the rabbinic messiah

The

Rabbinic Messiah

Sources Consulted Braude, William G. The Midrash on Psalms. Two Volumes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959.

Braude, William G. and Israel J. Kapstein. Pəsiqtâ də -Raḇ Kahănâ. 2nd ed., Philadelphia: Jewish

Publication Society of America, 1978.

Danby, Herbert, D.D. The Mishnah. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1933; reprint, Thetford, Norfolk:

Lowe and Brydone Printers Limited, 1980.

Epstein, Rabbi Dr. I., ed. The Babylonian Talmud. 4th ed., London: The Soncino Press, 1978.

Freedman, Rabbi Dr. H., B.A., Ph.D. Midrash Rabbah. trans. by Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman B.A., Ph.D. and

Maurice Simon, M.A., 3rd ed., New York: The Soncino Press, 1983.

Hammer, Reuven. Sifre A Tannaitic Commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. New Haven: Yale

University Press, 1986.

Klausner, Joseph, Ph.D. The Messianic Idea in Israel. trans. by W. F. Stinespring, Ph.D., New York: The

Macmillan Company, 1955.

Landman, Leo. Messianism in the Talmudic Era. New York: KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1979.

Levertoff, Rev. Paul P. Midrash Sifre on Numbers. London: The Macmillan Co., 1926.

Levey, Samson H. The Messiah: An Aramaic Interpretation The Messianic Exegesis of the Targum.

Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1974.

Neusner, Jacob Messiah in Context. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984.

Visotzky, Burton L. The Midrash on Proverbs. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.

Introduction

Rabbinic Messiah is a collection of traditional Jewish Messianic belief quotes, as proclamated by the

Rabbis down through the centuries. The quotes are taken from the most commonly used Jewish literature

resources. These Messianic belief statements are arranged in canonical order, i.e. according to the

traditional Canon of the Christian Bible. Since this is simply a collection of the quotes themselves with

very little commentary by the author (only where he felt it was needed), this work then can be a helpful

reference tool that can be useful to both Jewish and Christian scholars alike.

The author intends to add additional references in the future. He also hopes to compile a summarized

portrait of the Jewish Messiah and the Messianic Era by gathering these texts into a unified picture.

I trust that you will find this tool a help in your Bible and Messianic studies.

Rev. Tom Huckel,

Director of Hananeel House

PO Box 11527

Philadelphia, Pa. 19116-0527

Genesis

Genesis 1:2.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XIV, I.

… Resh Lakish said „Ahor‟ means [Man was created] the last on the last day, and „kedem‟ [i.e.

foremost] means on the first day. In the opinion of Resh Lakish [that is the meaning], since it is said,

And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters, i.e. the spirit of the Messianic King.

Genesis 1:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis II, 5.

… AND GOD SAID: LET THERE BE LIGHT, i.e. rebuilt and firmly established in the Messianic era,

as you read, Arise, shine, for the light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee , etc. (Isa.

LX, 1).

Genesis 1:4.

Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah 12a.

… And for whom did he reserve it? For the righteous in the time to come for it is said: And God saw

the light, that it was good;.…

Many of the Messianic inferences like this one are actually statements made with reference to the

Messianic Kingdom. The allusions to the era when Messiah will come and defeat all of Israel‘s enemies

and reign as Israel‘s king will be seen in phrases like: “in the time to come” , “in future generations”, and

“in the end of days”.

Genesis 1:12.

Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 11a.

… And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree.… And the earth

brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit. And how does the other

explain the text ‗tree bearing fruit‘?—This signifies a blessing for future generations.

Genesis 3:15.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between the offspring of your sons and the offspring

of her sons: and it shall be that when the sons of the woman observe the commandments of the Torah,

they will direct themselves to smite you on the head, but when they forsake the commandments of the

Torah you will direct yourself to bite them on the heel. However, there is a remedy for them but no

remedy for you. They are destined to make peace in the end, in the days of the King Messiah.

The Jewish interpretation here is allegorical with the woman representing good and the serpent a picture of

evil.

Genesis 3:15.

Fragmentary Targum to the Pentateuch.

And it shall be that when the sons of the woman study the Torah diligently and obey its injunctions,

they will direct themselves to smite you on the head and slay you; but when the sons of the woman

forsake the commandments of the Torah and do not obey its injunctions, you will direct yourself to bite

them on the heel and afflict them. However, there will be a remedy for the sons of the woman, but for

you, serpent, there will be no remedy. They shall make peace with one another in the end, in the very

end of days, in the days of the King Messiah.

A Rabbinic parallel is found in Genesis Rabbah 20:5 ―R. Levi said: In the Messianic age all will be healed

save the serpent and the Gibeonite.‖

Genesis 4:7.

Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 19b–20a.

… Why has not Messiah come? Now to-day is the Day of Atonement and yet how many virgins were

embraced in Nehardea! He answered: What did the Holy One, blessed be He, say?—He answered:

[20a] Sin coucheth at the door.

Genesis 4:25.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XXIII, 5.

… AND SHE CALLED HIS NAME SETH: FOR GOD HATH APPOINTED ME ANOTHER SEED,

etc. R. Tanhuma said in the name of Samuel Kozith [She hinted at] that seed which would arise from

another source, viz. the King Messiah.

i.e. that Messiah would not come from a Jewish stock, Messiah being descended from Ruth the Moabitess;

v. infra, LI, 8.

Genesis 4:25.

Midrash Rabbah, Ruth VIII, I.

… R. Huna said; It is written For God that appointed me another seed (Gen. IV, 25), that is, seed from

another place, referring to the Messiah.

i.e. that Messiah would not come from a Jewish stock, Messiah being descended from Ruth the Moabitess.

Genesis 5:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XV. I.

… R. Tanhum b. R. Hiyya said, and some say it in the name of the Rabbis: The King-Messiah will not

come until all the souls which it was originally the divine intention to create shall have come to an end,

namely, those spoken of in the book of Adam, the first man, of which it is said, This is the book of the

generation of Adam (Gen. V, 1).

Genesis 5:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes I, I.

… R. Hiyya b. Tanhum said (some report that he said it in the name of R. Johanan): King Messiah will

not come until all the souls have appeared [on earth] which under the Divine plan were to be created,

and they are the souls mentioned in the book of Adam; as it is said, This is the book of the generations

of Adam (Gen. V, 1).

Genesis 9:6.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XXXIV, 14.

… When man comes [for final judgment; thus it is written], WHOSO SHEDDETH MAN‘S BLOOD,

WHEN MAN COMES SHALL HIS BLOOD BE SHED.

Or it may mean: When Adam comes, v. supra, XXI, Radal: When Messiah comes.

Genesis 9:6.

Midrash Rabbah, Deuteronomy II, 25.

… „Whoso sheddeth man‟s blood, by man shall his blood be shed‟ (Gen. IX 6). R. Levi said: Lo, how

many men are there who commit murder and yet die in their bed! The reply given to him was: The

meaning of, „By man shell his blood be shed,‟ is that when man shall be brought (to judgment) in the

Messianic era, then his blood will be shed.

Genesis 9:12.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XXXV, 2.

AND GOD SAID: THIS IS THE TOKEN OF THE COVENANT … FOR PERPETUAL

GENERATIONS—LEDOROTH (IX, 12).… R. Hezekiah related in R. Jeremiah‘s name: Thus did R.

Simeon b. Yohai say: If Abraham is willing, he can effectively intercede for [all generations] from his

days until mine, while I can intercede for [all generations] from my time until the advent of Messiah.

While if he is not willing, let Ahijah the Shilonite unite with me, and we can intercede for all from the

days of Abraham until those of Messiah.

See also Sanhedrin 97b.

Genesis 11:4.

Midrash on Psalms, Book One, Psalm 2, 2.

… R. Judah bar Nahmani commented: After the generation of the flood, the next generation said,

“Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven” (Gen. 11:4). Ought not

the next generation have profited from the experience of the preceding one? Yet, even in the time-to-

come, Gog and Magog will set themselves against the Lord and His anointed, only to fall down. David,

foreseeing this, said: “Why do the heathen rage? … The kings of the earth set themselves, and the

rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His anointed”.

Although Rashi believed that this passage was referring to King David, yet he acknowledged that the text

was traditionally understood by the Rabbis as Messianic (Re: The Psalms, Hebrew Text, English

Translation and Commentary, edited by The Rev. Dr. Paul Cohen, MA, Ph. D., Hindhead, Surrey: The

Soncino Press. 1945. p.3.)

Genesis 12:2.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XL, 2.

… Said R. Joshua b. Levi: In this world He hath given wanderings (tiruf) unto them that fear Him; but

in the Messianic future, „He will be ever mindful of His Covenant.‟ For what is written of Abram?

„And I will bless thee, and make they name great‟ (Gen. XII, 2).

