MESSIAH
Shem
(9"),
to
Abraham
(120,
to
Jacob
(27"-29),
and,
in
particular,
to
Judah
(49«-").
The
basis
of
this
great
expectation
is
the
faith
in
Jehovah
as
interpreted
by
the
prophets,
whether
earlier
or
later.
It
was
incon-ceivable
to
them
that
the
true
God
should
be
other
than
ultimately
triumphant;
of.
the
prophecy
of
Balaam
(Nu
24"-"),
Song
of
Moses
(Dt
32=-i»),
the
expectation
of
'the
prophet'
(Dt
18"-").
This
nationaUsm
is
to
be
seen
throughout
the
Messianic
hope
of
the
OT,
although
occasional
exceptions
are
to
be
found,
as
in
Gn
3"-
",
and
in
some
passages
of
Ezeklel.
2.
The
Messianic
hope
of
the
great
■prophets.
—
With
Isaiah
began
a
new
development
of
the
Messianic
hope,
primarily
through
the
preaching
of
deliverance
from
the
inevitable
catastrophe
of
the
Assyrian
conquest.
Out
of
the
sorrows
of
the
time,
born
largely,
as
Isaiah
be-lieved,
from
the
sins
of
Jehovah's
people,
was
to
arise
deUverance.
This
seems
to
be
the
central
teaching
of
the
great
passage.
Is
?w-ii.
Deliverance
was
to
come
before
the
expected
child
could
choose
between
good
and
evil,
but
by
the
time
he
reached
maturity
the
greater
misery
of
Ass3Trlan
invasion
should
break
forth.
But
in
the
name
of
the
child,
Immanuel,
was
the
pledge
that
Jehovah
would
ever
be
with
His
people
and
would
ultimately
save
them;
not
impossibly
through
the
child
himself,
although
nothing
is
said
of
Inunanuel's
share
in
the
accomplishment
of
the
deUverance.
Whether
or
not
the
reference
in
Is
Q'-
'
is
to
Immanuel,
it
is
un-questionable
that
it
is
to
the
coming
of
a
descendant
of
David,
who
should
deliver
Israel
and
reign
with
Jehovah's
assistance
for
ever
triumphantly.
In
that
glorious
time,
which
was
to
be
inaugurated
by
the
Messianic
King,
would
be
prosperity
hitherto
unknown
(Is
111-9).
The
'eternity'
of
his
reign
is
undoubtedly
to
be
interpreted
dynastically
rather
than
personally,
but
the
king
himself
clearly
is
a
person,
and
Jehovah's
Spirit,
which
is
to
be
within
him,
is
just
as
plainly
the
source
of
his
great
success
(ct.
Is
33"-^).
In
a
similar
spirit
Micah
locaUzes
the
new
Kingdom
established
through
Divine
guidance
in
Zion
(Mic
4'-*),
and
declares
that
the
King
is
to
come
from
Bethlehem,
that
is
to
say,
shall
be
Davidlc
(52-«).
Primarily
national
as
these
expectations
are,
the
keynote
is
the
deliverance
wrought
by
Jehovah
through
a
particular
royal
person,
in
whose
days
righteousness
and
peace
are
to
be
supreme
in
the
world
because
of
the
Hebrew
empire.
This
picture
of
the
royal
king
became
one
controUing
element
in
the
later
Messianic
hope.
In
this
literature,
whatever
its
date
may
be,
there
appears
also
the
new
note
of
universal
peace
to
be
wrought
by
Jehovah.
In
large
measure
this
peace
was
conceived
of
as
due
to
the
completeness
of
Jehovah's
conquest
of
the
nations
in
the
interests
ot
His
people
(cf.
Is
9'-').
But
beyond
this
there
can
also
be
seen
the
hope
that
the
very
nature
of
the
reign
of
the
new
King
would
conduce
to
an
end
of
war.
In
such
a
passage
as
Is
H'-i"
there
is
struck
the
keynote
of
a
nobler
Messianic
reign
than
that
possible
to
the
mere
conqueror.
The
peace
then
promised
was
to
come
from
a
knowledge
of
Jehovah
as
well
as
from
the
glories
of
the
Davidic
ruler.
The
reformation
of
Josiah
finds
an
echo
in
the
equally
exultant
expectation
of
Jeremiah
—
that
Jehovah
would
surely
place
a
descendant
of
David
upon
the
throne,
a
'righteous
branch,'
and
one
who
would
deliver
Israel
(Jer
33"-i8).
The
glory
of
the
restored
kingdom
was
to
be
enhanced
by
a
New
Covenant
to
replace
the
broken
covenant
of
Sinai.
This
covenant
would
be
spiritual,
and
the
relations
which
it
would
establish
between
Israel
and
Jehovah
would
be
profoundly
religious.
Israel
would
be
a
servant
of
Jehovah,
who
would,
on
His
part,
forgive
His
people's
sins
(Jer
Sl^'-'S
cf.
33"-22).
The
restoration
of
Israel,
which
was
thus
to
be
accompUshed
by
Jehovah,
involved
not
only
national
honour,
but
also
a
new
prosperity
for
the
priesthood,
and
new
immortaUty
on
the
part
of
the
individual
and
the
nation.
