Chapter XVII (continued, part 4)
Mishnah 4. Two letters build two houses (here the number of possible permutations are indicated). Three letters build six houses, four build twenty-four houses, five build 120 houses, six build 720 houses, and from thence go onward and thinkwhat the mouth is not able to speak, and the ear not able to hear. And these are the in the world, seven: the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars. And these are the days in the year; the seven days of creation; and the seven gates of issue in the nephesh: two eyes, two ears, and a mouth, and the two nostrils. And with them were drawn the seven above all that is delight under the heavens.
PEREQ V.
Mishnah 1. The properties of the twelve simple letters (or their attributes), their foundation: sight, hearing, smell, speech, eating, concubitus, working, walking, anger, laughter, thinking, sleep. Their measurement twelve boundaries in the hypothenuse (points in transverse lines), the boundary N. E., the boundary S. E., the boundary E. upwards, the boundary E. downwards; the boundary N. upwards, the boundary N. downwards, the boundary S. W., the boundary N. W., the boundary W. upwards, the boundary W. downwards, the boundary S. upwards, the boundary S. downwards, and they extended and go on into the eternal (boundless space), and they are the arms of the world.
(Mishnah 2. Twelve simple letters, He drew them, and melted them, and formed of them the twelve constellations in the world (sign of the Zodiac): Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagattarius,Capricornus, Aquarius, Pieces (these are expressed in the original in an abbreviated, contracted form). These are the twelve months of the year: Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Abh, Elul, Tishri, Marcheshvan, Kislev, Tebheth, Shebhat, Adar (thus the number twelve is marked, first in the functions of man, then in the points of the compass, then in the starry skies, and then in the year). And these are the twelve leaders in nephesh (living beings): two hands, and two feet, and two kidneys, the spleen, the liver, the gall, the intestine, the upper stomach, the lower stomach (perhaps gullet, stomach, and intestine, at any rate, three organs connected with deglutition and degistion). He made them like a land (province), and set them in order like war, and also, this as against that, ordered God. Three mothers, which are three fathers, because from them issue fire, wind, and water. Three mothers, and seven duplicate, and twelve simple ones.
Mishnah 3. These are the twenty-two letters with which the Holy One has founded(all), blessed be He, Jah, Jehovah Tsebhaoth, the livivg God of Israel, high and lifted up, dwelling eternally, and holy is His Name, exalted and holy is He.
PEREQ VI.
Mishnah 1. Three fathers and their generations, seven subduers and their hosts (planets?), seven boundaries of hypothenuse, and the proof of matter: faithful witnesses are the world, the
year, and the nephesh. The law (statute, settled order) of the twelve, and of the seven, and of the three, and they are appointed over the heavenly dragon, and the cycle, and the heart. Three: fire, and water, and wind air); the fire above, the water below, and the wind (air) the statute intermediate between them. And the demonstration of the matter: the fire bears the water, is silent, hisses, and is the statute intermediate between them (all these have further mystic meaning and application in connection with words and ideas).
Mishnah 2. The dragon is in the world like a king on his throne; the cycle is in the year like a king in his land; the heart is in the nephesh like a king in war. Also in all that is pursued God has made the one against the other (opposite poles and their reconciliation): the good against the evil; good from good, and evil from evil; the good trying the evil, and the evil trying the goodl the good is kept for the good, and the evil is kept for the evil.
Mishnah 3. Three are one, that standeth alone; seven are divided, there as against three, and the statute intermediate between them. Twelve are in war: three loving, three hating, three giving life, three giving death. The three loving ones: the heart, the ears, and the mouth; the three hating ones: the liver, the gall, and the tongue, and God a faithful king reigning over all: one (is) over three, three over seven, seven over twelve, and they are all joined together, the one with the other. Mishnah 4. And when Abraham our father had beheld, and considered, and seen, and drawn, and hewn, and obtained it, then the Lord of all revealed Himself to him, and called him His friend, and made a covenant with him and with his seed: and he believed in Jehovah, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. He madewith him a covenant between the ten toes, and that is circumcision; between the ten fingers of his hand, and that is the tongue; and He bound two-and-twenty letterson his tongue, and shoed him their foundation. He drew them with water, He kindled them with fire, He breathed them with (air); He burnt them in seven; He poured them forth in the twelve constellations.
The views expressed in the Book Yetsirah are repeatedly referred to in the Mishnah and in other of the most ancient Jewish writings. They represent, as stated at the outset, a direction long anterior to the Mishnah, and of which thefirst beginnings and ultimate principles are of deepest interest to the Christian student. The reader who wishes to see the application to Christian metaphysics and theology of the Kabbalah, of which Yetsirah is but the first word, is referred to a deeply interesting and profound work, strangely unknown to English scholars: Molitor, Philosophie d. Gesch. oder uber d. Tradition, 4 vols. English readers will find much to interest them in the now somefwhat rare work of the Rev. John Oxley: The Christian Doctrine of the Trinity and Incarnation (London, 1815, 2 vols.)
The principles laid down in the Book Yetsirah are further carried out and receive their fullest (often most remarkable) development and application in thebook Zohar ('Splendour', the edition used by us is the 8vo. edition, Amsterdam, 1805, in 3 vols, with the Amsterdam edition of the Tikkune Zohar; other Kabbalistic books used by us need not here be mentioned). The main portion of the Zohar is in the form of a Commentary on the Pentateuch, but ohter tractates are interspersed throughout the volumes.
5. Dogmatic Theology., This is fully treated of in the text of these volumes.
6. Historic Theology., To describe and criticise the various works which come under this designation would require the expansion of this Appendix into a Tractate. Some of these compositions have been referred to in the text of these volumes. For a general account and critism of them I must again refer to the 'History of the Jewish Nation' (see especially the chapters on 'The Progress of Arts and Sciences among the Jews,' and 'Theological Science and Religious Beliefin Palestine'). For the historical and critical account of Rabbinic historical works the student is referred to Zunz, Gottesd. Vortr. d. Juden, ch. viii. The only thing which we shall here attempt is a translation of the so-called Megillath Taanith,or 'Roll of Fast'; rather, a Calendar of the days on which fasting and mourning wasprohibited. The oldest part of the document (referred to in the Mishnah, Taan. ii. 8) dates from the beginning of the second century of our era, and contains elementsof even much greater antiquity. That which has come down of it is here given in translation: [All the glosses on and in the text have been omitted. The edition of the Tractate in its present form used by us is that of Warshau, 1874, and consists (with comments) of 20 octavo (double) pages. For the criticism of the work see specially Grutz, Gesch. d. Juden, vol. iii. pp. 415-428, and Derenbourg, Hist. de la Palest. pp. 439-446. A special tractate on the subject is Schmilg's inaugural dissertation, Leipzig, 1874. It need scarcely be said that these writers entertain different views as to the historical dates specially commemortated in the Megillath Taanith, and the events to which they refer. Comp. also Wolfius, Biblioth. Rabb. vol. i. p.385, vol. ii. p. 1325, vol. iii. p. 11963. My edition of Wolfius has the great advantage of the marginal notes and corrections by the great Jewish historian, the late Dr. Jost, who, many years ago, gave me his copy.],
MEGILLATH TAANITH, OR ROLL OF FASTS.
These are the days on which it is not lawful to fast, and during some of them mourning must also be intermitted.
I. NISAN. 1. From the 1st day of the month Nisan, and to the 8th of it, it was settled about the daily sacrifice (that it should be paid out of the Temple-treasury), mourning is prohibited. 2. And from the 8th to the end of the Feast (the 27th) the Feast of Weeks was re-established, mourning is interdicted.
