Chapter XVII (continued, part 5)
Ps. lxxii. This Psalm also was viewed by the ancient Synagogue as throughout Messianic, as indicated by the fact that the Targum renders the very first verse: 'Give the sentence of Thy judgment to the King Messiah, and Thy justice to the Son of David the King,' which is re-echoed by the Midrash on the passage (ed. Warsh. p. 55 b) which applies it explicitly to the Messiah, with reference to Is. xi. 1. Similarly, the Talmud applies ver. 16 to Messianic times (in a very hyperbolical passage, Shabb. 30 b, line 4 from the bottom). The last clause of verse 16 is applied, in Keth. 111 b, line 21 from top, and again in the Midr. on Eccl. i. 9,to the Messiah sending down manna like Moses. [1 See the passage in Sanh. 96 b &c. given at the close of this Appendix.]
Verse 17. In Sanh. 98 b; Pes. 54 a; Ned. 39 b, the various names of the Messiahare discussed, and also in Ber. R. 1; in Midr. on Lam. i. 16, and in Pirqe de R.Eliez. c. 3. One of these is stated to be Jinnon, according to Ps. lxxii. 17.
Verse 8 is applied in Pirqe de R. El. c. 11, to the Messiah. Yalkut (vol. ii.).on Is. lv. 8 (p. 54 c), speaks of the 'other Redeemer' as the Messiah, applying to him Ps. lxxii. 8.
In commenting on the meeting of Jacob and Esau, the Midr. Ber. R. (78, ed. Warsh. p. 141 b) remarks that all the gifts which Jacob gave to Esau, the nations of the world would return to the King Messiah, proving it by a reference to Ps. lxxii. 10; while in Midrash Bemidbar R. 13 it is remarked that as the nations brought gifts to Solomon, so they would bring them to the King Messiah.
In the same place, a little higher up, Solomon and the Messiah are likened as reigning over the whole world, the proof passages being, besides others, Ps. lxxii. 8, Daniel vii. 13, and ii. 35.
On the application to the Messiah of verse 16 we have already spoken, as also on that of verse 17.
Ps. lxxx. 17 (in the Hebrew 18). The Targum paraphrases 'the Son of Man' by 'King Messiah.'
Ps. lxxxix. 22-25 (23-26 in the Hebrew). In Yalkut on Is. lx. 1 (vol. ii. p. 56c) this promise is referred to the future deliverance of Israel by the Messiah.
Again, verse 27 (28 in the Hebrew) is applied in Shemoth R. 19, towards the end, to the Messiah, special reference being made to Ex. iv. 22, 'Israel is My first-born son.'
Verse 51 (52 in the Hebrew). There is a remarkable comment on this in the Midrash on the inscription of Ps. xviii. (ed. Warsh. p. 24 a, line 2 from the bottom), in which it is set forth that as Israel and David did not sing till the hour of perse cution and reproach, so when the Messiah shall come, 'speedily, in our days', the song will not be raised until the Messiah is put to reproach, according to Ps. lxxxix. 52 (51), and till there shall fall before Him the wicked idolaters referred to in Dan. ii. 42, and the four kingdoms referred to in Zech. xiv. 2. In that hour shall the song be raised, as it is written Ps. xcviii. 1.
In the Midr. on Cant. ii. 13 it is said: If you see one generation after another blaspheming, expect the feet of the King Messiah, as it is written, Ps. lxxxix. 53.
Ps. xc. 15. The Midr. (ed. Warsh. p. 67 b) remarks: The days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, that is, the days of the Messiah. Upon which follows a discussion upon the length of days of the Messiah, R. Eliezer holding that they are 1,000 years, quoting the words 'as yesterday,' one day being 1,000 years. R. Joshua holds that they were 2,000 years, the words 'the days' implying that there were two days. R. Berachiah holds that they were 600 years, appealing to Is. lxv. 22,because the root of the tree perishes in the earth in 600 years. R. Jose thinks that they are 60 years, according to Ps. lxxii. 5, the words 'throughout all generations' (dor dorim) being interpreted: Dor = 20 years; Dorim = 40 years: 20 + 40 = 60. R. Akiba says: 40 years, according to the years in the wilderness. The Rabbis say: 354 years, according to the days in the lunar year. R. Abahu thinks 7,000 years,reckoning the 7 according to the days of the bridegroom.
On Ps. xc. the Midrash concludes by drawing a contrast between the Temple which men built, and which was destroyed, and the Temple of the latter or Messianic days, which God would build, and which would not be destroyed.
Ps. xcii., verses 8, 11, and 13 (7, 10, and 12 in our A. V.), are Messianicallyinterpreted in Pirque de R. El. c. 19. In the Midrash on verse 13 (12 in our A. V.), among other beautiful applications of the figure of the Psalm, is that to the Messiah the Son of David. The note of the Midrash on the expression 'like a cedar of Lebanon,' as applied to Israel, is very beautiful, likening it to the cedar, which, although driven and bent by all the winds of heaven, cannot be rooted up from its place.
Ps. xcv. 7, last clause. In Shem. R. 25 and in the Midrash on Cant. v. 2 (ed. Warsh. p. 26 a), it is noted that, if Israel did penitence only one day [or elseproperly observed even one Sabbath], the Messiah the Son of David would immediately come. [The whole passage from which this reference is taken is exceedingly interesting. It introduces God as saying to Israel: My son, open to Me a door of penitence only as small as a needle's eye, and I will open to you doors through which carriages and waggons shall come in. It almost seems a counterpart to the Saviour's words (Rev. iii. 20): 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to Him.'] Substantially the same view is taken in Sanh. 98 a, where the tokens of the coming of the Messiah are described, and also in Jer. Taan. 64 a.
Ps. cii. 16 (17 in the Hebrew) is applied in Bereshith R. 56 (ed. Warsh. p. 104b) to Messianic times.
Ps. cvi. 44. On this there is the Midrash a long Messianic discussion, setting forth the five grounds on which Israel is redeemed: through the sorrows of Israel through prayer, through the merits of the patriarchs, through repentance towardsGod, and in the time of 'the end.'
Ps. cx. is throughout applied to the Messiah. To begin with, it evidently underlies the Targumic of ver. 4. Similarly, it is propounded in the Midr. on Ps. ii. (although there the chief application of it is to Abraham). But in the Midrash on Ps. xviii. 36 (35 in our A. V.), Ps. cx. verse 1, 'Sit thou at My right hand' is specially applied to the Messiah, while Abraham is said to be seated at the left.
Verse 2, 'The rod of Thy strength.' In a very curious mystic interpretation of the pledges which Tamar had, by the Holy Ghost, asked of Judah, the seal is interpreted as signifying the Kingdom, the bracelet as the Sanhedrin, and the staff as the King Messiah, with special reference to Is. xi. and Ps. cx. 2 (Beresh. R. 85, ed. Warsh. p. 153 a) Similarly in Bemid. R. 18, last line, the staff of Aaron, which is said to have been in the hands of every king till the Temple was destroyed, and since then to have been hid, is to be restored to King Messiah, according to this verse; and in Yalkut on this Psalm (vol. ii. Par. 869, p. 124 c) this staff is supposed to be the same as that of Jacob with which he crossed Jordan, and of Judah, and of Moses, and of Aaron, and the same which David had in his hand when he slew Goliath, it being also the same which will be restored to the Messiah.
Verse 7 is also applied in Yalkut (u. s. col. d) to Messianic times, when streams of the blood of the wicked should flow out, and birds come to drink of that flood.
Ps. cxvi. 9 is in Ber. R. 96 supposed to indicate that the dead of Palestine would live first in the days of the Messiah.
Ps. cxix. 33 the Midrash remarks that there were three who asked wisdom of God: David, Solomon, and the King Messiah, the latter according to Ps. lxxii. 1.
