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New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
frequently cites Jewish scripture to support the claim of the
Early Christians Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jew ...
that
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
was the promised
Jewish Messiah The Messiah in Judaism () is a savior and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology, who is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jewish people. The concept of messianism originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible a messiah is a king or Hig ...
, but few of these citations are actual predictions in their original context. The majority of these quotations and references are taken from the
Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC ...
, but they range over the entire corpus of Jewish writings.
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites"" ...
do not regard any of these as having been fulfilled by Jesus, and in some cases do not regard them as messianic prophecies at all.
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. T ...
prophecies about Jesus are either not thought to be prophecies by
biblical scholars Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 For ...
(as the verses make no claim of predicting anything) or do not explicitly refer to the Messiah. Ehrman, Bart D. (2000). ''The Historical Jesus. Part I.'' The Teaching Company, p. 36. "Early Christians began searching their Scriptures to see how these things could be. 1. The Hebrew Bible did not discuss the messiah's suffering. Some passages refer to the suffering of a righteous man (cf. Isaiah 53), who feels abandoned by God, but whose suffering is accepted as a sacrifice for others. 2. Some passages, such as the Psalms of Lament (e.g., Pss. 22, 35, 69) and the songs of the Suffering Servant of the Lord in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 53), were taken to refer not just to any person who was suffering, or even to Israel as a whole (cf. Isaiah 49:3), but to the future messiah of Israel. 4. Jews and Christians began to debate the meanings of these texts, and the debates continue to this day."
Historical criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...
is unable to argue for the fulfillment of prophecy or that Jesus was indeed the Messiah because he fulfilled messianic prophecies—as historical criticism has no way to "construct such an argument" within that academic method, as that is a theological claim rather than a secular academic claim.


Overview: prophecy and biblical scholarship

The Hebrew
scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
were an important source for the New Testament authors. There are 27 direct quotations in the
Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist t ...
, 54 in
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the C ...
, 24 in Luke, and 14 in
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
, and the influence of the scriptures is vastly increased when allusions and echoes are included, with half of Mark's gospel being made up of allusions to and citations of the scriptures. Matthew contains all Mark's quotations and introduces around 30 more, sometimes in the mouth of Jesus, sometimes as his own commentary on the narrative, and Luke makes allusions to all but three of the Old Testament books.


Prophecies Christians consider fulfilled


Daniel 9:24–27

The general scholarly view is that the author of Daniel is writing a contemporaneous account of the
Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt ( he, מרד החשמונאים) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167–160 BCE and ended ...
c. 167 BCE and the "an anointed one shall be cut off" refers to the murder of the high priest Onias III; the " abomination that desolates" refers to
Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus IV Epiphanes (; grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανής, ''Antíochos ho Epiphanḗs'', "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his de ...
erecting a statue of Zeus in the Temple. References to "most holy", "anointed one" and "prince" have been interpreted by Christians as speaking of Jesus, and the phrase "anointed one shall be cut off" as pointing to his
crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...
, the "troops of the prince who is to come" being taken to refer to the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD.


Deuteronomy 18:15

speaks of a prophet who would be raised up from among the Jewish nation: By the time of Jesus, this promise of Moses was understood to refer to a special individual. In John 6:14, after the multiplication of the loaves, people are quoted as saying, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." In John 7:40, On the last day of the feast ( tabernacles/Booths), the great day...Many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. In , Peter said that Jesus was the fulfillment of this promise.


