In the Alexandrian Wisdom of Solomon likewise we meet with little that can claim to be directly Messianic. We have the same belief expressed as to the punishment of the enemies of God’s people,
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and the elevation of the latter to a position of supremacy, but all in very general terms (37 5). There is just one passage—2!?-0__which has been often reckoned to be Messianic. It describes the suffering of the righteous at the hands of the ungodly, here and there in such language as makes it very natural to interpret it of the Mes- siah. Most probably, however, it is Israel as a nation that is spoken of here; and many of the expressions are to be applied rather to the present than to the future. In 16!” and other passages Israel is called 6 dlxacos. Besides, some of the things said scarcely admit of Messianic applica- tion, ¢.g. ‘ Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,’ ‘He is grievous unto us even to behold,’ ‘We were accounted of him as base metal.’ These expressions all point to national enmities. More- over, the next chapter proceeds to speak of the righteous in the aggregate. It is inconceivable that, had the hope of a Messiah been clear to his own mind, this writer would not have brought it forward in an unmistakable way in his references to the glorious kingdom awaiting the godly (5"). At the same time it may be conceded to Ewald that ‘this work should, . .. in consideration of its central idea and ultimate purpose, be reckoned Bons the Messianic productions’ (Hist. v. p. 84).
With the exception of the material supplied by 2 (4) Esdras, which is dealt with below, this sums up what the Apocrypha contain with regard to the doctrine of the Messiah; and certainly it is impossible to claim anything in the way of de- velopment here. Indeed, ‘in the post-Exilian time the limitation of Messianic apprehension to OT forms becomes again much greater than with Jeremiah and Deutero-Isaiah’ (Riehm, Messianic Prophecy, p. 231).
4, Transformation of Messianic hopes into Apoca- lyptic ideas.—In the post-exilic period the ancient Messianic promises gradually assumed a new aspect. The Apocalyptic presentation of the Messiah-hope appears for the first time in the Book of Daniel, which seems to have formed the model of most of the subsequent literature bearing thisname. The work dates from the Maccabeean struggle against the tyrannical attempt of Antiochus Epiphanes (the ‘little horn’ of ch. 7) to suppress Judaism by force. Its aim is to revive the courage of the Jewish people. This it seeks to do by pointing them to the splendid example of religious con- stancy set by the heroes of a former age (1-6), and to the glorious destiny awaiting them in the future (7-12). It deals with the restoration of Israel, and the victorious establishment of the worship of J” under a Davidic prince, but with a wealth of detail that is new, and with a reference of the facts to the history of the four great nations which in succession ruled the world. The kingdom of God is represented as the fifth and last_monarchy (2*#), the final consummation of the Divine pur- poses to which the whole series of revolutions, political and religious, consecutively lead up. It will be preceded by the Abomination of Desolation (927 1211), the culminating point in the career of the transgressors (8%). This will continue for a fixed period, and then the last and vilest of the heathen powers will be crushed by the special interposition of the Most High, who will transfer the dominion to His saints (718). The glorious deliverance will be signalized by a partial resurrection of the dead, of whom some shall rise to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (12°). So shall be inaugurated the Messiah’s kingdom, which shall extend to all nations and never be destroyed (74). Some think there is here no trace of the Messiah, and that the person in human form who appears in the vision of Dn 7 is merely the per-
sonification of Israel, as the four animals are the personification of the four empires; but the majority of scholars ascribe to him a supernatural character (cf. article SON OF MAN in vol. iv. p. 583f.). In any case, the Messianic idea ap- pears here in a more precise form than in Sirach. Instead of vague predictions of a prosperous future, there is a definite date assigned to the downfall of Israel’s enemies, and to the assump- tion by the chosen people of universal dominion. Those who have fallen victims to persecution will not be without their reward ; they will be raised up to share in the glories of the Messianic era.
Subsequent Apocalyptic writers follow the Book of Daniel in connecting the advent of the Messiah with the general development of human history, although they differ from it and from one another in their mode of mapping it out. Sometimes it is divided simply into the period preceding and that following the Messiah’s coming ; sometimes into three periods of 1000 years. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Levi 17 f.) speak of seven weeks, Enoch of ten weeks, and the Sibylline Or. (2%) of ten generations. Other books, however, represent the time of the Messiah’s advent as known only to God (2 Es 6:). Already in Daniel the enemies of God’s chosen people are supported by the rebel angels (10% 12'), and in the later literature their last and greatest enemy is repre- sented, not only as a pagan king but as the prince of demons, leading all the hosts of evil against the Messiah. Some other notable developments occur, such as the preparation of the way of the Lord b the reappearance not only of Elijah as in Malachi, but also of Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah; the dating in mystical numbers of the main events that usher in the Messianic era; a resurrection of the gust (qualifying Dn 127; cf. Jos. Ant. XVII. iv. 3, BJ vil. i. 4); the giving of a new law for the whole world (Sib. Or. 37°); and the mil- lennium, or reign of the Messiah on earth for 1000 years. These elements sufficiently distinguish the apocalypses from the ancient Heb. prophecies. To speak more generally, the former are differentiated from the latter by their almost purely transcen- dental character, and by the wider sweep of their horizon. If the essential features of the picture are the same as in the prophetic writings, the main interest is shifted from the present to the future, and the canvas is enlarged. There is greater precision, more fulness of detail, and bolder colouring. This gradual transformation of Mes- sianic hopes into apocalyptic beliefs was the neces- sary consequence of the political situation in Israel. As each new crisis overtook them, a way had to be found of reconciling the prophetic pro- mises with present misfortunes.