King Messiah

One in Messiah Congregation

The Messiah

What is the name of the King Messiah? R. Abba b. Kahana said: His name is "the Lord" [Heb: YHWH, Jehovah, Adonai], as it is stated, And this is His name whereby he shall be called, The Lord [Heb: YHWH] is our righteousness. (Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations 1:16)

"The germ of the idea underlying the fuller conception of the messianic Age was in existence from the time of the founders of the race of Israel. In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed , was the promise given both to Abraham and Isaac. It was a promise that reached far beyond the lifetime of each, farther than the limits of the temporal kingdom their descendants founded." (R. Samuel Singer, quoted in The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, ed. J.H.Hertz)

A STAR shall proceed out of Jacob, and there shall come a SCEPTRE in Israel. The KING Messiah is here spoken of as a STAR. (Rabbi Lieva of Prague)

When a king shall arise out of Jacob and the Messiah be anointed from Israel, He will slay the princes of Moab, and reign over all the children of man. (Targum Onkelos)

Our rabbis have a tradition that in the week in which the Messiah will be born there will be a bright STAR in the east , which is "THE STAR OF THE Messiah." (Pesikta Sortarta fol. 58. c.1)

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between the seed of thy sons, and between the seed of her sons; and it shall be when the sons of the woman keep the commandments of the Law, they will be prepared to smite thee on thy head; but if they forsake the commandments of the Law, thou wilt be prepared to wound them in the heel. Nevertheless for them there shall be a medicine; and they shall make a remedy for the heel in the days of the King Meshiha . (Jerusalem Targum.)

As the incarnation of evil Satan is the arch-enemy of the Messiah he is anti-Christ. The light which was created before the world, was hidden by God beneath His throne; and to the question of Satan in regard to it God answered: "This light is kept for him who shall bring thee to shame." At his request God showed Satan the Messiah; and when he saw him, he trembled. fell upon his face, and cried: " Verily this is the Messiah, who shall hurl (bruise) me, and all the princes of the angels of the people" down even into hell. (Pesikta Rabbati. 3:6. ed. Friedmann, p. 161, b.)

And there shall go forth a King from the Sons of Jesse, and the MESSIAH shall be anointed from his childrens children. (Targum Jonathan)

Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up to David the MESSIAH, who is righteous, and he will reign a King, and shall prosper, and execute the judgement of truth and justice in the earth. (Targum Jonathan)

And they shall worship before the Lord their God, and they shall hearken to MESSIAH, the Son Of David , their King, whom I will raise up unto them.(Targum Jonathan on Jeremiah 30:9,21)

Out of thee Bethlehem shall Messiah go forth before me, to exercise dominion over Israel. Whose name has been spoken of Old from the day of Eternity. (Targum Jonathan)

Although thou art little among the thousands of Judah, out of thee. shall come forth unto me a Judge to be Ruler in Israel, and this is the King Messiah. (Rabbi David Kimchi)

O, thou Bethlehem Ephrata ... although thou art little in the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto me a Man, a Ruler in Israel whose goings forth are from the days of old ... that is from the Seed of David ... who was of Bethlehem Judah. (Abarbanel, Mashmiah Jeshua, fol. 62, c. 2).

And a right Prophet [a Prophet of Righteousness] will the LORD your God give you, a Prophet from among you of your brethren like unto me with the Holy Spirit, will the Lord your God raise up unto you; to Him shall ye be obedient. (Targum Palestine, Targum Jerusalem)

In fact the Messiah is such a Prophet as is stated in the Midrash on the verses, Behold my servant shall prosper ... Moses by the miracles which he wrought drew but a single nation to the worship of God, but the Messiah will draw all nations to the worship of God. (Rabbi Levi ben Gershom)

We may all feel thankful that the Jewish race was so prolific in great men, that even so late in history, it produced one (Jesus) who deserves to be compared with Moses, Isaiah and Hillel. (Rabbi Adolph Moses, The Courier Journal 1885)

Our rabbis have taught that this concerns the Messiah-King... (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki)

If it [Psalm 2] be interpreted of the Messiah, the matter is clear. (Aben Ezra)

Our Rabbis taught, The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to the Messiah, the son of David (May he reveal himself speedily in our days!), "Ask of me anything, and I will give it to thee", as it is said, I will tell of the decree etc. this day have I begotten thee, ask of me and I will give the nations for thy inheritance . (Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a)

For to us a Son is born, to us a Son is given: and he shall receive the law upon him to keep it; and his name is called from of Old, Wonderful, Counsellor, Eloha, the Mighty, abiding to Eternity, the Messiah , because peace shall be multiplied on us in His days. (Targum Jonathan)

What is the cause of the mourning [in Zechariah 12:12]?R. Dosa and the Rabbis differ on the point. One explained, The cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, and the other explained, The cause is the slaying of the Evil Inclination.

