A large variety of names and titles of JESUS

A large variety of names and titles are used in the New Testament to describe Jesus.
1 Personal name
2 Christ
3 Other titles in the New Testament
3.1 Prophet
3.2 Lord
3.3 Son of Man
3.4 Son of God
3.5 King of the Jews
3.6 Lamb of God
3.7 Christ, the new Adam
3.8 Rabboni/Rabbi
3.9 Apostle
3.10 Paraclete
3.11 Mediator
3.12 High Priest
3.13 Logos
3.14 Immanuel
4 Notes
5 References

Personal name
Authors have put forward numerous explanations to explain the origin of the name 'Jesus' (cf. Matthew 1:21), and have offered a still larger number of explanations for the meaning of the name. The name is related to the Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Joshua, which is a theophoric name first mentioned within the Biblical tradition in Exodus 17:9 as one of Moses' companions (and, according to tradition, later successor). Breaking the name down, we see that there are two parts: יהו Yeho, a theophoric reference to YHWH, the distinctive personal name of the God of Israel, plus the three letter root שוע, relating to the noun shua. Due to disputes over how to render שוע lexically,[1][2][3][4][5] there are a number of generally accepted phrases this combination can translate to:
Yeho-shua
Yhwh saves
Yhwh (is) salvation
"Yhwh" (is) a saving-cry
"Yhwh" (is) a cry-for-saving
"Yhwh" (is) a cry-for-help
Yhwh (is) my help

Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ [Yehoshua`] underwent an orthographical change into the Aramaic (some say late Biblical Hebrew) form יֵשׁוּעַ [Yeshua`] (for example, Ezra 2:2[6]) because of a phonological shift where guttural phonemes weakened, including [h].[7] Late Biblical Hebrew usually shortened the traditional theophoric element [Yahu] יהו at the beginning of a name to יו [Yo-], and at the end to יה [-yah]. In [Yoshua`], it palatized to [Yeshua`]. This shortened Hebrew name was common - the Hebrew Bible mentions ten individuals called it - and was also adopted by Aramaic- and Greek-speaking Jews.
By the time the New Testament was written, the Septuagint had already transliterated ישוע [Yeshua`] into Koine Greek as closely as possible in the 3rd-century BCE, the result being Ἰησοῦς [Iēsous]. Where Greek has no equivalent of the semitic letter ש shin [sh], it was replaced with a σ sigma [s], and a masculine singular ending [-s] was added. Many scholars believe some dialects dropped the final letter ע `ayin [`]. The Greek writings of Philo of Alexandria[8] and Josephus frequently mention this name.

From Greek, Ἰησοῦς [Iēsous] moved into Latin at least by the time of the Vetus Latina. The morphological jump this time was not as large as previous changes between language families. Ἰησοῦς [Iēsous] was transliterated to Latin IESVS, where it stood for many centuries. The Latin name has an irregular declension, with a genitive, dative, ablative, and vocative of Jesu, accusative of Jesum, and nominative of Jesus. Minuscule (lower case) letters were developed around 800 and some time later the U was invented to distinquish the vowel sound from the consonantal sound and the J to distinguish the consonant from I. Similarly, Greek minuscules were invented about the same time, prior to that the name was written in Capital letters: ΙΗCΟΥC or abbreviated as: ΙΗC with a line over the top, see also Christogram.
Modern English "Jesus" [ˈdʒi.zəs] derives from Early Middle English Iesu (attested from the 12th century). The name participated in the Great Vowel Shift in late Middle English (15th century). The letter J was first distinguished from 'I' by the Frenchman Pierre Ramus in the 16th, but did not become common in Modern English until the 17th century, so that early 17th century works such as the first edition of the King James Version of the Bible (1611) continued to print the name with an I. [9]

Christ
Though sometimes treated as if it were Jesus' surname, Christ is not a name but a title, and comes into English from the Greek Χριστός (Khristos), via the Latin Christus. It means "anointed one".[10] The Greek is a loan translation of the Hebrew mashiakh (מָשִׁיחַ) or Aramaic mshikha (מְשִׁיחָא), from which we derive the English word Messiah.
The title occurs in the Hebrew Bible, where it signifies the installation of a "king", "prophet", or "high priest": a person, chosen by God or descended from a person chosen by God, to serve as a civil, advisory, religious, and/or military authority.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus's genealogy (Matthew 1:2–16) uses the title "Anointed One" ("Christ") for Jesus, in the sense of an anointed king. It lists the succession of the anointed kings of Judah, starting with David through Solomon until Jeconiah. All of them belong to the Davidic Dynasty, which terminated when Babylon conquered Judah. Then the successors listed after Jeconiah are heirs for when a Neo-Davidic Dynasty is finally restored to Judah. At the conclusion of the list, Jesus is then identified as a new king and thus called the "Anointed One".
Early alternate spellings also exist: Chrestos or Chrestus [11].