II. 1YAR. 1. On the 7th Iyar the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, mourning is prohibited. 2. On the 14th is the day of the little (the second) Passover, mourning is prohibited. 3. On the 23rd the sons of Acra [2 We abstain from giving historical notes. For the different explanations of the commemorative dates the reader is referredto the books already mentioned.] issued from Jerusalem. 4. On the 27th the imposts were removed from Judaea and Jerusalem. III. SIVAN. 1. on the 17th Sivan the tower of Zur was taken. 2. On the15th and 16th men of Bethshean and of the plain were exiled. 3. On the 25th the tax-gatherers were withdrawn from Judah and Jerusslem.
IV. TAMMUZ. 1. On the 14th Tammuz the Book of Decisions ('aggravating ordinances') was abrogated, mourning is prohibited.
V. ABH. 1. On the 15th Abh the season of wood-offerings (for the Temple use) of priests (comp. J os. War ii. 17. 6), mourning is prohibited. 2. On the 24th we returned to our Law.
VI. ELUL. 1. On the 7th of Elul the day of the Dedication of Jerusalem, mourning prohibited. 2. On the 17th the Romans withdrew from Judaea and Jerusalem. 3. On the 22nd we returned to kill the apostates.
VII. TISHRI. 1. ON the 3rd Tishri the mention of the Divine Name was removed from public deeds.
VIII. MARCHESHVAN. 1. On the 23rd Marcheshvan the Sorigah (a partition-wall in the Temple, supposed to have been erected by the heathen, comp. 1 Macc. iv. 43-46) was removed from the Temple-court. 2. On the 25th the wall of Samaria was taken. 3. On the 27th the meat offering was again brought on the altar.
IX. KISLEV. 1. On the 3rd the Simavatha (another heathen structure) was removed from the court or the Temple, 2. On the 7th is a feast day. 3. On the 21st is the day of Mount Garizim, mourning is prohibited. 4. On the 25th the eight days of the Feast of Lights (Chanukah) begin, mourning is prohibited.
X. TEBHETH. 1. On the 28th the congregation was re-established according to the Law. (This seems to refer to the restoration of the Sanhedrin after the Sadducean members were removed, under the rule of Queen Salome. See the historical notes in Appendix IV.
XI. SHEBHAT. 1. On the 2nd a feast day [1 This feast seems to refer to the death of King Herod; that on the 7th Kislev to the death of King Jannaeus.], mourning is prohibited. 2. On the 22nd the work, of which the enemy said that it was to be in the Temple, was destroyed, mourning if interdicted. (This seems to refer to the timeof Caligula, when, on the resistance of the Jews, the statute of the Emperor wasat last not allowed to be in the Temple.) 3. On the 28th King Antiochus was removed from Jerusalem (supposed to refer to the day of the death of Antiochus, son of Antiochus Epiphanes, in his expedition against the Parthians).
XII. ADAR. 1. On the 8th and the 9th, days of joy on account of rain-fall. 2. On the 12th is the day of Trajan. 3. On the 13th is the day of Nicanor (his defeat). 4. On the 14th and on the 15th are the days of Purim (Feast of Esther), mourning is prohibited. 5. On the 16th was begun the building the wall of Jerusalem, mounring is prohibited. 6. On the 17th rose the heathens against the remnant of the Scribes in the country of Chalcis and of the Zabedaeans, and Israel was delivered. 7. On the 20th the people fasted for rain, and it was granted to them. 8. On the 28th the Jews received good tidings that they would no longer be hindered from the sayings of the Law, mourning is prohibited. On these days every one who has before made a vow of fasting is to give himself to prayer. (In extenuation of the apparent harshness and literality of our renderings, it should be stated, that both the Sepher Yetsirah and the Megillath Taanith are here for the first time translated into English.)
III. LIST OF HIGH-PRIESTS FROM THE ACCESSION OF HEROD THE GREAT TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM.
Appointed by
Herod the Great ... [1. Ananel. 2. Aristobulus. 3. Jesus, son of Phabes. 4. Simon, son of Boethos. 5. Matthias, son of Theophilos. 6. Joazar, son of Boethos.]
Archelaus ... [7. Eleazar, son of Boethos. 8. Jesus, son of Sie.]
Quirinius ... 9. Ananos (Annas).
Valerius Gratus ... [10. Ishmael, son of Phabi. 11. Eleazar, son of Ananos. 12. Simon, son of Camithos. 13. Joseph (Caiaphas).]
Vitellius ... [14. Jonathan, son of Ananos. 15. Theophilos, son of Ananos.]
Agrippa I. ... [16. Simon Cantheras, son of Boethos. 17. Matthias, son of Ananos. 18. Elionaios, son of Cantheras.]
Herod of Chalcis ... [19. Joseph, son of Camithos. 20. Ananias, son of Nedebaios.]
Agrippa II. ... 21. Ishmael, son of Phabi. 22. Joseph Cabi, son of Simon. 23. Ananos, son of Ananos. 24. Jesus, son of Damnaios. 25. Jesus, son of Gamaliel. 26. Matthias, son of Theophilos.]
The People during the last war 27. Phannias, son of Samuel.
IV. LIST OF PROCURATORS OF JUDAEA.
3 B.C. to 66 A.D. ... [1. Ethnarch Archelaus. 2. Coponius. 3. M. Ambivius. 4. Annius Rufus. 5. Valerius Gratus. 6. Pontius Pilate. 7. Marcellus. 8. King Agrippa. 9. Cuspius Fadus. 10. Tiberius Alexander. 11. Ventidius Cumanus. 12. Antonius Felix. 13. Porcius Festus. 14. Albinus. 15. Gessius Florus.]
V. LIST OF ROMAN GOVERNORS OF SYRIA.
6 B.C. to 69 A.D. [1. P. Quinctilius Varus. 2. M. Lollius. 3. C. Marcius Censorinus (?) 4. L. Volusius Saturniuns. 5. P. Sulpic. Quirinius. 6. Qu. Caecilius Creticus Silanus. 7. Cn. Calpurn. Piso. 8. Cn. Sent. Staurninus (?) 9. Aelius Lamia. 10. L. Pompon. Flaccus. 11. L. Vitellius. 12. P. Petronius. 13. C. Vibius Marsus. 14. C. Cass. Longinus. 15. C. U. Quadratus. 16. [Domitius Corbulo. 17. C. Itius (conjoined).] 18. Cestius Gallus. 19. C. Lic. Mucianus.]
(Vol. i. Book II. ch. iii. and other passages).
APPENDIX VII ON THE DATE OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
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 forsubjects which have either not been treated of by previous writers, or in a manner or form that seemed to make a fresh investigation desirable.
At the outset it must be admitted, that absolute certainty is impossible as to the exact date of Christ's Nativity, the precise year even, and still more the monthand the day. But in regard to the year, we possess such data as to invest it with such probability, as almost to amount to certainty.
1. The first and most certain date is that of the death of Herod the Great. Our Lord was born before the death of Herod, and, as we judge from the Gospel-history, very shortly before that event. Now the year of Herod's death has been ascertained with, we may say, absolute certainty, as shortly before the Passover of the year 750 A.U.C., which corresponds to about the 12th of April ofthe year 4 before Christ, according to our common reckoning, More particularly, shortly before the death of Herod there was a lunar eclipse (Jos. Ant. xvii. 6. 4), which, it is astronomically ascertained, occurred on the night from the 12th to the 13th of March of the year 4 before Christ. Thus the death of Herod must have taken place between the 12th of March and the 12th of April, or, say, about the end of March (comp. Ant. xvii. 8. 1). Again, the Gospel-history necessitates an interval of, at the least, seven or eight weeks before that date for the birth of Christ (we have to insert the purification of the Virgin, at the earliest, six weeks after the Birth, The Visit of the Magi, and the murder of the children at Bethlehem, and, at any rate, some days more before the death of Herod). Thus theBirth of Christ could not have possibly occurred after the beginning of February 4 B.C., and most likely several weeks earlier. This brings us close to the ecclesiastical date, the 25th of December, in confirmation of which we refer to what has been stated in vol. i. p. 187, see especially note 3. At any rate, the often repeated, but very superficial objection, as to the impossibility of shepherds tending flocks in the open at that season, must now be dismissed as utterly untenable, not only for the reasons stated in vol. i. p. 187, but even for this, that if the question is to be decided on the ground of rain-fall, the probabilities are in favour of December as compared with February, later than which it is impossible to place the birth of Christ.