Genesis 12:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XL, 3.

… Ten famines have come upon the earth …, and one will be in the Messianic future—Not a famine of

bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord (Amos VIII, 11).

Genesis 14:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XLII, 4.

… R. Eleazar b. R. Abina said: When you see the Powers fighting each other, look for the coming [lit,

‗feet‘] of the King Messiah. The proof is that in the days of Abraham, because these Powers fought

against each other, greatness came to Abraham.

This Rabbinic tradition fits in very closely with Jesus‘ statement about the signs which are the beginning of

birth pangs of His return in Matthew 24:7.

Genesis 15:18.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XLIV, 22.

… One maintained: He revealed to him [the future] until that day; while the other said: He revealed to

him the future from that day.

The discussion turns on the implication of IN THAT DAY. R. Berekiah apparently states that one held that

God revealed Israel‘s future to Abraham only until that day, viz. when Israel would leave Egypt, while the

other held that He revealed the future to him from the Exodus until Messiah‘s coming.

Genesis 15:19.


THE KENITE, AND THE KENIZZITE, AND THE KADMONITE, AND THE HITTITE, AND THE

PERIZZITE, AND THE REPHAIM, AND THE AMORITE, AND THE CANAANITE, AND THE

GIRGASHITE, AND THE JEBUSITE (XV, 19 f.). R Dostai said in the name of R. Samuel b.

Nahman: Because the Hivite is not mentioned here the Rephaim are substituted in their stead. R.

Helbo said in R. Abba‘s name in R. Johanan‘s name: The Holy One, blessed be He, did at first

contemplate giving Israel possession of ten peoples, but He gave them only seven, the other three

being, THE KENITE, AND THE KENIZZITE, AND THE KADMONITE. Rabbi said: They are

Arabia, the Shalamite, and the Nabatean. R. Simon b. Yohai said: They are the Damascus region, Asia

Minor, and Apamea. R. Liezer B. Jacob said: Asia Minor, Thrace, and Carthage. The Rabbis said:

Edom, Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon are the three nations that were not given to them

in this world, as it is said, “For I will not give you of their land,” etc. (Deut. 11:5). But in the days of

the Messiah they shall once again belong to Israel, in order to fulfill God‘s promise.

The language is Biblical; v. Dan. XI, 41.

Genesis 19:32.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LI, 8.

… They thought that the whole world was destroyed, as in the generation of the Flood. COME, LET

US MAKE OUR FATHER DRINK WINE … THAT WE MAY PRESERVE SEED OF OUR

FATHER (ib. 32). R. Tanhuma said in Samuel‘s name: It is not written, that we may preserve a child

of our father, but, THAT WE MAY PRESERVE SEED OF OUR FATHER: viz. the seed that comes

from a different source, which is the King Messiah.

i.e. that Messiah would not come from a Jewish stock, Messiah being descended from Ruth the Moabitess.

Genesis 19:32.

Midrash Rabbah, Ruth VII, 15.

AND THE WOMEN SAID UNTO NAOMI: BLESSED BE THE LORD, WHO HATH NOT LEFT

THEE THIS DAY WITHOUT A NEAR KINSMAN (ib. 14). Just as this day holds dominion in the

skies, so shall your seed produce one who shall hold dominion and rule over Israel for ever. R. Hunya

said: It was as a result of the blessings of those women that the line of David was not cut off entirely in

the days of Athaliah (II Ki. XI). R. Tanhuma said in the name of R. Samuel: Elsewhere it is written,

That we may preserve seed of our father (Gen. XIX, 32). It is not written ‗son‘, but „seed‟; that seed

which comes from another place. Who is thus referred to? The Messiah.

The one who shall hold dominion and rule over Israel for ever is indeed the Messiah of the House of David

in the Midrash‘s footnote.

Genesis 22:13.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LVI, 9.

AND ABRAHAM LIFTED UP HIS EYES, AND LOOKED, AND BEHOLD BEHIND HIM (AHAR)

A RAM (XXII, 13). What does A H A R mean? Said R. Judan: After all that happened, Israel still

falls into the clutches of sin and [in consequence] become the victims of persecution; yet they will be

ultimately redeemed by the ram‘s horn, as it says, And the Lord God will blow the horn, etc. (Zech. IX,

14). R. Judah b. R Simon interpreted: At the end of [after] all generations Israel will fall into the

clutches of sin and be the victims of persecution; yet eventually they will be redeemed by the ram‘s

horn, as is says, „And the Lord God will blow the horn,‟ etc.

They understand ahar (lit. ‗after‘) and ‗ram‘ to hint at the Messianic future.

Genesis 22:14.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LVI, 10.

AND ABRAHAM CALLED THE NAME OF THE PLACE ADONAI JIREH—THE LORD SEETH

(XXII, 14) … For it says, AND ABRAHAM CALLED THE NAME OF THE PLACE ADONAI—

JIREH (The Lord Seeth) … AS IT IS SAID TO THIS DAY: IN THE MOUNT …; WHERE THE

LORD IS SEEN refers to it rebuilt and firmly established in the Messianic era as in the verse, When the

Lord hath built up Zion, when He hath been seen in His glory (Psa. CII, 17).

Genesis 24:18.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XIX, 5.

… R. Joshua b. Levi said: It refers to such, for instance, as would force the [coming of the] ‗End‘ too

soon, as it is said, And she hastened (wa-temaher) and let down her pitcher (Genesis XXIV, 18).

i.e. ‗the latter end‘, ‗the latter days‘ are equivalent to the Messianic era.

Genesis 26:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXIV, 3.

… FOR UNTO THEE, AND UNTO ALL THY SEED, I WILL GIVE ALL THESE (HA-EL) LANDS

(XXVI, 3): HA-EL implies even the strong lands. HA-EL also implies, only part of them, and when will

I give you the rest? In the Messianic future.

Genesis 27:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVI, New Version.

… Isaac summoned Esau and wished to reveal the end to him, but the Holy One, blessed be He, hid it

from him, as it says And he [Isaac] called Esau his elder son (Genesis XXVII, 1).

Reveal the end to him is when the Messiah would come.

Genesis 27:27.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXV, 23.

Another interpretation: The verse teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him the Temple

built, destroyed, and rebuilt.… AS THE SMELL OF THE FIELD suggests it when destroyed, as in the

verse, Zion shall be ploughed as a field (Micah III, 12); WHICH THE LORD HATH BLESSED—this

hints at it being rebuilt and perfected in the Messianic future, as it is said, For there the Lord

commanded the blessing, even life for ever (Ps. CXXXIII, 3).

Genesis 29:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXX, 8.

… AND THE STONE UPON THE WELL‘S MOUTH WAS GREAT—this symbolizes the merit of

the Patriarchs. AND THITHER WERE ALL THE FLOCKS GATHERED—this symbolizes the

wicked State [Rome] which levies troops from all the nations of the world. AND THEY ROLLED

THE STONE—they became enriched from the sacred treasures hidden in the [Temple] chambers.

AND PUT THE STONE BACK—in the Messianic era the merit of the Patriarchs will avail.

Genesis 29:27.

Midrash on Psalms, Book Four, Psalm 90, 17.

Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us (Psalm 90:15): According to the

days that Thou didst afflict us in Babylon, in Media, in Greece, in Edom. In a different exposition the

verse is read: “Make us glad according to the days of the Messiah.” And how long is the ―day‖ of the

Messiah? R. Eliezer asserted: A thousand years, as it is said For a thousand years in Thy sight are but

as yesterday when it is past (Ps. 90:4).… R. Joshua said: Two thousand years for the plural days in

According to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us implies two days, one day of the Holy One,

blessed be He, being a thousand years, as is said For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday

when it is past. R. Berechiah and R. Dosa the Elder said: Six hundred years, as is said For the days of

my people shall be as the days of a tree (Isa. 65:22), and the trunk of a sycamore-tree remains standing

in the ground for six hundred years. R. Jose said: Sixty years, as is said They shall fear thee … so long

as the moon, throughout a generation and generations (Ps. 72:5); a generation implies twenty years,

and generations implies forty years, making sixty. R. Akkiba said: Forty years, for According to the

days wherein Thou hast afflicted us refers to the forty years which the people of Israel spent in the

wilderness, years of which is said And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger (Deut. 8:3). The

Rabbis said: Four thousand years, as is said And the time of My acts of redemption is come (Isa. 63:4).

R. Abba said: Seven thousand years, reckoning by the days of a bridegroom in the marriage chamber,

as is said For as a young man espouseth a virgin so shall thy sons espouse thee; and as the bridegroom

rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee (Isaiah 62:5). And how many are the days of

the bridegroom? Seven days, for Laban said to Jacob: Fulfill the week of this one (Genesis 29:27).

Genesis 31:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXIV, I.

