally essentially a spiritual and rational appeal to a bunch of Axial Age warlords helps clear up the text a bit and provides an additional perspective for understanding.
If you don’t get Taoism and want to learn more about it, or find Laozi weird and unreadable and pretentious, the traditional alternative/follow-up is to read Zhuangzi, who has dozens of highly readable, memorable, and intuitive parables on the Dao:
“Cook Ding was carving an ox carcass for Lord Wenhui. With each touch of his hand, heave of his shoulder, step of his feet, thrust of his knee – whop! whish! – he wielded his knife with a whoosh, and every move was in rhythm. It was as though he were performing the Dance of the Mulberry Grove or keeping to the beat of the Constant Source music. “Ah, marvelous!” said Lord Wenhui. “Surely this is the acme of skill!”
Cook Ding laid down his knife and replied, “What your servant loves, my lord, is the Dao, and that is a step beyond skill. “At the beginning, when I first began carving up oxen, all I could see was the whole carcass. After three years I could no longer see the carcass whole, and now I meet it with my spirit and don’t look with my eyes. Perception and understanding cease and spirit moves as it will. I follow the natural form: slicing the major joints I guide the knife through the big hollows, and by conforming to the inherent contours, no vessels or tendons or tangles of sinews – much less the big bones – block my blade in the least.”
“A good cook changes his knife once a year, but this is mere slicing. An ordinary cook changes his knife once a month, because he hacks. I’ve been using this knife now for nineteen years; it has carved thousands of oxen, yet the blade is as sharp as one fresh off the grindstone. You see, there are gaps between these joints, but the blade edge has no thickness. If a knife with no thickness moves into a gap, then it’s wide as need be and the blade wanders freely with plenty of leeway. That’s why after nineteen years the blade of my knife is as sharp as one fresh off the grindstone.”
“But nevertheless, whenever a tangled knot lies ahead, I spot the challenge and on the alert I focus my sight and slow down my hand – then I flick the blade with the slightest of moves, and before you know it the carcass has fallen apart like earth crumbling to the ground. I stand with knife raised and face all four directions in turn, prancing in place with complete satisfaction. Then I wipe off the knife and put it away.” “How fine!” said Lord Wenhui. “Listening to the words of Cook Ding, I have learned how to nurture life!”
Again, metaphors to instruct us on how to live and see the world more clearly and meaningfully, rather than just proscribing certain actions and hoping that we go along. However, Laozi was originally writing with a fairly literal and narrow political objective in mind, trying to get the nobles and kings of his era to see reason, look at the bigger picture, and cease their pointless squabbles, plots, and wars, give the people space to breathe and survive, to avoid the centuries of Warring States and Spring and Autumn that would follow.
Robert Eno’s translation and annotation of Zhuangzi: http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Zhuangzi.pdf
The Arabic name for Nazareth is an-Nāṣira,
Quran in line with arabic tradition of attributing a person to his home town that is jesus of Nazareth, So refers to Christians as followers of Jesus of Nazareth which turns into An-nasara
Followers of a person from Nazareth
It must be how the arabs used to refer to Christians in that period.
There are many good translations. I preferred Stephen Mitchell. I think we are guided as to where we are in how we find the way. Each of us has our own path to being. Alan Watts does a wonderful job also in the Watercourse Way I believe was the title. You know how you loan books and say when your done? That is what that was. Lol. Good luck.
Tao Te Ching: Lao Tzu's Timeless Classic for Today. A plain English rendering of this ancient classic.
The Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Tao, is a how-to guide for creating harmony in your life. It describes a force called the Tao that operates uniformly throughout the universe and is the causal agent of everything that happens. The Tao can be understood as being analogous to the laws of Nature, or Physics.
The Tao Te Ching has the distinction of being perhaps the oldest book in the world that is still in print, having been written around 2,500 years ago. Today, there are more editions of the Tao Te Ching than ever. There is something about this book that makes it a perennial favourite.
Its longevity comes from the fundamental truth and simplicity of its message. It illustrates the truth of the old saying that the greater the truth, the more simply it can be stated.
The Tao Te Ching has always had the power to transform the reader, but the reader must first be able to understand the underlying message. Phrased, as it was, by its ancient Chinese author, the language and imagery were products of that far off time and place. Not easy for people in the modern world to understand. This edition presents this timeless message in plain English for all to understand. The author of this edition has spent over 20 years getting to the essential, underlying, timeless message of the Tao Te Ching. He presents it here for a generation of new readers and for those already familiar with it from earlier editions.
YOU DO NOT HAVE A LIFE, YOU ARE LIFE
The trillions of life-forms on this planet -- animal and plant -- are all expressions of the same life-force. This life-force lives through each life-form. We are possessed by the life-force, rather being the possessor of the life-force, which is an expression of the Tao. We are all subject equally to the laws of Nature that govern Life -- we are born, gather strength, reach a peak, go into decline and then die. There are no exceptions, only variations in outer form and duration of lifecycle. The same can be said of the weather, politics, relationships and everything else in the observable world.
