Shmuel Silberman
Both Jews and
missionaries profess belief in the Messiah of the Hebrew Bible. It is
surprising, then, that the term “the Messiah” does not appear in Jewish
Scripture. “The Messiah” is a post-Biblical term for a Biblical concept. From
where do billions of people get such an idea? When we look at what the Messiah
is actually called, and what is his setting and function, we will see that
missionaries have it wrong.
The word messiah means
“anointed.” Both kings and priests are anointed in the Hebrew Bible (I Samuel
10:1, Leviticus 4:3). Literally speaking, the Jewish people have had many
messiahs. In the future too,
However, Jews have
historically used the term “the Messiah” to refer specifically to King Messiah
son of David.
If the Messiah is never
called “the Messiah” in Jewish Scripture, how does one determine which passages
are about him? Since Jews and missionaries disagree on so many points, one
would expect that each side would dispute the selections of the other. This is
not the case. In fact, there is a striking asymmetry. Where Jews identify
verses as speaking about the Messiah, missionaries agree. However, verses that
missionaries identify as messianic, Jews often do not. Why is this so?
The simple reason is that
the traditional Jewish messianism is solidly based in Scripture whereas
missionary messianism is not. There is no reason to reject the Jewish messianic
passages as messianic, so missionaries agree. There is very good reason to
reject missionary citations as messianic, because they are not.
How does Judaism
decide which verses are about the Messiah?
In almost all
cases, Jewish Scripture refers to the Messiah as
(1) King, or
synonym for king
(2) David, or descendent of David
Both of these terms
sometimes refer to individuals other than the Messiah. Obviously there are
other kings. Of course “David” may refer to the actual King David rather than
the Messiah. Naturally there are descendants of David besides the Messiah.
Whether or not “King” or
“David” refers to the Messiah depends on context.
To understand why the
Messiah is called “David”, it is necessary to explain the status of the Davidic
dynasty in the Bible. Genesis 49:10 reads, “The
scepter shall not depart from
David is from the tribe
of
An additional specification
is that David’s throne is inherited exclusively by Solomon and his descendents
(I Chronicles 22:10).
Solomon’s bothers
(David’s other sons) are not eligible (28:5-7).
There are rules for
Messianic eligibility. He must (a) belong to the tribe of
Jesus fails every single
criterion bar none. He does not belong to the tribe of
Tribal affiliation is
based solely on the father (Numbers 1, Ezra 2). Since Jesus is supposedly born
of a virgin, he has no father; hence no tribal affiliation. He cannot be a
paternal descendent from David. The genealogy in Luke, which missionaries claim
is Jesus' "natural" genealogy, traces Joseph back to Nathan. Nathan
is Solomon's brother, but he is not Solomon.
Jesus was never a
reigning king of
The Messiah
defined by Ezekiel 37
37:21 And say unto them,
Thus says the L-rd G-d; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from the
nations, where they have gone, and will gather them all around, and bring them to their own land: 37:22
AndI will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel;and one
king shall be to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall
they be divided into two kingdoms any more: 37:23 Neither shall they defile
themselves any more with their idols, norwith their detestable things and their
transgressions: butI will save them in all their dwelling places, where they
have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will
betheir G-d. 37:24 And David my
servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one
shepherd: they shall also follow My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do
them. 37:25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my
servant, where their fathers have lived; and they shall live there forever,
they, and their children, and their children’s children forever: and My servant
David shall be their prince forever. 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them: and I will establish them, and multiply them,
and will set My Sanctuary in
the midst of them forever. 37:27 My Tabernacle also shall be with them: I will
be their G-d, and they shall be My people. 37:28 And the nations shall know that I the L-rd do
sanctify
Jews and missionaries
accept, and Scripture clarifies (Jeremiah 33, Isaiah 11) that “David” does not
mean David himself but his descendent.
From this passage,
we get a definitive view of the Messiah:
A Davidic king will reign in a world
of (a) universal peace (b) universal knowledge of G-d (c) the Temple rebuilt
(d) the Jewish exiles gathered to the land of Israel.