2. No certain inference can, of course, be drawn from the appearance of 'the star' that guided the Magi. _hat, and on what grounds, our investigations have pointed to a confirmation of the date of the Nativity, as given above, has been fully explained in vol. i. ch. vi... (see specially p. 213).
3. On the taxing of Quirinius, see vol. i. pp. 181, 182.
4. The next historical datum furnished by the Gospels is that of the beginning of St. John the Baptist's ministry, which, according to St. Luke, was in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, and when Jesus was 'about thirty years old' (St. Luke iii. 23). The accord of this with our reckoning of the date of the Nativity has been shown in vol. i. p. 264.
5. A similar conclusion would be reached by following the somewhat vague and general indication furnished in St. John ii. 20. 6. Lastly, we reach the same goal if we follow the historically somewhat uncertain guidance of the date of the Birth of the Baptist, as furnished in thisnotice (St. Luke i. 5) of his annunication to his father, that Zacharias officiated in the Temple as on of 'the course of Abia' (see here vol. i. p. 135). In Taan. 29 a we have the notice, with which that of Josephus agrees (War vi. 4, 1, 5), that at the time of the destruction of the Temple 'the course of Jehoiarib,' which was the first of the priestly courses, was on duty. That was on the 9-10 Ab of the year 823 A.U.C., or the 5th August of the year 70 of our era. If this calculation be correct (of which, however, we cannot feel quite sure), then counting 'the courses' of priests backwards, the course of Abia would, in the year 748 A.U.C. (the yearbefore the birth of Christ) have been on duty from the 2nd to the 9th of October. This also would place the birth of Christ in the end of December of the following year (749), taking the expression 'sixth month' in ]t. Luke i. 26, 36, in the sense of the running month (from the 5th to the 6th month, comp. St. Luke i. 24). But we repeat that absolute reliance cannot be placed on such calculations, at least sofar as regards month and day. (Comp. here generally Wieseler, Synopse, and his Beitrage.)
RABBINIC TRADITIONS ABOUT ELIJAHM THE FORERUNNER OF THE MESSIAH
APPENDIX VIII
(Vol. i. Book II. ch. iii. p. 143.)
To complete the evidence, presented in the text, as to the essential differencebetween 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 condensed, account of the earlier Rabbinictraditions about Elijah.
Opinions differ as to the descent and birthplace of Elijah. According to some, he was from the land of Gilead (Bemid. R. 14), and of the tribe of Gad (Tanch. on Gen. xlix. 19). Others describe him as a Benjamite, from Jerusalem, one of those 'who sat in the Hall of Hewn Stones' (Tanch. on Ex. xxxi. 2), or else as paternally descended from Gad and maternally from Benjamin. [1 This question is fully discussed in Ber. R. 71 towards the close. Comp. also Shem. R. 40. For fuller details we refer to our remarks on Gen. xlix. 19 in Appendix IX.] Yet a third opinion, and to which apparently most weight attaches, represents him as a Levite, and a Priest, nay, as the great High-Priest of Messianic days. This is expresslystated in the Targum Pseudo-Jon. on Ex. xl. 10, where it also seems implied thathe was to anoint the Messiah with the sacred oil, the composition of which was among the things unknown in the second Temple, but to be restored by Elijah (Tanch. on Ex. xxiii. 20, ed. Warsh. p. 91 a, lines 4 and 5 from the top). Another curious tradition identifies Elijah with Phinehas (Targum Pseudo-Jon. on Ex. vi.18). The same expression as in the Targum ('Phinehas, that is Elijah') occurs in thatgreat storehouse of Rabbinic tradition, Yalkut (vol. i. p. 245 b, last two lines, and col. c). From the pointed manner in which reference is made to the parallelism between the zeal of Phinehas and that of Elijah, and between their work in reconciling
God and Israel, and bringing the latter to repentance, we may gatheralike the origin of this tradition and its deeper meaning. [2 I cannot agree with either of the explanations of this passage offered by Castelli (Il Messia, p. 199), whose citation is scarcely as accurate as usually. The passage quoted is in the Par. Pinchas, opening lines.]
For (as fully explained in Book II. ch. v.) it is one of the principles frequently expressed by the ancient Synagogue, in its deeper perception of the unity and import of the Old Testament, that the miraculous events and Divine interpositions of Israel's earlier history would be re-enacted, only with wider application, in Messianic days. If this idea underlay the parallelism between Phinehas and Elijah, it is still more fully carried out in that between Elijah and Moses. On comparing the Scriptural account of these two messengers of God we are struck with the close correspondence between the details of thier history. The Synagogue is careful totrace this analogy step by step (Yalkut, vol. ii. p. 32 d) the final deliveranceof Israel of Egypt, so would the final deliverance by Elijah for ever break the yoke of all foreign rule. The allusion here is to the part which Elijah was expected to take in the furture 'wars of Gog and Magog' (Seder Olam R. c. xvii.)Indeed, this parallelism is carried so far, that tradition has it, that, when Moses was commissioned by God to go to Pharoah, he pleaded that God should rather send by him whom He designed to send for the far greater deliverance in the latter days. On this it was told him that Elijah's mission would be to Israel, while he(Moses) was sent to Pharaoh (Pirqe de R. Eliez. 40). [1 Castelli writes: Lo Prega a mandare in luogo suo Elic, gia esistente almeno in insipirito; e Dio risponde, che predestinato non a quella, ma alla finale redenzine. But there are three inaccuracies here, for (1) Moses does not name Elijah; (2) there is not a hint that Elijah was pre-existing in spirit; while (3) God's reply to Moses is as in our text.] Similarly, it is asserted that the cave from which Moses beheld the Divine Presence passing before him (Ex. xxxiii. 22) was the same as that in which Elijah stood under similar circumstances, that cave having been created with the rest of the world, but specially on the eve of the world's first Sabbath (Siphre on Deut. ed. Friedmann, p. 147 a, last line). Considering this paralelism between them, the occurrence of the somewhat difficult expression wEll scarcely surprise us, that in the days of theMessiah Moses and Elijah would come together, 'as one' (Debar. R. 3, at the end). [2 Thequestion has been raised whether Jeremiah (or even Isaish) was also to appear in Messianic days. In favour of this view 2 Macc. ii. 1-8 and xv. 14-16 afford, to say the least, presumptive evidence. We do not refer to 4 Esdras ii. 18, because the two first and the two last chapters of that book in our Apocrypha (2 Esdras) are spurious, being for much later, probably Christian authorship. Gfrorer thinks that 4 esdras v. (2 Esdras vii. 28) refers to Jeremiah and Isaiah (Urchrist vol. ii. p. 230). But I cannot draw the same inference from it. On the other hand, there is a remarkable passage in Mechilta on Ex. xvi. 33 (ed. weiss, p. 59 b), which not only seems to conjoin Jeremiah with the Messiah (though the inaccurate rendering of Wetstein, Nov. Test. vol. i. p. 430 conveys an exaggerated and wrong impression of this), but reminds us of 2 Mac. ii. 1-18.] 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 continous, and that he is almost constantly imtroduced on the scene, either as in converse with some Rabbi, or esle as busy about Israel's welfare, and connected with it. Thus Elihah chronicles in heaven the deeds of man (Seder Olam R. xvii.), or else writes down the observances of the commandments by men, and then the Messiah and God seal it (Midrast on Ruth ii. 14, last line, ed. Warsh. p. 43 b). In general, he is ever interested in all that concerns Israel's present state or their future deliverance (Sanh. 98 a). Indeed, he is connected with the initiatory rite of the covenant, in acknowledgement of his zeal [3 In this passage also
reference is made to the zeal of Phinehas as corresponding to that of Elijah.] in the restoration of circumcision, when, according to tradition, it had been abrogated by the ten tribes after their separation from Judah. God accordingly had declared: 'Israel shall not make that (at circumcision) a seat of honour shall be placed for the Angel of the Covenant (Mal. iii. 2; Pirqe' de R. Eliez. 29, end). Tradition goes even further. Not only was he the only ambassador to whom God had delegated His three special 'keys': of birth, of the rainfall, and of waking the dead (Yalkut, vol. ii. 32 c), but his working was almost Divine (Tanch. Bereshith 7; ed. Warsh. p. 6 b, last line, and 7 a).
