PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
Edersheim, Alfred, 1825-1889 · 873,712 words · 1020 reading sections
From The Manger In Bethlehem To The Baptism In Jordan.
In the category of guesses we must also place such vague statements, as that the Messiah would come, when all were righteous, or all wicked; or else nine months after the empire of Rome had extended over the whole world; [830] [831] or when all the souls, predestined to inhabit bodies, had been on earth. [832] But …
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Even more distinct are the statements in the so-called Book of Enoch.' Critics are substantially agreed, that the oldest part of it [854] dates from between 150 and 130 b.c. [855] The part next in date is full of Messianic allusions; but, as a certain class of modern writers has ascribed to it a post-Christian date…
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But, indeed, it carries us much farther. For, a Messiah, preexistent, in the Presence of God, and destined to subdue Satan and cast him into hell, could not have been regarded as an ordinary man. It is indeed true that, as the history of Elijah, so that of the Messiah is throughout compared with that of Moses, the …
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It is not without hesitation, that we make reference to Jewish allusions to the miraculous birth of the Saviour. Yet there are two expressions, which convey the idea, if not of superhuman origin, yet of some great mystery attaching to His birth. The first occurs in connection with the birth of Seth. Rabbi Tanchuma …
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[757] See Appendix IX., where a detailed list is given of all the Old Testament passages which the ancient Synagogue applied Messianically, together with the references to the Rabbinic works where they are quoted. [758] Large as this number is, I do not present the list as complete. Thus, out of the thirty-seven P…
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[789] Men. 53 b. [790] Gitt. 7 a. [791] Gitt. 88 a. [792] Jer. Yoma i. 1; Yoma 9 a, and many other passages. [793] Yoma 9 b. [794] Jer. Yoma i. 1. [795] Nidd. 13 b. [796] Yoma 19 b. [797] For all these points comp. Ber. 58 b; 59 a; Sot. 48 a; Shabb. 138 b; Baba B. 12 a, b. [798] Vayyikra R 19. [799] Sukk. 55…
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[846] This is the view of Grimm, and more fully carried out by Oehler. The argument of Hengstenberg, that the mention of such a Messiah was restrained from fear of the heathen, does not deserve serious refutation. [847] These exceptions are, according to Friedlieb (Die Sibyllin. Weissag.) vv. 1-45, vv. 47-96 (dati…
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[864] xvii. 5. [865] v. 23. [866] v. 35. [867] v. 36. [868] v. 41. [869] vv. 42, 43. [870] v. 47. [871] vv. 25-35. [872] In illustration of this tendency we may quote the following evidently polemical saying, of R. Abbahu. If any man saith to thee, "I am God" he is a liar; "I am the Son of Man," he will at la…
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[899] Pirqé de R. El. u. s., p. 39 a, close. [900] Bemid. R. 18, close of the Phar. [901] Ps. lxxii. 16. [902] According to the last clause of (English verson) Joel iii. 18 (Midr. on Eccles. i. 9 ed. Warsh, vol. iv. p. 80 b.) [903] Bemid. R. 14, ed. Warsh. p. 55 a. [904] Bemid. R. 13. [905] Yalkut on Numb. xxvii…
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CHAPTER VI. THE NATIVITY OF JESUS THE MESSIAH. (St. Matthew i. 25; St. Luke ii. 1-20.) SUCH then was the hope of the promise made of God unto the fathers,' for which the twelve tribes, instantly serving (God) night and day,' longed - with such vividness, that they read it in almost every event and promise; with su…
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We are, however, not left to the presumptive reasoning just set forth. That the Emperor Augustus made registers of the Roman Empire, and of subject and tributary states, is now generally admitted. This registration - for the purpose of future taxation - would also embrace Palestine. Even if no actual order to that …
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But for the present such thoughts would give way to the pressing necessity of finding shelter and rest. The little town of Bethlehem was crowded with those who had come from all the outlying district to register their names. Even if the strangers from far-off Galilee had been personally acquainted with any one in B…
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It was, then, on that wintry night' of the 25th of December, [955] that shepherds watched the flocks destined for sacrificial services, in the very place consecrated by tradition as that where the Messiah was to be first revealed. Of a sudden came the long-delayed, unthought-of announcement. Heaven and earth seemed…
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[932] Micah v. 2. [933] The advocates of the mythical theory have not answered, not even faced or understood, what to us seems, on their hypothesis, an insuperable difficulty. Granting, that Jewish expectancy would suggest the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, why invent such circumstances to bring Mary to Bethlehem? K…
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[947] St. John xx. 31; comp. St. Luke i. 4. [948] Perhaps the best authenticated of all local traditions is that which fixes on this cave as the place of the Nativity. The evidence in its favour is well given by Dr. Farrar in his Life of Christ.' Dean Stanley, however, and others, have questioned it. [949] In the …