AND THE LORD SAID UNTO JACOB: RETURN UNTO THE LAND OF THY FATHERS, AND

TO THY KINDRED; AND I WILL BE WITH THEE (XXXI, 3).… The Holy One, blessed be He, said

to him [Jacob]: ‘Thou hast prayed, [Let] “my portion [be] in the land of the living,” then RETURN

UNTO THE LAND OF THY FATHERS AND TO THY KINDRED, AND I WILL BE WITH THEE:

In a footnote the Midrash adds ‗For that is the land where resurrection will first take place.‘

Genesis 31:41.

Babylonian Talmud, Abodah Zarah 9a-9b.

… As a mnemonic sign take the verse, Thus I have been twenty years in Thy house.… The Tanna debe

Eliyyahu taught: The world is to exist six thousand years: the first two thousand years are to be void;

the next two thousand years are the period of the Torah, and the following two thousand years are the

period of Messiah. Through our many sins a number of these have already passed [and the Messiah is

not yet].… Said R. Papa: If the Tanna does not know the exact number of years [of the period of the

Messiah] that have passed let him ask a notary what year he uses in his writings, and on adding forty-

eight to it he will find his solution.

In a footnote the Talmud also states the advice of R. Hanina that after the 400th year following the

destruction of the Temple if someone tries to sell you a field worth one thousand denarii for only one

denarii - do not buy it. The reason cited to be: ‗As the coming of the Messiah will then be imminent, when

Israel will be rehabilitated in the Holy Land.‘

Genesis 33:14.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXVIII, 14.

… UNTIL I COME UNTO MY LORD UNTO SEIR (XXXIII, 14). R. Abbahu said: We have searched

the whole scriptures and do not find that Jacob ever went to Esau to the mountain of Seir. Is it then

possible that Jacob, the truthful, should deceive him? But when would he come to him? In the

Messianic era: And saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau, etc. (Obad. I,

21).

Genesis 35:21.


And Jacob moved on, and pitched his tent onward to the tower of Eder, the place whence the King

Messiah is destined to reveal himself at the end of days.

The Messianic implication is deduced by the Targumist relating the Hebrew words: גג ד ל־עדדדד where גג ד

―the tower‖ and ־דדדד ―the flock‖, Israel. When compared with Mic. 4:8, where, in a definitely Messianic

context in the Hebrew, the Targum Jonathan to the Prophets renders ―And you, O tower of Eder‖ as ―And

you, O Messiah of Israel.‖ The Hebrew עה גאה ―from there,‖ is taken in the sense of time, rather than of

place. Thus, this Targumist sees in this verse a reflection of the history of the Jew, and from his standpoint

it could be translated: ―And Israel wandered on, pitching his tent, thenceforth until the coming of the

Messiah.‖ The coming of the Messiah will end Israel‘s wandering.

Genesis 36:14.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXXII, 14.

AND TIMNA WAS CONCUBINE TO ELIPHAZ ESAU‘S SON (XXXVI, 14).… Now may we not

here draw a conclusion a fortiori: If kings ran to cleave to the wicked Esau, who had to his credit but

the one pious deed of honoring his father, how much more will they run to cleave to Jacob, who

fulfilled the whole Torah!

In a footnote in the Midrash it states: ‗Probably this is a picture of the Messianic future.‘

Genesis 36:43.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXXIII, 4.

… THE CHIEF OF MAGDIEL, THE CHIEF OF IRAM (XXXVI, 43). On the day that Diocletian

ascended the throne, a vision appeared to R. Ammi in a dream: To-day Magdiel has become king. Said

he: Yet one more king is required for Edom. R. Hanina of Sepphoris said ―Why was he called Iram?

Because he is destined to amass (le-’erom) treasures for the royal Messiah.‖ R. Levi said: It is related

of a certain ruler in Rome who squandered his father‘s treasures, that Elijah of blessed memory

appeared to him in a dream and upraided him: Your fathers amassed and you squander! He did not stir

thence until he had replenished them.

The Talmud also has a footnote here that: The treasures being required for the Messiah.

Genesis 38:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXXV, I.

… And Judah was busy taking a wife, while the Holy One, blessed be He, was creating the light of

Messiah: thus, AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THAT TIME, etc. From the union of Judah and Tamar

of which this chapter treats the Messiah was ultimately to spring. Before the last who shall enslave

(Israel) was born, the first redeemer was born, as it says, AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THAT TIME.

The last redeemer was born (the Messiah, whose advent was already being prepared now).

Genesis 38:18.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXXV, 9.

AND HE SAID: WHAT PLEDGE SHALL I GIVE THEE? AND SHE SAID: THY SIGNET AND

THY CORD, AND THY STAFF THAT IS IN THY HAND (XXXVIII, 18).… THY STAFF alludes to

the royal Messiah, as in the verse, Thy staff of thy strength the Lord will send out of Zion (Ps. CX, 2).

Genesis 38:29.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXXV, 14.

AND IT CAME TO PASS, AS HE DREW BACK HIS HAND … AND SHE SAID: WHEREFORE

HAST THOU MADE A BREACH FOR THYSELF (XXXVIII, 29). She meant: This one is greater

than all who will make breaches, for from thee will arise (he of whom it is written), The breaker is gone

up before them (Micah II, 13).

i.e. The Messiah-this was an unconscious prophecy. Y.T.: the deduction is made from the repetition of the

word „breach‟ in the Heb., pointing to greatness.

Genesis 46:28.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCV, I.

… And the lion shall eat straw like the ox … therefore we read: AND HE SENT JUDAH BEFORE

HIM UNTO JOSEPH.

Judah and Joseph were now at peace. The verse from Isaiah indicates that in the Messianic era there will

be a reunion of all the tribes and they will again live in brotherly love.

Genesis 46:28.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCV, II.

AND HE SENT JUDAH BEFORE HIM UNTO JOSEPH (XLVI, 28) … BEFORE HIM: to him

(Joseph) who will receive the kingdom before him (Judah). Now when an ox attacks, a lion can come

and rescue; but if a lion attacks, an ox cannot come and rescue. Thus of Judah and Joseph, let Joseph

receive (power first), because his is temporary; and then Judah, because his is for ever.

The Midrash footnote adds: Th.: The reference is to the Messiah son of Joseph who will precede the

Messiah son of David, descended from Judah. Possibly too the reference is to Joshua (descended from

Joseph) who wielded authority over Israel before Judah‘s descendant did, viz. David. Judah and Joseph are

likened to a lion and an ox respectively.

Genesis 47:28.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVI, 1.

AND JACOB LIVED IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, etc. (XLVII, 28).… Another reason why it is

closed: Because Jacob wished to reveal the ‗end‘, but it was hidden [‗closed‘] from him.

Once again the term ‗to reveal the end‘ is in a footnote as: ‗The advent of the Messiah, when it would be.‘

(i.e. the Messianic era).

Genesis 47:30.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVI, MSV.

… BUT I WILL LIE WITH MY FATHERS, etc. (XLVII, 30). What does it matter to the body? Why

were the Patriarchs so anxious for burial [in Eretx Israel]? R. Leazar said: There is a reason for it; R.

Hanina said: There is a reason for it; R. Joshua b. Levi said: There is a reason for it; R. Simeon b.

Lakish said; There is a reason for it. What is the reason for it? R. Simeon b. Lakish said: Because the

dead of that land will be the first to be resurrected in the days of the Messiah. R. Simeon b. Lakish

inferred this in Bar Kappara‘s name from the following verse: He giveth a soul unto the people upon it

(Isa. XLII, 5).

Genesis 49:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVI, New Version.

… Isaac summoned Esau and wished to reveal the end to him, but the Holy One, blessed be He, hid it

from him as it says, And he [Isaac] called Esau his elder son (Gen. XXVII, I). Jacob too wished to

reveal the end to his sons, for it says, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall

befall you in the end of days (ib. XLIX, 2).

The Midrash‘s footnotes add here: When messiah would come. Proof by analogy, since ‗called‘ is written

of both Isaac and Jacob, that both had the same purpose.

Genesis 49:1.

Midrash Rabbah Genesis XCIX, Second Version, 5.

AND JACOB CALLED UNTO HIS SONS (XLIX, I). Why did he call them? In order to reveal to

them the end [Messianic redemption].

Genesis 49:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVIII, 2.

… The rabbis said: he was about to reveal the end [the Messianic redemption] to them, but it was

hidden from him. R. Judah said in the name of R. Eleazar b. Abina: To two men was the end revealed,

only to be hidden again from them, and they are these: Jacob and Daniel. Daniel: But thou, O Daniel,

shut up the words, and seal the book (Dan. XII, 4). Jacob: THAT WHICH SHALL BEFALL YOU IN

THE END OF DAYS.…

The Midrash‘s footnote here says: Implying that the book-the secret of Messiah‘s advent-had hitherto been

opened to him.