Missionaries do not
dispute this. They differ from Jews in maintaining that Jesus is positively the
one who will do so in the future. This prompts the question how missionaries
can possibly grant the Messianic title to one who has not accomplished what he
is required to do.
Messiah called
David or King
Jeremiah 33:15 In those
days, and at that time, will I cause a righteous branch to sprout for David; and he shall do justice and righteousness in the
land.33:16 In those days, at that time, shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell securely:
and she will be called,
The L-rd Our Righteousness. 33:17 For so says the L-rd; there shall not be cut off for David a man to sit
upon the throne over the
house of Israel; 33:18 There shall not be cut off for the priests, the Levites
a man before Me to offer burnt
offerings, and tokindle
meal offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. …33:25 So says the L-rd; If my
covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not established the
ordinances of heaven and earth; 33:26 Only then will I reject the children of
Jacob, and David My servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers
over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
Jeremiah 33 is clear that
a descendent of David will reign with the
Isaiah
11:1 And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots: 11:2 And
the spirit of the L-rd shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and
understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and fear of
the L-rd; 11:3 He shall be filled with fear of the L-rd: and he shall not judge
after the sight of his eyes, or rebuke based on the hearing of his ears: 11:4
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and rebuke with equity for the
humble of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 11:5 And
righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of
his waste. 11:6 The wolf
also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the goat; and the calf and the
young lion and the fattened ox together; and a young boy shall lead them. 11:7
And the cow and the bear shall graze together; their young ones shall lie down
together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 11:8 And the baby shall
play on the hole of the viper, and the infant shall put his hand on an adder’s
den. 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
L-rd, as the waters cover
the sea. 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, standing for an
banner for the nations; it will be sought out, and his rest shall be glorious.
11:11 On that day the L-rd shall show His might again to redeem the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros,
Cush, Elam, Shinar, and Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 11:12 And he
shall set up a signal for thenations, and shall assemble the exiles of
Jesse is David’s father.
Isaiah 11 speaks of a descendent of Jesse/David as political leader during the
ingathering of the Jewish exiles. Wolf dwelling with lamb suggests a world at
peace. Universal knowledge of G-d is predicted.
Hosea
3:4 For the children of
Hosea is clear when the
Davidic king rules: after the exile of “many days” and after the Jewish return
to G-d. The Jewish return to G-d brings the Messianic era (Isaiah 59:20,
Deuteronomy 30:1-10). “Fear of the L-rd” suggests widespread knowledge of G-d.
Zechariah
9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zechariah 9 teaches us
that King Messiah’s worldwide reign coincides with war ending and peace
established.
Missionaries incorrectly
credit Jesus with fulfilling Zechariah 9:9, because the New Testament says
Jesus rode into a
Other passages referring
to the Messiah as King and/or David are: Numbers 24, Isaiah 55, Jeremiah 23,
Jeremiah 30, Ezekiel 34. Micah 4:8, Micah 5, Amos 9 and Daniel 7.
The Messiah as
Tzemach (sprout):
Jeremiah 33:15 says, "In those days, and at that time, will I
cause a righteous branch to sprout (tzemach) for David; and he shall do justice
and righteousness inthe land."
Jeremiah above refers to
the Messiah as a tzemach of
David. This sets a precedent for calling the Messiah tzemach. The question is whether tzemach ever means the
Messiah when David is not mentioned.
One instance where tzemach may refer to the Messiah is
4:2. "On that day, the sprout of the Lord shall be for beauty and for honor, and the fruit of the
land for greatness and for glory for the survivors of
Tzemach appears two times in Zechariah.
Zechariah 3:6-8 reads, “G-d’s angel bore
witness for Joshua, saying: ‘This is what the G-d of Hosts said: If you walk in
My paths and keep My charge, then you will take charge of My house and guard My
courtyard, and I will permit you to stroll among those standing [angels].
Listen, now, Joshua the High Priest- you and your companions who sit before
you, for they are men worthy of a miracle. Behold I bring My servant Tzemach."
