Yehoshua ben Yehotsadak

Question

Dear Rabbi,

There were 2 personages contemporaries of Zerubbabel. One of them is Yoshua Ben Yehozadak, and the other is Yeshua Ben Yozadak. The difference in the name is just one h(Hey). Are they the same person?

Answer

Yes, Yehoshua ben Yehotsadak, and Yeshua ben Yotsadak is the same person. He was the High Priest at the time of the rebuilding of the Temple and together with Zerubavel led the people who returned to Israel from Babylon. Spelling changes occur quite often in the Bible. The spelling Yeshua (without the hey) is in the books Ezra and Nehemia, while the other spelling [with the hey] is in Hagai Zecharia and Divrei Hayamim.

Hag Succoth Sameah,

Rabbi Monique Susskind Goldberg
October 2006