Genesis 49:1.


Then Jacob called to his sons and said unto them ―Purify yourselves of uncleanness, and I will tell you

the hidden secrets, the concealed date of the End, … as soon as the date of the End when the King

Messiah would arrive was revealed to him, it was immediately concealed from him, and therefore,

instead (of revealing the date) he said: ―Come‖, and I will relate to you what will happen to you at the

end of days.‖

The Targumists see in the Hebrew phrase בגאחרדיח הדי דים, ―at the end of days,‖ a reference to Messiah‘s

arrival. Certainly it is totally nothing more than pure speculation and a classic example of how a verse can

be used to support your own beliefs. In this case the Targumist is using the verse to help the traditional

Jewish viewpoint that no one should try and calculate the time of Messiah‘s advent.

Genesis 49:1.

Fragmentary Targum to the Pentateuch.

… For he was revealing to them all that was going to occur at the very end, the time of the Messiah.

But as soon as it was revealed to him it became concealed from him. So Jacob arose and blessed them,

each according to his deserts.

The attempted revelation of the date of the advent of Messiah by Jacob, and its sudden withdrawal are

discussed in Genesis Rabbah 98:2.

Genesis 49:3.


… The Rabbis said: He was about to reveal the end [the Messianic redemption] to them, but it was

hidden from him. R. Judah said in the name of R Eleazar b. Abina: To two men was the end revealed,

only to be hidden again from them, and they are these: Jacob and Daniel. Daniel: But thou, O Daniel,

shut up the words, and seal the book (Dan. XII, 4). Jacob: THAT WHICH SHALL BEFALL YOU IN

THE END OF DAYS.… Reuben, thou art my firstborn (Gen. XLIX, 3); this teaches that he was about

to reveal the end to them, when it was hidden from him.

Genesis 49:8.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XIII, 14.

Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise … thy father‟s sons shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion‟s

whelp, etc. (Gen. XLIX, 8 f.). The tribe of Judah-the wise and the great among them-possessed a

tradition from our father Jacob as to all that would befall the whole tribe until the days of the Messiah.

Every one of the tribes similarly possessed such traditions from their father Jacob as to what would

happen to them until the days of the Messiah.… How do we know the same of King Messiah? Because

it is written, He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

(Ps. LXXII, 8). How do we know that He will hold sway on land? Because it is written, All kings shall

prostrate themselves before him; all nations shall serve him (Ps. LXXII, 11) and it also says, Behold

there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man … and there was given unto him

dominion … that all the peoples … should serve him, etc. (Dan. VII, 14); And the stone which smote the

image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth (Dan. 2, 35) … since the nations brought

gifts to Solomon and will in time to come to bring similarly to the King Messiah; as you read, the Kings

of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts (Ps. LXXII, 10).

Genesis 49:9a.

Midrash Rabbah, New Version XCVII.

… JUDAH IS A LION‘S WHELP (XLIX, 9). R. Hama b. R Hanina said: This alludes to Messiah the

son of David who was descended from two tribes, his father being from Judah and his mother from

Dan, in connection with both of which ‗lion‘ is written: JUDAH IS A LION‘S WHELP; Dan is a lion‘s

whelp (Deut. XXXIII, 22).

Genesis 49:9b.


… Others explain: From Perez unto Zedekiah, HE STOOPED, HE COUCHED; from Zedekiah until

the Messiah, „He couched, he lay down‟. In this world, „He stooped down, he lay down‟ in the

Messianic era, HE STOOPED DOWN, HE COUCHED; when he had no enemies, HE STOOPED, HE

COUCHED; until all his enemies are no more, „He couched, he lay down‟.

A footnote in the Midrash to the era from Zedekiah to Messiah reads of Judah: ‘In this period he is

powerless, until He will actually be redeemed.

Genesis 49:10.

Targum Onkelos.

The transmission of dominion shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor the scribe from his

children‘s children, forever, until the Messiah comes. to whom the kingdom belongs, and whom nations

shall obey.

Genesis 49:10.


Kings and rulers shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor scribes who teach the Torah from his

seed, until the time when the King Messiah shall come, the youngest of his sons, and because of him

nations shall melt away.

Genesis 49:10.

Fragmentary Targum.

King shall not cease from the house of Judah, nor scribes who teach the Torah from his children‘s

children, until the time of the coming of the King Messiah, to whom belongs the Kingdom, and to

whom all dominions of the earth shall become subservient.

Genesis 49:10a.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVII, New Version.

… Another interpretation: THE SCEPTRE [STAFF] SHALL NOT DEPART FROM JUDAH alludes

to the Messiah, son of David, who will chastise the State with a staff, as it says, Thou shalt break them

with a rod [staff] of iron (Ps. 11, 9).

Genesis 49:10a.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCIX, 8-9.

… THE SCEPTRE SHALL NOT DEPART FORM JUDAH (XLIX, 10): this refers to the throne of

kingship—The throne given of God is for ever and ever; a sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy

kingdom (Ps. XLV, 7). When will that be?—NOR THE RULER‘S STAFF FROM BETWEEN HIS

FEET: when he comes of whom it is written, The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be

trodden under foot (Isa. XXVIII, 3).

The footnote at the end of that quote reads, ‗Which the Midrash refers to the Messianic era. v. supra,

XCVII (NV), p.906‘.

Genesis 49:10a.

Midrash on Proverbs, Chapter 19, 21.

… Just as in the case of a plant from the moment you plant it, its place is recognizable, so too did God

plant kingship in the Tribe of Judah until the Messiah shall sprout forth, as it is said, The scepter shall

not depart from Judah, etc. (Gen. 49:10). R. Huna said: The Messiah has been given seven names, and

these are: Yinnon, Our Righteousness, Shoot, Comforter, David, Shiloh, Elijah. Where [in Scripture] is Yinnon? In the verse, His name was Yinnon before the sun (Ps. 72:17).

Where [in Scripture] is Our Righteousness? In the verse, And this is the name by which he shall be

called: Our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6). Where [in Scripture] is Shoot? In the verse Behold a man called

the Shoot, shall shoot out from the place where he is, and he shall build the Temple of the Lord (Zech.

6:12). Where [in Scripture] is Comforter? In the verse, For the Lord has comforted His people, and

has taken back His afflicted ones (Isa. 49:13). Where [in Scripture] is David? In the verse, He accords

great victories to His king, [keeps faith with his anointed, with David] (Ps. 18:51). Where [in

Scripture] is Elijah? In the verse, Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you (Mal. 3:23).

Genesis 49:10b.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCIX. 8.

… When will that be?—NOR THE RULER‘S STAFF FROM BETWEEN HIS FEET: when he comes

of whom it is written, The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under foot (Isa

XXVIII, 3).

The footnote at the end of that quote reads, ‗Which the Midrash refers to the Messianic era. v. supra,

XCVII (NV), p.906‘.

Genesis 49:10c.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations I, 16, § 51.

… The school of R. Shila said: The Messiah‘s name is ‗Shiloh‘, as it is stated, Until Shiloh come (Gen.

XLIX, 10), where the word is spelt Shlh.

The Midrash‘s footnote here is quite interesting and lengthy: ‗The point is not clear. The received text is

actually שי ה not ש ה as the Midrash states. Following M.K. and ‘E.J. the passage is to be explained thus:

The school of R. Shila said: The Messiah‘s name is ‘Shilah‘ (not ‗Shiloh‘), as it is stated, Until Shiloh

come, where the word is written Shilah (שי ה as emended), i.e. without a waw at the end, and so it may

read, ‗Shilah‘.

Genesis 49:10c.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCIX, 8-9.

… UNTIL SHILOH COMETH: he to whom kingship belongs (shelo).

Rather than transliterating into English “Shilo” as though it were a proper name, the Rabbis translated the

exact meaning of “Shilo” as “to whom it belongs/pertains.”

Genesis 49:10c.


… UNTIL SHILOH COMETH: this alludes to the royal Messiah.

Genesis 49:10c.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis, New Version XCVII.

… UNTIL SHILOH COME. This indicates that all the nations of the world will bring a gift to Messiah

the son of David, as it says, In that time shall a present be brought (yubal shay) unto the Lord of hosts

(Isa XVIII, 7). Transpose „yubal shay‟ and expound it, and you find that it reads Shiloh

The footnote in the Midrash explains: ‗The Hebrew יבא שי ה is similar to יוב שי, if some letters in the

former are transposed. The Midrash renders: Until he cometh to whom the present belongs.‘

Genesis 49:10d.


… AND UNTO HIM SHALL THE OBEDIENCE (YIKHATH) OF THE PEOPLE BE: he [the Messiah]

will come and set on edge (makheh) the teeth of the nations of the world.

The footnote to the Midrash adds: ‗He will upbraid them and show them how wrongly they had acted‘.