We purposely pass over the activity of Elijah in connection with Israel, and especially its Rabbis and saints, during the interval between the Prophet's death and his return as the Forerunner of the Messiah, such as Jewish legend describesit. No good purpose could be served by repeating what so frequently sounds not only utterly foolish and superstitious, but profane. In Jewish legend Elijah is always introduced as the guardian of the interests of Israel, whether theologically or personally, as it were the constant living medium between God and his people, the link that binds the Israel of the present, with its pursuits, wants, difficulties and interests, to the bright Messianic future of which he is the harbinger. This probably is the idea underlying the many, often grotesque, legend about his sayings and doings. Sometimes he is represented as, in his well-meant zeal, going so faras to bear false witness in order to free Rabbis from danger and difficulty (Berach. 058 a). In general, he is always ready to instruct, to comfort, or to heal, condescending even to so slightly a malady as the toothache (Ber. R. 96, end). But most frequently is he the adviser an friend of the Rabbis, in whose meetings and studies he delighteth. Thus he was a frequent attendant in Rabh' Academy, and his indiscretion in divulging to his friends the secrets of heaven had once procurd for him in heaven the punishmet of fiery stripes (Babha Mets. 85 b). But it is usesless to do more than indicate all this. Our object is to dicribe the activity of Elijah in connection with the coming of the Messiah.
When, at length, the time of Israel's redemption arrived, then would Elijah return. Of two things only are we sure in connection with it. Elijah will not 'come yesterday', that is, he will be revealed the same day that he comes, and he will not come on the eve of either a Sabbath or feast-day, in order not to interrupt the festive rest, nor to break the festive laws (Erub. 43 b, Shabb. 33 a). Whether he came one day (Er. 43 b) or three days before the Messiah (Yalkut, vol. ii. p. 53 c, about the middle) his advent would be close to that of that Messiah (Yalkut, vol. i. p. 310 a, line 21 from bottom). [1 Schottgen (Horae Hebr. tomus ii. p. 534) has not correctly apprehended the meaning of this passage. It is not 'statim cum ipso Messiae adventu,' but prope or proxime Schotten writes inaccurrately.] The account given of the three days between the advent of Elijah and of the Messiah is peculiar (Yalkut, vol. ii. p.53 c). Commenting on Is, lii. 7, it is explained, that on the first of those three days Elijah would stand on the mountains of Israel, lamenting the desolateness of the land, his voice being heard from one end of the world to the other, after which he would proclaim: 'Peace' cometh to the world; 'peace' cometh to the world! Similarly on the second day he would proclaim, 'Good' cometh to the world; 'good' cometh to the world! Lastly, on the third day, he would, in the same manner as the two previous days, make proclamation: 'Jeshuah [2 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.] (salvation) cometh to the world; Jeshuah (salvation) cometh to the world,' which, in order to mark
the difference between Israel and the Gentiles, would be further explained by this addition: 'Saying unto Zion, They King cometh!'
The period of Elijah's advent would, according to one opinion (Pirqe 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, doubts, and difficulties, in making peace, in restoring those who by violence had been wrongfully excluded from the congregation and excluding those who by violence had been wrongfully introduced (Bab. Mets. i. 8; ii. 8; iii. 4, 5; Eduy. vii. 7). He would also restore to Israel these three things which had been lost: the golden pot of Manna (Ex. xvi. 33), the vessel containing the anointing oil, and that with the waters of purification, according to some, also Aaron's rod that budded and bore fruit. [1 The reader will find, in our remarks on Ps. ex. 2 in Append. IX. the curious traditions about this rod of Aaron, as given in Bemid. R. 18 and Yalkut on Ps. cx. 2. The story of the wonder-working rod is told somewhat differently in the Targum Pseudo-Jon. on Ex. ii. 20, 21 and iv. 20; and again, with other variations, in Pirke de R. Eliez. 40. In the latter passage we are told, that this rod had passed from the possession of Joseph (after his death) into the palace of Pharaoh. Thence Jethro, who was one of the magicians of Egypt, had removed it to his own home. The ability of Moses to read the writing on the rod, according to other traditions, tro uproot it out of the garden, indicated him to Jethro as the future deliverer of Israel, and determined him to give to Moses Zipporah for his wife (in preference to all other suitors). According to other traditions, Noses had been for many years improsioned, and ministered to by Zipporah, who loved him. It may be added, that, according to very ancient tradition, the rod of Aaron was one of th ethings created on the eve of the world's first Sabbath (Siphre, ed. Friedmann, p. 147 a, last line)]. Again, his activity is likened to that of the Angel whom God had sent before Israel to drive out and to vanquish the hostile nations (Tanch. on Ex. xxiii. 0, 18 at the close; ed. Warsh. p. 106 b). For. Elijah was to appear, thento disappear, and to appear again in the wars of Gog and Magog [2 We have purposely omitted all reference to the connection between Elijah and the 'second' Messiah, the son of Ephraim, because that line of tradition belongs to a later period than that of Christ.] (Seder Olam R. xvii.). But after that time general peace and happiness would prevail, when Elijah would discharge his peculiar functions. Finally, to the ministry of Elijah somealso ascribed the office of raising the dead (Sotah ix. 15, closing words). [3 The view of the Apocrypha on the Mission of Elijah may be gathered from Ecclus. xlviii. 1-12. Some additional Talmudic notices about Elijah will be found at the close of Append. IX. The Sepher Eliyahu (Apocalypse of Elijah), published in Jellinek's Beth haMidr. part ii. pp. 65-68, adds nothing to our knowledge. It proesses to be a revelation by the Angel Michael to Elijah of the end and the last days, at the close of the fourth monarchy. As it is simply an Apocalyptic account of the events of those days, it cannot here find a place, however interesting the Tractate. I have purposely not referred to the abominable story about Elijah told in Yoma 19 b, last lines.]
Such is a summary of ancient Jewish tradition concerning Elijah as the forerunner of the Messiah. Comparing it with the New Testament description of John the Baptist, it will at least be admitted that, from whatever source the sketch of the activity and mission of the Baptist be derived, it cannot have been from the ideal of the ancient Synagogue, nor yet from popularly current Jewish views. And, indeed, could there be a greater contrast than between the Jewish forerunner of the Messiah and him of the New Testament?
