Messianic Exegesis

[ Targum & Midrash ] [ Primary texts ] [ IHO Index ] [ Search ] [ Rabbis ] [ New Covenant Eschatology ]

Click on title of any pericope numbered in red to access the original language text.

218.	A True Son of David
11	The Lawless One [anomos] has emptied our land of its inhabitants; they have made young and old disappear, together with their children.
12	In the splendor of his wrath, he exiled them to the West, and the rulers of the land to unrelenting mockery.
13	As an alien, the enemy acted in arrogance; and his heart was alienated from our God.
14	All that he did in Jerusalem was like the Gentiles in the cities of their might.
15	And in the midst of Gentiles, the sons of the covenant outdid them; and there was none among them in Jerusalem who did mercy and truth.
16	Those who love the congregations of the saints fled from them; and they flew like sparrows from their nests.
17	They wandered in the wilderness to save their souls from evil; and precious in their eyes was the company of a soul saved from them.
18	The dispersion into all the earth was wrought by lawless men, so that heaven held back from dropping rain upon the earth.
19	The everlasting springs of the depths from the mountain heights were shut, because there was none among them who did righteousness and justice;
20	from their ruler even to the least of the people they were all in sin. The king transgressed, the judge was unscrupulous and the people sinned.
21	Look, Lord! And raise up their (true) king, the son of David, to reign over your servant Israel in the hour which you foresaw, O God!
22	Gird him with strength to shatter unrighteous rulers! let him purify Jerusalem from Gentiles who trample her in destruction;
23	to remove sinners from your inheritance with wisdom and righteousness , to shatter their substance like a potter's vessel [Ps 2:9].
24	to wipe out the arrogance of the sinful with a rod of iron, to destroy the Gentile transgressors with the word of his mouth
25	so that at his rebuke the Gentiles shall flee from his face, and to refute sinners in the word of their heart.
26	He will gather a holy people that he will lead in righteousness; and he shall judge the tribes of the people sanctified by the Lord his God.
27	They shall not allow iniquity to settle in their midst; and any man who knows evil shall not dwell with them. For he will know them that they are all sons of their God;
28	and he will separate them into their tribes in the land. The settler and the foreigner shall no longer dwell with them.
29	He shall judge the nations and the Gentiles in the wisdom of his righteousness;
30	and he shall have the nations of the Gentiles under his yoke to serve him. And they shall shall glorify the Lord as a sign for all the earth. And he will purify Jerusalem in holiness, even as it was in the beginning.
31	The Gentiles are to come from the end of the earth to see his glory, bearing her exhausted sons (as) gifts [cf. Isa 66:18-20]. They are to see the glory of the Lord by which God glorified her [Jerusalem];
32	and he who is king over them shall be righteous and taught by God. In his day there is to be no iniquity in their midst, for all will be holy, and their king the Lord's Anointed [Christos Kyriou].*
33	For he will not hope in horse and rider and bow, nor will he multiply for himself gold and silver for battle, nor will he place his hopes on multitudes in the day of battle.
34	The Lord himself (is) his king, the hope of one strong in the hope of God; And he shall have mercy on all the gentiles (who come) before him in fear.
35	For he shall strike the earth with the word of his mouth forever. For he shall bless the people of the Lord with rejoicing in wisdom;
36	and he shall be free from sin to rule a great people. He shall rebuke rulers and remove sinners by the force of (his) word.
37	And he shall not weaken in his days, since God shall make him strong by a holy Spirit, and wise, with strength and righteousness, in the counsel of understanding.
38	The blessing of the Lord will be with him in force; and he will not weaken.
39	His hope is in the Lord and who can (stand) before him?
40	(He is) mighty in deeds [erga] and strong in the fear of God! He shall shepherd the flock of the Lord in faith and righteousness; and he shall not allow any of them to weaken in their pasture.
41	He shall lead them all in holiness; and there shall be no arrogance among them for any to be oppressed.
42	This is the majesty of the king of Israel which God foreknew [cf. Isa 11] to raise him up in Israel to guide him.
43	His sayings are purer than pure quality gold. In the congregations he shall judge the peoples, the tribes of the sanctified. His words will be like the words of the saints in the midst of a holy people.
44	Blessed are those who are born in that day, to see the good of Israel which God will do in the congregation of the tribes.
45	Let God speed his mercy to Israel! He will keep us from the impurity of profane enemies!
46	The Lord, he is our King forever and ever!
	--- Pseudepigrapha, Psalms of Solomon 17:11-46
*	Experts generally agree that the nominative Κυρίος in extant mss. of this Jewish composition is the product of a misreading of the original Hebrew by the Hellenistic translator or a later Christian copyist. This translation follows recent published editions of the Psalm in restoring the genitive form Κυρίου which lets the text be read as the traditional Judaic designation of royal descendants of David (as invoked in v. 21).