Other titles in the New Testament
The New Testament uses many titles to refer to Jesus, including: God, Prophet, Lord, Son of man, Son of God, Lamb of God, King of the Jews, King of Kings, Rabbi and Emmanuel. Many Christians understand these titles as attesting to Jesus' divinity. Some historians have argued that when used in other texts of the time, these titles had other meanings, and therefore may have had other meanings when used in the Gospels as well.

John Dominic Crossan says that the titles "Divine", "Son of God", "God", "Lord", "Redeemer", "Liberator", and "Saviour of the World" were collectively applied to Octavian, who became Caesar Augustus after defeating Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Crossan cites what he calls the adoption of them by the early Christians to apply to Jesus as denying them of Caesar the Augustus. "They were taking the identity of the Roman emperor and giving it to a Jewish peasant. Either that was a peculiar joke and a very low lampoon, or it was what the Romans called majistas and we call high treason. " [12]
These affirmations, plausible in English, are less easily made in the languages spoken at the time referred to.
In 42 BC, Julius Caesar was formally deified as "the divine Julius" (divus Iulius),[13] His adopted son, Octavian (better known by the title "Augustus" given to him 15 years later, in 27 BC)[14] thus became known as "divi Iuli filius" (son of the divine Julius)[15] or simply "divi filius" (son of the god).[16] He used this title to advance his political position, finally overcoming all rivals for power within the Roman state.[17] The title was for him "a useful propaganda tool", and was displayed on the coins that he issued.[18]
The word applied to Julius Caesar as deified is "divus", not the distinct word "deus".[19] Thus Augustus was called "Divi filius", but never "Dei filius", the expression applied to Jesus in the Vulgate translation of the New Testament, as, for instance, in 1 John 5:5, and in earlier Latin translations, as shown by the Vetus Latina text "Inicium evangelii Ihesu Christi filii dei" preserved in the Codex Gigas. As son of Julius Caesar, Augustus was seen as the son of a god, not as the son of God, which was how the monotheistic Christians saw Jesus.
Greek did not have a distinction corresponding to that in Latin between "divus" and "deus". "Divus" was thus translated as "θεός", the same word used for the Olympian gods, and "divi filius" as "θεοῦ υἱός" (theou huios), [20] which, since it does not include the Greek article, would be understood in a polytheistic context as "son of a god". In the monotheistic context of the New Testament, the same phrase[21] refers to the one God. Indeed, in the New Testament, Jesus is usually referred to by the unambiguous phrase, " ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ" (ho huios tou theou), meaning the son of God.[22]
Similar comments can be made about some of the other titles, such as "Lord". The Britannica Online Encyclopaedia states that the word "dominus" meant "in ancient Rome, 'master', or 'owner', particularly of slaves. The name became the official title for the emperor, beginning with Diocletian, who reigned from AD 284 to 305; and thus he and his successors are often referred to as the dominate (dominatus), as contrasted with the earlier principate (principatus) of Augustus and his successors."

Prophet
Filipe 5ºe According to the New Testament, many Jews of the time thought of Jesus as a prophet.[23] The New Testament also indicates that Jesus considered himself to be a prophet.[24] Isa in Islam is one of God's most beloved prophets, but without connotations of divinity. In the Hebrew Bible, prophets were generally men who spoke for God, proclaiming God's words to the people, and often predicting future events.

