"Spring, aus dem, Rainer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> schrieb: > I think it's u-declination. Therefore the plural is Jesus with a long > "u".
It isn't. In Hebrew / Aramaic, it is Yeshu, with both long and closed e and u (like in French nee and in English zoo). It is not certain which syllable was stressed (surviving Biblical Hebrew stresses last syllables). Hebrew lacks endings for cases. Literally transposed into Greek, the form of the name was and is IHCOYC (i-�s�s, with long, stressed last syllable). Conjugated forms, so to say, are IHCOYC (nom.) IHCOY (gen.) IHCOY (dat.) IHCOYN (acc.) IHCOY (voc.). Transposed into Latin, it is IESVS with oblique cases IESV (gen.) IESV (dat.) IESVM (acc.) IESV (voc.). Obviously, it was pronounced like in Greek (i-�s�s, with stressed last syllable), not like today. Both Greek and Latin mark the difference between nominative case and oblique cases but do not actually conjugate the name (it would have to be IESVS, IESVS (long closed u), IESVI, IESVM, O IESVS), either because of its sanctity or simply because it was foreign. There is no evidence for plural forms of given names in either Hebrew, Greek, or Latin in ancient times. However, I'm wondering, Herbert, if you want to know all of this or if you'd rather just like to express your opinions about all of those strange old things. -- Best, Mathias Mathias Roesel, Grosze Annenstrasze 5, 28199 Bremen, Deutschland/ Germany, T/F +49 - 421 - 165 49 97, Fax +49 1805 060 334 480 67, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] , [EMAIL PROTECTED] To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
