I am doing your audio study on Hebrews and I have a question, I have a NIV that I have studied for many years, I also have a KJV that I have been studying, and tonight during the audio study I noticed that in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 8. in the KJV it has Jesus, and in the NIV it has Joshua. can you tell me why they are different?
The English names “Jesus” and “Joshua” are both translated from the Hebrew name “Jehoshua”, so you can appreciate how there could be some confusion. However, from the context it seems clear that the writer was referring to Joshua. He brought the Israelites into the promised land which was supposed to be the place where they would find rest. But then, several hundred years later, David wrote about the need to hear God’s voice and not to harden their hearts as their ancestors had, or else they too would not enter God’s rest. The point was, if Joshua had given them rest, why was David writing about it later? The writer was trying to get them to see that only in Jesus could they truly find rest.