LIST OF OLD TESTAMENT PASSAGES MESSIANICALLY APPLIED IN ANCIENT RABBINIC WRITINGS
APPENDIX IX
(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 Pentateuch, 243 from the Prophets, and 138 from the Hagiorgrapha, and supported by more than 558 separate quotations from Rabbinic writings. Despite all labour care, it can scarcely be hoped that the list is quite complete, although, it is hoped, no important passage has been omitted. The Rabbinic references might have been considerably increased, but itseemed useless to quote the same application of a passage in many different books. Similarly, for the sake of space, only the most important Rabbinic quotations have been made are: the Targumimm the two Talmuds, and the most ancient Midrashim, but neithe the Zohar (as the date of its composition is in dispute), nor any other Kabbalistic work, nor yet the younger Midrashim, nor, of course, the writings oflater Rabbis, I have, however, frequently quoted from the well-known work Yalkut, because, although of comparatively late date, it is really, as its name implies, a collection and selection from more than fifty older and accredited writings, and adduces passages now not otherwise accessible to us. And I have the more readily availed myelf of it, as I have been reluctantly forced to the conclusion that even the Midrashim preserved to us have occassionally been tampered with for controversial purposes. I have quoted from the best edition of Yalkut (Frankfort a. M., 1687), but in the case of the other Midrashim I have been obliged to content myself with such more recent reprints as I possessed, instead of the older and more expensive editions. In quoting from the Midrashim, not only the Parashah, but mostly also the folio, the page, and frequently even the lines arereferred to. Lastly, it only remains to acknowledge in general that, so far as possible, I have availed myself of the labours of my predecessors. specially of those of Schottgen. Yet, even so, I may, in a sense, claim these references also as the result of my own labours, since I have not availed myself of quotations without comparing them with the works from which they were adduced, a process in which not a few passages quoted had to be rejected. And if any student should arrive at a different conclusion from mine in regard to any of the passages hereafter quoted, I can at least assure him that mine is the result of the most careful and candid study I could give to the consideration of each passage. With these prefatory remarks I proceed to give the list of Old Testament messianically applied in ancient Rabinic writings. In Gen. i. 2, the expression, 'Spirit of God,' is explained of 'the Spirit of the King Messiah,' with reference to Is. xi. 2, and the 'moving on the face of the deep' of 'repentance,' according to Lam. ii. 19. So in Ber. R. 2, and in regard to thefirst point also in Ber. R. 8, in Vayyik. R. 14, and in other places.
Gen. ii. 4: 'These are the generations, of the heavens and of the earth,' taken in connection with Gen. iii. 15 and Ruth iv. 18. Here we note one of the most curious Messianic interperations in Ber. R. 12 (ed. Warsh. p. 24 b). It is noted that the word 'generations' is always written in the
Bible without the which is the equivalent for the numeral 6, except in Gen. ii. 4 and Ruth iv.18. This to indicate that subsequent to Gen. ii. 4 the Fall took place, in whichAdam lost, six, things: his glorious sheen (Job xiv. 20); life (Gen. iii. 19)); his stature (Gen. iii. 8, either by 100, by 200, by 300, or even by 900 cubits); thefruit of the ground; the fruits of the trees (Gen. iii. 17); and the heavenly lights. We have now seen why in Gen. ii. 4, that is, previous to the Fall, the is still in since at that time these six things were not yet lost. But the reappears in the word in Ruth iv. 18, because these six things are to be rstored to man by 'the son of Pkharez,' or the Messiah (comp. for each of these six things:Judg. v. 31 b; Is. lxviii. 22; Lev. xxvi. 13; Zech. viii. 12; Is. xxx. 26). It is added that although, according to the literal rendering of Ps. xlix. 12 (in Heb.ver. 13, man did not remain unfallen one single night, yet, for the sake of the Sabbath, the heavely lights were not extinguished till after the close of the Sabbath. When Adam saw the darknes, it is added, he was greatly afraid, saying: Perhaps he, of whom it is written, 'he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,' cometh to molest and attack me, and he said, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me.' This courious extract at least shown in what context the Synagoue applied Gen. iii. 15. The same occurs substantially in Shem. R. 30.
Gen iii. 15. This well-known passage is paraphrased, with expresses reference to the Messiah, in the Targum Pseudo Jonathan and the so-called jerusalem Targum. Schottgen 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 the description of the trokubles of those days (comp. St. Matt. x. 35, 36) may have been chosen partly with a view to this passage.
Gen. iv. 25. The language of Eve at the birth of Seth: 'another seed,' is explained as meaning 'seed which comes from another place,' and referred to the Messiah in Ber. R. 23 (ed. Warsh. p. 45 b, lines 8, 7 from the bottom). The sameexplanation occurs twice in the Midrash on Ruth iv. 19 (in the genealogy of David, ed. Warsh. p. 46 b), the second time in connection with Ps. xl. 8 ('in the volume of the book it is written of me,'bim' gillath sepher, Ruth belonging to the class
In connection with Gen. v. 1 it is noted in Ber. R. 24, that King Messiah will not come till all souls predestined for it have appeared in human bodies on earth.
In Gen. viii. 11 the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan notes that the olive-leaf, brought by the dove, was dtaken from the Mount of the Messiah.
Gen. ix. 27. The promise, that Japhet shall dwell in the tents of Shem, is paraphrased in the Targum Pseudo-Jon. as meaning, that his descendants should become proselytes, and dwell in the school of Shem, which seems to refer to Messianic times.
In connection with Gen. xiv. 1, we are reminded in Ber. R. 42, that when we see the nations warring together, we may expect the coming of the Messiah.
The promise in Gen. xv. 18 is expected to be finally fulfilled in the time of Messiah, in Ber. R. 44.
In connection with Gen. xviii. 4, 5 it is noted (Ber. R. 48, ed. Warsh. p. 87 b) that the words of Abraham to his Angelic guests were to be returned in blessing to Abraham's descendants,
in the wilderness, in the land jof Canaan, and in the latter (Messianic) days. Referring only to this last point, the words 'let a little water be fetched,' is paralleled with the 'living waters' in Zech. xiv. 8; 'wash your feet,' with Is.iv. 4 (the washing away of the filth of the daughters of zion); 'rest under the tree,' with Is. iv. 6: there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat;' 'I will fetch a morsel of bread,' with the provision, Ps. lxxii. 16: 'there shall be a handful of corn in the earth,' &c. So also the words: 'Abraham ran unto the here,' are paralleled with Is. vii. 21 (which is most significantly here applied to Messianic times); and lastly, the words, 'he stoodby them,' with Mic. ii. 13: 'the breaker is come up before them.' [1 Indeed, this Parashah in Bedr. R. contains other similar parallelisms between Gen. xvii. and Messianic times.] The same interpretation occurs in Bemid. R. 14 (ed. Warsh. p. 55 a), the references to Messianic days there being to Is. xiv. 2; xxx. 25; xli. 18; vi. 4;and iv. 6.
The last clause of Gen. xix. 32 is interperted (Ber. R. 51, ed. Warsh. p. 95. a), as referring, like the words of Eve about Seth, to the Messiah, the sin of the daughters of Lot being explained on the ground of their believing that all mankind had been destroyed in the judgment that overthrew Sodom.
The promise in Gen. xxii. 18 is also explained Messianically in Bemid. R. 2 (ed. W. P. 5 b), in connection with Num. ii. 32 where it is somewhat curiously shown in what sense Israel is to be like the sand of the sea.
Gen. xxxiii. 1. The Midrash conjoins this with Is. lxv i. 7, and notes that, before the first oppressor was born, the last Redeemer was already born.
In Gen. xxxv. 21 the Targum Pseudo-Jon. paraphrases 'the tower of Eder' (at Bethlehm) as the place whence the Messiah would be revealed. On Gen. xxxviii. 1, 2 there are very remarkable Messiah would comments in Ber. R. 85.