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[957] According to tradition, the three blasts symbolically proclaimed the Kingdom of God, the providence of God, and the final judgment. [958] Curiously enough, the word strati is Hebraised in the same connection {hebrew}. See Yalkut on Ps. xlv. (vol. ii. p. 105 a, about the middle). [959] I have unhesitatingly r…
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At the very outset of this history, and increasingly in its course, the question meets us, how, if the Angelic message to the Virgin was a reality, and her motherhood so supernatural, she could have been apparently so ignorant of what was to come - nay, so often have even misunderstood it? Strange, that she should …
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Thus it was, that every event connected with the Messianic manifestation of Jesus would come to the Virgin-Mother as a fresh discovery and a new surprise. Each event, as it took place, stood isolated in her mind; not as part of a whole which she would anticipate, nor as only one link in a chain; but as something qu…
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For this twofold purpose the Holy Family went up to the Temple, when the prescribed days were completed. [979] The ceremony at the redemption of a firstborn son was, no doubt, more simple than that at present in use. It consisted of the formal presentation of the child to the priest, accompanied by two short benedi…
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We can now, in imagination, follow the Virgin-Mother in the Temple. [993] Her child had been given up to the Lord, and received back from Him. She had entered the Court of the Women, probably by the Gate of the Women,' [994] on the north side, and deposited the price of her sacrifices in Trumpet No. 3, which was cl…
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But his unexpected appearance, the more unexpected deed and words, and that most unexpected form in which what was said of the Infant Christ was presented to their minds, filled the hearts of His parents with wonderment. And it was, as if their silent wonderment had been an unspoken question, to which the answer no…
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[965] 1 Cor. xii. 3. [966] Ber. R. 44, ed. Warsh. p. 81 b. [967] St. John viii. 56. [968] St. Luke ii. 19, 51. [969] Numb. xviii. 16. [970] So Lundius, Jüd. Alterth. p.621, and Buxtorf, Lex. Talmud. p. 1699. But I am bound to say, that this seems contrary to the sayings of the Rabbis. [971] This disposes of the…
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[994] Or else, the gate of the firstlings.' Comp. generally, The Temple, its Ministry and Services.' [995] This they could not have done from the elevated platform on which they commonly worshipped. [996] This is stated by the Rabbis to have been the object of the burnt-offering. That suggested for the sin-offerin…
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The story of the homage to the Infant Saviour by the Magi is told by St. Matthew, in language of which the brevity constitutes the chief difficulty. Even their designation is not free from ambiguity. The term Magi is used in the LXX., by Philo, Josephus, and by profane writers, alike in an evil and, so to speak, in…
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Herod took immediate measures, characterised by his usual cunning. He called together all the High-Priests - past and present - and all the learned Rabbis, [1026] and, without committing himself as to whether the Messiah was already born, or only expected, [1027] simply propounded to them the question of His birthp…
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Before proceeding further, we must ask ourselves two questions: What relationship does this narrative bear to Jewish expectancy? and, Is there any astronomical confirmation of this account? Besides their intrinsic interest, the answer to the first question will determine, whether any legendary basis could be assign…
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But there is one illustrative Jewish statement which, though not astrological, is of the greatest importance, although it seems to have been hitherto overlooked. Since the appearance of Münter's well known tractate on the Star of the Magi, [1061] writers have endeavoured to show, that Jewish expectancy of a Messiah…
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Only two things are recorded of this visit of the Magi to Bethlehem: their humblest Eastern homage, and their offerings. [1073] Viewed as gifts, the incense and the myrrh would, indeed, have been strangely inappropriate. But their offerings were evidently intended as specimens of the products of their country, and …
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[1011] It is scarcely necessary to point out, how evidential this is of the truthfulness of the Gospel-narrative. In this respect also the so-called Apocryphal Gospels, with their gross and often repulsive legendary adornments, form a striking contrast. I have purposely abstained from reproducing any of these narra…
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[1023] Christian writers on these subjects have generally conjoined the so-called woes of the Messiah' with His first appearance. It seems not to have occurred to them, that, if such had been the Jewish expectation, a preliminary objection would have lain against the claims of Jesus from their absence. [1024] As r…