Ezekiel 37:24, 25–27

Ezekiel 37:24 refers to a person coming from the House of David as the servant of God, unique
Shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
of Israel, which will rule over the House of Judah (v. 16) and over the Tribe of Joseph (v. 17) so that he will "make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand" (v. 19), in a unique nation of Israel. Verses from to 15 to 24 cannot be referring to King David, since the
united monarchy of Israel The United Monarchy () in the Hebrew Bible refers to Israel and Judah under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. It is traditionally dated to have lasted between and . According to the biblical account, on the succession of Solomon's so ...
was divided in two reigns the death of his son
Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah ( Hebrew: , Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yah"), was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and succe ...
(999–931 BCE), son of
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. Furthermore, Ezekiel (622–570 BCE) wrote in the seventh century BCE, four centuries after this subject of the biblical narration, nevertheless adopting a prophecy that is by its nature usually referred to future happenings. Therefore, as the "stick of Judah" stands for the House of Judah, and the "stick of Joseph" stands for his tribe (verse 19), the expression "David my servant shall be king over them" (verse 24) may be read as a prophecy about a person of the House of David, which would have ruled over one nation in one land, gathered upon the mountains of Israel on every side of the earth. The narration continues as follows: They will "live" ('made for thee to dwell' JV/ESVin Song of The Sea Exodus 15:17) in the land. The "dwelling place" (Hebrew ''mishkan'' מִשְׁכָּן Exodus 25:9) recalls the wilderness tabernacle. The Sanctuary (Hebrew ''miqdash'' מִקְדָּשׁ Exodus 15:17) points rather to the Temple, in particular the renewed Temple, which will occupy Ezekiel's attention in the last chapters of 40 –48. Christianity believes that Ezekiel's Temple is more glorious than the Tabernacle of Moses (Exodus 25–40) and the Temple of Solomon (), pointing forward to several beliefs: *(1) the glory in which God dwells with man in the Messiah, John 1:14: "The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh'khinah" (שָׁכֵחַ Exodus 25:8) (CJB) *(2) The Messiah's body is the Temple, : "Yeshua answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.' The Judeans said, 'It took 46 years to build this Temple, and you're going to raise it in three days?' But the 'temple' he had spoken of was his body." (CJB) *(3) the messianic community as the Temple, : "Don't you know that you people are God's Temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?", "You have been built on the foundation of the emissaries and the prophets, with the cornerstone being Yeshua the Messiah himself. In union with him the whole building is held together, and it is growing into a holy temple in union with the Lord. Yes, in union with him, you yourselves are being built together into a spiritual dwelling-place for God!", "...you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be cohanim set apart for God to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Yeshua the Messiah." (CJB) *(4) the body of the individual believer, : "Or don't you know that your body is a Temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who lives inside you, whom you received from God? The fact is, you don't belong to yourselves" (CJB) *(5) the heavenly Jerusalem, Revelatio
21:9-22:5
ref name="ReferenceA"/> Judaism holds that the Messiah has not yet arrived namely because of the belief that the
Messianic Age In Abrahamic religions, the Messianic Age is the future period of time on Earth in which the messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood, without any evil. Many believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the consu ...
has not started yet. Jews believe that the Messiah will completely change life on earth and that pain and suffering will be conquered, thus initiating the
Kingdom of God The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" b ...
and the Messianic Age on earth. Christian belief varies, with one segment holding that the Kingdom of God is not worldly at all, while another believe that the Kingdom is both spiritual and will be of this world in a Messianic Age where Jesus will rule on the throne of David. Most Jews hold that the Kingdom of God will be on earth and the Messiah will occupy the throne of David. Christians (in particular Evangelicals) believe that it is both, and claim that it is spiritual (the historical Jesus completed salvation) and within right now, and physical and outward at the return of the Messiah (
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messia ...
of Jesus as "
New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be ...
, coming down out of heaven from God" Revelation 21:1–4). While Christians have cited the following as prophecies referencing the life, status, and legacy of Jesus, Jewish scholars maintain that these passages are not messianic prophecies and are based on mistranslations or misunderstanding of the Hebrew texts.


Hosea 11:1

In its original context, this text from
Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; he, הוֹשֵׁעַ – ''Hōšēaʿ'', 'Salvation'; gr, Ὡσηέ – ''Hōsēé''), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BCE prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is th ...
referred to the deliverance of the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt. The Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 applies it to the return from Egypt of Jesus and his family as a messianic prophecy: Conservative scholars argue that this passage fits into the context of Hosea 11.