There
is
no
reference,
how-
MESSIAH
ever,
to
a
personal
Messiah.
Yet
if
such
a
passage
as
Dt
18"-"
belongs
to
this
period,
it
is
evident
that
the
hope
included
the
expectation
of
some
great
person,
who
would
be
even
more
subUme
than
Moses
himself.
3.
The
Messianic
hope
duriTig
the
Exile.
—
The
great
catastrophe
which
fell
upon
both
the
Northern
and
Southern
Kingdoms
forced
the
prophets
to
re-examine
the
relations
of
national
misfortune
to
the
persistent
hope
of
the
glorious
Kingdom
of
Jehovah.
It
would
seem
as
if
at
the
outset
the
exiles
had
expected
that
they
would
soon
return
to
Palestine,
but
this
hope
was
opposed
most
vigorously
by
Ezekiel,
and
the
fall
of
Jerusalem
confirmed
his
teaching.
From
the
despair
that
followed,
the
people
were
rescued
by
the
appear-ance
of
Cyrus,
who
became
the
instrument
of
Jehovah
in
bringing
about
the
return
of
the
remnant
to
their
own
land.
It
was
from
these
dark
years
that
there
appeared
a
new
type
of
Messianic
hope,
national
and
economic,
it
is
true,
but
also
profoundly
religious.
Jehovah
would
care
for
His
people
as
the
shepherd
cared
for
his
sheep,
and
the
land
to
which
they
would
return
would
be
renewed
(Ezk
34"-''),
while
the
nations
would
support
Israel
and
fear
Jehovah
(Is
49^-
2^).
Jehovah
would
make
an
everlasting
covenant
with
His
people
(Is
55'-'),
but
the
new
nation
would
not
be
composed
of
all
those
who
had
been
swept
into
exile
and
their
descendants.
It
would
rather
be
a
righteous
community,
purified
by
suffering.
Thus
the
hope
rises
to
that
recognition
of
the
individual
which
Ezekiel
was
the
first
to
emphasize
strongly.
At
this
point
we
have
to
decide
whether
the
suffering
Servant
of
Jehovah
is
to
be
interpreted
collectively
as
the
purified
and
vicarious
remnant
of
Israel;
or
as
some
individual
who
would
stand
for
ever
as
a
representative
of
Jehovah,
and,
through
his
sufferings,
purify
and
recall
Israel
to
that
spiritual
life
which
would
be
the
guarantee
of
a
glorious
future;
or
as
the
suffering
nation
itself.
The
interpretation
placed
upon
these
'Servant'
passages
(Is
431-is
495
61'-s
52'3-'6
53'-i2)
in
Rabbinic
thought
was
ordinarily
not
personal,
but
national.
It
was
a
suffering
Israel
who
was
not
only
to
be
gloriously
redeemed,
but
was
also
to
bring
the
knowledge
of
Je-hovah
and
salvation
to
the
world
at
large.
And
this
is
becoming
the
current
interpretation
to-day.
Yet
the
personification
is
so
complete
as
to
yield
itself
readily
to
the
personal
application
to
Jesus
made
by
the
early
Church
and
subsequent
Christian
expositors.
A
vicari-ous
element,
which
was
to
prove
of
lasting
influence,
is
now
introduced
into
Messianic
expectation.
The
deUverance
was
to
be
through
the
sufferings
of
the
DeUverer.
See,
further.
Servant
of
the
Lord.
4.
'Messianic'
Psalms.
—
While
it
is
not
possible
to
date
Ps
2
with
any
precision,
its
picture
of
the
coming
King
who
shall
reign
over
all
the
world
because
of
the
power
of
Jehovah,
is
fundamentally
political.
The
same
is
true
of
Pss
45
and
72.
In
these
Psalms
there
are
expressions
which
could
subsequently
be
used
very
properly
to
express
the
expectation
of
a
completed
Messianic
hope,
but
it
would
be
unwise
to
read
back
into
them
a
conscious
expectation
of
a
definite
super-human
person.
The
hope
at
the
time
of
the
writing
of
these
Psalms
was
national
and
poUtical.
5.
The
attempt
at
a
Messianic
nation.
—
With
the
return
of
the
exiles
from
Babylon
to
Judah
attempts
were
made
to
inaugurate
an
ideal
commonwealth
which
should
embody
these
anticipations.
The
one
great
pre-requisite
of
this
new
nation
was
to
be
the
observance
of
the
Law,
which
would
insure
the
coming
of
the
Spirit
of
Jehovah
upon
the
new
Israel
(Jl
228-
2s,
Hag
1",
Zee
2'-s
etc.,
Is
60'-»).
The
coronation
of
Zerubbabel
seemed
to
Haggai
and
Zechariah
the
fulfilment
of
the
promise
that
the
prince
would
come
from
the
house
of
David
(Hag
2^',
Zee
3').
But
the
new
commonwealth
was
thoroughly
inefficient,
and
the
Messianic
hope
seems
to
have
become
dormant
in
the
struggles
of
the
weak
State.
The
hterary
activity
of
the
years
between
the