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[1043] lx. 6 last clauses. [1044] Keim (Jesu von Nazara, i. 2, p. 377) drops the appeal to legends of profane writers, ascribes only a secondary influence to Numb. xxiv. 17, and lays the main stress of the legend' on Is. lx. - with what success the reader may judge. [1045] Can it be imagined thatany person would i…
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[1060] Erub. 56 a: Ber. R. 10. [1061] Der Stern der Weisen,' Copenhagen, 1827. The tractate, though so frequently quoted, seems scarcely to have been sufficiently studied, most writers having apparently rather read the references to it in Ideler's Handb. d. Math. u techn. Chronol. Münter's work contains much that …
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[1078] Comp. on article on Josephus in Smith and Wace's Dict. of Christian Biogr. [1079] Hos. xi. 1. [1080] Jer. xxxi. 15. [1081] See the evidence for it summarized in Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ,' p. 60. [1082] Jer. xi. 1. [1083] In point of fact the ancient Synagogue did actually apply…
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We pass by the empty pageant and barbaric splendor of his burying in the Castle of Herodium, close to Bethlehem. The events of the last few weeks formed a lurid back-ground to the murder of the Innocents.' As we have reckoned it, the visit of the Magi took place in February 750 a.u.c. On the 12th of March the Rabbi…
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It must have been soon after the accession of Archelaus, [1103] but before tidings of it had actually reached Joseph in Egypt, that the Holy Family returned to Palestine. The first intention of Joseph seems to have been to settle in Bethlehem, where he had lived since the birth of Jesus. Obvious reasons would incli…
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But, taking this Jewish title in its Jewish significance, it has also a deeper meaning, and that not only to Jews, but to all men. The idea of Christ as the Divinely placed Branch' (symbolised by His Divinely-appointed early residence), small and despised in its forthshooting, or then visible appearance (like Nazar…
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Assuredly, in its then condition, Galilee was not the home of Rabbinism, though that of generous spirits, of warm, impulsive hearts, of intense nationalism, of simple manners, and of earnest piety. Of course, there would be a reverse side to the picture. Such a race would be excitable, passionate, violent. The Talm…
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From the first days of its existence, a religious atmosphere surrounded the child of Jewish parents. Admitted in the number of God's chosen people by the deeply significant rite of circumcision, when its name was first spoken in the accents of prayer, [1132] it was henceforth separated unto God. Whether or not it a…
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But it was not only through sight and hearing that, from its very inception, life in Israel became religious. There was also from the first positive teaching, of which the commencement would necessarily devolve on the mother. It needed not the extravagant laudations, nor the promises held out by the Rabbis, to inci…
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It would lead too far to give details about the appointment of, and provision for, teachers, the arrangements of the schools, the method of teaching, or the subjects of study, the more so as many of these regulations date from a period later than that under review. Suffice it that, from the teaching of the alphabet…
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It was in such circumstances, and under such influences, that the early years of Jesus passed. To go beyond this, and to attempt lifting the veil which lies over His Child-History, would not only be presumptuous, [1176] but involve us in anachronisms. Fain would we know it, whether the Child Jesus frequented the Sy…
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[1087] Meg. Taan xi, 1, ed Warsh, p. 16 a. [1088] The Megillath Taanith itself, or Roll of Fasts,' does not mention the death of Herod. But the commentator adds to the dates 7th Kislev (Nov.) and 2nd Shebhat (Jan.), both manifestly incorrect, the notice that Herod had died - on the 2nd Shebhat, Jannai also - at the…
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[1115] Galilee covered the ancient possessions of Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Asher. In the time of Christ it stretched northwards to the possessions of Tyre on the one side, and to Syria on the other. On the south it was bounded by Samaria - Mount Carmel on the Western, and the district of Scythopolis on the …
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[1154] Ab. iii. 9 [1155] Comp. Sketches of Jewish Social Life,' pp. 159 &c. The enigmatic mode of wording and writing was very common. Thus, the year is marked by a verse, generally from Scripture, which contains the letters that give the numerical value of the year. These letters are indicated by marks above them…
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In strict law, personal observance of the ordinances, and hence attendance on the feasts at Jerusalem, devolved on a youth only when he was of age, that is, at thirteen years. Then he became what was called a son of the Commandment,' or of the Torah.' [1185] But, as a matter of fact, the legal age was in this respe…
