PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
Edersheim, Alfred, 1825-1889 · 873,712 words · 1020 reading sections
Megillath Taanith, Or Roll Of Fasts.
[6394] Drummond, u. s. p. 261. [6395] And yet there are frequent indications that Rabbinism sought guidance on these very subjects in the prophecies of Daniel. Thus, in the Pirqé de R. Eliezer there are repeated references ot the four monarchies - the Persian, Median, Macedonian, and Roman - when, in the time of t…
786 wordsSECTION 902Appendix Vi.
[6410] History of the Jewish Nation,' pp. 435, 436. [6411] The expression occurs already in Job xxvi. 7. [6412] Probably twofold' might best express the meaning. [6413] Mark also the symbolical significance of the numbers 3, 7, 12 as the manifestation of God - the Archetype of all else. [6414] All the glosses on a…
290 wordsSECTION 903On The Date Of The Nativity Of Our Lord
(Vol. i. Book II. ch. iii. and other passages). So much, that is generally accessible, has of late been written on this subject, and such accord exists on the general question, that only the briefest statement seems requisite in this place, the space at our command being necessarily reserved for subjects which have…
893 wordsSECTION 904Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, The Forerunner Of The Messiah
(Vol. i. Book II. ch. iii. p. 143.) To complete the evidence, presented in the text, as to the essential difference between the teaching of the ancient Synagogue about the Forerunner of the Messiah' and the history and mission of John the Baptist, as described in the New Testaments, we subjoin a full, though conde…
658 wordsSECTION 905Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, The Forerunner Of The Messiah
It has been noted in the text that the activity of Elijah, from the time of his appearance in the days of Ahab to that of his return as the forerunner of the Messiah, is represented in Jewish tradition as continuous, and that he is almost constantly introduced on the scene, either as in converse with some Rabbi, or…
821 wordsSECTION 906Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, The Forerunner Of The Messiah
The period of Elijah's advent would, according to one opinion (Pirqé de R. Eliez. 43), be a time of genuine repentance by Israel, although it is not stated that this change would be brought about by his ministry. On the other hand, his peculiar activity would consist in settling ceremonial and ritual questions, dou…
678 wordsSECTION 907Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, The Forerunner Of The Messiah
[6423] Of course this is the Hebrew word used in Is. lii. 7 (that published salvation'). None the less significant, however, in this connection, is the fact that the word is pronounced like the Name of Jesus. [6424] The reader will find, in our remarks on Ps. ex. 2 in Append. IX. the curious traditions about this …
406 wordsSECTION 908Appendix Ix.
LIST OF OLD TESTAMENT PASSAGES MESSIANICALLY APPLIED IN ANCIENT RABBINIC WRITINGS (Vol. i. Book II. ch. v.) THE following list contains the passages in the Old Testament applied to the Messiah or to Messianic times in the most ancient Jewish writings. They amount in all to 456, thus distributed: 75 from the Penta…
891 wordsSECTION 909Appendix Ix.
Gen iii. 15. This well-known passage is paraphrased, with express reference to the Messiah, in the Targum Pseudo Jonathan and the so-called Jerusalem Targum. Schöttgen conjectures that the Talmudic designation of heels of the Messiah' (Sot. 49 b, line 2 from top) in reference to the near Advent of the Messiah in th…
659 wordsSECTION 910Appendix Ix.
In Gen. xxxv. 21 the Targum Pseudo-Jon. paraphrases the tower of Eder' (at Bethlehem) as the place whence the Messiah would be revealed. On Gen. xxxviii. 1, 2 there are very remarkable Messianic comments in Ber. R. 85. Gen. xlix. 1. The Targum Pseudo-Jon. notes, that the end for which the Messhah would come was no…
674 wordsSECTION 911Appendix Ix.
Ex. iv. 22 is reffered to the Messiah in the Midr. on Ps. ii. 7. On Exod. xii. 2, let this be the beginning of months,' it is remarked in Shem.R. 15 (ed. Warsh. p. 24 b) that God would make new ten things in the latter days, these being marked by the following passages: Is lx. 19; Ezek. xlvii. 9; xlvii. 12; Ezek. x…
674 wordsSECTION 912Appendix Ix.
Deut. i. 8 is applied to the days of the Messiah in Sphré, 67 a. In the comments of Tanchuma on Deut. viii. 1. (ed. Warsh. p. 104 b, 105 a) there are several allusions to Mesianic days. Deut. xi. 21 is applied in Siphré Par. 47 (ed. Friedmann, p. 83 a) to the days of the Messiah. In Deut. xvi. 3 the record of the …
767 wordsSECTION 913Appendix Ix.
