י.ש.ע
y-sh-ʿ — to save, to deliver, to rescue
י.ש.ע (yasha) is the salvation root — behind yeshuah, hoshana, and the names Joshua, Isaiah, Hosea and Yeshua.
Biblical HebrewPei-Yod (first letter drops in some forms)
The word family
Every word below is built on י.ש.ע. Same three letters, different vowels and prefixes.
הוֹשִׁיעַhoshiaHif'il
saved, delivered
יְשׁוּעָהyeshu'ahnoun
salvation, deliverance
מוֹשִׁיעַmoshiaHif'il present
saviour, deliverer
הוֹשַׁעְנָאhosha-naimperative + particle
please save!
Two words fused: the imperative הוֹשַׁע plus נָא, "please". The origin of "hosanna".
יְהוֹשֻׁעַYehoshuapersonal name
Joshua — "the LORD saves"
Shortened over time to יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshua), the form common in the Second Temple period.
יְשַׁעְיָהוּYeshayahupersonal name
Isaiah — "salvation of the LORD"
What I tell students about this root
Almost every form you meet is Hif'il, the causative binyan — the root does not really do "to be saved" on its own, it does "to cause rescue". And because the first letter is yod, it disappears in the Hif'il and you get a vav sound instead: hoshia, moshia, yeshuah. Recognising that swap is what lets you spot the root inside a name.