Lord
The Gospels and Acts frequently use "Lord" as a title for Jesus. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus accepted this title as his own.[25] However, some scholars believe Jesus did not claim this title himself. They argue others ascribed it to him.[citation needed]
Many Christians interpret the term as a reference to divinity. In one passage Jesus is addressed as "My Lord and my God".[26] Scholars explain the use of this title in various ways: some believe that Jesus' disciples called him "Lord", but not because he was divine. According to Geza Vermes, a close reading of the Gospels suggests that most people addressed Jesus as lord as a sign of respect for a miracle-worker (especially in Mark and Matthew) or as a teacher (especially in Luke). In many cases one can substitute the words "sir" or "teacher" for "lord", and the meaning of the passage in question will not change, though in some instances the substitution would make little sense.[27] Others believe that the New Testament uses the term lord to mean divine, but that it was only after Jesus' death and resurrection that his followers ascribed to him divinity.[28] Still others argue that neither Jesus nor his disciples used the Aramaic term for lord, mara, and that the Greek term κύριος (kurios) was borrowed from pagan Hellenic usage.[29] However, kurios had long been used by the Septuagint to translate אדני (adon).[30]
The Hebrew Bible distinguishes between "lord" (adon) and "God"; the word "lord" does not necessarily imply divinity, although God is often described as "the Lord". Surviving inter-testamental Aramaic texts frequently use the Aramaic mara to mean "the Lord", that is, God; but they also provide evidence of people using mara and kurios as personal titles (for example, used to address a husband, father, or king). There is little evidence that term was used specifically to mean "teacher", but there is much evidence of students using the term mar to refer to their teachers respectfully, or to refer to an especially respected and authoritative teacher. In one passage in the New Testament "lord" and "teacher" are distinguished by two different Greek words.[31]

Son of Man
Jesus is rarely described as Son of man (בר נשא bar nasha, in Aramaic) outside of the Gospels, but in the Synoptic Gospels this title is used in several speeches attributed to Jesus, in a way that is near universally considered to have been intended as a self-reference. Historically, the title is a Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self in a humble manner. As a result, it was commonly used in prayer or in poetry. (see Son of Man)
Some argue that the phrase alludes to Daniel 7:13, which associates "one like a son of man" with a messianic vision, and six Gospel uses of the title directly refer to, and many others allude to, Daniel. Since Daniel is an apocalyptic work, some scholars link Jesus' use of the term "son of man" with the short apocalypse of chapter 13 of the Gospel of Mark (see Olivet discourse); such a view paints Jesus as preacher of apocalyptic Judaism. When the authors of the Gospels used the title "the Son of Man", the idea of Daniel's "Son of Man" was probably a factor in their use. Bruce Chilton puts it this way "the concept of the son of man as used in Daniel was certainly in the air when Jesus used the term and a fortiori when the New Testament was composed."[32]
Geza Vermes, observing that other Aramaic texts reveal that the phrase was used frequently to mean simply "man", or as a way by which a speaker may refer to himself, concluded that it is possible that this phrase was actually not a title. Whatever the meaning of the expression, when transcribed into Greek it is almost always used with the direct article ὁ (ho), translated "the", when it refers to Jesus.
In addition, Jesus never referred to himself as "Lord" or "God." In the Gospels, when Jesus spoke in the third person, he only referred to himself as the "Son of Man."

Son of God
The New Testament frequently refers to Jesus as the son of God; Jesus seldom does, but often refers to God as his father. As with "Son of Man", "Son of God" is usually used with the direct article when referring to Jesus.
Geza Vermes has argued that Jesus and his followers may have understood this title differently. He observes that the Hebrew Bible uses the phrase "son of God" in other senses: to refer to heavenly or angelic beings; to refer to the Children of Israel, and to refer to kings. There is no New Testament evidence to suggest that early Christians thought of Jesus as an angel, so the first two usages seem not to apply.In the Gospels, the being of Jesus as "son of God", corresponds exactly to the typical Hasid from Galilee, a "pious" holy man that by God intervention performs miracles and exorcisms.[33][34]
However, Mark identifies Jesus as the son of King David, and Matthew and Luke provide lineages linking Jesus to King David. II Samuel 7:14, Psalm 89:26-27 and possibly 2:7, refer to David as a "son" of God, although historians find no evidence that the authors of the Bible believed David to be divine or literally God's son. (Some Christians, namely those believing in Bible prophecy, interpret these and other Psalms as referring prophetically to Jesus, the "seed" referred to in Psalm 89. See Christ in the Psalms by Father Patrick Reardon).
In post-Biblical Judaism, the title was often applied to righteous men: Sirach 4:10 and Wisdom of Solomon 2:17-18 use the term to refer to just men, and Book of Jubilees 1:24-25 has God declaring all righteous men to be his sons. Philo too wrote that good people are sons of God, and various rabbis in the Talmud declare that when Israelites are good, they are sons of God. The Talmud provides one example that parallels that of Jesus: Rabbi Hanina, whom God referred to as "my son", was also a miracle worker, and was able to resist Agrat, queen of the demons. Vermes suggests that "son of God" was a title used in the vicinity of Galilee by miracle-workers.
Other scholars have suggested that the identification of "son of God" with divinity is pagan in origin; the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt referred to themselves as sons of Zeus or of Helios; Roman emperors used the title divi filius, or son of God. They suggest that the belief that Jesus was in fact "the son of God", and the association of his divine paternity with his being "messiah", were added after Christianity broke with Judaism.