Again, the Targum on Ruth i. 1 speaks of the Messiah; and again on Ruth iii. 15 paraphrases the six measures of barley as referring to six righteous ones, of which the last was the Messiah, and who were each to have six special blessings. Ruth iv. 18. The Messiah is called the son of Pharez,' who restores what had…
660 wordsSECTION 914Appendix Ix.
But to return Ps. ii. 4 is Messianically applied in the Talmud (Abhod. Z. u. s.). Ps. ii. 6 is applied to the Messiah in the Midrash on 1 Samuel xvi. 1 (Par. 19, ed, Lemberg, p. 45 a and b), where it is said that of the three measures of sufferings [6428] one goes to the King Messiah, of whom it is written (Is. lii…
653 wordsSECTION 915Appendix Ix.
Ps. xviii. 50 is referred in Jer. Talmud (Ber. ii. 4, p. 5 a, line 11 from the top), and in the Midr. on Lam. i. 16, to the Messiah, with this curious remark, implying the doubt whether He was alive or dead: The king Messiah, whether He belong to the living or the dead, His Name is to be David, according to Ps. xvi…
707 wordsSECTION 916Appendix Ix.
On verse 7 the Targum though not in the Venice edition (1568), has: Thou O King Messiah because Thou lovest righteousness,' &c. Comp. Levy, Targum. Wörterb. vol. ii. p. 41 a. The Midrash on the Psalm deals exclusively with the inscription (of which it has several and significant interpretations) with the opening w…
695 wordsSECTION 917Appendix Ix.
In the same place, a little higher up, Solomon and the Messiah are likened as reigning over the whole world, the proof passages being, besides others, Ps. lxxii. 8, Daniel vii. 13, and ii. 35. On the application to the Messiah of verse 16 we have already spoken, as also on that of verse 17. Ps. lxxx. 17 (in the He…
765 wordsSECTION 918Appendix Ix.
Ps. cii. 16 (17 in the Hebrew) is applied in Bereshith R. 56 (ed. Warsh. p. 104 b) to Messianic times. Ps. cvi. 44. On this there is in the Midrash a long Messianic discussion, setting forth the five grounds on which Israel is redeemed: through the sorrows of Israel through prayer, through the merits of the patria…
667 wordsSECTION 919Appendix Ix.
The last clause of Eccl. i. 11 is applied to the days of the Messiah in the Targum. Eccl. vii. 24 is thus paraphrased in the Targum: Behold, it is remote from the sons of men that they should know what was done from the beginning of the world, but a mystery is the day of death - and the day when shall come King Me…
697 wordsSECTION 920Appendix Ix.
Similarly on Cant. viii.1, the Targum has it: And at that shall the King Messiah be revealed to the congragation of Israel, and the children of Israel shall say to Him, Come and be a brother to us, and let us go up to Jerusalem, and there suck with thee the meaning of the Law, as an infant its mother's breast.' On…
728 wordsSECTION 921Appendix Ix.
On the 2nd verse see our remarks on Gen. i. 2, while in Yalkut on Prov. iii. 19, 20 (vol. ii. p. 133 a) the verse is quoted in connection with Messianic times, when by wisdom, understanding, and knowledge the Temple will be built again. On that verse see also pirq. d. R. El. 3. On Is. xi. 3 the Talmud (Sanh. 93 b, …
690 wordsSECTION 922Appendix Ix.
Verse 9. Tanchuma on Deuteronomy opens with a record of how God would work all the miracles, which He had shown in the wilderness, in a fuller manner for Zion in the latter days, the last passage quoted in that section being Is. xxv. 9. (Tanchuma on Deut. ed. Warsh. p. 99 a, line 5 from the bottom). Of Is. xxvi. 1…
659 wordsSECTION 923Appendix Ix.
The same remark applies to verses 2 and 3. Verse 5 is also Messianically applied in Vayyikra R. 1; Yalk. ii. 77 b about the middle. On verse 10 Yalkut, in discussing Ex. xxxii. 6 (vol. i. p. 108 c) broaches the opinion, that in the days of the Messiah Israel would have a double reward, on account of the calamities…
760 wordsSECTION 924Appendix Ix.