Ps. cxx. 7 is applied to the Messiah in the Midrash (p. 91 a, ed. Warsh.), the first clause being brought into connection with Is. lvii. 19, with reference to the Messiah's dealings with the Gentiles, the resistance being described in the second clause, and the result in Ps. ii. 9.
Ps. cxxi. 1 is applied in Tanchuma (Par. Toledoth 14, ed. Warsh. p. 37 b. See also Yalkut, vol. ii. 878, p. 127 c) to the Messiah, with special reference to Zech. iv. 7 and Is. lii. 7.
Ps. cxxvi. 2. In Tanchuma on Ex. xv. i. (ed. Warsh. p. 87 a) this verse is applied to Messianic times in a rapt description, in which successively Is. lx. 5, Is. lviii. 8, Is. xxxv. 5. 6, Jer. xxxi. 13, and Ps. cxxvi. 2, are grouped together as all applying to these latter days.
The promise in Ps. cxxxii. 18 is applied in Pirke de R. El. c. 28 to Messianic times, and verse 14 in Ber. R. 56.
So is Ps. cxxxiii. 3 in Ber. R. 65 (p. 122 a), closing lines.
The words in Ps. cxlii. 5 are applied in Ber. R. 74 to the resurrection of Israel in Palestine in the days of Messiah.
The words, 'When thou awakest,' in Prov. vi. 22 are Messianically applied in Siphre on Deut. (ed. Friedmann, p. 74 b).
In Midr. on Eccl. i. 9 it is shown at great length that the Messiah would re-enact all the miracles of the past.
The last clause of Eccl. i. 11 is applied to the days of the Messiah in the Targum.
Eccl. vii. 24 is thus paraphrased in the Targum: 'Behold, it is remote from the sons of men that they should know what was done from the beginning of the world, but a mystery is the day of death, and the day when shall come King Messiah, who can find it out by his wisdom?'
In the Midr. on Eccl. xi. 8 it is noted that, however many years a man might study, his learning would be empty before the teaching of Messiah. In the Midr. on Eccl. xii. 1 it is noted that the evil days are those of the woes of Messiah.
Canticles. Here we have first the Talmudic passage (Sheb. 35 b) in which the principle is laid down, that whenever throughout that book Solomon is named, except in chap. viii. 12, it applies, not to Solomon, but to Him Who was His peace (there is here a play on these words, and on the name Solomon).
To Cant. i. 8 the Targum makes this addition: 'They shall be nourished in the captivity, until the time that I shall send to them the King Messiah, Who will feed them in quietness.'
So also on verse 17 the Targum contrasts the Temple built by Solomon with the far superior Temple to be built in the days of the Messiah, of which the beams were to be made of the cedars of Paradise.
Cant. ii. 8, although applied by most authorities to Moses, is by others referred to the Messiah (Shir haShirim R., ed. Warsh., p. 15 a, about the middle; Pesiqta, ed. Buber, p. 47 b). Cant. ii. 9 is Messianically applied in Pesiqta, ed. Buber,p. 49, a and b.
The same may be said of verse 10; while in connection with verse 12, in similarapplication, Is. lii. 7 is quoted.
In connection with verse 13, in the same Midrash (p. 17 a), Rabbi Chija bar Abba speaks of a great matter as happening close to the days of the Messiah, viz., that the wicked should be destroyed, quoting in regard to it Is. iv. 3.
Cant. iii. 11, 'the day of his espousals.' In Yalkut on the passage (vol. ii. p. 178 d) this is explained: 'the day of the Messiah, because the Holy One, blessed be His name, is likened to a bridegroom; "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride"', and 'the day of the gladness of his heart,' as the day when the Sanctuary is rebuilt, and Jerusalem is redeemed.
On Cant. iv. 5 the Targum again introduces the twofold Messiah, the one the sonof David, and the other the son of Ephraim.
Cant. iv. 16. According to one opinion in the Midrash (p. 25 b, line 13 from the bottom) this applies to the Messiah, Who comes from the north, and builds the Temple, which is in the south. See also Bemidbar R. 13, p. 48 b.
On Cant. v. 10 Yalkut remarks that He is white to Israel, and red to the Gentiles, according to Isaiah lxiii. 2.
On Cant. vi. 10 Yalkut (vol. ii. p. 184 b) has some beautiful observations, first, likening Israel in the wilderness, and God's mighty deeds there, to the morning;and then adding that, according to another view, this morning-light is the redemption of the Messiah: For as, when the morning rises, the darkness flees before it, so shall darkness fall upon the kingdoms of this world when the Messiah comes. And yet again, as the sun and moon appear, so will the Kingdom of the Messaih also appear, the commentation going on to trace farther illustrations.
Cant. vii. 6. The Midrash thus comments on it (among other explanations): How fair in the world to come, how pleasant in the days of the Messiah!
On Cant. vii. 13, the Targum has it: 'When it shall please god to deliver His people from capitivity, then shall it be said to the Messiah: The time of captivity is past, and the merit of the just shall be sweet before Me like the odour of balsam.'
Similarly on Cant. viii.1, the Targum has it: 'And at that shall the King Messiah be revealed to the congragation of Israel, and the children of Israel shall say to Him, Come and be a brother to us, and let us go up to Jerusalem, and there suck with thee the meaning of the Law, as an infant its mother's breast.'
On Cant. viii. 2 the Targum has it : 'I will take Thee, O King Messiah, and make thee go up into my Temple, there Thou shalt teach me to tremble before the Lord,and to walk in His ways. There we shall hold the feast of leviathan, and drink the old wine, which has been kept in its grapes from the day the world was created, and of the pomegranates and of the fruits which are prepared for the just in theGarden of Eden.'
On verse 4 the Targum says: 'The King Messiah shall say: I adjure you, My people, house of Israel, why should you rise against the Gentiles, to go out of captivity, and why should you rebel against the might of Gog and Magog? What a little, till those nations are consumed which go up to fight against Jerusalem, and then shall the Lord of the world remember you, and it shall be His good will to set you free.'
Chap. viii. 11 is applied Messianically in the Talmud (Shebhu. 35 b), and so isverse 12 in the Targum.
It should, however, be remarked that there are many other Messianic references in the comments on the Song of Solomon.)
Is. i. 25, 26, is thus explained in the Talmud (Sanh. 98 a): 'The Son of David shall not come till all the judges and rulers in Israel shall have ceased.' 'Similarly Is. ii. 4 is Messianically interpreted in Shabb. 63 a.
Is. iv. 2 the Targum distinctly applies to the times of the Messiah.
Is. iv. 4 has been already commented upon in our remarks on Gen. xviii. 4, 5, and again on Deut. xxiii. 11.
Verses 5 and 6 are brought into connection with Israel's former service in contributing to, and making the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and it is remarkedthat in the latter days God would return it to them by covering them with a cloud of glory. This, in Yalkut (vlo. i. p. 99 c), and in the Midrash on Ps. xiii., as also in that on ps. xvi. 9.
Is. vi. 13 is referred in the Talmud (Keth. 112 b) to Messianic times.
The referrence of Is. vii. 21 to Messianic times has already been discussed in our notes on Gen. xviii. 7.
Is. viii.14 is also Messianically applied in the Talmud (Sanh. 38 a).
Is. ix. 6 is expressly applied to the Messiah in the Targum, and there is a very curious comment in Debarim R. 1 (ed. Warsh., p. 4 a) in connection with a Haggadic discussion of Gen. xliii. 14, which, however fanciful, makes a Messianic application of this passage, also in Bemidbar R. 11.
Verse 7, 'Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,' has already been referred to in our comments on Num. vi. 26. Is. x. 27 is the Targum applied to the destruction of the Gentiles before the Messiah. Is. x. 34, is quoted in the Midrash on Lam. i. 16, in evidence that some-how the birth of the Messiah was to be connected with the destruction of the Temple.