Isaiah


Isaiah 7:14

Early Christian tradition interpreted this verse as a reference to the mother of Jesus. The prophet
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
, addressing king
Ahaz Ahaz (; gr, Ἄχαζ, Ἀχάζ ''Akhaz''; la, Achaz) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒄩𒍣 ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglat ...
of Judah, promises the king that God will destroy his enemies, and as a sign that his oracle is a true one he predicts that a "young woman" ("''
almah ''Almah'' ( ''‘almā'', plural: ''‘ălāmōṯ''), from a root implying the vigour of puberty, is a Hebrew word meaning a young woman ripe for marriage; despite its importance to the account of the virgin birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Ma ...
''") standing nearby will shortly give birth to a child whose name will be Immanuel, "God is with us", and that the threat from the enemy kings will be ended before the child grows up. The ''almah'' might be the mother of Hezekiah or a daughter of Isaiah, although there are problems with both candidatesHezekiah, for example, was apparently born nine years before the prophecy was given,but the biblical chronology for Hezekiah is confused, and his identity as the prophesied child is strongly suggested by the reference to Immanuel's "land" in 8.8 and 10. The
Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and fo ...
references this verse to support its claim of the supernatural origins of Jesus. In the time of Jesus, however, the Jews of Palestine no longer spoke Hebrew, and Isaiah had to be translated into Greek and Aramaic, the two commonly used languages. In the original Hebrew, the word ''almah'' means a young woman of childbearing age or who is a mother, but the Greek translation of Isaiah 7:14 rendered ''almah'' as ''parthenos'', the Greek word for "virgin". Scholars agree that ''almah'' has nothing to do with virginity, but many conservative American Christians still judge the acceptability of new Bible translations by the way they deal with Isaiah 7:14.


Isaiah 8:14

interprets the stone as Christ, quoting along with and which mention a stone and a cornerstone.


Isaiah 8:22–9:1 (9:1–2)

According to both Jewish and Christian interpretation, the prophet Isaiah was commanded to inform the people of Israel in a prophecy that
Sennacherib Sennacherib ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynas ...
's plunder of the
Ten Tribes The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, As ...
was at hand, and that
Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar II ( Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, rulin ...
's spoil of
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, in later years, was coming nearer. During the
Syro-Ephraimite War The Syro-Ephraimite War took place in the 8th century BC, when the Neo-Assyrian Empire was a great regional power. The tributary nations of Aram-Damascus (often called Aram) and the Kingdom of Israel (often called Ephraim because of the main t ...
, Isaiah opposed an alliance with Assyria, and counseled Ahaz to rely instead on the assurances of the Davidic covenant. This view was not well received at court. Assyria absorbed the lands of Zebulon and Naphtali to form the provinces of Galilee, Dor, and Gilead. Judah became a vassal kingdom of the Assyrians. The reign of Hezekiah saw a notable increase in the power of the Judean state.Hezekiah was successful in his wars against the Philistines, driving them back in a series of victorious battles as far as Gaza. He thus not only retook all the cities that his father had lost, but even conquered others belonging to the Philistines. He also looked to attempting to reincorporate some of the desolate northern territories into the kingdom of Judah and thus restore the boundaries of the country as it was under David. At this time Judah was the strongest nation on the Assyrian-Egyptian frontier.Na'aman, Nadav
''Ancient Israel and Its Neighbors''
Eisenbrauns, 2005,
The "messianic oracle" ("The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.") may have coincided with the coronation of Hezekiah and looked toward the deliverance of the Israelites living in the northern provinces. According to Jewish tradition, the salvation of which he speaks is the miraculous end of Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem (see Isaiah 36 and 37) in the days of the Prince of Peace, King
Hezekiah Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning " Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Judah according to ...
, a son of King
Ahaz Ahaz (; gr, Ἄχαζ, Ἀχάζ ''Akhaz''; la, Achaz) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒄩𒍣 ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglat ...
.
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the C ...
cites the messianic oracle, when Jesus began his ministry in Galilee: The interpretation of by the author of the Gospel of Matthew has led Christian authors to hint at its messianic applications. While the Gospel of Matthew modifies a Greek
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
interpretation of scripture (Isaiah 8:23–9:2), in the
Masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
it refers to the "region of the
nations A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by tho ...
".


Isaiah 9:6,7 (Masoretic 9:5,6)

In Jewish translations of the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' verse numbering is different (9:6 in the Christian Old Testament is numbered 9:5 in Hebrew Bible versions). Newer Jewish versions do not translate the verse as follows: *Isaiah 9:6 (Masoretic 9:5) "For a child is born unto us, a son hath been given unto us, and the government is placed on his shoulders; and his name is called, Wonderful, counsellor of the mighty God, of the everlasting Father, the prince of peace", (Lesser) *Isaiah 9:6 (Masoretic 9:5) "For a child is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Pele- joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom"; (JPS 1917)Rabbi Isaac Leeser's translation 1853 and the 1917 Jewish Publication Society translation This verse is expressly applied to the Messiah in the
Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of th ...
, i.e. Aramaic commentary on the Hebrew Bible. Some Christians believe that this verse refers to the birth of Jesus as the Messiah. The verse reads in Christian bible versions:


Isaiah 11:12

Some commentators view this as an unfulfilled prophecy, arguing that the Jewish people have not all been gathered in Israel. Jews for Judaism
Messiah: The Criteria
/ref> Some Christians refer to the foundation of the State of Israel as fulfillment of this prophecy. Others argue that the fulfillment is that Jesus as Messiah brings all nations to himself (cf. 11:10 "Nations will seek his counsel / And his abode will be honored.") citing ("And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.") and Paul in when he quotes , emphasizing the inclusion of the
gentiles Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
into the people of God.
ESV Study Bible The ''ESV Study Bible'' (abbreviated as ESVSB) is a study Bible published by Crossway. It features the text of the English Standard Version, along with study notes from a perspective of "classic evangelical orthodoxy, in the historic stream of th ...
; "History of Salvation in the OT"
Some Christians also believe that is to be understood in connection with . Some Christians believe that Jesus the Messiah is the ultimate "house" or dwelling place of God, as is told in ("And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory") and ("Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' The Jews then said, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?' But he was speaking about the temple of his body."). Through him the messianic community becomes a temple in ("Do you not know that you all are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?") and ("...built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the Messiah Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."). It is through the Messiah's exaltation all nations are drawn to him, as in ("...and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.").


Isaiah 28:16

1 Peter 2:8 interprets the stone mentioned as Christ, quoting Isaiah 28:16 along with and which mention a stone of stumbling and a cornerstone.


Isaiah 53:5

Isaiah 53 is probably the most famous example claimed by Christians to be a messianic prophecy fulfilled by Jesus. It speaks of one known as the "
suffering servant Isaiah 53 is the fifty-third chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah and is one of the Nevi'im. Chapters 40 through 55 ar ...
," who suffers because of the sins of others. Jesus is said to fulfill this prophecy through his death on the cross. The verse from Isaiah 53:5 has traditionally been understood by many Christians to speak of Jesus as the Messiah. Rabbi
Joseph Hertz Joseph Herman Hertz (25 September 1872 – 14 January 1946) was a British Rabbi and biblical scholar. He held the position of Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing both world wars and the ...
argues, however, that the passage refers to an event that had already passed. Modern Jewish scholars, like Rabbi Tovia Singer as well as Rashi (1040–1105) and early Christian writer
Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...
(184/185253/254 CE), view the "suffering servant" as a reference to the whole Jewish people, regarded as one individual, and more specifically to the Jewish people deported to Babylon. However, in aggadic midrash on the
books of Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books ( ...
, a compendium of rabbinic folklore, historical anecdotes and moral exhortations, is messianically interpreted. One of the first claims in the New Testament that Isaiah 53 is a prophecy of Jesus comes from the
Book of Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
chapter 8 verses 26–36, which describes a scene in which God commands
Philip the Apostle Philip the Apostle ( el, Φίλιππος; Aramaic: ܦܝܠܝܦܘܣ; cop, ⲫⲓⲗⲓⲡⲡⲟⲥ, ''Philippos'') was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostl ...
to approach an Ethiopian eunuch who is sitting in a chariot, reading aloud to himself from the
Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC ...
. The eunuch comments that he does not understand what he is reading (Isaiah 53) and Philip explains to him that the passage refers to Jesus: "And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus." The (suffering) ''Servant'', (free mp3 audio) as referring to the
Jewish people Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, suffering from the cruelties of the
nations A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by tho ...
, is a theme in the
Servant songs The servant songs (also called the servant poems or the Songs of the Suffering Servant) are four songs in the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible, which include Isaiah 42:1– 4; Isaiah 49; ; and –. The songs are four poems written about a ce ...
and is mentioned in , , , , and .


Jeremiah 31:15

Matthew 2:1718 gives the Massacre of the Innocents by
Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his re ...
as the fulfillment of a prophecy allegedly given by this verse in Jeremiah. The phrase "because her children are no more" is believed to refer to the
captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...
of Rachel's children in Assyria. The subsequent verses describe their return to Israel.