Genesis 49:11.


How beautiful is the King Messiah who is destined to arise from the house of Judah! He has girded his

loins and gone down to battle against his enemies, destroying kings and their power, and there is

neither king nor power that can withstand him. He reddens the mountains with the blood of their slain.

His garments are saturated with blood, like those of him who presses the grapes.

Genesis 49:11.

Fragmentary Targum.

How beautiful is he, the King Messiah, who is destined to arise from the house of Judah. He has girded

his loins and gone forth to battle against his enemies, slaying kings and rulers, and making the

mountains red with the blood of their slain and the hills white with the fat of their mighty ones. His

garments are saturated with blood, and he is like the treader of grapes.

Genesis 49:11.


BINDING HIS FOAL (’IRO) UNTO THE VINE (XLIX, 11). R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and the Rabbis

discuss this verse. R. Judah explained it: When a vine has a poor yield, an ass is tied to it, [and this too

is the meaning of] AND HIS ASS‘S COLT (BENI ATHONO) UNTO THE HOICE VINE … AND

BENI ATHONO UNTO THE CHOICE VINE means: [morally] strong sons (banim ethanim) will

spring from him. The Rabbis interpreted: ‗I,‘ [said God], ‗am bound to the vine and the choice vine‘

[Israel]. HIS FOAL AND HIS COLT intimate: when he will come of whom it is written, Lowly, and

riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass (Zech. IX, 9).

Of the Messiah the footnote here reads: ‗It will then be seen how God is knit (‗bound‘) to Israel‘.

Genesis 49:11.


… HE WASHETH HIS GARMENTS IN WINE, intimates that he [the Messiah] will compose for them

words of Torah; AND HIS VESTURE IN THE BLOOD OF GRAPES—that he will restore to them

their errors. R. Hanin said: Israel will not require the teaching of the royal Messiah in the future, for it

says, Unto Him shall the nations seek (Isa. XI, 10), but not Israel. If so, for what purpose will the royal

Messiah come, and what will he do? He will come to assemble the exiles of Israel and to give them [the

Gentiles] thirty precepts, as it says, And I said unto them: If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not,

forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver (Zech. XI, 12).

Genesis 49:12.


How beautiful are the eyes of the King Messiah, as pure wine! He will not see incestuous practice or

the shedding of innocent blood, And his teeth are more pure than milk, for he will not tolerate as food

that which is seized by force or taken by robbery.

Genesis 49:12.

Fragmentary Targum.

How beautiful to behold are they, the eyes of the King Messiah, more so than pure wine, not looking

upon incest and the shedding of innocent blood. His teeth are pure, according to the Halakah,

refraining from partaking of that which is taken by violence or robbery. His mountains shall be red

with vines, his presses with wine. His hills shall be white with abundance of his grain and flocks of his

sheep.

Genesis 49:18.


… This was because our ancestor Jacob prayed in the matter, so THAT HIS RIDER FALLETH

BACKWARD—let all return back to their place. Our ancestor Jacob saw him and thought that he was the Messiah. But when he saw him dead he

exclaimed, ‗He too is dead! Then I wait for Thy salvation, O God‘ (Gen. XLIX, 18).

Exodus

Exodus 4:20.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes I, 9.

… R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Isaac: As the first redeemer was, so shall the latter Redeemer be.

What is stated of the former redeemer? And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass

(Ex. IV, 20). Similarly will it be with the latter Redeemer, as it is stated, Lowly and riding upon an ass

(Zech. IX, 9). As the former redeemer caused manna to descend, as it is stated, Behold, I will cause to

rain bread from heaven for you (Ex. XVI, 4), so will the latter Redeemer cause manna to descend, as it

is stated. May he be as a rich cornfield in the land (Ps. LXXII, 16). As the former redeemer made a

well to rise, so will the latter Redeemer bring up water, as it is stated, And a fountain shall come forth

of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim (Joel IV, 18).

Exodus 5:20.

Midrash Rabbah, Ruth V, 6.

… R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Levi: The future Redeemer will be like the former Redeemer.

Just as the former Redeemer revealed himself and later was hidden from them (and how long was he

hidden? Three months as it is said, And they met Moses and Aaron (Ex. V, 20), so the future Redeemer

will be revealed to them, and then be hidden from them. And how long will he be hidden? R.

Tanhuma, in the name of the Rabbis, said: Forty-five days as it is said, And from the time that the

continual burnt-offering shall be taken away … there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Happy is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days (Dan. XII,

11–12).

The footnote in the Midrash makes a point to remind everyone that the first redeemer is Moses and the

latter redeemer is a reference to the Messiah.

Exodus 12:2.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XV, 1.

… Here is another explanation of THIS MONTH SHALL BE UNTO YOU THE BEGINNING OF

MONTHS … and Messiah is called ‗first‘, for it says: The first [E.V. ‗harbinger‘] unto Zion will I give:

Behold, behold them (Isa. XLI, 27). God who is called ‗the first‘ will come and build the Temple which

is also called ‗first‘, and will exact retribution from Esau, also called ‗first‘. Then will Messiah who is

called ‗first‘ come in the first month, as it is said: THIS MONTH SHALL BE UNTO YOU THE

BEGINNING OF MONTHS.

Exodus 12:2.

Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs II, 8, § 3.

The Rabbis say: HARK MY BELOVED, BEHOLD HE COMES: this refers to Moses. When he came

and said to Israel, ‗In this month ye are to be redeemed,‘ they said to him: ‗Our teacher Moses, how can

we be redeemed seeing that all Egypt is defiled with our idolatrous worship?‘ He replied: ‗Since God

desires to deliver you, He takes no heed of your idolatry, but LEAPS OVER THE MOUNTAINS,

―mountains‖ being only a name for idolatry, as it says, They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains,

and offer upon the hills (Hos. IV, 13). And in this month ye are to be redeemed, as it says, “This month

shall be unto you, etc.”‘ R. Judan and R. Hunia also gave different explanations. R. Judan in the name of R. Eliezer the son

of R. Jose the Galilean, and R. Hunia in the name of R. Eliezer b. Jacob, said: HARK MY BELOVED,

BEHOLD HE COME: this refers to the Messiah. When he will say to Israel, ‗In this month ye are to

be redeemed,‘ they will say to him ‗How can we be delivered, seeing that the Holy one, blessed be He,

has sworn that He will subject us to the seventy nations?‘ He will give them two answers and say: ‗If

one of you is carried away to Barbary and one to Sarmatia, it is as if all of you had been carried off

there. And again, this state levies troops from all the world, from every nation, and so if one Cuthean

or Barbarian comes and rules over you, it is as if all of his nation had ruled over you and as if you had

served the whole seventy nations. Hence in this month you are to be delivered after all, as it says, ―This

month shall be unto you the beginning of months, etc.‖ ‘

Exodus 12:2.

Pəsiqtâ də -Raḇ Kahănâ, Piska 5, 7.

… R. Yudan taught in the name of R. Eliezer ben R. Jose the Galilean, and R. Huna taught in the name

of R. Eliezer ben Jacob: Hark! My beloved! behold, he cometh. That is, the king Messiah cometh.

When he comes and says to Israel, ―In this month you shall be redeemed.‖ they will ask: ―Our master,

O king Messiah, how can we be redeemed? Has not the Holy One said that He will reduce us to

servitude among seventy nations?‖ Then the Messiah will make exactly clear by two illustrations what

God meant by His statement: if only one of you is banished to Barbaria and only another one of you is

banished to Sarmatia, He will consider it as though all of you had been banished. Moreover, since this

wicked kingdom—[Rome]—levies troops from each and every nation, if a Cuthean comes and forces

even only one of you into military service, He will consider it as though the entire people of Israel were

conscripted. If an Ethiopian comes and forces even only one of you into military service, He will

consider it as though the entire people of Israel were conscripted. Hence, in whatever month

circumstances such as these occur, you shall be redeemed. This month shall be unto you the beginning

of months (Exod. 12:2)—[the beginning of your redemption].

Exodus 12:42.

Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 11b.

… ‗In Nisan they were delivered‘, as Scripture recounts. ‗In Tishri they will be delivered in time to

come‘. This is learnt from the two occurrences of the word ‗horn‘. It is written in one place, Blow the

horn on the new moon, and it is written in another place, In that day a great horn shall be blown. R.

Joshua says, ‗In Nisan they were delivered, in Nisan they will be delivered in the time to come‘.

Whence do we know this?—Scripture calls [the Passover] „a night of watchings‟, [which means], a

night which has been continuously watched for from the six days of the creation. What says the other

to this?—[He says it means], a night which is under constant protection against evil spirits.

Exodus 17:16.


