Nobody before John the baptist was given the name “John”? What is John’s real/given name? (Yahya vs. Yohanan)

Nobody before John the baptist was given the name “John”? What is John’s real/given name? (Yahya vs. Yohanan)

19:5 And indeed, I fear the successors after me, and my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir 19:6 who will inherit me and inherit from the family of Jacob. And my Lord, make him pleasing." 19:7 "O Zechariah, indeed, We give you glad tidings of a boy whose name (will be) John (Yahya), We (have) not assigned (this) name for it (lahu) before."

(According to the articles “John” in Encyclopaedia Britannica, and “John (given name)” in wikipedia, “John” is originally derived from the Hebrew name “Yohanan”, which is considered older than the name “Yahya”. An answer to this is that Yohanan in Hebrew means “graced by Yah”, while the root of “Yahya”, in Arabic, is “Ha-Ya-Ya”, and it means “to live, be alive, endue/quicken with life, etc.”. So, they are two entirely different names derived from two different roots)(Yahya was born to an aged father and a barren mother, so he became “alive / Yahya”, and that was his given name)(Allah knows best)

20:74 Indeed, he who comes to his Lord as a criminal then indeed, for him is Hell. He will neither die in it and nor live (yahya).

(This Verse confirms the meaning of “yahya” (Ha-Ya-Ya = “to live, be alive, etc.”), which is different from the Hebrew one (graced by Yah))(“To live” in Hebrew is “chaya”(khah-yaw), but that’s not the meaning of “Yohanan”. Most Hebrew names are Biblical in origin, with exceptions like “Chaya”(feminine) or “Chaim”(masculine); so “Chaya” (to live) as a name, in Hebrew, is newer than “Yahya” in Arabic. This is confirmed by Wikipedia in his article titled “Haim”: “Chayyim” or “Chaim” “is a name of Hebrew origin which means “life”. Its first usage can be traced to the Middle Ages”(between the 5th to the 15th century AD); (on the other hand, John “the Baptist” was born on late 1st century BC))(Allah knows best)

87:13 Then he will not die therein nor will live (yahya).

(Another point is that the original Gospel is in Aramaic, while the Gospel in Greek is not the original one. It seems that the Greeks or Greek Jews omitted the name yahya(alive) when they wrote the current Gospel. Today the Gospel in Greek is the older existing one. They could have been more familiar with the “also-known-as” name “Yohanan”, than with the “real” name “Yahya”)(Another point is that there are many evidences that the Bible was corrupted, so it is not a reliable source. So, the Gospel in Greek is irrelevant in order to know John’s original name. See the link below “Is the Bible corrupted?”)(Allah knows best)

6:85 And Zechariah and John and Jesus and Elias - all (were) of the righteous.

(Has John the Baptist ever been known as Yahya by any group of people? According to the article “The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran” by Ethel Stefana Drower, “Mandaic is a southeastern Aramaic dialect type in use by the Mandaean community for their religious books”, it is “native to Iraq and Iran”. According to the article “The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people” by Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, “The Mandaean Book of John (Mandaic language “Drasa D-Yahya”) is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which is believed by Mandeans to have been written by their chief prophet John the Baptist”. Mandaeans use the dual name “Yahia Yuhana”. Actually, Yahia is the real name, while Yuhana is a “lay” name. Notice that the Qur’an says the words “Yahya” and “hananan”(equivalent to “(Yo)hanan” in Hebrew) in two consecutive Verses, and both are about John: “O John/(Yahya)… And We gave him judgment (as) a child, and affection (hananan) from Us...” (19:12-13). The word “hananan” in Arabic is equivalent to “hanan” (in “Yohanan” / “graced by Yah”). So, the Qur’an implicitly confirms that the Greeks took John’s “lay” name or “also-known-as” name, instead of John’s real name)(Allah knows best)

3:39 Then the Angels called him when/(while) he (was) standing - praying in the prayer chamber. "Indeed, Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya/(John), confirming [of] a Word from Allah and a noble, [and] chaste, and a Prophet (from) among the righteous.