Joshua the High Priest served in the early days of the
Reference to Tzemach is repeated in Zechariah
6:12-13: "And you shall speak to him
saying, 'So says the L-rd of Hosts, saying: Behold a man whose name is Tzemach, and from his descendents will sprout the one who will buildthe Temple
of the L-rd."
Here Tzemach is arguably not the Messiah, as
Tzemach’s descendents, not himself, will build the
Whether Tzemach is the Messiah or Zerubabel,
there is no evidence for the view that the Messiah will die sacrificially
during the
In some instances
the Messiah is called by an alternate title. In such cases, it makes sense to
identify that person as the Messiah because his function, time and place are
identical to the person called by the common Messianic titles.
Messiah called
Redeemer
The word “redeemer” is
certainly appropriate for the Messiah. The question is, what does the redeemer
do, and when?
Isaiah 59:
17. And He donned righteousness like a coat
of armor and a helmet of salvation is upon His head, and He donned garments of
vengeance as His attire, and He was clad with zeal as a cloak.18. According to
their deeds, He shall repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His
enemies; to the islands He shall pay recompense.19. And from the west they
shall fear the name of the L-rd, and from the rising of the sun, His glory,
when distress shall come like a river; the spirit of the L-rd drives it
away.20. And a redeemer shall come to
The context is clear: the
redeemer comes when G-d judges nations from east to west and rescues
Notice how the New
Testament misquotes Isaiah: “The deliverer will come from
The difference is
profound. Isaiah says the redeemer comes to those who themselves turn away from
transgression. As the Talmud says, “Great is repentance, for it brings
redemption (Yoma 86b).’ The misquote in Romans “he will turn godlessness away
from Jacob” creates the false impression that the Messiah comes to personally
atone for
The covenant “My words
that I have placed in your mouth” tells us that the Jews will forever study the
Law of Moses. It is silly to suggest that G-d made a covenant that the Jews
will eternally study the same Law that the New Testament declares
"obsolete" (Hebrews 8:13). That is hardly a meaningful covenant.
Clearly the Law is not obsolete.
Notice also that Romans
deletes the real content of the covenant and replaces it with a Christian
message: “when I take away their sin.” This is a blatant misquote of Isaiah
59:21.
The Messiah
called by pronoun
The pronoun (He) may refer to the Messiah or G-d Himself (Isaiah 2:2-4, Micah
4:3). Either interpretation is acceptable, because (a) the Messiah is G-d’s
instrument for transforming the world and (b) Scripture alternates between
explicit references to G-d and to the Messiah as the one who ushers in the new
world. These passage fits perfectly with other Messianic passages and certainly
do not suggest a different role for the Messiah.
Isaiah 2:
2. And it shall be at the end of the
days, the mountain of the
L-rd'sHouse shall be firmly established at the top of the mountains, and it shall be raised
above the hills, and all the nations shall stream to it.3. And many peoples
shall go, and say, "Come, let us go up to the L-rd's mount, to the House
of the G-d of Jacob, and let
Him teach us of His ways,
and we will go in His paths," for out of Zion shall the Torah come forth,
and the word of the L-rd from Jerusalem. 4. And he [G-d or the Messiah] shall
judge between the nations and reprove many peoples, and they shall beat their
swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not
lift the sword against nation,neither shall they learn war anymore.
Isaiah 2 teaches the
Some Biblical books
describe the Messianic era without referring to the Messiah (Deuteronomy 30,
Zephaniah 3, Joel 3). The descriptions are totally consistent with passages
that do reference the Messiah.
The Hebrew Bible gives us
a clear and consistent view of the Messiah: what he does and when he does it.
The Biblical passages indicate he will accomplish his mission at the end of
history and in a short time. Since Jesus accomplished none of the Messiah’s
tasks, missionaries must dogmatically insist that Jesus will do so when given a
second chance. To this end they must revise the meaning and function of the
Messiah to include what Jesus allegedly did already. The validity of this claim
is assessed in part II of this essay.
Summary: Jesus is not eligible to be the
Messiah because he is not descended paternally from David and Solomon and was
not a reigning king. The Messiah comes at the end of history to reign during a
rebuilt