The Messiah's Sword

219.	Judah's Warrior King
10	Kings and rulers shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor scribes teaching the Torah from his seed, until the time when the youngest of his sons, the king Messiah, shall come and because of him the peoples shall flow together.
11	How lovely is the king Messiah, who is to rise from the house of Judah. He girds his loins and goes out to wage war on those who hate him, killing kings and rulers... and reddening the mountains with the blood of their slain. With his garments dipped in blood, he is like one who treads grapes in the wine press [cf. Isa 63:3].
12	More lovely are the eyes of the king Messiah than pure wine--- not to see the uncovering of nakedness or the shedding of innocent blood. His teeth are purer than milk--- not for eating what is torn or stolen. So his mountains are red (from vines) and his winepress red from wine and his hills white from grain and sheepfolds
	--- Targum, pseudo-Jonathan on Gen 49:10-12

220.	The First-born
7	"Sanctify unto me all the first-born" (Exod 13:1) Rabbi Nathan said: --"The Holy One, blessed be He!, told Moses: -- 'Just as I made Jacob a first-born, as it is said: --'Israel is my son, my first-born" (Exod 4:22), so will I make the king Messiah a first-born, as it is said: --Also I will affirm him [David] 'the first-born' (Ps 89:28).
	--- Midrash, Shemoth Rabbah 19.7

221.	Servant teaches the Nations
1	See my servant the Messiah whom I bring near, my chosen one in whom my Word [Memra] takes delight; I will place my Holy Spirit upon him and he will reveal my Torah to the nations.
	--- Targum, Jonathan on Isa 42:1

222.	Good News of God's Kingdom
9	Go up on a high mountain, you prophets who bring good news to Zion! Lift up your voice in strength, you who bring good news to Jerusalem. Lift it up (and) do not fear. Say to the cities of the house of Judah: --"The kingdom of your God is revealed!"
	--- Targum, Jonathan on Isa 40:9

223.	Servant Exalted
13	See, the Messiah my servant shall prosper; he shall be lifted up and thrive and grow strong.
14	How many days the house of Israel hoped for him! Their appearance was dark among the nations; their bright countenance was darkened among the sons of men.
	--- Targum, Jonathan on Isa 52:13-14

224.	The Messiah ends Suffering
8	From pain and punishment (the Messiah) will gather our exiles. And who can recount the wonders which shall be performed for us in his days? For he shall take the dominion of the nations away from the land of Israel, and he shall account to them the sins that my people committed.
	--- Targum, Jonathan on Isa 53:8

225.	The Branch
22	Thus says the Lord God: --"I will myself bring near a child* from the kingdom of the house of David, which is likened to a tall cedar, and I will raise him up from his sons' sons. With my Word [Memra] I will anoint him and I will establish him like a high & lofty mountain.
23	I will establish him on the mountain of the Holy One of Israel.. and he shall gather armies and build forts and be a mighty king. All the righteous shall rely on him, and all the humble shall dwell in the shade of his kingdom.
	--- Targum, Jonathan on Ezek 17:22-23
*	Aramaic yaniq is a wordplay on yoneqeth ["branch"] in the Hebrew text.

226.	Eras of Torah & Messiah
	The Tanna debe Eliyyahu* taught The world is to exist for six thousand years: The first two thousand years are to be void; the next two thousand years are the era of the Torah; and the last two thousand years are the era of the Messiah. Because of our many sins, some of the (final era) has already passed (and still there is no Messiah).
	--- Babylonian Talmud, Aboda Zara 9a
*	Tanna debe Eliyyahu: a haggadic midrash variously dated from the third to the tenth century CE. Despite the calculations, this tradition could have originated in the early Christian era, since some rabbis included the patriarchs in the era of Torah.