(It could be objected that Mandaeans from Iran and Iraq were influenced or forced or whatever, to use the name “Yahya”. An answer to this objection is that there is no evidence of such statement. On the contrary, there is evidence that they were not persuaded by Muslims to change their book, and Muslims were familiar with the name “Yohanan” in the Bible, and never tried to change it to “Yahya”. If Mandaeans from Iran and Iraq had been influenced, they would have called him just “Yahya”, or just Biblical “Yohanan”, or just the Mandean “Yuhana”, which is nearly like the Biblical “Yohanan”. Any name would have been valid for Muslims, then, why did Mandeans use the two names “Yahia Yuhana”? Another point is that, traditionally, Muslims translate “Yahya” as “John”, and Yuhana(n)” is translated as “John” as well, so, in a Muslim community, either use, “Yahya” alone, or “Yuhana(n)” alone, would have been ok, because Muslims just translate or interpret both words as “John”. But, the name “Yahia Yuhana” used by Mandaean community, could be seen as “John John” (John twice). But, such a translation does not make sense for anyone, whether Muslim or Non-Muslim, unless those two names are just two different words, with two different roots, and one is his name (Yahya), and the other one (Yuhana) is a label or attribute or “also-known-as” or addition to his real name, or so, other than his real name. (Notice that Mandeans are the ones who use the two words together, not Muslims, because Muslims do not make distinction between Yahya and Yuhana, but both are interpreted as “John”). Mandeans themselves think that John the Baptist wrote their scripture, so it suggests that they think that their scripture (or tradition) is not corrupted and John the Baptist wrote “Yahia”)(According to the Bible, John the Baptist announced Jesus, while according to the Mandaean book, John the Baptist announces both Jesus and Muhammad. Muslims did not force Christians or Jews to write “Muhammad” in the Bible, nor forced Mandeans to write “Muhammad” in the Mandaean book. Their book itself is an evidence that Mandaeans were not forced to use the name “Yahya” by Muslims, because, actually, their book is against Muhammad and Islam, so, did they dare to write against Islam, but they did not dare to use the word “Yuhana” alone? It is obvious that the Mandeans were not force to use the word “Yahia”, on the contrary, they thought that “Yahia” is John’s real name. So, some non-Muslims’ objections about being forced to write “Yahya” in their book, does not make sense at all, because, they actually changed their book to defame Islam and Muslims, rather than changing it to please Muslims)(The Mandaean Book of John says, “Muhammad the Arab will be born, … He will remove stability and peace, and deceit and sin will increase in the world … He will remove the faith … They will hate the book of wisdom so that they bring evil into the world. They will hate adultery, but commit adultery, and hate theft, but commit theft, and hate usury (and) compound interest, but give one and take nine”)(And also notice the false statement about Ishmael in their book: “the son of the adopted son, Ishmael”)(Notice that the Mandaean Book of John even confirms that John’s parents wanted to give him a “also-known-as” name, besides his name: The Mandaean Book says, “Tell us, what name shall we give him? If we give him “Wise Joseph” then, will he teach the book in Jerusalem? If we give him “Zatan the Pillar”, then, will Jews trust him and not accuse him of deceit?” When Elizabeth heard, she spoke up. She cried out, saying, “From all these names that you have said, I do not desire to give him a single one. No, I only want to give him the name Yahia Yuhana, which Life gave to him”. Notice that the Mandaean Book gives additional info and more information than the Qur’an, so Muslims cannot have influenced or persuaded Mandaeans for writing such information. In conclusion, their book and/or tradition confirms John’s real name: Yahya)(Note: Arabic and Aramaic use the same root for the words “alive, live”. “Yahya” is used by both languages, Arabic and Aramaic. Another example, “Hay” (alive) in Aramaic is “Hayi” (alive) in Arabic)(Another point is that it seems that, at that time, people were called by an “also-known-as” name. For example, Jesus is sometimes called “Jesus the Messiah”, and sometimes he is just called “Christ / the Messiah” (1 Corinthians 1:17, John 4:25), so his name “Jesus” is sometimes omitted, just as John’s real name was omitted too)(In regard to the matters against Islam, said by Mandaeans, if Muslims are so bad, why Mandaeans are only found in Muslim countries today? The Qur’an supports freedom of religion. On the other hand, according to Edmondo Lupieri, in his article in Encyclopaedia Iranica, persecutions by Jews or by Christians might explain the reason for Madaeans’ departure from Palestine. As the archeological discovery of Mandaean incantation bowls and lead amulets proved a pre-Islamic Mandaean presence in the southern Mesopotamia)(According to the Mandaean text the Haran Gawaita, the Nasoraean Mandaeans, who were disciples of John the Baptist, left Judea/Palestine and migrated to Media in the 1st century CE. The reason given for this was their persecution in Jerusalem by a faction of Jews)(See the comparison between Islam, Christianity and Judaism in the link below: “Which religion is moderate and which is extreme?”)(Allah knows best)