These laws of Nature -- the Tao -- are also expressed on a higher level in our minds and in the patterns of our social behaviour. enlightened people gain influence by learning to live in harmony with these underlying laws of Nature. That way, they can predict future trends and take early action, placing them in the right place at the right time.
ACCEPTING THE INEVITABILITY OF CHANGE
When you come to know the Tao, you understand that everything in the universe is in a state of flux. The emotional and intellectual structures that you build for your comfort and security will be subject to change by external forces that are largely beyond our control. The challenge is to accept the inevitability of change. We should not waste our energies propping up what one day must surely fall, defending them against criticisms, and convincing others to believe so that they are recognised as permanent truth.
Grasping the reality of the impermanence allows us to align ourselves with the forces of Nature that bring about incremental progress in the social and physical world. We learn to embrace change whenever it occurs.
BECOMING A FORCE OF NATURE
Our alignment with the forces in Nature makes us a part of those forces, gives us the momentum of those larger forces. Our perceptions become more finely tuned because they are now based on evolving reality, not upon orthodox thinking that may be out-of-date. We see the world as it is, not as we believe it should be.
Finding and following the Middle Path is how to create peace and tranquility in your life. A person whose life is chaotic, lurching from one disaster to the next, is unable do much more than merely survive.
Rudi, thank for the A2A. If you start at the beginning, you cannot go wrong, and you do not need to go any further. Please read the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. I recommend the translation Tao Te Ching: The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way, translated by Victor H. Mair. Mair translates a newly-discovered manuscript of the Tao Te Ching, one which is an older text and contains the 81 verses in the correct, original order.
If you read, read aloud and contemplate these verses, and then live them, reading nothing else, you may move more deeply into the Way of Integrity than if you do any other reading or do anything else.
The Way is in all of us. Lao Tsu knew this. If he thought writing more words would help, he would have written more.
The Way is best practice in silence and in nature. Observe nature until you become one with nature. Simple be a being standing on Earth under heaven, without complications. Perhaps the less you read, the better.
* * * * *
If it can be broken-down ~ it cannot be the tao.
If it can be summarized ~ it cannot be the tao.
If it has key points ~ it cannot be the tao.
* * * * *
I’m going to go way out on a limb and make a wild and totally radical suggestion: why don’t you READ the Tao Te Ching and The Art of War? They ARE books, you know, available in a wide variety of languages. As for “historical leaders” and “philosophy,” there are far too many of each, so you’d better narrow your field a bit if you expect any type of specific answer.
This is probably the most succinct summary I’ve seen in more than 50 years of avid interest in the subject (I have no connection with this website):
All things in nature seek equilibrium, stability, balance, harmony.
All things.
Our understanding of this provides a useful framework for better understanding what happens around us, to us and within us.
Most common renditions we have today originated with Renaissance artists conceptions. Where they came up with these who knows?
They are inaccurate to be sure. Jesus was not a wimpy, sad faced man with long unkempt hair and a scraggly beard.
Jesus was a robust and happy man with a sense of compassion and dedication. He was obviously a formidable person as he was able to expel the money changers and their guards from the Temple with just a piece of rope for a whip. Even the mob that came to arrest Him in the night fell back three times. He may have looked much like this illustration:
Illustration c
… (more)
I don't know about 'best', but if you want to understand the dao you should develop a deep appreciation for the concept of 'enough.' Do enough, and no more; have enough, and no more; think enough, and no more. For some people nothing is ever enough, and for others anything is too much; that's out of balance. But 'enough' is not a static quantity either. Sometimes enough is more than where you are, sometimes it's less, and always more of this means less of that; yin and yang are always in motion.
And yes, I think I've said enough for the moment. ;-)
There are thousands of books that are popular.
Tao teh ching is essence of good governance.
Good governance will happen only when we are selfless.
Being selfless means going beyond mind.
Understanding that mind is behind all actions and that it can be a good servant but not a good master is the foundation of this book.
Please read my book Unparalleled Parallels published by Partridge
Thank you for your interest
Not difficult to understand.but, yes difficult to live by his high ideals…essentially it is Karma yog as given in the Bhagwad Gita …readers interested in Lao Tzus wisdom please read my book Unparalleled Parallels published by Partridge…
Try one of these perhaps:
- The Book of Chuang Tzu by Zhuangzi
- The I Ching or Book of Changes
- The Analects by Confucius
- Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
- Blue Cliff Record
- Dhammapada
Stephen Mitchell’s - soft, accessible.
Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English - class-feeling.
Ames and Hall - university professors who dig deep.
The Syriac for God is Alaha. I don't think Jesus ever said it. He said he is the son of a man.
Shabbat Shalom; Remember The Sabbath,
I humbly submit for review consideration testing and sharpening.
(Q) If Jesus spoke Aramaic, then wouldn't his name be Isho/Eashoa instead of Yeshua?
Yeshua: Deliverer, Savior - Why This Name of God Is So Important for Today
(A) No,
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 7:14 TS2009
“Therefore Yah (יהוה) Himself gives you a sign: Look, the ‘almah’ conceives and gives birth to a son, and shall call His Name Immanu’ĕl.