Is. xi., as will readily be believed, is Messianically interpreted in Jewish writings. Thus, to begin with in the Targum on verse i and 6; in the Talmud (Jer. Berach. 5 a and Sanh. 93 b); and in a number of passages in the Midrashim.Thus, verse 1 in Bereshith R. 85 on Gen. xxxviii. 18, where also Ps. cx. 2 is quoted, and in Ber. R. 99, ed. Warsh., p, 178 b. In Yalkut (vol. i. p. 247 d, near the top), where it is described how God had shown Mosses all the spirits of the rulers andprophets in Israel, from that time forward to the Resurrection, it is said that all these had one knowledge and one spirit, but that the Messiah had one spirit which was equal to all the others put together, according to Is. xi. 1.
On the 2nd verse see our remarks on Gen. i. 2, while in Yalkut on Prov. iii. 19, 20 (vol. ii. p. 133 a) the verse is quoted in connection with Messianic times, when by wisdom, understanding, and knowledge the Temple will be built again. On that verse see also pirg. d. R. El. 3.
On Is. xi. 3 the Talmud (Sanh. 93 b, lines 21 &c. from the top) has a curious explanation. After quoting ch. xi. 2 as Messianic, it makes a play on the words,'of quick understanding,' or 'scent,' as it mights be rendered, and suggest that this word is intended to teach us that God has laden Him with commandments and sufferings like millstones. Immediately afterwards, from the expression 'He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, but reprove with equity for the meek of the earth,' it is inferred that the Messiah knew the thoughts of the heart, and it is added that, as Bar Kokhabh was unable to do this, he was killed.
Verse 4, 'he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,' is Messianicallyapplied in the Midrash on Ps. ii. 2, and in that on Ruth ii. 14, also in Yalkut on Is. lx.
Verse 7 has been already noticed in connection with Ex. xii. 2.
On verse 10 see our remarks on Gen. xlix. 10 and Ps. xxi, 1.
Verse 11 is Messianically applied in Yalkut (vlo. i. p. 31 b and vol. ii. 38 a), as also in the Midrash on Ps. cvii. 2.
Verse 12 is Messianically applied in that curious passage in the Midrash on Lamentations i. 2, where it is indicated that, as the children of Israel sinned from to, so God would in the latter days comfort them from to (i.e. through the whole aplhabet). Scripture passages being in each case quoted.
The Messianic application of Is. xii. 3 is sufficiently established by the ancient symbolic practice of pouring out the water on the Feast of Tabernacles.
In connection with Is. xi. 5 the Midrash on Ps. cxviii. 23 first speakes of thewonderment of the Egyptians when they saw the change in Israel from servitude toglory of their Exdous, and then adds, that the words were intended by his Holy Ghost to apply to the wonders of the latter days (ed. Warsh. p. 85 b).
On is. xiv. 2, see our comments on Gen. xviii. 4, 5.
Is. xiv. 29, xv. 2, xvi. 1, and xvi. 5 are Messianically applied in the Targum.
Is. xviii. 5 is similarly applied in the Talmud (Sanh. 98 a); and is. xxiii, 15in Sanh. 99 a.
Is. xxi. 11, 12 is in Jer. Taan. 64 a, and in Shem. R. 18, applied to the manifestation of Messiah.
Is. xxiii. 8 the Midr. on Eccl. i. 7 sees a curious reference to the return of this world's wealth to Israel in Messianic days.
Is. xxiii. 18 is Messianically applied in the Talmud (Sanh 99 a) where the expression 'a king' is explained as referring to the Messiah.
Is. xxiv. 23 is Messianically applied in the curious passage in Bemidbar R. quoted under Gen. xxii. 18; also in Bemidbar R. 13 (ed. Warsh. p. 51 a).
The remarkable promise in Is. xxv. 8 is applied to the times of the Messiah in the Talmud (Moed Q. 28 b), and in that most ancient commentary Siphra, (Yalkyt i. p. 190 d applies the passage to the world to come). But the most remarkable interpretation is that which occurs in connection with is. lx. 1 (Yalkut ii. 56 c, line 16 from the bottom), where the passage (Is. xxv. 8) is after an expostulation on the part of Satan with regard to the Messiah, applied to the casting into Gehenna of Satan and of the Gentiles. See also our remarks on Ex. xii. 2. In Debar. R. 2, Isaiah xxv. 8 is applied to the destruction of the Jester ha-Ra and the abolishing of death in Messianic days; in Shem. R. 30 to the time of the Messiah.
Verse 9. Tanchuma on Deuteronomy opens with a record of how God would work all the miracles, which He had shown in the wilderness, in a fuller manner of Zion in the latter days, the last passage quoted in that section being Is. xxv. 9. (Tanchuma on Deut. ed. Warsh. p. 99 a, line 5 from the bottom).
Of Is. xxxvi. 19 there is Messianic application in the Midrash on Ecclesiates i. 7.
Of Is. xxvi. 10 Shem. R. 1, and Tanchuma on Exod. ii. 5 (ed. Warsh. p. 64 b) remark that, like Moses, the Messiah, Who would deliver His own from the worshippers of false gods, should be brought up with the latter in the land.
Verse 13 is quoted in the Talmud (Rosh. haSh. 11 b) in connection with the future deliverance. So also in Yalkut, i. p. 217 d, and Pirqe de R. EL. c. 31.
Is. xxviii. 16 the Targum apparently applied in Sanh 97 b; verse 15 Jer. Taan. i. 1.
The expression in Is. xxx. 19, 'he shall be very gracious unto thee,' is applied to the merits of the Messiah in Yalkut on Zeph. iii. 8 (p. 84 c).
On verse 25 see our remarks on Gen. xviii. 4.
Verse 26 is applied to Messianic times in the Talmud (Pes. 68 a, and Sanh. 91 b), and similarly in Purqe de R. EL 51, and Shemoth R. 50. So also in Ber. R. 12. see our remarkes on Gen. ii. 4.
Is. xxxii. 14, 15. On this passage the Midrash of Lam. iii. 49 significantly remarks that it is one of the three passage in which mention of the Holy Ghost follows upon mention redemption, the other two passages being Is. 22, followed by lxi. 1, and Lam. iii. 49.
Is. xxxii. 20. Te first clause is explained by Tanchuma (Par. 1. ed. Warsh. p. 4 a, first three lines) to apply to the study of the Law, and the second to the two Messiahs, the son of Josehp being likened to the ox, and the son of David tothe ass, accordingly to Zech. ix. p; and similary the verse is Messianically referred to in Deb. R. 6 (ed. Warsh. Vol. iii. p. 15 b), in a very curious play on the words in Deut. xxii. 6, 7, where the observance of that commandment is supposed to hastenthe coming of King Messiah.
Is. xxxv. 1. This is one of the passages quoted in Tanchuma on Deut. i. 1. (ed.Warsh. p. 99 a) as among the mircles which God would do to redeemed Zion in the latter days. So also is verse 2 in this chapter.
Is. xxxv. 5, 6 is repeatedly applied to Messianic times. Tus, in Yalkut i. 78 c, and 157 a; in Ber. R. 95; and in Midrash on Ps. cxlvi. 8.
Verse 10 is equally applied to Messianic times in the Midreah on Ps. civii. 1, while at the same time it is notedd that this deliverance will be accomplished by God Himself, and not either by Elijah, nor by the King Messiah. [1 Signor Castelli remarks in his learned treatise (Il Messia, p. 164) that redemption is always ascribe to God, and not to the Messiah. But the distinction is of no importance, seeing that this is indeed the work of God, but carried out by the Messiah, while, on the other hand, Rabbinic writings frequency of the Messiah.] A similar reference occurs in Yalkut (vol. ii. p. 162 d), at the close of the Commentary on the Book of Chronicles, where it is remarked that in this world the deliverance of Israelwas accomplished by man, and was followed by fresh captivities, but in the latter orMessianic days their deliverance would be accomplished by God, and would no more be followed by captivity. See also Shemoth R. 15 and 23.