Pre-Messianic Organization

227.	Messiah: Future or Past?
	Rabbi Hillel (II) said: --"There will be no Messiah for Israel, since they already enjoyed him in the days of Hezekiah [cf. Isa 9:6-7] Rabbi Joseph said: --"May his Lord forgive Rabbi Hillel! When did Hezekiah live? During the first temple! But Zechariah prophesied during the second temple and said: --"Rejoice abundantly, daughter of Zion! Shout out, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king comes to you! He is righteous and delivered, humble and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass." (Zech 9:9).
	--- Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 99a

Seven Things Eternal

228.		Name of the Messiah
		Rab (Abba Arika) said: --"The world would not have been created except for David." (Rabbi) Samuel (bar Abba) said: --"For Moses!" Rabbi Johanan (bar Nappa^cha) said: --"For the Messiah!" What is his name? The school of Rabbi Shila said: --"His name is Shiloh, for it is said: --'until Shiloh come' (Gen 49:10)!" The school of Rabbi Jannai said: --"His name is Yinnon, for it is said: --'He shall endure forever, before there was a sun his name is Yinnon' (Ps 72:17)!" The school of Rabbi ^cHanina said: --"His name is ^cHanina, for it is said: --"as I will not give you favor [^chanina]' (Jer 16:13)!" Others say his name is Mena^chem, the son of Hezekiah, for it is said: --'For the comforter [Mena^chem] is far from me, the one who revives my soul" (Lam 1:16b)!" But the rabbis say: --"His name is the leper teacher, for it is said: --'Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we deemed him stricken [nago'a: "plagued", esp. leprosy], laid low by God and suffering" (Isa 53:4)!
		--- Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b

229.	A Suffering Messiah
	Rabbi Joshua ben Levi met Elijah standing at the the door of Rabbi Simeon be Yo^chai's tomb. He said to him: --"Will I inherit the world to come?" (Elijah) said: --"If the Lord here [adon hazeh] is willing!' Rabbi Joshua ben Levi explained: --"I saw two but heard a third voice." Then he said said to (Elijah): --"When will the Messiah come?" (Elijah) said to him: --"Go, ask him yourself!" --"And where does he sit?" --"At the gate of the city." --"And what sign [simenia] will reveal him to me?" --"He sits among the poor who suffer sores [^chalaim = "diseases]. and all of them loosen and bind (their bandages) together. But he loosens one and rebinds it, saying: 'If I am wanted, I will not be delayed!'" (Joshua) went back (to the gate and) said to him: --"Peace be with you, my Lord and Master!" (The Messiah) said to him: --"Peace be with you, son of Levi!" (Joshua) said to him: --"When will you come, Lord [mar]?" He said to him: --"Today!" (Joshua) came back to Elijah (who) said to him: --"What did he say to you?" (Joshua) said to him: --"(He said:) 'Peace be with you, son of Levi!'" (Elijah) said to him: --"He promised you and your father the world to come!' (Joshua) said to him: --"He told me a lie! For he said he would come today but he did not come!" (Elijah) said to him: --"He told you thus: 'Today, if you will hear his voice" (Ps 95:7)
	--- Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a

The Time of the Messianic King

230.	When will the Messiah come?
	Rabbi Johanan (bar Nappa^cha) said: --"The son of David will come only in a generation that is altogether innocent or altogether guilty." In a generation that is altogether innocent, as it is written: --"And your people shall be righteous, they shall inherit the land forever" (Isa 60:11) In a generation is altogether guilty, as it is written: --"And he saw that there was no man and he wondered that there was no one to intercede" (Isa 59:16).
	--- Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a

231.	How will the Messiah come?
	Rabbi Alexandri said Rabbi Joshua ben Levi juxtaposed (this) text: --"And see, with the clouds of heaven came one like a son of Man [bar einish]" (Dan 7:13) and this text: --"(See, your king comes to you...) humble and riding on an ass" (Zech 9:9) "with the clouds of heaven": (if) they are worthy; "humble and riding on an ass": (if) they are not worthy.
	--- Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98a

Footsteps of the Messiah

232.	Birth pangs of the Messiah
	It has been taught: Rabbi Eleazar (ben Shammua')'s disciples asked him: --"What can a man do to be saved from the birth pangs of the Messiah?" (and he said): -- "Occupy yourself with Torah and deeds of mercy!"
	--- Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b

The Death of the Messiah

[ Targum & Midrash ] [ Primary texts ] [ IHO Index ] [ Rabbis ] [ New Covenant Eschatology ]