Micah 5:2 (Micah 5:1 in Hebrew)

This verse near the end of
Micah Micah (; ) is a given name. Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament), and means "Who is like God?" The name is sometimes found with theophoric extensions. Suffix theophory in ''Yah'' and in '' Yahweh'' results in ...
's
prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...
on the
Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defe ...
has been interpreted by Christian apologists, and by
Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs b ...
mentioned in the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "si ...
(), as a prophecy that the Messiah would be born in
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...
. The verse describes the
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meani ...
of Bethlehem, who was the son of
Caleb Caleb (), sometimes transliterated as Kaleb ( he, כָּלֵב, ''Kalev'', ; Tiberian vocalization: Kālēḇ; Hebrew Academy: Kalev), is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites ...
's second wife, Ephrathah. (1 Chr
2:18
Bethlehem Ephrathah is the town and clan from which king David was born, and this passage refers to the future birth of a new Davidic heir. Although the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke give different accounts of the birth of Jesus, both place the birth in Bethlehem. The Gospel of Matthew describes
Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his re ...
as asking the chief priests and scribes of Jerusalem where the Messiah was to be born. They respond by quoting Micah, "In Beit-Lechem of Y'hudah," they replied, "because the prophet wrote, 'And you, Beit-Lechem in the land of Y'hudah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Y'hudah; for from you will come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Isra'el. () The idea that Bethlehem was to be the birthplace of the Messiah appears in no Jewish source before the 4th century CE. Jewish tradition appears to have emphasised the idea that the birthplace of the Messiah was not known. Some modern scholars consider the birth stories as inventions by the gospel writers, created to glorify Jesus and present his birth as the fulfillment of prophecy.


Psalms

Some portions of the Psalms are considered prophetic in Judaism, even though they are listed among the
Ketuvim The Ketuvim (; hbo, , Modern: ''Kəṯūvīm'', Tiberian: ''Kăṯūḇīm'' "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible), after Torah (instruction) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew ...
(Writings) and not the
Nevi'im Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim ( ...
(Prophets). The words ''Messiah'' and ''Christ'' mean "anointed one". In ancient times Jewish leaders were
anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or ot ...
with olive oil when they assumed their position (e.g. David, Saul, Isaac, Jacob). And ''Messiah'' is used as a name for kings in the Hebrew Bible: in David finds King Saul's killer and asks, "Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" In many Psalms, whose authorship are traditionally ascribed to King David (i.e. ''Messiah'' David), the author writes about his life in third person, referring to himself as "the/God's/your messiah" while clearly discussing his military exploits. Thus it can be argued that many of the portions that are asserted to be prophetic Psalms may not be.


Psalm 2

Psalm 2 can be argued to be about David; the authors of Acts and the
Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Mos ...
interpreted it as relating to Jesus.
Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
identifies "the nations hatconspire, and the peoples hatplot in vain" as the enemies referred to in
Psalm 110 Psalm 110 is the 110th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The said unto my Lord". In Latin, it is known as Dixit Dominus ("The Lord Said"). It is considered both a royal psalm and a messianic psalm. C ...
: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." Verse 7. The LORD is the messiah's father. In Judaism the phrase "Son of God" has very different connotations than in Christianity, not referring to literal descent but to the righteous who have become conscious of God's father of mankind. Christians cite Herod and
Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...
setting themselves against Jesus as evidence that Psalm 2 refers to him. interprets Jesus' rising from the dead as confirmation of verse 7 ("You are my son, today I have begotten you"). Hebrews 1:5 employs verse 7 in order to argue that Jesus is superior to the angels, i.e., Jesus is superior as a mediator between God and man. "For to what angel did God ever say, ''Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee''?" However, the phrase "son of God" appears in the Hebrew Bible to describe others than the coming Messiah, including David and
Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
. Texts vary in the exact wording of the phrase beginning , with "kiss his foot", and "kiss the Son" being most common in various languages for centuries (including the King James Version), though not in original Hebrew Manuscripts such as the
Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...
. The proper noun was reduced to "son" in the Revised Version. The marginal interpretation accompanying the latter reads, "Worship in purity," which according to Joseph Hertz, "is in agreement with Jewish authorities."


Psalm 16

The interpretation of Psalm 16 as a messianic prophecy is common among Christian
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...
. According to the preaching of Peter, this prophecy is about the messiah's triumph over death, i.e., the resurrection of Jesus. Also of note is what Paul said in the synagogue at
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
. "And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he spoke in this way, 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.' Therefore, he also says in another psalm, 'Thou wilt not let thy Holy One see corruption.' For David, after he had served the counsel of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and saw corruption; but he whom God raised up saw no corruption" (Acts 13: 34–37).