Is. xl. 1 is one of the passages referred to in our note on Is. xi. 12, and also on Is. xxxv. 1.
The same remark applies to verse 2 and 3.
Verse 5 is also Messianically applied in Vayyikra R. 1; Yalk. ii. 77 b about the middle.
On verse 10 Yalkut, in discussing Ex. xxxii. 6 (vol. i. p. 108 c) broaches the opinion, that in the days of the Messiah Israel would have a bouble reward, on account of the calamities which they had suffered, quoting Is. xl. 10.
Is. xl. 18 has been already noted in our remarks on Gen. xviii. 4, 5.
Verse 25 is Messianically applied in Bem, R. 13, p. 48 b.
The expression 'The first,' in ch. xli. 27, is generally applied to the Messiah; in the Targum, according to Rashi; in Bereshith R. 63; in Vayyikra R. 30; and in the Talmud (Pes. 5 a); so also in Pesiqta (ed. Buber) p. 185 b.
Is. xlii. 1 is applied in the Targum to the Messiah, as also in the Midrash or Ps. ii.; and in Yalkut ii. p. 104 d. See also our comments on Ps. ii. 7.
On is. xliii. 10, the Targum renders 'My servant' by 'My servant the Messiah.'
The promise in is. xlv. 22 is also among the future things mentioned in the midrash on lamentations, to which we have referred in our remarks on Is. xi. 12.
Is. xlix. 8. There is a remarkable comment on this in Yalkut on the passage, to the effect that the Messiah suffers in every age for the sins of that generation, but that God would in the day of redemption repair it all (Yalk. ii. p. 52 b). Is. xlix. 9 is quoted as the words of the messiah in Yalkut (vol. ii. p. 52 b).
Verse 10 is one of the passages referred to in the Midrash on Lamentations, quoted in connection with Is. xi. 12.
Verse 12 has already been noticed in our remarked on Ex. xii. 2.
From the expression 'comfort' in verse 13, the Messianic title 'Menachem' is derived. Comp. the Midrash on Prov. xix. 21.
Verse 14 is Messianically applied in Yalkut ii. p. 52 c.
Verse 21 is also one of the passages referred to in the Midrash of Lamentations, quoted under Ps. xi. 12.
On verse 23 it is remarked in Vayyikra R. 27 (ed. Warsh. p. 42 a), that Messianic blessings were generally prefigured by similay events, as for example,the passage here quoted in the case of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel.
A Messianic application of the same passsage also occurs in Par. 33 and 36, as a contrast to the contempt that Israel experiences in this world.
The second clause of verse 23 is applied to the Messiah in the Midrash on Ps. ii. 2, as to be fulfilled when the Gentiles shall see the terrible judgements.
Verse 26 is similarly applied to the destruction of the Gentiles in Vayyikra R.33 (end).
Is. li, 12 is one of the passages referred to in the Midrash of Lamentations, quoted in our comments in Is. xi. 12.
Is. li. 12 and 17 are among the passages referred to in our remarks on Is. xxv.9
Is. lii. 3 is Messianically applied in the Talmud (Sanh. 97 b), while the last clause of verse 2 is one of the passages quoted in the Midrash on Lamentations (see Is. xi. 12).
The well-known Evangelic declaration in ls. lii. 7 is thus commented upon in Yalkut (vol. ii. p. 53 c): In the hour when the Holy One, blessed be His Name, redeems Israel, three days before Messiah comes Elijah, and stands upon the mountains of Israel, and weeps and mourns for them, and says to them: Behold the land of Israel, how long shall you stand in a dry and desolate land? And hisvoice is heard from the world's end to the world's end, and after that it is said to them: Peace has come to the world, peace has come to the world, as it is said: How beautiful upon the mountains, &c. And when the wicked hear it, they rejoice,and they say one to the other: Peace has come to us. On the second day he shall stand upon the mountains of Israel, and shall say: Good has come to theworld, good has come to the world, as it is written: That bringeth good tidings of good. On the third day he shall come and stand upon the mountains of Israel, and say: Salvation has come to the world, salvation has come to the world, as itis written: That publisheth salvation.
Similarly, this passage is quoted in Yalkut on Ps. cxxi. 1. See also our remarks on Cant. ii. 13.
Verse 8 is one of the passages referred to in the Midrash on Lamentations quoted above, and frequently in other places as Messianic.
Verse 12 is Messianically applied in Shemoth R. 15 and 19.
Verse 13 is applied in the Targum expressly to the Messiah. On the words 'He shall be exalted and extolled' we read in Yalkut ii. (Par. 338, p. 53 c, lines 7 &c. from the bottom): He shall be higher than Abraham, to whom applies Gen. xiv. 22; higher than Moses, of whom Num. xi. 12 is predicated; higher than the ministering angels, of whom Ezek. i. 18 is said. But to Him there applies this in Zech. iv. 7: 'Who art thou, O great mountain?' 'And He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.' R. Huma says, in the name of R. Acha: All sufferings are divided into three parts; one part goes to David andthe Patriarchs, another to the generation of the rebellion (rebellious Israel), and the third to the King Messiah, as it is written (Ps. ii. 7), 'Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion.' Then follows a curious quotation from the Midrash
onSamuel, in which the Messiah indicates that His dwelling is on Mount Zion, and that guilt is connected with the destruction of its walls.
In regard to Is. liii. we remember, that the Messianic name of 'Leprous' (Sanh. 98 b) is expressly based upon it. Is. liii. 10 is applied in the Targum on the passage to the Kingdom of the Messiah.
Verse 5 is Messianically interpreted in the Midrash on Samuel (ed. Lemberg, p. 45 a, last line), where it is said that all sufferings are divided into three parts, one of which the Messiah bore, a remark which is brought into connection with Ruth ii. 14. (See our comments on that passage.)
Is. liv. 2 is expected to be fulfulled in Messianic times (Vayyikra R. 10).
Is. liv. 5. In Shemoth R. 15 this is expressly applied to Messianic days. Is. liv. 11 is repeatedly applied to the Messianic glory, as, for example, in Shemoth R. 15. (See our comments on Ex. xii. 2.)
So is verse 13, as in Yalkut (vol. i. 78 c); in the Midrash on Ps. xxi. 1; and in other passages.
Is. lv. 12 is referred to Messianic times, as in the Midrash on Ps. xiii.
Is. lvi. 1. See our comments on Exod. xxi. 1.
Verse 7 is one of the passages in the Midrash on Lamentations which we have quoted under Is. xi. 12.
On Is. lvii. 14 Bemidhar R. 15 (ed. Warsh. p. 64 a) expresses a curious idea about the stumbling-block, as mystically the evil inclination, and adds that thepromise applies to God's removal of it in the world to come, or else it may be in Messianic days.
Verse 16 receives in the Talmud (Yeb. 62 a and 63 b) and in the Midr. on Exxl. i. 6 the following curious comment: 'The Son of David shall not come till all the souls are completed which are in the Guph', (i.e. the pre-existence of souls is taught, and that they are kept in heaven till one after another appears in human form, and that the Messiah is kept back till all these shall have appeared), proof of this being derived from Is. lvii. 16.
Similarly chap. lix. 15 is applied to Messianic times in Sanh. 97 a, and Midr. on Cant. ii. 13; and verse 19 in Sanh. 98 a.
Verse 17 is applied to Messianic times in Pesiqta, ed. Buber, p. 149 a.
Verse 20 is one of the passages mentioned in the Midrash on Lamentations quoted above. (See Is. xi. 12.)
Is. lix. 19, 20, is applied to Messianic times in Sanh. 98 a. In Pesiqta 166 b it is similarly applied, the peculiar form (plene) in which the word Goel (Redeemer) is written being taken to indicate the Messiah as the Redeemer in the full sense.