And he said: The Memra of the Lord has sworn by His throne of glory that He would wage war against

Amalek‘s house through the instrumentality of His Memra, and would destroy them from three

generations—from the generation of this world, and from the generation of the Messiah, and from the

generation of the World-to-come.

Exodus 32:16.


… The Holy One, blessed be He, said: In the time-to-come, I shall give glory and majesty to the king

Messiah, as is said For Thou meetest him with choicest blessings.… Glory and majesty dost Thou lay

upon him (Ps. 21:4, 6). And God gives glory and majesty not only to the king Messiah, but also to

every man who labors diligently in the Torah. For in the verse The works of the Lord are great, sought

out of all them that have pleasure therein (Ps. 111:2), the works of the Lord means the Torah, as it is

said ―And the tables were the work of God‖ (Ex. 32:16).

Exodus 40:9.


Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it for

the crown of the kingdom of the house of Judah and the King Messiah, who is destined to redeem Israel

at the end of days.

Exodus 40:11.


And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it for Joshua your servant, chief of the

Sanhedrin of his people, by whose hand the land of Israel is to be divided, and from whom is to

descend the Messiah son of Ephraim, by whose hand the house of Israel is to vanquish Gog and his

confederates at the end of days.

The reference to ‗Messiah son of Ephraim‘ is actually a reference to one of the two Messiahs in the two

Messiah theory held by many of the ancient sages. The reason for the belief that there would be two

Messiahs one the son of David the other the son of Joseph or Ephraim was the attempt to harmonize the

two roles: one the suffering servant—the other as a reigning king.

Leviticus

Leviticus 1:4. Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah 16a-16b

MISHNAH. JOSE B. JO‘EZER SAYS THAT [ON A FESTIVAL-DAY] THE LAYING ON OF

HANDS [ON THE HEAD OF A SACRIFICE] MAY NOT BE PERFORMED; JOSEPH B.

JOHANAN SAYS THAT IT MAY BE PERFORMED.…

The footnote here to the Soncino edition reads: And (the Torah) will not again return to its (incontroversial)

place until the son of David (i.e., the Messiah) will come.

Leviticus 11:7.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XIII, 5.

… THE SWINE is an allusions to Edom [Rome]; WHICH DOES NOT DO GERAH, I.E. which will

not bring in its train (garar) another empire to follow it.

The footnote in the Midrash reads: It was evidently believed that the eclipse of Rome would be followed by

the Messianic era.

Leviticus 13:13.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a

… It has been taught, R. Nehemiah said: In the generation of Messiah‘s coming impudence will

increase, esteem be perverted, the vine yield its fruit, yet shall wine be dear, and the Kingdom will be

converted to heresy with none to rebuke them. This supports R. Isaac, who said: The son of David will

not come until the whole world is converted to the belief of the heretics. Raba said: What verse [proves

this]? It is all turned white: he is clean.…

The footnote in the Talmud reads: Lev. XIII, 13. This refers to leprosy: a white swelling is a symptom of

uncleanness; nevertheless, if the whole skin is so affected, is it declared clean. So here too; when all are

heretics, it is a sign that the world is about to be purified by the advent of Messiah.

Leviticus 13:46.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations, XXI.

… i.e. as against what you have done, strangers devour it. R. Alexandri derived it from this verse, All

the days wherein the plague is in him he shall be unclean (Lev. XIII, 46). Ekah!

Leviticus 19:32.

Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 17b.

… And ‗proselytes of righteousness‘ are included with the righteous, as it says, thou shalt rise up

before the hoary head and honour the face of the old man.…

The footnote in the Talmud notes the verse at Lev XIX, 32

Leviticus 21:9.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 51b.

… R. Nahman said in the name of Rabbah b. Abbuha in the name of Rab: The halachah is in

accordance with the message sent by Rabin in the name of R. Jose b. Hanina. R. Joseph queried: [Do

we need] to fix a halachah for [the days of] the Messiah?—Abaye answered: If so, we should not study

the laws of sacrifices, as they are also only for the Messianic era. But we say: Study and receive

reward; so in this case too, study and receive reward: [He replied:] This is what I mean: Why state a

halachah? In the course of the discussion, was there given a ruling at all?

The footnote in the Talmud reads: Since the Sanhedrin no longer had jurisdiction in capital offenses, there

is no practical utility in this ruling, which can become effective only in the days of the Messiah.

Leviticus 23:40.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XXX, 16.

R. Berekiah in the name of R. Levi said: For the merit of the performance of the commandment, YE

SHALL TAKE YOU ON THE FIRST DAY, [says God], I shall reveal Myself first to you, … and shall

bring to you the „first‟, namely the King Messiah, of whom it is written, The First unto Zion will I give:

Behold, behold them, and to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings (Isa. XLI, 27).

Leviticus 24:2-3.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus, XXXI, 11.

WITHOUT THE VEIL OF TESTIMONY … SHALL AARON ORDER IT—YA‘AROK (XXIV, 3) …

R. Hanin said: By reason of the merit of causing a LAMP TO BURN CONTINUALLY (XXIV, 2) you

will be worthy to welcome the lamp of the King Messiah. What is his reason? Because it says, There

will I make a horn to shoot up unto David, there have I ordered a lamp for Mine anointed (Ps.

CXXXII, 17), and it says, I rejoiced when they said unto me: Let us go unto the house of the Lord (Ps.

CXXII, 1).

The footnote in the Midrash indicates that ‗the horn‘ is a Metaphor for the Messiah. The rejoicing aspect is

looking to the Messianic era.

Leviticus 26:13.


Another exposition of the text AND HIS OFFERING (VII, 13). Why is there a superfluous waw? R.

Bibi in the name of R. Reuben said: The numerical value of waw is six, corresponding to the six things

which were taken from Adam and which are to be restored through the son of Nahshon, that is, the

Messiah. The following are the things that were taken from Adam: His lustre, his life [immortality], his

stature, the fruit of the earth, the fruit of the tree, and the lights … Now how can we infer that the above

things are to be restored in the days of the Messiah? ‗His lustre‘ we can infer from the text, But they

that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might (Judg. V, 31). ‗His life‘ [immortality]?

From the text, For as the days of a tree shall be the days of My people (Isa. LXV, 22). R. Simeon b.

Yohai learned: ‗Tree‟ signifies nought but Torah; for it is written, She is a tree of life to them that lay

hold upon her (Prov. III, 18). ‗His stature‘ (komatho)? From, And made you go upright—

komemiyuth (Lev. XXVI, 13).…

Leviticus 26:43.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus, XXI.

… R. Johanan and R. Simeon b. Lakish both made a statement on this point. R. Johanan said: [This

lesson may be derived from] Because, even because (Lev. XXVI, 43), indicating measure for measure.

Leviticus 26:44.

Midrash Rabbah, Esther I, 4.

Samuel opened with the text: And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I did [E.V.

‗will‘] not reject them, neither did I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, to break My covenant with

them; for I am the Lord their God (Lev. XXVI, 44) … „For I am the Lord their God‟ —in the

Messianic era … „For I am the Lord their God‟—in the days of Gog and Magog.

Numbers

Numbers 2:3. Midrash Rabbah, Numbers II, 10.

… You will find that on all occasions Judah was first. While camping. the standard of Judah was first,

as it is said, NOW THOSE THAT PITCH ON THE EAST, etc … When the Herald appears Judah will

be the first to receive the tidings, as it is said, Upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good

tidings, that announceth peace! Keep thy feasts, O Judah (Nahum II, I). Thus we see the reason for the

standard on the East.

The footnote in the Midrash qualifies the herald as the one who is to announce the advent of the Messianic

era.

Numbers 6:24.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XI, 5.

… Another interpretation of AND KEEP THEE is that He will keep with you the covenant made with

your forefathers; and so it says, The Lord thy God shall keep with thee the covenant, etc. (Deut. VII,

12). Another exposition: AND KEEP THEE means, He will watch the end for you. In the same strain

it says, The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir: Watch-man, what at night?… The

watchman said: The morning commeth, etc. (Isa. XXI, II f).

A footnote in the Midrash after ‗watch the end‘ states that the end is ‗the end of Israel‘s sufferings; the

arrival of the Messianic era‘.

Numbers 6:24.

Midrash Sifre on Numbers, § 40.

The Lord bless thee … And keep thee. Keep thee from troubles which are to precede the Messianic

times. Cf. (Isa. XXI. 12)

a footnote in the Sifre on Numbers states: ‗The time immediately preceding the coming of the Messiah is

often described as a period of general tribulation, which period is called heble hamashiah—the birth pangs

of the Messiah. Cf. also Mat. XXIV, 6; Mark XIII, 2.‘

Numbers 6:24.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers VIII, 9.