It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse, And they shall look upon me because they have thrust him through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son . (Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a)

"What is his [the Messiahs] name? ... The rabbis said: His name is the leper scholar as it is written, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted ." (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b)

The expression "My Servant" they [certain contemporary commentators]
compare rashly with Isaiah 41:8 "thou Israel art my servant", where the
prophet is speaking of the people of Israel (which would be singular):
here, however, he does not mention Israel, but a simply says "My
Servant": we cannot therefore understand the word in the same sense ... I
am pleased to interpret it in accordance with the teaching of our rabbis of
the King Messiah, and will be careful, so far as I am able, to adhere to the
literal sense: thus, possibly, I shall be free from the forced far-fetched
interpretations of which others have been guilty. (Rabbi Moshe Kohen
ibn Crispin, circa 1350 CE)

He (Messiah) shall intercede for many sins, and the rebellious for his sake
will be forgiven. (Targum Jonathan)

The fact is it refers to King Messiah. "He was counted with the
transgressors," because they appointed his grave by the wicked, He will
intercede for the transgressors, and for those who rise up against Him. (Herz Homberg, 1749-1841)

Jonathan ben Uzziel interprets it in the Targum of the future Messiah; and this is also the opinion of our own learned men in the majority of their Midrashim. (Rabbi don Yitzehak Abarbanel, circa 1500 CE)

Forthwith the Holy One began to make a covenant with the Messiah: O Messiah, my righteousness, said he, the iniquities of those who are hidden beside thee will cause thee to enter into a hard yoke ... said the Messiah, Lord of the world I accept it joyfully, and will endure these chastisements ... Messiah accepted the chastisement of love, as it is written; He was oppressed, and he was afflicted. (Rabbi Moshe Ha-Darshan, 10th, 11th century CE, Midrash on Bereshith)

The prophet here declares, how the Messiah resigns himself to die, and be buried in their tomb. (Japheth ben Ali ha-Levi, c. 920 CE)

If we search the prophets we shall find that He who is promised as the Shepherd of Israel is THE MESSIAH. The Messiah therefore is the person to be smitten before the scattering of the sheep. (Rabbi David Kimchi on Zechariah)

The LORD is the King Messiah; He is also the Angel of the Covenant. (Rabbi David Kimchi)

The LORD is both the Divine majesty and the Angel of the Covenant, for the sentence is doubled. (Rabbi Aben Ezra)

The LORD may be explained of King Messiah (Mashimiah Jeshua fol. 76)

What is to be the manner of Messiahs coming, and where will be the place of his first appearance? He will make his first appearance in the land of Israel, as it is written, The Lord whom ye seek will come suddenly to His Temple. (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon)

Exult vehemently, O assemblage of Zion, and exult O assemblage of Jerusalem; Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, just himself and a Saviour, humble, riding on an ass, and a foal, and the young of an ass. (Jonathan ben Uzziel)

This is the Messiah our Righteousness. But is it not written of the Messiah, "Lowly, riding upon an ass?" Yes, but this shows he will come in humility, and not in pride upon horses. (Saadiah Gaon on Daniel 7:17)

R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Isaac: As the first redeemer was, so shall the latter Redeemer be. What is stated of the former redeemer? And Moses took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass (Ex. 16, 4). Similarly will it be with the latter Redeemer [Messiah], as it is stated, Lowly and riding upon an ass. (Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes 1. 9, 1)

Our rabbis of blessed memory with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of the King Messiah, and we ourselves shall also adhere to the same view. (Rabbi Moshe El-Sheikh of Safed: a disciple of Joseph Caro the author of the Shulchan Arukh, late 6th Century CE, Commentaries on the Earlier Prophets)

" But He was wounded," etc. ... meaning that since the Messiah bears our iniquities which produce the effect of His being bruised , it follows that whosoever will not admit that Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities must endure and suffer for them himself. (Rabbi Elijah ben Moses de Vidas, 16th century CE)

Out of thee Bethlehem shall Messiah go forth before me, to exercise dominion over Israel. Whose name has been spoken of Old from the day of Eternity. (Targum Jonathan)

Although thou art little among the thousands of Judah, out of thee. shall come forth unto me a Judge to be Ruler in Israel, and this is the King Messiah. (Rabbi David Kimchi)

I have examined and searched all the Holy Scriptures, and have not found the time for the coming of Messiah, clearly fixed, except in the words of Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, which are written in the ninth chapter of the prophecy of Daniel. (Rabbi Moses Abraham Levi)

He (Jonathan) moreover sought to make a Targum of the Hagiographa; but the bath Kol came forth and said, "Enough." And why might he not execute a Targum of the Hagiographa? Because the End about the Advent of the Messiah is revealed in it. Rashi says, "In the Book of Daniel." (Megillah fol. 3a)

And they [the Romans] fulfilled the prophecy given out against the Fatherland. (Flavius Josephus)

The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation; two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era. (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a) [The current year, according to Jewish reckoning, is 5765 years since creation. If that reckoning is correct Messiah should have come 1765 years ago!]

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