Is. lx. 1. This is applied in the Targum to Messianic times. Similarly, it is explained in Ber. R. i. with reference to Dan. ii. 2; in Ber. R. 2; and also in Bemidbar R. 15 and 21. In Yalkut we have some very interesting remarks on the subject. Thus (vol. i. Par. 363, p. 99 c), commenting on Exod xxv. 3 &c., in a very curious description of how God would in the world to come return to Israel the various things which they had offered for the Tabernacle, the oil is brought into connection with the Messiah, with reference to Ps. cxxxii. 17 and Is. lx. 1. Again, on p. 215 c (at the commencement of the Parashah Behaalothekha) we have, first, a very curious comparison between the work of the Tabernacle and that of the six days of Creation, after which the question is put: Why Moses made seven lights, and Solomon seventy? To this the reply is given, that Moses rooted up seven nations before Israel, while Solomon reigned over all the seventy nations which, according to Jewish ideas, constitute the world. Upon this it is added, that God had promised, that as Israel had lighted for His glory the lights in theSanctuary, so would He in the latter days fill Jerusalem with His glory, according to the promise in Is. lx. 1, and also set up in the midst of it lights, according to Zeph. i. 12. Still more clearly is the Messianic interpretation of Is. lx. brought out in the comments in Yalkut on that chapter. One part of it is so curious that it may here find a place. After explaining that this light for which Israel is looking is the light of the Messiah, and that Gen. i. 4 really referred to it, it is added that this is intended to teach us that God looked forward to the age of the Messiah and His works before the Creation of the world, and that He hid that light for the Messiah and His generation under His throne of glory. On Satan's questioning Him for whom that light was destined, the answer is: For Him Who in the latter days will conquer thee, and cover thy face with shame. On which Satan requests to see Him, and when he is shown Him, falls on his face and says: I confess that this is the Messiah Who will in the latter days be able to cast me, and all the Gentiles, into Gehenna, according to Is. xxv. 8. In that hour all the nations will tremble, and say befire God: Who is this into Whose hand we fall, what is His Name, and what is His purpose? On which God replies: This is Ephraim, the Messiah [the second Messiah, the son of Joseph]; My Righteousness is His Name.' And so the commentation goes on to touch on Ps. lxxxix. 23, 24, and 26, in a manner most deeply interesting, but which it would be impossible here fully to give (Yalkut, vol. ii. Par. 359, p. 56 c). In col. d there are farther remarkable discussions about the Messiah, in connection with the wars in the days when Messiah should be revealed, and about Israel's final safety. But the most remarkable passage of all, reminding us almost of the history of the Temptation, is that which reads as follows (line 22 &c. from the top): It is a tradition from our Rabbis that, in the hour when King Messiah comes, He stands on the roof of the Temple, and proclaims to them, that the hour of their deliverance has come, and that if they believed they would rejoice in the light that had risen upon them, as it is written (Is. lx. 1), 'Arise, shine, for thy light is come.' This light would be for them alone, as it is written (ver. 2), 'For darkness shall cover the earth.' In that hour also would God takethe light of the Messiah and of Israel, and all should walk in the light of Messiah and of Israel, as it is written (ver. 3), 'The Gentiles shall come to thy light,and kings to the brightness of thy rising. And the kings of the nations should lick the dust from under the feet of the Messiah, and should all fall on their faces before Him and before Israel, and say: Let us be servants to Thee and to Israel. And so the passage goes on to describe the glory of the latter days. Indeed, the whole of this chapter may be said to be full of Messianic interpretations.
After this it will scarecely be necessary to say that verses 2, 3, and 4 are similarly applied in the Midrashim. But it is interesting to notice that verse 2is specifically applied to Messianic times in the Talmud (Sanh. 99 a), in answer tothe question when the Messiah should come.
On verse 4 the Midrash on Cant. i. 4, on the words 'we will be gad and rejoice in thee,' has the following beautiful illustration. A Queen is introduced whose husband and sons and sons-in-law go to a distant country. Tidings are brought to her: Thy sons are come back. On which she says: Cause for gladness have I, my daughters-in-law will rejoice. Next, tidings are brought her that her sons-in-law are coming, and she is glad that her daughters will rejoice. Lastly,tidings are brought: The king, thy husband, comes. On which she replies: This is indeed perfect joy, joy unpon joy. So in the latter days would the prophets come, and say to Jerusalem: 'Thy sons shall come from far' (verse 4), and she will say: What gladness is this to me!, 'and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side,' and again she will say: What gladness is this to me! But when they shall say to her (Zech. ix. 9): 'Behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation,' then shall Zion say: This indeed is perfect joy, as it is written (Zech. ix. 9), 'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion,' and again (Zech. ii. 10), 'Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion.' In that hour she will say (Is. lxi. 10): 'I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my sould shall be joyful in my God.'
Verse 7 is messianically applied in the Talmud (Abod. Sar. 24 a).
Verse 8 is Messianically applied in the Midrash on Ps. xlvii. 13.
In connection with verse 19 we read in Yalkut (vol. i. p. 103 b) that God said to Israel: In this world you are engaged (or busied) with the light for the Sanctuary, but in the world to come, for the merit of this light, I send you theKing Messiah, Who is likened to a light, according to Ps. cxxxii. 17 and Is. lx. 19, 'the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light.'
Verse 21 is thus alluded to in the Talmud (Sanh. 98 a): 'Rabbi Jochanan said, The Son of David shall not come, until all be either just or all be unjust:' the former according to Is. lx. 21, the latter according to Is. lix. 16.
Verse 22 is also Messianically applied in the Talmudic passage above cited.
Is. lxi. 1 has already been mentioned in our remarks on Is. xxxii. 14, 15.
On verse 5 there is a curious story related (Yalkut, vol. i. Par. 212, p. 64 a,lines 23-17 from the bottom) in which, in answer to a question, what was to become of the nations in the days of the Messiah, the reply is given that every nation and kingdom that had persecuted and mocked Israel would see, and be confounded, and have no share in life; but that every nation and kingdom which had not so dealt with israel would come and be husbandmen and vinedressers to Israel in thedays of the Messiah. A similar statement to this is found in the Midrash on Eccl. ii. 7.
Verse 9 is also applied to Messianic times.
Verse 10 is one of the passages referred to in Tanchuma on Deut. i. 1 quoted under Is. xxv. 9. In Pesiqta, ed. Buber, p. 149 a, the verse is explained as applying to the glory of Messiah's appearance.
Is. lxii. 10 has already been referred to in our remarks on Is. lvii. 14.
Is. lxiii. is applied to the Messiah, Who comes to the land after having seen the destruction of the Gentiles, in Pirqe de R. Eliez. c. 30.
Verse 2 has been referred to in our comments on Cant. v. 10. It is also quoted in reference to Messianic days in Pesiqta, ed. Buber, p. 149 a.
Verse 4 is explained as pointing to the days of the Messiah, which are supposed to be 365 years, according to the number of the solar days (Sanh. 99 a); while in other passages of the Midrashim, the destruction of Rome and the coming of the Messiah are conjoined with the day of vengeance. See also the Midr. on Eccl. xii. 10.
Is. lxiv. 4 (3 in the Hebrew). In Yalkut on Is. lx. (vol. ii. p. 56 d, line 6, &c., from the bottom) Messianic application is made of this passage in alegendary account of the seven tabernacles which God would make for the Messiah, out of each of which proceed four streams of wine, milk, honey, and pure balsam. Then God is represented as speaking of the sufferings which Messiah was to undergo, after which the verse in question is quoted.
Is. lxv. 17 is quouted in the Midrash on Lamentations, referred to in our remarks on Is. xi. 12.
Verse 19 is one of the passages referred to in Tanchuma on Deut. i. 1. See Isaiah xxv. 9.