Gen. xlix. 1. The Targum Pseudo-Jon. notes, that the end for which the Messhah would come was not revealed to Jacob. A similar statement is found in the Midrash on the passage (Ber. R. 98, ed. Warsh. p. 173 a), where it is said of Jacob and Daniel that they saw the end, and yet it was afterwards hid from them. The passage quoted in the case of Daniel is Dan. xii. 4.
Gen. xlix 9. The expression 'lion's whelp,' is explained of the Messiah in Yalkut 160 (vol. i. p. 49 c), no less than five times; while the term 'he couched,' is referred to the Messiah in Ber. R. 98.
Gen xlix. 10. This well-known prediction (on which see the full and intersting disciussion in Raym. Martini, Pugio Fidei) is in Yalkut, u. s., applied to the Messiah, with a quotation of Ps. ii. 9. This expression 'Shiloh' is also appliedto the Messiah, with the curious addition, that the latter days all nation would bring gifts to Him. Alike the Targum Onkelos, PSEUDO-JONATHAN, AND THE Jerusalem Targum, as well a Sanh. 98 b, the Midrash on the passage, and that on Prov. xix. 21, and on Lam. i. 16, where it is rendered shelo, 'whose it is,' refer the expression 'Shiloh,' and, indeed, the whole passage, to the Messiah; the Midrah Ber. R. (99, ed. Warsh. p. 178 b) with special reference to Is. xi. 10, while the promise with reference to the ass's colt is brought into connection with Zech. ix. 9, the fulfilment of this prophecy being expected along with that in Ezek.
xxxvi. 25 ('I will sprinkle clean water'). Another remarkable statement occurs in the Midrash on the passage (Ber. R. 98, ed. Warsh. p. 174 b), which applies the vere to the coming of Him kof Whom it is written,Zech. ix. 9. Then He would wash his garment in wine (Gen. xlix. 11), which is explained as meaning the teaching of the Law to Israel, and His clothes in the blood of grapes, which is explainedas meaning that He would bring them back from their errors. One of the Rabbis, however, remarks that Israel would not require to be taught by the King Messiah in the latter days, since it was written (Is. xi. 10), 'to it shall the Gentilesseek.' If so, then why should the Messiah. come, and what will He do to the congregation of Israel? He will redeem Israel, and give them thirty commandments, according to Zech. xi. 12. The Targum Pseudo-Jon. and the Jer. Targum also apply verse 11 to the Messiah. Indeed, so general was this interpretation, that, according popular opinion, to see a palm-tree in one's dreams was to see the days of the Messiah (Berach. 57 a).
Gen. xlix. 12 is also applied to the Messiah in the Targum Pseudo-Jon. and the Jerusalem Targum. So also is verse 18, although not in express words.
In Gen. xlix. 17, last clause, in its connection with ver. 18, the Midrash (Ber. R. 98) sees a reference to the disappointment of Jacob in mistaking Samson for the Messiah.
In the prophecy of Gad in Gen. xlix. 19 there is an allusion to Messianic days,as Elijah was to be of the tribe of Gad (Ber. R. 99, ed. Warsh. p. 179 a). Thereis, however, in Ber. R. 71, towards the close, a dispute whether he was of the tribe of Gad, or of the tribe of Benjamin, at the close of which Elijah appears, and settles the dispute in a rather summary manner.
On Gen. 1. 10 the Midrash, at the close of Ber. R., remarks that as they had mourned, so in Messianic days God would turn their mourning into joy, quoting Jer. xxxi. 13 and Is. li 3.
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. xvi. 55; Is liv. 11; Is. xi. 7; Hos. ii. 20; Is. lxv. 19; Is. xxxv. 8; Is. xxxv. 10. Similarly on Num. xii. 1 we have, in Shem. R. 51, a parallelism between Old Testament times and their institutions and those of the latter days, to which Is. xlix. 12 and lx. 8 are suppose to apply.
On Exod. xii. 42 the Jerus. Targum notes that there were 4 remarkable nights: those of creation, of the covenant with Abraham, of the first Passover, and of the redemption of the world; and that as Moses came out of the desert, so would the Messiah come out of Rome.
On Exod. xv. 1. It is noted in Mekhilta (ed. Weiss, p. 41 a) that this song would be taken up in Messianic days, only with far wide reach, as explained in Is. lx 5; lviii. 8; xxxv. 5, 6; Jer. xxxi. 13; and Ps.cxxvi. 2.
Ex. xvi. 25 is applied to the Messiah, it being said that, if Isreal only kept one sabbath according to the commandment, the Messiah would immediately come (Jer. Taan. 64 a).
Ex. xvi. 33. This manna, it is noted in Mechil. ed. Weiss, p. 59 b, was to be preserved for the days of the Messiah. Is. xxx. 15 is similarly explained in Jer. Taan. i. 1.
Ex. xvii. 16 the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan refers to Messianic times.
Exod. xxi. 1. Shem. R. 30, ed Warsh. p. 44. b, 45 a, notes on the word 'judgments' a number of things connected with judgment, showing how Balaam could not have wished the advent of the future deliverance (Numb. xxiv. 17), since he was to perish in it; but that Isreal should cleave to the great hope pressed in Gen. xlix. 18; Is. lvi. 1; lix. 16; and especially Zech. ix. 9, of which a different redering is proposed.
On Exod. xl. 9, 11 there is in the Targum Pesudo-Jon. distinct reference to theKing Messiah, on whose account the anointing oil was to be used.
The promise (Lev. xxvi. 12) is also referred to the latter, or Messianic,days in Yalkut 62 (vol. i. p. 17 b).
Lev. xxvi. 13 is applied to Messianic times. See our remarks on Gen. ii. 4.
The promise of peace in the Aaronic benediction Num. vi. 26 is reffered to the peace of the Kingdom of David, in accordance with Is. ix. 7 (Sipher on Num. par. 42, ed. Friedmann, p. 12).
Num. vii. 12. In connection with this it is marked that the six blessings whichwere lost by the Fall are to be restored by the son of Nahson, i.e. the Messiah (Bem. R. 13, ed. W. p. 51 a).j
In the Jerusalem Targum on Num. xi. 26 the prophecy of Eldad and Medad is supposed to have been with regard to the war of the later days against Jerusalemand to the defeat of Gog and Magog by the Messiah.
In Num. xxiii. 21 the term 'King' is expressly referred to the Messiah in Targum Pseudo-Jon. So also Num. xxiv . 7 in the Jer. Targum.
In Num. xxiv. 17 Balaam's prediction of the Star and Sceptre is referred to theMessiah in the Targum Onkelos and the Targum Pessudo-Jonathan, as well as in Jer. Taan. iv. 8; Deb. R. 1; Midr. on Lament. ii. 2. Similarly verses 20 and 24 of that prophecy are ascribed in the Targum Pseudo-Jon. to the Messiah.
Num. xxvii. 16. In connection with this verse it is noticed that His one Spiritis worth as much as all other spirits, according to Ia. xi. 1 (Yalkut, vol. i. p. 247 a).
Deut. i. 8 is applied to the days of the Messiah in Sphre, 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 Siphre Par. 47 (ed. Friedmann, p. 83 a) to the days of the Messiah.
In Deut. xvi. 3 the record of the deliverance from Egypt is supposed to be carried on to the days of the Messiah, in Spihre, Par. 130 (ed. Friedmann. p. 101 a). See, also, Ber. i. 5.
On Deut. xix. 8,9 it is noted, in Siphre on Deut., Par. 185 (ed Friedm. p. 108 b), that as three of these cities were in terrtiory never possessed by Isreal, this was to be fulfilled in Messianic times. See also Jer. Macc. ii. 7.