19:12 "O John (yayahya), take the Scripture with strength." And We gave him judgment (as) a child 19:13 And affection (wahananan) from Us and purity, and he was righteous

(The article “Yahia Yuhana: How do you translate a name and its translation?” by “James F. McGrath” confirms that “Yahia Yuhana” is regarded as “John John” (John twice), but the article is wrongly saying that “Yahia” is not Mandaic/Aramaic, but Arabic. It is obvious that the words “Yahia Yuhana” make evident that there is a distinction between the two words themselves, by being mentioned together (Yahia Yuhana), and by being mentioned in the same sentence (“Yahia preaches at night, Yuhana in the evenings of the night”), in the Mandaean book)(“Yahia” is both, an Aramaic/Mandaic word and an Arabic one, and John’s real name. Arabic and Aramaic/Mandaic are Semitic languages, and use the same root for the words “alive, live” (Yahia/Yahya))(Notice that the distinction between Yahia/Yahya and (Yu)hana/(Yo)hanan is also confirmed in Verses 19:12-13 of the Qur’an. Verse 19:12 mentions “Yahya” as John’s name, then Verse 19:13 says about Yahya, “And affection (hananan) from Us”. “Hananan” in Arabic corresponds to “hanan” (graced) in Hebrew. So, the Qur’an tells the answer to this matter in these Verses, by mentioning a word (hananan), which is not a name, but it has the same root than the word used for “John” in the Bible)(James F. McGrath, editing the Mandaean Book of John, had the dilemma of how to translate “Yahia Yuhana”/”John John”. Finally, he translated it as “John-Johannes” to avoid repetition)(And the book rather proves that Mandaeans were not forced to change anything, nor John’s original name (Yahya). Mandaeans remained being followers of John, and they could have only used “Yuhana” (as it is mentioned in the Bible) instead of “Yahia Yuhana”, but they didn’t)(James F. McGrath admits that “Yahia” occurs very frequently on its own. And eventually, Yahia became every bit as much a Mandaean name”. It is more/very frequent because it’s the name, while Yuhana isn’t)(In conclusion, John the Baptist’s real name may have been preserved in Mandaean scriptures or traditions, because, if that were the custom, Muslims might have changed or forced to change the Bible, but they didn’t change or force to change any Scripture. Actually, for Muslims, Mandaeans’ book is corrupted by Mandaeans themselves, because it is against Islam, based on later Mandaean misconceptions about Islam, rather than John the Baptist predicting about Muhammad. Even James F. McGrath confirms that the book was corrupted, because he said that John is “made” to predict the coming of Muhammad”, and he said that there is no evidence that their book was written a time prior to the New Testament)(But James F. McGrath is making a wrong assumption by saying that the Mandaeans used the two names as an effort to persuade Muslims that the Yuhana of whom they traditionally spoke is the Yahia recognized as a Prophet in Islam. If Mandaeans had only used “Yuhana”, Muslims would have known that Yuhana is John (Yahya in the Qur’an), just as they knew that “Yohanan” in the Bible is Yahya in the Qur’an. The conclusion is that this topic was likely irrelevant for both sides (Muslims and Mandaeans), at that time, so both sides did not corrupt John’s name in the Mandaeans’ book, but it was preserved. On the other hand, it was more important for Mandaeans to defame Islam, even if it meant adding propaganda against Islam in their own scripture)(Note: the root of “hananan” (affection) is “Ha-Nun-Nun” in Arabic, and it means “merciful / compassionate / favorably incline towards a thing, etc.”. In Hebrew, the word “hanan” (graced) (in “Yohanan”) use the same root than the Arabic one. And “hanan/graced” implies “favored”; likewise, the Arabic “hanan” implies it too, according to its definition)(Allah knows best)