Mattithyahu (Matthew) 1:23 TS2009
“See, an ‘almah’ shall conceive, and she shall give birth to a Son, and they shall call His Name Immanu’ĕl, ” which translated, means, “Ěl with us.”
YESHUA OR YEHOSHUA?
Yehoshua was name of Yoshua the son of Nun (יְהֹושֻׁעַ בִּן־נוּן YEHOSHUA BIN-NOON,
Joshua 1:1). יֵשׁוּעַ YESHUA is a shorter form of this name. When translated it means
'Salvation of Yahveh' .
After the time of Yeshua the Messiah, this name ישוע Yeshua is not given to any
Jewish man but earlier it was a common Jewish name. That name appears in the
Tanakh (Hebrew Old Testament) in the following verses: 1 Chr 24:11, 2 Chr 31:15,
Ezra 2:2, 2:6, 2:36, 2:40, 3:2, 3:8, 3:9, 4:3, 5:2, 8:33, 10:18, Neh 3:19, 7:7, 7:11, 7:43, 8:7,
9:4, 9:5, 10:9, 11:26, 12:7, 12:8, 12:10, 12:24, 12:26. The language in these preceding
verses is Hebrew, except in Ezra 5:2 Aramaic but also there the name is written
the same way as in the Hebrew texts:
בֵּאדַיִן קָמוּ זְרֻבָּבֶל בַּר-שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל, וְיֵשׁוּעַ בַּר-יוֹצָדָק
וְשָׁרִיו לְמִבְנֵא, בֵּית אֱלָהָא דִּי בִירוּשְׁלֶם
וְעִמְּהוֹן נְבִיַּאיָּא דִי-אֱלָהָא, מְסָעֲדִין לְהוֹן
In the Torah and before the time of the Second Temple the name of Yoshua is
written in the longer form יְהֹושֻׁעַ YEHOSHUA in Tanakh, but after that in a
shorter form יֵשׁוּעַ YESHUA. To Messiah was given this shorter name Yeshua,
which is Hebrew.
Jews who do not believe that Yeshua is the Messiah do know exactly what form
of his name, they will shun, and they shun the form יֵשוּע YESHUA. They call him
names ישו YESHU which is composed of the initials of words ימח שמו וזכרו
YEMACH SHEMO VEZICRO 'be his name and memory cursed'.
The avoiding of weiting and reciting the name, is based on the Torah: "If a man
have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and you hang him
on a tree; his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury
him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God; that you don’t defile
your land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance." (Deut 21:22,23 ).
Today there are many men named Yehoshua in Israel and in different parts of
the world. This name is also found in Israel in the names of places and streets.
For example, near the city of Netanya one can find a singpost whit words
כפר יהושע KFAR YEHOSHUA, the Village of Yehoshua.
I suppose that the Jewish rabbis are the ones to know what name they shun and
that is why it is sure that the angel told Joseph to give Him the name Yeshua
(Matt 1:21) .
In general, all Hebrew names mean something, and so does the name of Yeshua
the Messiah. It’s translated "Salvation of YHVH/Yahveh" . When translated to
any other language, it’s meaning is lost. When we utter the name, we confess
that YHVH / Yahveh is our Savior (Rom 10:13), and using the translation of the
word the confession is left out.
The name Yeshua is relevant in this time we live at, but in eternity, He, too, has
a new name when even the last enemy, death is defeated, because then salvation
is no longer needed (Rev 3:12).
The name of the Lord Yeshua is a name that has allways been opposed and hated.
That kind of behavior has obviously anti-Semitic roots. By doing so, people want to
make Yeshua’s Hebrew origin vague. After all, the angel Gabriel was not commanded
to tell to give Him a Greek, Latin or Aramaic but the Hebrew name.
Similarly, has this apostate Christianity wanted to exclude other Hebrew connections
for example, by changing the biblical Sabbath and the biblical date of Passover.
In their actions they prove to be God's enemies, while wanting to be righteous.
Source~
YESHUA OR YEHOSHUA?
Respectfully Submitted
P.ost S.cript
There are several definitions of Yeshua that can be found in Hebrew and Aramaic biblical text, taken from the Hebrew verb, yasha, that means “to deliver, save, or rescue,” and also stated as “Yehoshua.” Pronunciation of “Yeshua,” in Hebrew, can be read this way: “Yod,” “Shin,” “Vav,” “Ayin.” In Aramaic, the term, “Yeshu,” was transliterated from the Hebrew term of Yeshua, pronounced as “Yeh-shoo,” and missing the “a.”
Greek translations have “Yeshua” listed as Yesous, among first century Greeks, of which the name, Jesus, is derived
The involvement of the Council of Nicea, within the Roman Catholic Church, as well as influence of the English language into biblical text changed the use of “Yeshua” to describe the Savior into Jesus. “Yeshua” can be found most in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient texts that are still referenced among those in the Jewish faith. Hebrew is still considered the holy language used primarily for worshipping and prayer to God.
Source~
Bible Study Tools. com
We have DaVinci’s notes so we know who his model was. That image became popular, that does not make him the image of Jesus Christ but a popular image.