In Tanchuma on Deut. xx. 10 (Par. 19, ed. Warsh. p. 114 b) the offer of peace to a hostile city is applied to the future action of Messiah to the Gentiles, inin accordance with Zech. ix, 10; Is. ii. 4; and Ps lxviii. 32; while, on the other hand, the resistance of a city to the offer of peace is likened to rebellion against the Messiah, and consequent judgment, according to Is. xi. 4.
Deut. xiii. 11 is typically applied to the evening of time, when God would wash away the filth of the daughters of Zion (Is. iv. 4); and the words: 'when the sun is down' to when King Messiah would come (Tanchuma on Par. Ki Thetse 3 ed. Warsh. p. 115 b).
Deut. xxv. 19 and Deut. xxx. 4 are referred by the Targum Pesudo-Jon. the Messianic times. In the latter passage the gathering of dispersed Israel by Elijah, and their being brought back by Messiah, are spoken of. Comp. also Bem. R., last three lines.
On Deut. xxxii. 7 Siphre (Par. 210, ed Friedm. p. 134 a) makes the beautiful observation, that in all Israel's affictions they were to remember the good and comfortable things which God had promised them for the furture world, and in connection with this is special reference to make time of the Messiah.
On Deut. xxxii. 30 Siphre (p. 138 a) marks its fulfilment in the days of the Messiah.
On Deut. xxxiii. 5 the Jer. Targum speaks of a king whom the tribes of Israel shall obey, this being evidently the King Messiah.
Deut. xxxiii. 17. Tanchuma on Gen. i. Par. 1 (ed. Warsh. p. 4 a) applies this to the Messiah. So also in Benidb. R. 14.
Deut. xxxiii. 12. The expression, 'he shall cover him,' is reffered to this world; 'all the day long,' to the days of the Messiah; and 'he shall dwell between his shoulders,' to the world to come (Sebach. 118 b).
Judg v. 31: 'let them that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might,' is applied to Messianic times in Ber. R. 12. See our remarks on Gen. ii.4.
On Ruth ii. 14: 'come hither at the time of meat,' the Midr. R. Ruth 5 (ed. Warsh. p. 43 a and b), has a very remarkable interpretation. Besides the application of the word 'eat,' as beyond this present time, to the days of the Messiah, and again to the world to come, which is to follow these days, the Midrash applies the whole of it mystically to the Messiah, viz. 'Come hither,' that is, draw near to the kingdom, 'and eat of the bread,' that is, the bread of royalty, 'and dip thy morsel
in vinegar,' these are the sufferings, as it is written in Is. liii. 5, 'He was wounded for our transgression.' 'And she sat beside the reapers', because His Kingdom would in the further be put aside from Him for a short time, according to Zech. xiv. 2; 'and he reached her parched corn', because He will restore it to Him, according to Is. xi. 4. R. Berachiah, in the name of R. Levi, adds, thatthe second Redeemer should be like the first. As the firrst Redeemer (Moses) appeared, and disappeared, and reappeared after three months, so the second Redeemer would also appear, and siappear, and again become manifest, Dan. xii. 11, 12 being brought into connection with it. Comp. Midr. on Cant. ii. 6; Pesik. 49 a, b. Again, the words, 'she ate, and was sufficed, and left,' are thus interpreted inShabb. 113 b: she ate, in this world; and was sufficed, in the days of the Messiah; and left, for the world to come.
Again, the Targum on Ruth i. 1 speaks of the Messiah; and again on Ruth iii. 15 paraphrases the six measures of barley as reffering to six righteous ones, ofwhich 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 been lost to humanity through the fall of Adam. See our remarks on Gen. ii. 4.
The messianic interpretation of Ruth iv. 20 has already been given under Gen. iv. 25.
1 Sam. ii. 10. The latter clause of this promise is understood by the Targum (and also is some of the Medrashim) as applying to the Kingdom of the Messiah.
2 Sam. xxii. 28. In a Talmudic passage (Sanh. 98 a, line 19, &c., from the bottom), which contains many references to the coming of the Messiah, His adventis predicted in connection with this passage.
2 Sam. xxii. 1 is applied by the Targum to the prophecy of David concerning the latter Messianic days.
2 Sam. xxiii. 3. The 'ruling in the fear of God' is referred in the Targum to the future raising up of the Messiah.
In 2 Sam. xxiii. 4 the morning light at sunrise is explained in the Midrash on the passage (par. 29, ed. Lemberg, p, 56 b, lines 7-9 from the top), as applying to the appearance of the Messiah.
The expression, 1 Kings iv. 33, that Solomon spoke of trees, is referred in theTargum to his prophecy concerning kings that were to reign in this age, and in that of the Messiah.
On the name 'Anani,' in Chr. ii. 24, the Targum remarks that this is the Messiah, the interpretation being that the word anani is connected with the wordsimilarly written (not punctuated) in Deut. vii. 13, and there translated 'clouds,' of which the explanation is given in Tanchuma (Par. Toledoth 14, p. 27 b).
Ps. ii. as might be expected, is treated fas full of Messianic references. To begin with. Ps. ii. 1 is applied to the wars of Gog and Magog in the Talmud (Berach. 7 b and Abhod. Zarah 3 b), and also in the Midrash on Ps. ii. Similarly, verse 2 is applied to the Messiah in Abhod. Zach, u. s., in the Midrash on Ps. xcii. 11 (ed. Warsh. p. 70 b, line 8 from the top); in Pirque de R. Eliez. c. 28 (ed. Lemberg,p. 33 b, line 9 from top). In Yalkut (vol. ii. par. 620, p. 90 a, line 12 from the bottom), we have the following remarkable simile on the words, 'against God, andHis Messiah,' likening them to a robber who stands defiantly behind the palace of the king, and says, If I shall find the son of the king, I shall lay hold on him. and crucify him, and kill him with a cruel death. But the Holy Spirit mocks at him, 'He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.' On the same verse the Midrashon Ps. ii. has a curious conceit, intended to show that each who rose against God and His people thought he was wiser than he who had preceded him. If Cain had killed his brother while his father was alive, forgetful that there would beother son, Esau proposed to wait till after his father's death. Pharaoh, again, blamed Esau for his folly in forgetting that in the meantime Jacob would have children, and hence porposed to kill all the male children, while Haman, ridiculing Pharaoh's folly in forgetting that there were daughters set himself to destroy the whole people; and, in turn, Gog and Magog, ridiculing the shortsightedness of all, who had preceded them, in taking counsel against Israel so long as they had a Patron in heaven, resolved first to attack their heavenly Patron, and after thatIsrael. To which apply the words, 'against the Lord, and against His Anointed.'
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 s sufferings [1 As to these three measures of sufferings, and the share falling tothe age of the Messiah sea also the Midrash on Ps. ii. 7.] one goes to the King Messiah, of whom it is written (Is. liii.) 'He was wounded for our trangression.' The say to the King Messiah: Where dost Thou seek to dwell? He answers: Is this question also necessary? In Sion My holy hill (Ps. ii. 6). (Comp. also Yalkut ii. p. 53 c.)
Ps. ii. 7 is quoted as Messianic in the Talmud, among a number of other Messianic quotations (Sukk. 52 a). There is a very remarkable passage in the Midrash on Ps. ii. 7 (ed. Warsh p. 5 a), in which the unity of Israel and the Messiah in prophetic vision seems clearly indicated. Tracing the 'decree' through the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiograph, the first passage quoted in Exod. iv 22: 'Israel is My first-born son;' the second, from the Prophets, Is. lii. 13: 'Behold My servants shall deal prudently,' and Is. xlii. 1: Behold My My servant, whom I uphold;' the third, from the Hagiographa, Ps. cx. 1: 'The Lord said unto my Lord,' and again, Ps. ii. 7: 'The Lord said unto Me, Thou art My Son,' and yet this other saying (Dan. vii. 13): 'Behold, one like the Son of Man came with theclouds of heaven.' Five lines further down, the same Midrash, in reference to the words 'Thou art My Son,' observes that, when that hour comes, God speaks to Him to make a new convenant, and thus He speaks: 'This day have I begotten There', this is the hour in which He become His Son.
