Take the 2-minute tour ×

I have often heard Jews refer to Jesus as "Yoshke". Is the origin of that appellation based on halachic issues regarding mentioning names of foreign deities, or some other Jewish law or custom? When was its first recorded use?

share|improve this question
I wonder if it's related to Acher, who wasn't considered a deity by anyone but who tradition doesn't want to name anyway. –  Monica Cellio Feb 20 '13 at 15:21
Acher got his name from a story which involved him. –  sam Mar 10 '13 at 18:54
Actually, @sam, it's probably more likely that the story was invented to explain the name. There are dozens of possible explanations as to why somebody would refer (in the third person) to another person so dismissively, but the odds that it all goes back to what a single woman said to him when the two were in a field is quite unlikely. –  Shimon bM Mar 13 '13 at 2:27
Its a Yerushalmi in Chagigah,so not sure what you are saying. –  sam Mar 13 '13 at 2:48
@ShimonbM see last comment not sure you saw it. –  sam Mar 13 '13 at 17:52
show 2 more comments

2 Answers

I believe the original term was Yoshke Pandre referring to the notion that Jesus was not fathered by Joseph, a Jew but rather a Roman centurion named Panthera. The intent is to be derogatory. There is a chapter on this in Peter Schäfer's Jesus in the Talmud

share|improve this answer
add comment

Yoshke is simply a Yiddish diminutive nickname for Yehoshua (Joshua, for which a parallel English nickname would be Josh). Thus, it was simply a way for European Jews to make reference to Jesus in a manner that (a) conveyed the idea that Jesus was not viewed as important and (b) not likely to be picked up on by nearby Gentiles.

I doubt there is any record of the earliest use of the name, as it was, and still is, used almost exclusively in speech.

share|improve this answer
You mean like shmais.com/go/img/largepics/image2524.jpg –  Shmuel Brin Mar 13 '13 at 0:37
@ShmuelBrin Yes, though that might actually be for Yoseph. –  LazerA Mar 13 '13 at 1:40
I think it is.. –  Shmuel Brin Mar 13 '13 at 2:45
According to my reference on Ashkenazic names, Yoshke comes from Yosef, not Yehoshua, but it's often wrong. –  Charles Koppelman Mar 13 '13 at 3:37
@CharlesKoppelman I've encountered that usage as well. –  LazerA Mar 13 '13 at 4:23
add comment

Your Answer