21:90 So We responded to him, and We bestowed on him Yahya/(John), and We cured for him his wife. Indeed, they used (to) hasten in good deeds, and they supplicate to Us (in) hope and fear, and they were humbly submissive to Us.

(Another point is that James F. McGrath objects that “This issue for Mandaeans in the Arab era is reflected particularly clearly in chapter 22 of the Mandaean Book of John: “… They stand questioning and they say, “Who is your prophet? … tell us whom you worship”. An answer to this objection is that this sentence rather proves that Mandaeans were not forced to use the name “Yahia”, because they were also questioned about God, but they kept using the words “Hayyi Rabbi” (“The Great Live” or “The Great Living God”), instead of using the word “Allah”. It does not make sense that people from the same place or country were unable to make clear who was their prophet, when such a simple question was made to them. And it does not make sense that the best way to answer such a simple question was to change their own scripture, expecting that Muslims would read it)(Another point is that, in regard to the sentence “Yahia preaches at night, Yuhana in the evenings of the night”, in the Mandaean Book of John, this sentence suggests that “Yahia” was used in a more private or hidden moments (nights). It might explain why the Bible only uses the “also-known-as” name (Yohanan), instead of his name (Yahya). On the other hand, “Yuhana” preaches in the evenings of the night, which implies a time between 5:00/6:00 P.M. and 8:00/9:00 P.M., so when people is not yet sleeping. So, the masses would rather call him “Yohanan”, instead of “Yahya”)(Another point is that Mandaeans are not Christians, and maintain that Jesus was a false Messiah. In the matter of forcing a group to change their scripture, Christians are more likely to force Mandaeans to use Yohanan, rather than Muslims forcing to use Yahia. Christians forced Jews to remove references in the Talmud against Jesus and Mary, so it was a Christian practice. On the other hand, Muslims believe in Jesus and Mary, but did not force to delete either)(“Christians forcing Mandaeans to use “Yohanan”” is an hypothetical example. According to my research in this article, the use of “Yahia Yuhana”, in the Mandaean Book of John, makes a lot of sense, so it seems clear that Mandaeans were not forced to write neither “Yahia” nor “Yuhana”)(Allah knows best)

See also: Is the Qur'an scientifically correct? (5) (History)

http://aqtthq.blogspot.com.es/2016/09/response-to-jay-smith-can-god-have-son.html

See also: Is the Qur'an scientifically correct? (0) (Index)

https://aqtthq.blogspot.com.es/2017/04/is-quran-scientifically-correct-2.html

See also: Is the Bible corrupted?

http://aqtthq.blogspot.com.es/2016/02/is-bible-corrupted.html

See also: Which religion is moderate and which is extreme? Who are the radicals? Judaism vs. Christianity vs. Islam vs. atheism

https://aqtthq.blogspot.com.es/2016/08/which-religion-is-moderate-and-which-is.html

See also: Root Dictionary of the Holy Qur’an (Index)

http://qdvbp.blogspot.com/2018/10/index-root-dictionary-of-holy-quran.html