To verse 25 we have the following curious illustrative reference in Ber. R. 20 (ed. Warsh. p. 38 b, line 6 from the bottom) in connection with the Fall: In the latter days everything shall be healed again (restored again) except the serpent (Is. lxv. 25) and the Gibeonites (Ezek. xlviii. 19). But a still more strange application of the verse occurs in the same Midrash (Par. 95, ed. Warsh. p. 170 a), where the opening clauses of it are quoted with this remark: Come and see all that the Holy One, blessed be His Name, has smitten in this world, He will heal in the latter days. Upon which a curious disquisition follows, to prove that every man would appear after death exaclty as he had been in life, whether blind, dumb, or halting, nay, even in the same dress, as in the case of Samuel when Saul saw him, but that afterwards God would heal the diseased.
Is lxvi. 7 is applied to Messianic times in Vayyikra R. 14 (last line), and so are some of the following verses in the Midrashim, notably on Gen. xxxiii. 1.
Is. lxviii, 22 is applied to Messianic times in Ber. R. 12. See our remarks on Gen. ii. 4.
Jer. iii. 17 is applied to Messianic days in Yalkut on Joshua iii. 9 &c. (vol. ii. p. 3c, line 17 from the top),and so is verse 18 in the commentation on the wordsin Cant. i. 16 'our bed is green,' the expression being understood of the ten tribes, who had been led captive beyond the
river Sabbayon; but when Judah's deliverancecame, Judah and Benjamin would go to them and bring them back, that they might be worthly of the days of the Messiah (vol. ii. p., 176d, line 9 &c. from the bottom).
Jer. v. 19 is mentioned in the Introd. to Echa R. as one of three passages by which to infer from the apostasy of Israel the near advent of Messiah.
The expression 'speckled bird' in Jer. xii. 9 is applied to the Messiah in Pirqe de R. Eliez. c. 28.
The last word in Jer. xvi. 13 is made the basis of the name Chaninah, given to the Messiah in the Talmud (Sanh. 98 b), and in the Midr. on Lam. i. 16.
On verse 14 Mechilta hasit, that in the latter days the Exodus would no more be mentioned on account of the greater wonders then experienced.
On Jer. xxiii. 5, 6, the Targum has it: 'And I will raise up for David the Messiah the Just.' This is one of the passages from which according to Rabbinic views, one of the Names of the Messiah is derived, vix: Jehovah our Righteousness. So in the Talmud (Babba Bathra 75 b), in the Midrash on Ps. xxi. 1, Prov. xix. 21, and in the on Lamentations i. 16. On verse 7 see our remarks on Jer. xvi 14. In the Talmud (Ber. 12 b) this verse is distinctly applied to Messianic days. Jer. xxx. 9 is Messianically applied in the Targum on the passage.
Jer. xxx. 21 is applied to the Messiah in the Targum, and also in the Midrash on Ps. xxi. 7.
On Jer. xxxi. 8, 3rd clause, Yalkut has a Messianic interpretation, although extremely far-fetched. In general, the following verses are Messianically interpreted in the Midrashim.
Verse 20 is Messianically applied in Yalkut (ii. p. 66 c, end), where it is supposed to reefer to the Messiah when imprisoned, when all the nations mock and shake their heads at Him. A more remarkable interpretation still occurs in the passageon Is. 1x. 1, to which we have already referred. Some farther extracts from it may be interesting. Thus, when the enemies of the Messiah flee before Him. God is supposed to make an agreement with the Messiah to this effect: The sins of those who are hidden with Thee will cause Thee to be put under an iron yoke, andthey will do with Thee as with this calf, whose eyes are covered, and they will choke Thy spirit under the yoke, and on account of their sins They tongue shall cleaveto Thy mouth. On which the Messiah inquires whether these troubles are to last for many years, and the Holy replies that He has decreed a week, but that if His soul were in sorrow, He would immediately dispel these sorrows. On this the Messiah says: Lord of the world, with gladness and joy of heart I take it upon Me, on condition that not one of Israel should perish, and hat not only those alone should be saved who are in My days, but also those who are hid in the dust; and that not only the dead should be saved who are in My days, but also those who have died from the days of the first Adam till now; and not those, but also those who have been prematurely born. And only these, but also those who have come into Thy knowledge to create them, but have not yet been created. Thus I agree, and thus I take all upon Me. In the hebdomad when the Son of David comes, they shall bring beans of iron, and shall make them a yoke to His neck, until His stature is bent down. But He cries and weeps, and lifts up His
voice on high, and says before Him: Lord of the world, what is My strength, My spirit, and My soul, and My members? Am I not flesh and blood? In that honor David (the Son of David) weeps, and says: 'My strength is dried up like a potsherd.' In that hour the Holy One, blessed be His Name, says: Ephraim the Messiah, My righteous one, Thou hast already taken this upon Thee before the six days of theworld, now Thy anguish shall be like My anguish; for from the time that Nebuchadnezzar, the wicked one, has come up and destroyed My house, and burned My Sancturary, and I have sent into captivity My children among the children of theGentiles, by My life, and by the life of Thy head, I have not sat down on My throne. And if Thou wilt not believe Me, see the dew which is on My head, as it is said (Cant. v. 2) 'My head is filled with dew.' In that hour the messiah answers Him: Lord of the world, now I am quieted, for it is enough for the servant that he is as his Master (his reminding us of our Lord's saying, St. Matt. x. 25 ). R. Isaac then remarks that in the year when the King Messiah shall be revealed, all nations shall rise up against each other (we have already quoted this passage in another place, as also that about the Messiah standing upon the roof of the Temple). Then follows this as a tradition of the Rabbis: In the latter days the Fathers shall stand up in the month of Nisan, and say to Him: Ephraim, the Messiah, our Righteousness, though we are Thy Fathers, yet Thou art better than we, because Thou hast borne all the sins of our sons, and hard and evil measure has passed upon Thee, such as has not been passed either upon those before or upon those after. And Thou hast been for laughter and derision to the nations for the sake of Israel, and Thou hast dwelt in darkness and in mist, andThine eyes have not seen light, and Thy light clung to Thee alone, and Thy body was dried up like wood, and Thine eyes were darkened through fasting, and Thy strength was dried up like a postsherd. And all this on account of the sins of our children. Is it Thy pleasure that our sons should enjoy the good thing which Godhad displayed to Israel? Or perhaps on account of the anguish which Thou hast suffered for them, because they have bound Thee in the prison-house, wilt Thou not give unto them thereof? He says to them: Fathers of the world, whatever I have done I have done for your sakes, and for the sake of your children, that they may enjoy that goodness which the Holy One, blessed be He, has displayed to Israel. Then say to Him the Fathers of the world: Ephraim, Messiah, our Righteousness, be Thou reconciled to us, because Thou hast reconciled They Maker and us. R. Simeon, the son of Pasi, In that hour the Holy One, blessed be His Name, exalts the Messiah to the heaven of heavens, and spreads over Him the splendour of His glory, because of the nations of the world, and becauseof the wicked Persians. Then the Fathers of the worldsay to Him: Ephraim, Messiah, our Righteousness, be Thou their judge, and do to them what Thy soul desireth. For unless mercies had been multipled on Thee, they would long ago have exterminated Theee suddenly from the world, as it is written (Jer. xxxi. 20) 'Is Ephraim my dear son?' And why is the expression: 'I will surely have mercy' [in the Hebrew reduplicated: 'having mercy I will have mercy'], but that the first expression 'mercy' refers to the hour when He was bound in prison, when day by day they gnashed with their teeth, and winked with their eyes, and nodded with their heads, and wide-opened their mouths, as it is written in Ps. xxii. 7 [8 in Hebrew]; while the second expression 'I willhave mercy' refers to the hour when He came out of the prison-house, when not only one kingdom, not two, came against Him, but 140 kingdoms came round about Him, and the Holy One, blessed be His Name, says to Him: Ephraim, Messiah, My righteous one, be not afraid, for all these shall perish by the breath of Thy mouth, as it is written (Is. xi. 4). Long as this quotation may be, its interest seems sufficient to warrant its insertion.