Psalm 22

Two of the Gospels ( and ) quote Jesus as speaking these words of Psalm 22 from the cross; The other two canonical Gospels give different accounts of the words of Jesus. quotes ("Into your hands I commit my spirit") while John has Jesus say "It is finished" ( John 19:30). Some scholars see this as evidence that the words of Jesus were not part of a pre-Gospel Passion narrative, but were added later by the Gospel writers. In most Hebrew manuscripts, such as the Masoretic, (verse 17 in the Hebrew verse numbering) reads כארי ידי ורגלי ("like a lion my hands and my feet"). Many Modern English translations render this as "
they have pierced my hands and my feet "They have pierced my hands and my feet", or "They pierced my hands and my feet" is a phrase that occurs in some English translations of (Psalm 21:17 in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate; Psalm 22:16 King James Version). The text of the Heb ...
", starting with the
Coverdale Bible The Coverdale Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale and published in 1535, was the first complete Modern English translation of the Bible (not just the Old Testament or New Testament), and the first complete printed translation into English (cf. Wyc ...
which translated
Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...
's ''durchgraben'' (dig through, penetrate) as ''pearsed'', with ''durchgraben'' being a variation of the
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
's ωρυξαν "dug". This translation is highly controversial. It is asserted in Christian apologetics that the
Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...
lend weight to the translation as "They have pierced my hands and my feet", by lengthening the yud in the Hebrew word כארי (like a lion) into a vav כארו "Kaaru", which is not a word in the Hebrew language but when the aleph is omitted becomes כרו, dig, similar to the Septuagint translation. However, this view is contested considering the Nahal Hever scribe's other numerous misspellings, such as one in the very same sentence, where ידיה is written instead of the correct ידי, making the Hebrew word ידי yadai "hands" into ידיה yadehah, "her hands". Christian apologists argue that this passage refers to Jesus.


Psalm 34

Ray Pritchard has described
Psalm 34 Psalm 34 is the 34th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth." The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bi ...
:20 as a messianic prophecy. In its account of the crucifixion of Jesus, the Gospel of John interprets it as a prophecy () and presents some of the details as fulfillment.


Psalm 69

Christians believe that this verse refers to Jesus' time on the cross in which he was given a sponge soaked in vinegar to drink, as seen i
Matthew 27:34Mark 15:23
an
John 19:29


Psalm 110

"A royal psalm (see Psalm 2 intro). It is quite difficult because verse 3 is totally obscure, and the psalm speakers often. In Christian interpretation, it is understood as a reference to Jesus, as a messianic and sometimes eschatological psalm; Radak polemicizes against this view" 1. Here God is speaking to the king, called my ''lord''; Perhaps these are the words spoken by a prophet. The king is very proximate to God, in a position of privilege, imagined as being on His ''right hand'' in the
Divine Council A Divine Council is an assembly of deities over which a higher-level god presides. Historical setting The concept of a divine assembly (or council) is attested in the archaic Sumerian, Akkadian language, Akkadian, First Babylonian dynasty, O ...
. The second-in-command was seated to the right of the king in the ancient Near East. Such images are rare in psalms, but see . If the king trods on the back of his enemies (see ), they poetically become his "Footstool" 2. In contrast to v.1, God is spoken of in the third person. The Zion tradition (see ; ) and royal tradition are here connected. While v.1-2 express the great power of the king, they also emphasize it comes from God" (YHWH). Psalm 110 is viewed as messianic in both Jewish and Christian tradition. Christian authors have interpreted this psalm as a messianic passage in light of several New Testament passages.
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
noted, "The royal glorification expressed at the beginning of the Psalm was adopted by the New Testament as a messianic prophecy. For this reason the verse is among those most frequently used by New Testament authors, either as an explicit quotation or as an allusion." He further connects this image to the concept of
Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one o ...
. In , Peter refers to the similar glorification of Jesus in the context of the resurrection The gospel writers interpret the psalm as a messianic prophecy: According to
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
,: "It was necessary that all this should be prophesied, announced in advance. We needed to be told so that our minds might be prepared. He did not will to come so suddenly that we would shrink from him in fear; rather are we meant to expect him as the one in whom we have believed."