Similarly, this passage is quoted in Yalkut on Ps. cxxi. 1. See also our remarks on Cant. ii. 13. Verse 8 is one of the passages referred to in the Midrash on Lamentations quoted above, and frequently in other places as Messianic. Verse 12 is Messianically applied in Shemoth R. 15 and 19. Verse 13 is applied in th…
662 wordsSECTION 925Appendix Ix.
Is. lix. 19, 20, is applied to Messianic times in Sanh. 98 a. In Pesiqta 166 b it is similarly applied, the peculiar form (plene) in which the word Goel (Redeemer) is written being taken to indicate the Messiah as the Redeemer in the full sense. Is. lx. 1. This is applied in the Targum to Messianic times. Similarly…
817 wordsSECTION 926Appendix Ix.
After this it will scarecely be necessary to say that verses 2, 3, and 4 are similarly applied in the Midrashim. But it is interesting to notice that verse 2 is specifically applied to Messianic times in the Talmud (Sanh. 99 a), in answer to the question when the Messiah should come. On verse 4 the Midrash on Cant…
656 wordsSECTION 927Appendix Ix.
Verse 2 has been referred to in our comments on Cant. v. 10. It is also quoted in reference to Messianic days in Pesiqta, ed. Buber, p. 149 a. Verse 4 is explained as pointing to the days of the Messiah, which are supposed to be 365 years, according to the number of the solar days (Sanh. 99 a); while in other passa…
697 wordsSECTION 928Appendix Ix.
On verse 7 see our remarks on Jer. xvi 14. In the Talmud (Ber. 12 b) this verse is distinctly applied to Messianic days. Jer. xxx. 9 is Messianically applied in the Targum on the passage. Jer. xxx. 21 is applied to the Messiah in the Targum, and also in the Midrash on Ps. xxi. 7. On Jer. xxxi. 8, 3rd clause, Yalku…
1,192 wordsSECTION 929Appendix Ix.
Jer. xxxi. 31, 33, and 34 are applied to Messianic times in Yalkut (vol. i. p. 196 c; 78 c; and in vol. ii. p. 54 b, and p. 66 d). Jer. xxxiii. 13. The close of the verse is thus paraphrased in the Targum: The people shall yet learn by the hands of the Messiah,' while in Yalkut (vol. i. p.105 d) mention is made of …
672 wordsSECTION 930Appendix Ix.
Dan. ix. 24. In Naz. 32 b it is noted as that referred to the time when the second Temple was to be destroyed. So also in Yalkut, vol. ii. p. 79 d, lines 16&c. from the bottom. Dan. xii. 3 is applied to Messianic times in a beautiful passage in Shem. R. 15 (at the end). Dan. xii. 11, 12. These two verses receive a…
660 wordsSECTION 931Appendix Ix.
So is the prediction in verse 5 in Shemoth R. 15; while verse 8 is thus commented upon in the Targum: And thou Messiah of Israel, Who shalt be hidden on account of the sins of Zion, to thee shall the Kingdom come.' The well-know passage, Micah v. 2, is admittedly Messianic. So in the Targum, in the Pirqé de R. Elie…
671 wordsSECTION 932Appendix Ix.
Verse 9. The Messianic application of this verse in all its parts has already repeatedly been indicated. We may here add that there are many traditions about this ass on which the Messiah is to ride; and so firm was the belief in it, that, according to the Talmud, if anyone saw an ass in his dreams, he will see sal…
657 wordsSECTION 933Appendix Ix.
Verse 5 is, of course, applied to the forerunner of the Messiah. So in many places, as in the Pirqé de R. Eliez. c. 40; Debarm R. 3; in the Midrash on Cant. i. 1; in the Talmud, and in Yalkut repeatedly. [6434] To the above passages we add some from the Apocryphal Books, partly as indicating the views concerning th…
2,608 wordsSECTION 934Appendix Ix.
Rabbi Jochanan expressed a similar dislike of seeing the days of the Messiah, on which Resh Lakish suggested that it might be on the ground of Amos v. 19, or rather on that of Jer. xxx. 6. Upon this, such fear before God is accounted for by the consideration that what is called service above is not like what is cal…
810 wordsSECTION 935Appendix Ix.
Lengthy as this extract may be, it will at least show the infinite differences between the Rabbinic expectation of the Messiah, and the picture of him presented in the New Testament. Surely the Messianic idea, as realised in Christ, could not have been derived from the views current in those times! _______________…
312 wordsSECTION 936On The Supposed Temple-Synagogue.