… is an assurance that they will be privileged to see the good of Jerusalem in the Messianic era. And

see the good of Jerusalem in the Messianic era. And see thy children‟s children. Peace be upon Israel

(ib.): is it because the proselyte will see grandchildren that peace will come upon Israel? No; but the

text speaks of a sincere proselyte and indicates that he will be privileged to give his daughter in

marriage to a priest and will have the further privilege that children will rise up from her, being his

grandchildren, who will be priests and will bless Israel, saying, The Lord bless thee … the Lord make

His face to shine upon thee; … the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace (Num.

VI, 24 ff.).

Numbers 6:25.


… The Lord make his face to shine upon thee. May He give thee ―the light of countenance‖ (i.e. may

thy face shine through being in the presence of God). R. Nathan said ―[It means] ‗the light of the

shekina‘ (which will come in the Messianic age), as it says (Isa. lx. I): ‗Arise, shine, for thy light has

come, etc. For behold, darkness covereth the earth, etc.‘ Cf. Ps. LXVII. 2; CXVIII. 27.‖

Numbers 6:26.


… And give thee peace. Peace at thy coming in and peace at thy going out. Peace with all men. R.

Hananya, the segan of the priests, says: ―„And give thee peace‟; i.e. in thine own house.‖ R. Nathan

says: ―This refers to the peace of the kingdom of the house of David (the Messianic kingdom), as it is

said (Isa. IX. 6): ‗Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.‘ ‖

Numbers 7:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XII, 15.

… AND HAD ANOINTED THEM AND SANCITIFIED THEM (VII, I), which teaches that he did not

sanctify any of them until they had all been anointed. R. Aibu asked: seeing that it is written, AND

HAD ANOINTED IT AND SANCTIFIED IT, for what reason need it say AND HAD ANOINTED

THEM AND SANCTIFIED THEM (ib.)? R. Aibu in the name of R. Tahlifa of Caesarea and R.

Simeon b. Lakish offer different explanations. One of them holds that after he had anointed each object

he anointed them all together, while the other holds that the expression AND HAD ANOINTED

THEM signifies anointing in this world and anointing for the World to Come, and it teaches that by the

anointing of these all the vessels to be used in the Messianic era were sanctified.

Numbers 7:3.

Midrash on Psalms, Book Three, Psalm 87, 6.

… R. Judah said—some maintain that it was said by R. Berechiah in the name of R. Judah: At that time

a present (sy) shall be brought unto the Lord of hosts, a people scattered (Isa. 18:7). By Atbash, sy

equals bm, meaning ―in their persons.‖ Thus all nations shall bring in the persons of the children of

Israel a gift to the King Messiah—that is, ―they will bring Israel,‖ for it is said And they shall bring all

your brethren as a gift unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in covered

litters (sabbim), and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain (Isa. 66:20). R.

Berechiah took this verse to mean that the nations will have young men ride upon horses, that will have

disciples who will have disciples who lack strength ride in chariots, and they will have women and

children ride in covered litters. (The word sabbim means ―covered litters,‖ as in the verse ―And they

brought their offering before the Lord six covered wagons [sab]‖ [Num. 7:3].) They will have old men

ride upon mules, which walk gently; and as for the oldest among the old men, for those who cannot be

carried upon mules, a kind of easy chair will be made for them, in which pillows of fine wool will be

laid out, and they will be carried on the shoulders of men of all the nations and will be held up by their

hands.

Numbers 7:13.


Another reason why “attudim” is written in full and the other word with a superfluous waw. It

alludes to the six sons descended from Nahshon who were possessed of six blessings. They are the

following: David, the Messiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. How do we know it of … ‗The

Messiah‘? Because it is written, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; the spirit of wisdom and

understanding (Isa. XI, 2), this makes two; the spirit of counsel and might (ib.) makes four; The spirit

of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (ib.) makes six.

Numbers 7:13.






stature, the fruit of the earth, the fruit of the tree, and the lights.… Now how can we infer that the above


that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might (Judg. v, 31). ‗His life‘ [immortality]?

From the text, For as the days of a tree shall be the days of My people (Isa. LXV, 22) … ‗His stature‘

(komatho)? From, And made you go upright—komemiyuth (Lev. XXVI, 13) … How do we know it

of the fruit of the earth and the fruit of the tree? Because it is written, For as the seed of peace, the vine

shall give her fruit and the ground shall give her increase, etc. (Zech. VIII, 12). Whence of the lights?

From, The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun (Isa. xxx, 26).

Numbers 7:63.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XIV, 8.

… This explains the phrase, FULL OF INCENSE. ONE YOUNG BULLOCK, ONE RAM, ONE HE -

LAMB, etc. (VII, 63). Here you have three kinds of burnt-offerings. They allude to the three times

that the Temple was to be built in his territory; once in the days of Solomon, once in the days of the

returned exiles, and the third in the days of the Messiah.

Numbers 7:84.


THIS WAS THE DEDICATION-OFFERING OF THE ALTAR. Lest one should infer that the altar

would be anointed again at some future time, Scripture says THIS, implying that it will not be anointed

any more. In view of this I may conclude that it will not be anointed in the days of the Messiah, but

that it will be in time to come … Still I may assume that they will not be anointed again in the days of

the Messiah, but that they will be anointed in time to come. Scripture therefore states ‗this‘, implying

that they will not again be anointed in the time to come. How then do I reconcile with this the text,

These are the two anointed ones (Zech. IV, 14)?

Numbers 8:2.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XV, 2.

… This is the reason why it says, WHEN THOU LIGHTEST THE LAMPS. Thus we have explained

the text, ‘The Lord was pleased for His righteousness sake‟. Moreover, if you will be careful to light

the lamps before Me I shall cause a great light to shine upon you in the Messianic era. Accordingly it

says, Arise, shine, for thy light is come … And nations shall walk at thy light, and kings at the

brightness of thy rising (Isa. LX, I ff.).

Numbers 10:9a.


AND WHEN YE GO TO WAR IN YOUR LAND AGAINST THE ADVERSARY THAT

OPPRESSES YOU (Num. x. 9). Both offensive and defensive warfare are meant (lit. ―whether they

come against you or ye come against them‖). AGAINST THE ADVERSARY THAT OPPRESSES YOU. This refers to war of Gog and Magog

(i.e. the future Messianic war, Ezek. xxxviii).

Numbers 10:9b.


… AGAINST THE ADVERSARY THAT OPPRESSES YOU. This refers to the war of Gog and

Magog (i.e. the future Messianic war, Ezek. xxxviii). Thou sayest, it refers to the war of Gog and

Magog, but perhaps it refers to all other wars mentioned in the torah? It goes on to say here: ―And ye

shall be saved from your enemies.”

Numbers 11:26.

Fragmentary Targum.

Two men remained in the camp, the name of the one Eldad and the name of the other Medad, and the

holy Spirit rested upon them … and the two of them prophesied together, saying: ―At the end, the very

end of days Gog and Magog and their armies shall go up against Jerusalem, but they shall fall by the

hand of the King Messiah. For seven full years the children of Israel shall use their (Gog‘s, etc.)

weapons of war kindling, without having to go into the forest to cut down the trees.‖

Numbers 21:7.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XLVIII, 9-10.

… I swear that I will repay thy children (in the wilderness, in inhabited country [the Land—Eretz

Israel], and in the Messianic future). Thus it is written, Then sang Israel this song! Spring up, O well—

sing ye unto it (Num. xxi, 7) that was in the wilderness.

Numbers 23:21 .


Balaam the wicked said: ―I do not observe any idol-worshippers among the house of Jacob, and those

who serve false gods are not established in the house of Israel. The Memra of the Lord their God is

their help, and the trumpet call of the King Messiah echoes in their midst.‖

Numbers 23:23.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XXVIII, 2.

… hence it is written, Now it is said of Jacob and of Israel; What hath God wrought (Num. xxxiii, 23)!

a footnote in the Midrash further qualifies the ‗Now‘ to be: ‗when the Messianic era arrives.‘

Numbers 24:7.

Fragmentary Targum.

Their king shall arise from among them, and their deliverer shall be of them and with them, He shall

gather in their exiles from the provinces of their enemies, and their sons shall have dominion over the

nations. He shall be mightier than Saul, who spared Agag, king of the Amalekites. Exalted shall be the

kingdom of the King Messiah.

Numbers 24:17.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations II, 4.

… R. Johanan said: Rabbi used to expound There shall step forth a star (kokab) out of Jacob (Num.

xxiv, 17) thus: read not „kokab‟ but kozab (lie). When R. Akiba beheld Bar Koziba he exclaimed,

‗This is the king Messiah!‘

Numbers 24:17.

Targum Onkelos.

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but he is not near; when a king shall arise out of Jacob and be

anointed the Messiah out of Israel. He shall slay the princes of Moab and reign over all mankind.

Numbers 24:17.