2 Samuel 7:14

Hebrews 1:5 quotes this verse as, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son." In Samuel, the verse continues: "When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men." This is, however, not reflected in the comparable section in . The phrase as quoted in Hebrews is generally seen as a reference to the Davidic covenant, whereby God assures the king of his continued mercy to him and his descendants. It is in this context that Charles James Butler sees
Psalm 41 Psalm 41 is the 41st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Blessed is he that considereth the poor". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the bible, and genera ...
as quoted by Jesus in as also messianic.


Wisdom 2:12–20

The
Wisdom of Solomon The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a Jewish work written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid-first century BCE, the central theme of the work is " wisdom" itself, appearing under tw ...
is one of the
Deuterocanonical books The deuterocanonical books (from the Greek meaning "belonging to the second canon") are books and passages considered by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Assyrian Church of the East to be ...
of the Old Testament. The Deuterocanonical books are considered
canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...
by
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonica ...
and
Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...
, but are considered non-canonical by
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites"" ...
and
Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
.


Zechariah


Zechariah 9:9

Christian authors have interpreted Zechariah 9:9 as a prophecy of an act of messianic self-humiliation. The Gospel of John links this verse to the account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem: The
Synoptic Gospels The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whos ...
make clear that Jesus arranged this event, thus consciously fulfilling the prophecy. The Gospel of Matthew describes Jesus' triumphant entry on
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy ...
as a fulfillment of this verse in Zechariah. Matthew describes the prophecy in terms of a colt and a separate donkey, whereas the original only mentions the colt; the reference in Zechariah is a Jewish parallelism referring only to a single animal, and the gospels of
Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...
, Luke, and
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
state Jesus sent his disciples after only one animal. Several explanations have been suggested, such as that Matthew misread the original, the existence of the foal is implied, or he wanted to create a deliberate echo of a reference in , where there are two asses for David's household to ride on. In the most ancient Jewish writings Zechariah 9:9 is applied to the Messiah. According to the Talmud, so firm was the belief in the ass on which the Messiah is to ride that "if anyone saw an ass in his dream, he will see salvation". The verse is also Messianically quoted in Sanh. 98 a, in Pirqé de R. Eliez. c. 31, and in several of the
Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
im.


Zechariah 12:10

Zechariah 12:10 is another verse commonly cited by Christian authors as a messianic prophecy fulfilled by Jesus. In some of the most ancient Jewish writings, Zechariah 12:10 is applied to the
Messiah Ben Joseph In Jewish eschatology Mashiach ben Yoseph or Messiah ben Joseph ( he, מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־יוֹסֵף ''Māšīaḥ ben Yōsēf''), also known as Mashiach bar/ben Ephraim (Aram./Heb.: Māšīaḥ bar/ben Efrayīm), is a Jewish messiah from ...
in the Talmud, and so is verse 12 ("The land will wail, each family by itself: The family of the House of David by themselves, and their women by themselves; the family of the House of Nathan by themselves, and their women by themselves"), there being, however, a difference of opinion whether the mourning is caused by the death of the Messiah Ben Joseph, or else on account of the evil concupiscence ('' Yetzer hara''). The Gospel of John makes reference to this prophecy when referring to the crucifixion of Jesus, as can be seen in the following account: Zechariah 12:10 is often regarded as mistranslated by modern-day adherents to Judaism. It is often translated by Jews as follows: The
Jewish-Christian Jewish Christians ( he, יהודים נוצרים, yehudim notzrim) were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). The Nazarene Jews integrated the belief of Jesus ...
debate on the correct rendering of Zechariah 12:10 oftentimes come down to the translation of the Hebrew phrase "את אשר (’êṯ-’ă·šer or et-asher)" which can mean either "whom" or "about" depending on the context.


Verses read as Davidic line prophecies


Debate about prophecy fulfillment

Among Christian believers, opinion varies as to which Old Testament passages are messianic prophecies and which are not, and whether the prophecies they claim to have been fulfilled are intended to be prophecies. The authors of these Old Testament prophecies often appear to be describing events that had already occurred. For example, the New Testament verse states: This is referring to the Old Testament verse Hosea 11:1. However, that passage reads, Skeptics say that the Hosea passage clearly is talking about a historical event and therefore the passage clearly is not a prophecy. According to modern scholarship, the suffering servant described in Isaiah chapter 53 is actually the Jewish people. According to some, the rabbinic response, e.g., Rashi and
Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah s ...
, is that, although the suffering servant passage is clearly prophetic and even if Psalm 22 is prophetic, the Messiah has not come yet; therefore, the passages could not be talking about Jesus. As noted above, there is some controversy about the phrase "
they have pierced my hands and my feet "They have pierced my hands and my feet", or "They pierced my hands and my feet" is a phrase that occurs in some English translations of (Psalm 21:17 in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate; Psalm 22:16 King James Version). The text of the Heb ...
". For modern Bible scholars, either the verses make no claim of predicting future events, or the verses make no claim of speaking about the Messiah. They view the argument that Jesus is the Messiah because he has fulfilled prophecy as a fallacy, i.e. it is a confession of faith masquerading as objective rational argumentation. As Christian-turned-atheist Farrell Till argues in his ''Skeptical Review'',