Jer. xxxi. 31, 33, and 34 are applied to Messianic times in Yalkut (vol. i. p. 196c; 78c; and in vol. ii. p. 54 b, and p. 66 d).
Jer. xxxiii. 13. The close of the verse is thus paraphrased in the Targum: 'Thepeople shall yet learn by the hands of the Messiah,' while in Yalkut (vol. i. p.105 d) mention is made of a tenfold gathering of Israel, the last, in connection with this verse, in the latter days.
On Lam. i. 16 there is in the Midrash R. (ed. Warsh. p. 64 b) the curious storyabout the birth of the Messiah in the royal palace of Bethlehem, which also occurs in the Jer. Talmud.
Lam. ii. 22, first clause. The Targum here remarks: Thou wilt proclaim liberty to Thy people, the house of Israel, by th hand of the Messiah.
Lam. iv. 22, first clause. The Targum here remarks: And afteer these things thy iniquity shall cease, and thou shalt be set free by the hands of the Messiahand by the hands of Elijah the Priest
Ezek xi. 19 is applied to the great spiritual change that was to take place in Messianic days, when the evil desire would be taken out of the heart (Deb. R. 6,at the end; and also in other Midrashic passages).
Ezek. xvi. 55 is referred to among the ten things which God would renew in Messianic days, the rebuilding of ruined cities, inclusive of Sodom and Gomorrah, being the fourth (Shem. R. 15, ed. Warsh. p. 24 b).
Ezek xvii. 22 and 23 is distinctly and very beautifully referred to the Messiahin the Targum.
Ezek. xxv. 14 is applied to the destruction of all the nations by Israel in thedays of the Messiah in Bemidbar R. on Num. ii. 32 (Par. 2, ed. Warsh. p. 5 b).
Ezek. xxix. 21 is among the passages applied to the time when the Messiah should come, in Sanh. 98 a.
So is Ezek. xxxii. 14.
Ezek xxxvi. 25 is applied to Messianic times alike in the Targum and in Yalkut (vol. i. p. 235 a), as our in the Talmud (Kidd. 72 b).
On verse 27 see our remarks on chap. xi. 19.
Ezek. xxxix. 2 is Messianically applied in Bemidbar R. 13, Warsh. p. 48 b.
Ezek. xlvii. 9 and 12 are quoted as the second and the third things which God would renew in the latter days (Shem. R. 15), the second being, that living waters should go forth out of Jerusalem, and the third, that trees should bear fruit every month, and the sick be healed by them.
On Ezek. xlviii. 19 the Talmud (Baba B. 122a) has the following curious comment, that the land of Israel would be divided into thirteenth tribes, the thirteenth belonging to the Prince, and this verse is quoted as proof.
Dan ii. 22 is Messianically applied in Ber. R. 1, and in the Midr. on Lament. i. 16, where it gives rise to another name of the Messiah: the Lightgiver.
Verse 35 is similarly applied in the Pirqe de R. Eliez. c. 11, and verse 44 in c. 30.
Dan. vii. p. This passage was interpreted by R. Akiba as implying that one throne was set for God, and the other for the Messiah (Chag. 14 a).
Dan, vii. 13 is curiously explained in the TAlmud (Sanh. 98 a), where it is said that, if Israel behaved worthily, the Messiah would come in the clouds of heaven; if otherwise, humble, and riding upon an ass.
Dan. vii. 27 is applied to Messianictimes in Bem. R. 11. Dan. viii. 13, 14. By a very curious combination these verses are brought into connection with Gen. iii. 22 ('man has become like one of us'), and it is argued, that in Messianic days man's primeval innocence and glory would be restored to him, and he become like one of the heavenly beings, Ber. R. 21 (ed. Warsh. p. 41 a).
Dan. ix. 24. In Naz. 32 b it is noted as that referred to the time when the second Temple was to be destroyed. So also in Yalkut, vol. ii. p. 79 d, lines 16&c. from the bottom.
Dan. xii. 3 is applied to Messianic times in a beautiful passage in Shem. R. 15(at the end).
Dan. xii. 11, 12. These two verses receive a peculiar Messianic interpretation,and that by the authority of the Rabbis. For it is argued that, as Moses, the first Redeemer, appeared, and was withdrawn for a time, and then reappeared, so would the second Redeemer; and the interval between His disappearance and reappearanceis calculated at 45 days, arrived at by deducting the 1,290 days of the cessation of the sacrifice (Dan. xii. 11) from the 1,335 days of Dan. xii. 12 (Midr. on Ruth ii. 14, ed. Warsh. p. 43 b). Hos. ii. 2 is explained in the Midr. on Ps. xlv. 1 as imply that Israel's redemption would be when they were at the lowest.
Hos. ii. 13 is one of the three passages referred to on Jer. v. 19.
Hos. ii. 18 is quoted in Shem. R. 15 (on Ex. xii. 2) as the seventh of the ten things which God would make new in Messianic days.
Hos. iii. 5 is applied to the Messiah in the Targum, and from it the Jer. Talm.(Ber. 5 a) derives the name David as one of those given to the Messiah.
Hos. vi. 2 is Messianically applied in the Targum.
Hos. xiii. 14 is applied to the deliverance by the Messiah of those of Israel who are in Gehinnom, whom He sets free;, the term Zion being understood of Paradise.See Yalk. on Is. Par. 269, comp. Maas. de R. Joshua in Jellinek's Beth ha-Midr. ii. p. 50.
Hos xiv. 7 is Messianically applied in the Targum.
Joel ii. 28 is explained in the Midrashim as referring to the latter days, whenall Israel will be prophets (Bemidbar R. 15; Yalkut i. p. 220 c, and other places).
Joel iii. 18 is similarly applied in the Midrashim, as in that on Ps. xiii. andin others. The last clause of this verse is explained in the Midr. on Eccl. i. 9to imply that the Messiah would cause a fountain miraculously to spring up, as Moses did in the wilderness.
Amos iv 7 is in Midr. on Cant. ii. 13 applied to the first of the seven years before Messiah come.
Amos v. 18 is one of the passages adduced in the Talmud (Sanh. 98 b) to explain why certain Rabbis didnot wish to see the day of the Messiah.
Amos viii. 11 is applied to Messianic times in Ber. R. 25.
Amos ix. 11 is a notable Messianic passage. Thus, in the Talmud (Sanh. 96 b) where the Messiah is called the 'Son of the Fallen,' the name is explained by a reference to this passage. Again, in Ber. R. 88, last three lines (ed. Warsh. p. 157 a) after enumerating the unexpected deliverances which Israel had formerly experienced, it is added: Who could have expected that the fallen tabernacle of David should be raised up by God, as it is written (Amos ix. 11) and who should have expected that the whole world should become one bundle (be gathered into one Church)? Yet it is written Zeph. iii. 9. Comp. also the long discussion in Yalkut on this passage (vol. ii. p. 80 a and b).
Obadiah verses 18 and 21 are applied to the Kingdom and time of the Messiah in Deb. R. 1.
Micah ii. 13. See our remarks on Gen. xviii. 4, 5. The passage is also Messianically quoted in the Midrash on Prov. vi. (ed. Lemberg, p. 5 a, first twolines).
The promis in Micah. iv. 3 is applied to the times of the Messiah in th eTalmud(Shabb. 63 a).
So is the prediction in verse 5 in Shemoth R. 15; while cerse 8 is thus commented upon in the Targum: 'And thou Messiah of Israel, Who shalt be hidden on account of the sins of Zion, to thee shall the Kingdom come.'