(Vol. i. Book 11. ch. x.p. 246). PUTTING aside, as quite untenable, the idea of a regular Beth ha-Midrash in the Temple (though advocated even by Wünche), we have to inquire whether any historical evidence can be adduced for the existence of a Synagogue within the bounds of the Temple-buildings. The notice (Sot. v…
718 wordsSECTION 937On The Prophecy, Is. Xl. 3
[6436] So also by Maimonides, Yad ha-Chas. vol. iv. p. 241 a (Hilc. Sanc. ch. iii.) [6437] A similar arrangement is described in Sot. vii. 8 as connected with the reading of the Law by the kings of Israel to the people according to Duet xxxi. 10. Will it be argued from this that there was a Synagogue in the temple…
657 wordsSECTION 938The Baptism Of Proselytes
(See vol. i. Book II. ch. xi. p. 273.) ONLY those who have made study of it can have any idea how large, and sometimes bewildering, is the literature on the subject of Jewish Proselytes and their Baptism. Our present remarks will be confined to the Baptism of Proselytes. 1. Generally, as regards proselytes (Gerim)…
687 wordsSECTION 939The Baptism Of Proselytes
It was indeed a great thing when, in the words of Maimonides, a stranger sought shelter under the wings of the Shekhinah, and the change of condition which he underwent was regarded as complete. The waters of baptism were to him in very truth, though in a far different from the Christian sense, the bath of regenera…
740 wordsSECTION 940Jewish Angelology And Demonology. The Fall Of The Angels.
Again, if a Jew who had become Levitically defiled, required imersion, it is difficult to suppose that a heathen would have been admittd to all the services of the Sanctuary without a similar purification. But we have also positive testimony (which the objections of Winer, Keil, and Leyrer, in my opinion do not inv…
331 wordsSECTION 941I. Angelology.
1. Creation, Number, Duration and Location of the Angels. We are now considering, not the Angel-Princes but that vast unnumbered Host' generally designated as the ministering Angels' ({hebrew}). Opinions differ (Ber. R. 3) whether they were created on the second day as being spirit,' winds' (Ps. civ. 4), or on the …
764 wordsSECTION 942I. Angelology.
2. The Angel-Princes, their location, names, and offices. Any limitation, as toduration or otherwise, of the Ministering Angels does not apply either to the Ophanim (or wheel-angels), the Seraphim, the Cayoth (or living creatures), nor to the Angel-Princes (Ber. R. 78). [6445] In Chag. 13 a, b the name Chashamal is…
812 wordsSECTION 943I. Angelology.
b. Michael (who is like God?'), or the Great Prince (Chag. 12 b). He stands at the right hand of the throne of God. According to Targ. Ps.-Jon. on Exod. xxiv. 1, he is the Prince of Wisdom. According to the Targum on Ps. cxxxvii. 7, 8, the Prince of Jerusalem, the representative of Israel. According to Sebach. 62 a…
757 wordsSECTION 944I. Angelology.
d. Of Uriel (God is my light') and Rephael (God heals') it need only be said, that the one stands at the left side of the Throne of glory, the other behind it. [6448] 3. The Ministering Angels and their Ministry. The ministry of the Angels may be divided into two parts, that of praising God, and that of executing …
1,334 wordsSECTION 945I. Angelology.
5. The Angels are not absolutely good. Strange as it may seem, this is really the view expressed by the Rabbis. Thus it is said that, when God consulted the Angels, they opposed the creation of man, and that, for this reason, God had concealed from them that man would sin. But more than this - the Angels had actual…
931 wordsSECTION 946Ii. Satanology And Fall Of The Angels.
It is, of course, not asserted that all these grossly materialistic superstitious and profane views were entertained in Palestine, or at the time of our Lord, still less that they are shared by educated Jews in the West. But they certainly date from Talmudic times; they embody the only teaching of Rabbic writings a…
1,018 wordsSECTION 947Ii. Satanology And Fall Of The Angels.
Critical ingenuity may attempt to find a symbolic meaning in many of the details of the Jewish legend of the Fall, although, to use moderate language, they seem equally profane and repulsive. But this will surely be admitted by all, that the Rabbinic account of the fall of the Angels, as connected with fall of man,…
693 wordsSECTION 948Ii. Satanology And Fall Of The Angels.