See also

*
Bible prophecy Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy comprises the passages of the Bible that are claimed to reflect communications from God to humans through prophets. Jews and Christians usually consider the biblical prophets to have received revelations from ...
* Biblical hermeneutics *
Christianity and Judaism Christianity began as a movement within Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions gradually diverged over the first few centuries of the Christian Era. Differences of opinion vary between denominations in both religions, but the most import ...
*
Christian views on the Old Covenant The Mosaic covenant or Law of Moses which Christians generally call the "Old Covenant" (in contrast to the New Covenant) played an important role in the origins of Christianity and has occasioned serious dispute and controversy since the beginn ...
*
Exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretatio ...
*
Jesus in Christianity Jesus is called the Son of God in the Bible's New Testament, and in mainstream Christian denominations he is God the Son, the second Person in the Trinity. He is believed to be the Jewish messiah (the Christ) who is prophesied in the Hebrew ...
*
Judaism's view of Jesus There is no specific doctrinal view of Jesus in traditional Judaism. Monotheism, a belief in the absolute unity and singularity of God, is central to Judaism, which regards the worship of a person as a form of idolatry. Therefore, considering Je ...
*
Messiah in Judaism The Messiah in Judaism () is a savior and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology, who is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jewish people. The concept of messianism originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible a messiah is a king or Hi ...
* Muhammad and the Bible *
New Covenant The New Covenant (Hebrew '; Greek ''diatheke kaine'') is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 31:31-34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...
*
Supersessionism Supersessionism, also called replacement theology or fulfillment theology, is a Christian theology which asserts that the New Covenant through Jesus Christ has superseded or replaced the Mosaic covenant exclusive to the Jews. Supersessionist theol ...
* Unfulfilled Christian religious predictions


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Herbert Lockyer ''All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible'' Zondervan 1988 * Nelson Reference Guides ''Find It Fast Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled In Jesus Christ'' Nelson Reference 2001 * Charles A. Briggs ''Messianic Prophecy: The Prediction of the Fulfilment of Redemption Through the Messiah'' Wipf & Stock Publishers 2005 * Edward Riehm ''Messianic Prophecy: Its Origins, Historical Growth and Relation to New Testament Fulfillment'' Kessinger Publishing 2006 * Aaron Kligerman ''Old Testament Messianic Prophecy'' Zondervan 1957 ASIN B000GSNPMQ * Michael F. Bird, ''Are You the One Who Is to Come?'' Baker Academic 2008.


External links

Jewish analysis
Ask Rabbi Simmons

OutreachJudaism.com

Drazin.com

WhatJewsBelieve.org

Lets Get Biblical tape series online at beJewish.org
Evangelical Christian analysis


Clarifying Christianity.com

Messianic Prophecies by J. Hampton Keathley, III, Th.M.

Messiah Revealed: Over 300 Prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures Reveal Messiah
Skeptical and Critical analysis

* ttp://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jim_lippard/fabulous-prophecies.html The Fabulous Prophecies of the Messiah by
Jim Lippard James Joseph Lippard (born 1965) is an American skeptic and activist freethinker.Lippard, Jim"Publications and Appearances"(bibliography)''discord.org''.Accessed July 13, 2009. Archived fro/ref> Lippard works for Global Crossing as its head of inf ...

Stephen Jay Gould's response to prophecy fulfillment




* The Grounds of Christianity Examined by Comparing The New Testament with the Old, by
George Bethune English George Bethune English (March 7, 1787 – September 20, 1828) was an American adventurer, diplomat, soldier, and convert to Islam. The oldest of four children, English was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was baptized at Trinity Churc ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesus And Messianic Prophecy Christian messianism Jesus Old Testament Prophecy in Christianity