King of the Jews
Main articles: King of the Jews and INRI
The title of "King of the Jews" is used to refer to Jesus in two recorded episodes during his life. It is first used by the Magi, who ask of King Herod "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him".[35] The teachers of the law answer that he will be found in Bethlehem, according to the prophesy of Micah.[36]
It is again used in Jesus' trial. In all of the gospels, Pilate is recorded as asking Jesus "Are you king of the Jews?", to which Jesus replies "You have said so".[37] This may imply that the Sanhedrin told Pilate that Jesus had claimed this title, see also Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus. Pilate then orders the written charge on the sign on Jesus' cross to read "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews".[38] John reports that the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.[39] In Latin this can be translated as "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum". The abbreviation INRI is therefore used to represent this in many depictions of Jesus' crucifixion.

Lamb of God
A title of Jesus used exclusively by John the Evangelist,[40] though "lamb" is used by other New Testament writers. Paul specifically identifies Jesus with the Paschal lamb.[41] Scholars such as Geza Vermes and the late Charles Burney averred that the title "Lamb of God" does not necessarily refer to the metaphor of a sacrificial animal. They point out that in Galilean Aramaic the word talya, literally "lamb", had the common meaning of "male child". This is akin to "kid" meaning "child" in modern colloquial English. The female equivalent of Talya was Talitha, literally "ewe lamb" and figuratively "girl" (the word is found in the Narrative of the Daughter of Jairus[42]). Thus, "Lamb of God" could have been a slang means of saying "Son of God" or "God's Kid".[43] As Burney further points out in Galilean Aramaic, talya can additionally mean "servant" (with allusions to the "Servant of God" in Isaiah 53) allowing for a threefold pun between "lamb" "child" and "servant."[44]

Christ, the new Adam
In the NRSV, 1 Corinthians 15:45 reads, “Thus it is written, The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” and Romans 5:12 reads, “ Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.” Jesus came as the new the Adam, a new prototype, to reconcile humanity and establish a relationship with the Godhead, establishing a new humanity. The first Adam participated in the Fall, which brought death through sin; while the second Adam brought grace, righteousness, and salvation.[45] Pannenberg connected the second Adam imagery to the New Testament in “Paul and John’s doctrine of Jesus as the incarnate Logos.” According to Pannenberg the work of Jesus as the second Adam is the essential link between anthropology and Christology, “affirming the unity of creation as salvation history directed by God towards its eschatological fulfillment in Jesus Christ."[46]

Rabboni/Rabbi
Mary Magdalene calls Jesus Rabboni,[47] which means "my rabbi" [lit. "my teacher"], which is also used for Jesus in other passages.[48] A rabbi is a Jewish teacher, usually referring to a religious teacher and associated with the Pharisees.

Apostle
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus is called an Apostle.[49] An apostle is one who is sent for some purpose, who represents the authority of the sender, similar to an emissary. A verbal form of the word is used of Jesus in the Gospel of John 17:3, where it is translated "one...sent".

Paraclete
Main article: Paraclete
In John 14:16 Jesus said he will ask the Father to send "another" paraclete, strongly implying that he is the first paraclete. In 1 John 2:1 Jesus is called the paraclete.

Mediator
In 1 Tim 2:5 Jesus is called the mediator between God and men. In Hebrews 8:6, 9:15, 12:24 Jesus is called the mediator of the new covenant.

High Priest
Main article: Kohen Gadol
The Epistle to the Hebrews calls Jesus the High Priest.

Logos
Main article: Jesus Christ the Logos
John 1:14-18 calls Jesus the Logos in the flesh.

Immanuel
Immanuel (also Emmanuel, Emanuel, etc..) is another name associated with Jesus. It is based on Isaiah 7:12, which is then cited in Matthew 1:23 (and thereby directly associated with Jesus). The name is translated by the author of Matthew to mean 'God with us'.