Ps. ii. 8 is applied in Ber. R. 44 (ed. Warsh. p. 80 a) and in the Midrash on the passage, to the Messiah, with the curious remark that there were three of whom it was said 'Ask of Me', Solomon, Ahaz, [1 The Midrash gives two very curious explanations of his name.] and the Messiah. In the Talmud (Shukk. 52 a) the same passage is very curiously applied, it being suggested that, when the Messiah, the Son of David, saw that the Messiah, the Son of Joseph, [2 On
the twofold Messiah, or rather the device of the Jews on this subject, see in the text of the chapter. I cannot but suspect that the words 'Son of Joseph' in the Talmud are a later and clumsy emendation, since what follows evidently applies to the Son of David.] would be killed, He said to the Almighty, I seek nothing of Thee except life. To which the reply was: Life before Thou hadst spoken, as David Thy father prophesied of Thee, Ps. xxi. 4.
Ps. ii. 9 will be reffered to in our remarks on Ps. cxx.
Ps. xvi. 5 is discussed in Ber. R. 88, in connection with the cup which Pharaoh's butler saw in his dream. From this the Midrash proceeds to speak of the four cups appointed for the Passover night, and to explain their meaning in various manners, among others, contrasting the four cups of fury, which God would make the nations drink, with the four cups of salvation which He would give Israel inthe latter days, viz. Ps. xvi. 5; Ps. cxvi. 13; Ps. xxiii. 5. The expression, Ps. cxvi. 13, rendered in our A. V. 'the cup of salvation,' is in the orginal, 'the cup of salvations', and is explainedd as implying on e for the days of the Messiah, andthe other for the days of Gog.
On verse 9, the Midrash on the passage says: 'My glory shall rejoice in the King Messiah, Who in the furture shall come forth from me, as it is written in Is. iv. 5: "upon all the glory a convering."' And the Midrash continues 'my flesh also shall dwell in saftey', i.e. after death, to teach us that corruption and the worm shall not rule over it.
Ps. xviii. 31 (in the Heb. verse 32). The Targum explains this in reference to the works and miracles of the Messiah.
Ps. xviii. 50 is reffered 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. xviii. 50.' Targum to be King Messiah. The Midrash on the passage indenfies him with Is. xi. 10, on which Rabbi Chanina adds that the object of the Messiah is to give certain commandments to the Gentiles (not to Israel, who are to learn from God Himself), accordding to the passage in Isaiah above qutoed, adding that the words 'his rest shall be glorious' mean that God gives to the King Messiah from the glory above, as it is said: 'In Thy strength shall the king rejoice, 'which strength is a little afterwards explained as the Kigdom (ed. Warsh. p. 30 a and b).
Verse 3 is Messianically applied in the Midrash on the passage.
Ps. xxi. 3 (4 in the Hebrew). Only a few lines farther down in the same Midrash, among remarkable Messianic applications, is that of this vese to the Messiah, where also the expression 'Jehovah is a man of war,' and 'Jehovah Zidkenu,' are applied to the Messiah. [3 The idea of an organic connection between Israel and the Messiah seems also to underlie this passage.] Comp. also Shemoth R. 8, where it is noted that God will corwn Him with His own crown.
Verse 4 is Messianically applied in Sukk. 52 a.
Ps. xxi. 5 (6 in the Hebrew). The first clause is the vese Yalkut on Num. xxvii. 20 (vol. i. p. 248 a, line 10 from the bottom) applies to the glory of the king Messiah, immediately quoting the second clause in proof of its Messianic application. This is also does in the Midrash on the passage. But perhaps one ofthe most remarkable applications of it is in Bemidbar R. 15, p. 63 b, where the passage is applied to the Messiah.
Finally in Ps. xxi. 7 (8 in the Hebrew), the expression 'king' is applied in the Targum to the Messiah.
On the whole, then, it may be remarked that Ps. xxi. was throughout regarded as Messianic.
On Ps. xxii. 7 (8 in the Hebrew) a remarkable comment appears in Yalkut on Is. lx., applying this passage to the Messiah (the second, or son of Ephraim), and using almost the same words in which the Evangelists describe the mocking behaviour of the Jews at the Cross.
Ps. xxii. 15 (16 in the Hebrew). There is a similarly remarkable application ofto the Messiah of this verse in Yalkut.
The promise in Ps. xxii. 5 is referred in Benid. R. 21 to the spreding of the great feast before Israel in the latter days.
Ps. xxi. 19 (20 in the Hebrew) is in the Midrash applied to the reward that in the latter days Israel would receive for their faithfulness. Also in Pesiqta,p. 149 b, to the joy of Israel in the presence of the Messiah.
The expression in Ps. xxxvi. 9, 'In Thy light shall we see light,' is applied to the Messiah in Yalkut on Isaiah lx. (vol. ii. p. 56 c, line 22 from the bottom).
The application of Ps. sl. 7 to the Messiah has already been noted in our remarks on Gen. iv. 25.
Ps. xlv. is throughout regarded as Messianic. To begin with; the Targum renders verse 2 (3 in the Hebrew): 'Thy beauty, O King Messiah, is greater than that of the sons of men.'
Verse 3 (4 in the Hebrew) is applied in the Talmud (Shabb 63 a) to the Messiah, although other interpretations of that verse immediately follow.
The application of verse 6 (7 in the Hebrew), to the Messiah in a MS. copy of the Targum has already been referred to in another part of his book, while the words, 'Thy throne if for ever and ever' are brought into connection with the promise that the sceptre would not depart from Judah in Ber. R. 99, ed. Warsh. p. 178 b,line 9 from the bottom.
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. Worterb. 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 words of the Psalm, and with the words (ver. 16), 'Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, 'but atthe same time it clearly indicates that the Psalm applies to the latter, or Messianic, days.
On Ps. l. 2 Siphre (p. 143 a) notes that four times God would appear, the last being in the days of King Messiah.
Ps. lx. 7. Bemidbar R. on Num. vii. 48, Parash. 14 (ed. Warsh p. 54 a) containssome very curious Haggadic discussion on this verse. But it also broaches the opinion of its reference to the Messiah.
Ps. lxi. 6 (7 in the Hebrew). 'Thou shalt add days to the days of the king,' isrendered by the Targum: 'Thou shalt add days to the days of King Messiah.' There is a curious gloss on this in Pirque d. R. Eliez. c. 19 (ed. Lemberg, p. 24 b), in which Adam is supposed to have taken 70 of his years, and added them to those of King David. According to another tradition, this accounts for Adam living 930 years, this is, 70 less than 1,000, which constitute before God one day, and so the threatening had been literally fulfilled: In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die.
Ps. lxi. 8 (9 in the Hebrew). The expression, 'that I may daily perform my vows,' is applied in the Targum to the day in which the Messiah is anointed King.
Ps. lxviii. 31 (32 in the Hebrew). On the words 'Princes shall come out of Egypt,' there is a very remarkable comment in the Talmud (Pes. 118b) and in Shemoth R. on Ex. xxvi. 15, &c. (ed. Warsh. p. 50 b), in which we are told that in the latter days all nations would bring gifts to the King Messiah, beginning with Egypt. 'And lest it be thought that He (Messiah) would not accept it from them, the Holy One says to the Messiah: Accept from them hospitable entertainment,' or it might be rendered, 'Accept it from them; they have given hospitable entertainment to My son.'