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Quite other, and indeed antagonistic, tendencies prevailed in the stronghold of the Herodians, Sadducees, and Pharisees. Of the latter only a small portion had any real sympathy with the national movement. Each party followed its own direction. The Essenes, absorbed in theosophic speculations, not untinged with Eas…
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We have marked the rise of the Nationalist party in Galilee at the time of Herod's first appearance on the scene, and learned how mercilessly he tried to suppress it: first, by the execution of Ezekias and his adherents, and afterwards, when he became King of Judæa, by the slaughter of the Sanhedrists. The conseque…
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At the time when Jesus went up to the feast, Quirinius was, as already stated, Governor of Syria. The taxing and the rising of Judas were alike past; and the Roman Governor, dissatisfied with the trimming of Joazar, and distrustful of him, had appointed in his stead Ananos, the son of Seth, the Annas of infamous me…
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Within the gates ran all around covered double colonnades, with here are there benches for those who resorted thither for prayer or for conference. The most magnificent of those was the southern, or twofold double colonnade, with a wide space between; the most venerable, the ancient Solomon's Porch,' or eastern col…
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In some part of this Temple, sitting in the midst of the Doctors, [1240] both hearing them and asking them questions,' we must look for the Child Jesus on the third and the two following days of the Feast on which He first visited the Sanctuary. Only on the two first days of the Feast of Passover was personal atten…
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But if there was nothing so unprecedented as to render His Presence and questioning marvellous, yet all who heard Him were amazed' at His combinative insight' [1247] and discerning answers.' [1248] We scarcely venture to inquire towards what His questioning had been directed. Judging by what we know of such discuss…
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From what we have already learned of this History, we do not wonder that the answer of Jesus came to His parents as a fresh surprise. For, we can only understand what we perceive in its totality. But here each fresh manifestation came as something separate and new - not as part of a whole; and therefore as a surpri…
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Passing over Joses or Joseph, of whose history we know next to nothing, we have sufficient materials to enable us to form some judgment of what must have been the tendencies and thoughts of two of His brothers James and Jude, before they were heart and soul followers of the Messiah, and of His cousin Simon. [1264] …
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Thirdly: Of the prevailing ideas around, with which He was brought in contact, some have already been mentioned. Surely, the earnestness of His Shammaite brother, if such we may venture to designate him; the idea of the Kingdom suggested by the Nationalists, only in its purest and most spiritual form, as not of thi…
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[1194] This view, for which there is no historic foundation, is urged by those whose interest it is to deny the possibility of a census during the reign of Herod. [1195] That these were the sole grounds of resistance to the census, appears from Jos. Ant. xviii. 1. 1, 6. [1196] As unquestionably they did. [1197] A…
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[1232] These tunnels were divided by colonnades respectively into three and into two, the double colonnade being probably used by the priests, since its place of exit was close to the entrance into the Court of the Priests. [1233] Jos. War vi. 3. 2. [1234] Sanh. xi. 2. [1235] St. John ii. 14; St. Matt. xxi. 12; J…
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[1258] The Authorised Version renders sayings.' But I think the expression is clearly equivalent to the Hebrew {hebrew} all these things. St. Luke uses the word {hebrew} in that sense in i. 65; ii. 15, 19, 51; Acts v. 32; x.37; xiii. 42. [1259] St. Luke ii. 52. [1260] Comp. Philo in Flacc.ed. Fcf. p. 977 &c. [126…
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For, alike in the Roman world and in Palestine, the time had fully come; not, indeed, in the sense of any special expectancy, but of absolute need. The reign of Augustus marked, not only the climax, but the crisis, of Roman history. Whatever of good or of evil the ancient world contained, had become fully ripe. As …
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That, under such conditions, all real belief in a personal continuance after death must have ceased among the educated classes, needs not demonstration. If the older Stoics held that, after death, the soul would continue for some time a separate existence - in the case of sages till the general destruction of the w…
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A silence, even more complete than that concerning the early life of Jesus, rests on the thirty years and more, which intervened between the birth and the open forthshowing [1279] of John in his character as Forerunner of the Messiah. Only his outward and inward development, and his being in the deserts,' [1280] ar…
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.