The same remarks apply to the other legends in which Satan is introduced as seducer. Anything more childish could scarcely be invented than this, that, when Sammael could not otherwise persuade Israel that Moses would not return from Mount Sinai, he at last made his bier appear before them in the clouds (Shab. 89 a…
705 wordsSECTION 949Ii. Satanology And Fall Of The Angels.
Over these six persons - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, with whom some apparently rank Benjamin - the Angel of Death, had no power (Baba. B. 17 a). Benjamin, Amram, Jesse, and Chileb (the son of David) are said to have died (only) through the sin of the serpent.' In other cases, also, Sammael may …
864 wordsSECTION 950Ii. Satanology And Fall Of The Angels.
The number of these spirits was like the earth that is thrown up around a bed that is sown. Indeed, no one would survive it, if he saw their number. A thousand at your right hand and ten thousand at your left, such crowding in the Academy or by the side of a bride; such weariness and faintness through their maligna…
718 wordsSECTION 951Ii. Satanology And Fall Of The Angels.
b. Lilith, the queen of female spirits - to be distinguished from the Lilin or night-spirits, and from Lela or Laila, an Angel who accompanied Abraham on his expedition against Chedorlaomer (Sanh. 96 a). Here we recognise still more distinctly the Parsee elements. Lillith is the queen of Zemargad' (Targ. on Job i. …
836 wordsSECTION 952Ii. Satanology And Fall Of The Angels.
Other and kindred questions, such as those of amulets, &c., will be treated under demoniac possessions. But may we not here once more and confidently appeal to impartial students whether, in view of this sketch of Jewish Angelology and Satanology, the contention can be sustained that the teaching of Christ on this …
698 wordsSECTION 953Ii. Satanology And Fall Of The Angels.
[6453] An analogous remark would apply to Jewish teaching about the good angels, who are rather Jewish elves than the high spiritual beings of the Bible. [6454] As a curious illustration how extremes meet, we subjoin the following from Jonathan Edwards. After describing how Satan, before his fall, was the chief of…
611 wordsSECTION 954The Law In Messianic Times.
(See Vol. i. Book III. ch. iii. p. 341.) THE question as to the Rabbinic views in regard to the binding character of the Law, and its imposition on the Gentiles, in Messianic times, although, strictly speaking, not forming part of this history, is of such vital importance in connection with recent controversies as …
878 wordsSECTION 955The Law In Messianic Times.
There is the less need for apology for any digression here, that, besides the intrinsic interest of the question, it casts light on two most important subjects, For, first, it illustrates the attempt of the narrowest Judaic party in the Church to force on Gentile believers the yoke of the whole Law; the bearing of …
598 wordsSECTION 956The Location Of Sychar, And The Date Of Our Lord'S Visit To Samaria.
(See vol. i. Book III ch. viii.) 1. The Location of Sychar. Although modern writers are now mostly agreed on this subject, it may be well briefly to put before our readers the facts of the case. Till comparitively lately, the Sychar of St. John iv. was generally as representing the ancient Shechem. The first diffi…
748 wordsSECTION 957The Location Of Sychar, And The Date Of Our Lord'S Visit To Samaria.
To begin with the latter, since of late it has found most favor. The reasons against Christ's attendance in Jerusalem at Purim seem to me irrestible. Canon Westcott urges that the discourse of Christ at the unnamed Feast has not, as is generally the case, any connection with the thoughts of that festival. To this I…
547 wordsSECTION 958Appendix Xvi.
ON THE JEWISH VIEWS ABOUT DEMONS' AND THE DEMONISED,' TOGETHER WITH SOME NOTES ON THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN JEWS AND JEWISH CHRISTIANS IN THE FIRST CENTURIES. (See vol. i. Book III. ch. xiv.) IT is not, of course, our purpose here to attempt an exhaustive account of the Jewish views on demons' and the demonised.' A …
778 wordsSECTION 959Appendix Xvi.
2. Rabbinic views. [6471] Probably the nearest approach to the idea of Josephus that demons' were the souls of the wicked, is the (perhaps allegorical) statement that the backbone of a person who did not bow down to worship God became a Shed, or demon (Baba K. 16 a; Jer. Shabb. 3 b). The ordinary names for demons a…
1,098 wordsSECTION 960Appendix Xvi.
But to return. Talmudic writings distinguishing several classes of magicians. The Baal Obh, or conjuror of the dead, evoked a voice from under the armpit, or from other members of the dead body, the arms or other members being struck together, for the purpose of eliciting the sound. Necromancy might be practised in…
760 wordsSource & rights
Public Domain; source text supplied by Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.