SEELANGS Digest - 23 Oct 2006 to 24 Oct 2006 (#2006-360)

[Inna Caron]

> Daniel Rancour-Laferriere wrote:
 
>What surprises me about 
>the responses on SEELANGS is that no one mentioned the way Jesus is 
>named in Bulgakov's _Master and Margarita_.
 
I think everyone is aware that Bulgakov turned to Talmud as one of his
information sources, and that he deliberately used Hebrew names (in lieu
of spoken Aramaic) for Jesus and Jerusalem. To a Russian speaker the
name "Yeshua" is invariable associated with Bulgakov's character rather
than with "historical Jesus." 
 
I was told, however, by Hebrew speakers, that the stress falls not on
"e," as we are accustomed to pronounce it (and as it has been reinforced
by the recent mini-series "Master and Margarita"), but on "u." The
initial "y" is also very short, so it would be better conveyed by
Russian "i kratkoe." But again, while ЙешУа may be the correct way to
pronounce a fairly common Hebrew name, including that of the 1st-century
Nazarene preacher, Иешуа will forever remain one of our most beloved
literary characters.
 
Inna

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