Yeshu

Yeshu, also rendered Yeshu ha-Notzri, is a designation used in certain Jewish polemical and hagiographic texts to refer to Jesus of Nazareth. It appears in Hebrew and Aramaic sources and is not part of the canonical Christian biography. In these traditions, Yeshu is typically the subject of critique and counter-argument.

Etymology and form: Yeshu is generally treated as a shortened form of Yeshua (the Hebrew form of Jesus). The addition ha-Notzri (“the Nazarene”) distinguishes the figure and marks the polemical purpose of the literature.

Sources and dating: The best-known collection is the Toledot Yeshu, a group of narratives with multiple redactions from late antiquity to the 15th century, with later printed editions. They are not considered reliable historical biographies by modern scholars.

Content and themes: The Yeshu narratives depict a controversial religious figure who studied with rabbis, attracted followers, and was sometimes described as performing miracles or engaging in contentious acts; most versions emphasize his execution and present critical, polemical accounts of Jesus and early Christianity.

Scholarly assessment: Most scholars regard Yeshu and the Toledot Yeshu as polemical literature reflecting Jewish-Christian polemics rather than historical biographies. They influence later Jewish folklore and reception studies, but are treated with caution in historical work and are not standard sources about Jesus.