The well-know passage, Micah v. 2, is admittedly Messianic. So in the Targum, in the Pirqe de R. Eliez. c. 3, and by later Rabbis.
Verse 3 is applied in the Talmud to the fact that the Messiah was not to come till the hostile kingdom had spread for nine months over the whole world (Yoma 10 a), or else, over the whole land of Israel (Sanh. 98 b).
Similarly Micah vii. 6 is applied to Messianic times in Sanh. 97 a, and in Sotah 49 b; also in the Midr. on Cant. ii. 13. And so is verse 15 in Yalkut (vol. ii. p. 112 b.
In Micah vii. 8, the expression, Jehovah shall be light to me, is referred to the days of the Messiah in Deb. R. 11, ed. Warsh. vol. v. p. 22 a.
Nahum ii. 1. See our remarks on Is. lii. 7.
Habakkuk ii. 3. This is appl,ied to Messianic times in a remarkable passage in Sanh. 97 b, which will be quoted in full at the close of this Appendix; also in Yalkut, vol. ii. p. 83 b.
Habakkuk iii. 18 is applied to Messianic times in the Targum.
Zephanan iii. 8. The words rendered in our A.V. 'the day that I rise up to the prey' are translated 'for testimony' and applied to God's bearing testimony for the Messiah (Yalkut, vol. ii. p. 84 c, line 6 from the top).
Verse 9 is applied to the voluntary conversion of the Gentiles in the days of the Messiah in the Talmud (Abhod. Zarah, 24 a); and in Ber. R. 88; and verse 11 in Sanh. 98 a.
Haggai ii. 6 is expressly applied to the coming redemption in Deb. R. 1 (ed. Warsh. p. 4 b, line 15 from the top).
Zech. i. 20. The four carpenters there spoken of are variously interpreted in the Talmud (Sukk. 52 b), and in the Midrash (Bemidbar R. 14). But both agree that one of them refers to the Messiah.
Zech. ii. 10 is one of the Messianic passages to which we have referred in our remarks on Is. lx. 4. It has also a Messianic cast in the Targum.
Zech. iii. 8. The designation 'Bracnch' is expressly applied to King Messiah inthe Targum. Indeed, this is one of the Messiah's peculiar names.
Verse 10 is quoted in the Midrash on Ps. lxxii. (ed. Warsh. p. 56 a, at the top) in a description of the future time of universal peace.
Zech. iv. 7 is generally applied to the Messiah, expressly in the Targum, and also in several of the Midrashim. Thus, as regards both clauses of it, in Tanchuma (Par. Toledoth 14, ed. Warsh. p. 37 b and 38 a).
Verse 10 is Messianically explained in Tanchuma (u. s.).
Zech. vi. 12 is universally admitted to be Messianic. So in the Targum, the Jerusalem Talmud (Ber. 5 a), in the Pirqe de R. Eliez. c. 48, and in the Midrashim.
Zech. vii. 13 us one of the three passages supposed to mark the near advent of Messiah. See our remarks on Jer. v. 19.
Zech. viii. 12 is applied to Messianic times in Ber. R. 12. See our remarks on Gen. ii. 4.
Zech. viii. 23 is one of the predictions expected to be fulfilled in Messianic days, it being however noted that it refers to instruction in the Law in that remarkable passage on Is. lx. 1 in Yalkut ii. p. 56 d, to which we have already referred.
In Zech. ix. 1 the name 'Chadrakh' is mystically separated into 'Chad,' sharp, and 'rakh,' gentle, the Messiah being the one to the Gentiles and the other to the Jews (Siphre on Deut. p. 65 a, Yalkut i. p. 258 b).
Verse 9. The Messianic application of this verse in all its parts has already repeatedly been indicated. We may here add that there are many traditions about this ass on which the Messiah is to ride; and so firm was the belief in it, that, according to the Talmud, 'if anyone saw an ass in his dreams, he will see salvation' (Ber. 56 b). The verse is also Messianically quoted in Sanh. 98 a, in Pirqe de R. Eliez. c. 31, and in several of the Midrashim.
On verse 10 see our remarks on Deut. xx. 10.
Zech. x. 4 is Messianically applied in the Targum.
Zech. xi. 12 is Messianically explained in Ber. R. 98, but with this remark, that the 30 pieces of silver apply to 30 percepts, which the Messiah is to give to Israel.
Zech. xii. 10 is applied to the Messiah the Son of Joseph in the Talmud (Sukk. 52 a), and so is verse 12, there being, however, a difference of opinion whetherthe mouring is caused by the death of the Messiah the Son of Joseph, or else on account of the evil concupiscens (Yetser haRa).
Zech. xiv. 2 will be readily understood to have been applied to the wars of Messianic times, and tis in many passages of the Midrashim, as, indeed, are verses 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Verse 7. The following interesting remark occurs in Yalkut on Ps. cxxxix. 16, 17 (vol. ii. p. 129 d) on the words 'none of them.' _his world is to last 6,000 years; 2,000 years it was waste and desolate, 2,000 years mark the period under the Law, 2,000 years that under the Messiah. And because our sins are increased,they are prolonged. As they are prolonged, and as we make one year in seven a Sabbatic year, so will God in the latter days make one day a Sabbatic year, ehich day is 1,000 years, to which applies the verse in Zechariah just quoted. See also Pirqe de R. Eliez. c. 28.
Verse 8 is Messianically applied in Ber. R. 48. See our remarks on Gen. xviii 4, 5.
Verse 9 is, of course, applied to Messianic times, as in Yulkut i. p. 76 c, 266a, and vol. ii. p. 33 c, Midr. on Cant. ii. 13, and in other passages.
Malachi iii. 1 is applied to Elijah as forerunner of the Messiah in Pirqe de R.Eliez. c. 29.
Verse 4. In Bemidbar R. 17, a little before the close (ed. Warsh. p. 69 a), this verse seems to be applied to acceptable sacrifices in Messianic days.
On verse 16 Vayyikra R. 34 (ed. Warsh. p. 51 b, line 4 from the bottom) has thefollowing curious remark: If any one in former times did the Commandment, the prophets wrote it down. But now when a man observes the Commandment, who writes it down? Elijah and the King Messiah and the Holy One, blessed be His Name, seal it at their hands, and a memorial book is written, as it is written Mal. iii. 16.
The promis in verse 17 is extended to Messianic days in Shemoth R. 18. On Mal. iv. 1 (in Hebrew iii. 19) the following curious comment occurs in Bereshith R. 6 (p. 14 b, lines 15 &c. from the bottom): 'The globe of the sun isencased, as it is said, He maketh a tabernacle for the sun (Ps. xix.). And a pool of water is before it. When the sun comes out, God colls its heat in the water lestit should burn up the world. But in the latter days the Holy One takes it out ofits sheath, and with it burns up the wicked, as it is written Mal. iv. 1.'
Verse 2 (iii. 20 in Hebrew) is in Shemoth R. 31 quoted in connection with Ex. xxii. 26, and explained 'till the Messiah comes.'
Verse 5 is, of course, applied to the forerunner of the Messiah. So in many places, as in the Pirqe de R. Eliez. c. 40; Debarm R. 3; in the Midrash on Cant. i. 1; in the Talmud, and in Yalkut repeatedly. [1 From the abover review of Old Testament passages, all reference to sacrifices has been omitted, because, although the Synagogue held the doctrine of the vicariousness and atoning character of these sacrifices, no mention occurs of the Messiah in connection with them.]
To the above passages we add some from the Apocryphal Books, partly as indication the views concerning the Messiah which the Jews had derived from the Old Testament, and partly because of their agreement with Jewish traditionalism as already expounded by us. These passages must therefore be judged in connection with the Rabbinical ideas of the Messiah and of Messianic days. it isin this sense that we read, for example, the address to Jerusalem, Tobit xiii. 9 to the end. Comp. here, for example, our quotations on Amos ix. 11.