I see him, but he is not at the present time, I behold him but he is not near: but when a mighty king of

the house of Jacob shall reign, and shall be anointed Messiah, wielding the mighty scepter of Israel. He

shall slay the Moabite princes and shall bring to naught all the sons of Seth, the armies of Gog, destined

to wage war against Israel, and their dead bodies shall fall before him.

Numbers 24:20.


He saw the house of Amalek, and he took up the parable of his prophecy and said: ―The house of

Amalek was the first nation to wage war against Israel, and they shall be the last ones, together with all

the sons of the East, to wage war against Israel, in the days of the King Messiah. But ultimately all of

them shall suffer eternal destruction.‖

Numbers 24:24.


Troops ready for battle, with great armed might, shall go forth from Italy in Liburnian ships, joining the

legions which shall go forth from Rome and Constantinople. They shall afflict the Assyrians and

subjugate all the sons of Eber. However, the end of both these and those shall be to fall by the hand of

the King Messiah and be destroyed forever.

Numbers 30:3.


… They went to Edom; and the Shekina went with them, as it is said (Isa. lxiii. I): “Who is he that

cometh from Edom?” And when they return (in the Messianic Age), the Shekina will return with them;

as it is said (Num. xxx. 3): “And the Lord thy God will bring back thy captivity.‖ It does not say “we-heshib,” but “we-shab,” that is He Himself will return. Again it says (Song iv, 8): “Come with me

from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon.”

a footnote in the Midrash Sifre on Numbers mentions that ‗my spouse‘ in Song of Songs 4:8 is allegorically

viewed with God as the Bridegroom saying this to Israel the bride.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 1:8.

Sifre on Deuteronomy, Piska 8.

… To give unto them—to those who have entered the land—and to their seed—to their children—after

them (1:8)—referring to those areas which were conquered by David and Jeroboam, as it is said, He

restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath, etc. (2 Kings 14:25). Rabbi (Judah the Prince) said: To give unto them—to those who returned from Babylon—and to their

seed—to their children—after them—referring to the time of the Messiah.

Deuteronomy 2:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Deuteronomy I, 19.

… What is the meaning of, TURN YOU NORTHWARD—ZAFONAH (II, 3)?… Another explanation

of ZAFONAH: R. Isaac said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said [to Israel]: ‗Wait, the King Messiah

has yet to come to fulfill the words of the Scripture,‘ Oh, how abundant is Thy goodness which Thou

hast laid up (zafan-ta) for them that fear Thee‟‘(Ps. XXXI, 20).

Deuteronomy 2:4.


AND COMMAND THOU THE PEOPLE, SAYING (II, 4) … Another explanation: He said to him: ‗I

have yet to raise up the Messiah,‘ of whom it is written, For a child is born unto us (Isa. IX, 5).

This Midrash gives the evidence that Jewish thought agrees with Christianity‘s belief that Isaiah 9:6 is a

Messianic passage.

Deuteronomy 2:26.

Pəsiqtâ də -Raḇ Kahănâ, SUPPLEMENT 5, 4.

… Also ―beautiful upon the mountains‖ is he that announceth redemption (Isa. 52:7), namely, the

redeemer of whom it is said ―The redeemer shall come unto Zion‖ (Isa. 59:20).

Deuteronomy 8:3.


Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us (Ps 90:15): According to the days

that Thou didst afflict us in Babylon, in Media, in Greece, in Edom. In a different exposition the verse is read: ―Make us glad according to the days of the Messiah.‖

And how long is the ―day‖ of the Messiah?… R. Akiba said: Forty years, for According to the days

wherein Thou hast afflicted us refers to the forty years which the people of Israel spent in the

wilderness, years of which it is said And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger (Deut. 8:3).

Deuteronomy 11:21.


That your days may be multiplied—in this world—and the days of our children … —in the days of the

Messiah—as the days of the heavens above the earth—in the world to come—(upon the land) which

the Lord swore unto your fathers to give them (11:21)—Scripture does not say here ―to give you‖ but

rather to give them; hence we find that we can deduce (the doctrine of) the resurrection of the dead

from the Torah.

Deuteronomy 13:7.


… Another comment: My Beloved spoke (’anah) and said unto me (Song 2:10). R. Azariah asked: But

do not the words spoke and said mean the same thing? No, here the word ’anah means not ―spoke‖ but

―answered,‖ that is, [on Mount Carmel], He answered me at Elijah‘s bidding, and then through the

Messiah He will say [encouraging things] to me. What will He say to me? Rise up, My love, My fair

one, and come away (ibid.). For lo, the winter is past (ibid.)—that is, R. Azariah, the wicked kingdom

which enticed mortals into a wintry way has passed on, the wicked kingdom alluded to the verse ―If thy

brother [Esau, from whom came Edom and Rome]. the son of thy mother [Rebekah] … entice thee …

saying: ‗Let us go and serve other gods‘ ‖ (Deut. 13:7).

Deuteronomy 15:11.

Babylonian Talmud, Berakoth 34b.

… R. Hiyya b. Abba also said in the name of R. Johanan: All the prophets prophesied only for the days

of the Messiah, but as for the world to come, ‗Eye hath not seen, oh God, beside thee‘. These Rabbis

differ from Samuel; for Samuel said: There is no difference between this world and the days of the

Messiah except [that in the latter there will be no] bondage of foreign Powers, as it says: For the poor

shall never cease out of the land.

a footnote states that ‗never‘ implies ‘not even in the Messianic era.

Deuteronomy 15:11.

Babylonian Talmud, Shabbath 151b.

… Now he disagrees with Samuel who said, The only difference between this world and the Messianic

era is in respect to servitude to [foreign] powers, for it is said, For the poor shall never cease out of the

land.

Deuteronomy 16:3.


… SAID R. ELEAZAR B. AZARAIH; BEHOLD I AM ABOUT SEVENTY YEARS OLD, AND I

HAVE NEVER BEEN WORTHY TO [FIND A REASON] WHY THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT

SHOULD BE MENTIONED AT NIGHT-TIME UNTIL BEN ZOMA EXPOUNDED IT; FOR IT

SAYS; THAT THOU MAYEST REMEMBER THE DAY WHEN THOU CAMEST FORTH OUT OF

THE LAND OF EGYPT ALL THE DAYS OF THY LIFE.[HAD THE TEXT SAID,] ‗THE DAYS OF

THY LIFE‘ IT WOULD HAVE MEANT [ONLY] THE DAYS; BUT ‗ALL THE DAYS OF THY

LIFE‘ INCLUDES THE NIGHTS AS WELL. THE SAGES, HOWEVER, SAY ‗THE DAYS OF THY

LIFE‘ REFERS TO THIS WORLD; ‗ALL THE DAYS OF THY LIFE‘ IS TO ADD THE DAYS OF

THE MESSIAH.

Deuteronomy 16:3.

Mishnah, Berakoth, I. 1, 5.

The going forth from Eqypt is rehearsed [also] at night. R. Eleazar b. Azariah said: Lo, I am like to one

that is seventy years old yet failed to prove why the going forth from Eqypt should be rehearsed at

night until Ben Zoma thus expounded it: It is written, That thou mayest remember the day when thou

camest forth out of the land of Eqypt all the days of thy life. ‗The days of thy life‘ [would mean] the

days only; but all the days of thy life [means] the nights also. The Sages say: ‗The days of thy life‘

[means] this world only, but all the days of thy life is to include the Days of the Messiah.

Deuteronomy 16:3.


… That thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Eqypt (all the days of

thy life) (16:3): It was in reference to this that R. Eleazar ben Azariah said: I am now about seventy

years old, but I was never privileged to (learn) that the exodus from Eqypt should be recited at night,

until Ben Zoma interpreted the verse. That thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out

of the land of Eqypt all the days of thy life, in this way: the days of thy life means the days; all the days

of thy life means including the nights. And the Sages say: the days of thy life means in this world; all

the days of thy life includes the time of the Messiah.

Deuteronomy 25:19 .


And it shall come to pass, when the Lord your God shall have given you rest from all the enemies

which surround you, in the land which the Lord your God gives you as possession to inherit, you shall

blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Even unto the days of the King Messiah, you shall

not forget.

Deuteronomy 29:28 .

Midrash on Psalms, Book Three, Psalm 87.

…Accordingly, R. Eleazar interpreted And of them also will I take for priests and for Levites, saith the

Lord (Isa. 66:21), as meaning that out of the heathen who will bring Israel to the King Messiah, God

will single out any one of priestly, or Levitical, or Israelitish origin, for of them also will I take means

that God will take priests and Levites not only out of the children of Israel that are brought, but also out

of the nations that bring the children of Israel. Hence it is said Of them also will I take for priests and

for Levites, saith the Lord. And where [in the books of Moses] did God say this? R. Phinehas the

Priest bar Hama replied: In the verse The secret things belong unto the Lord our God (Deut. 29:28).

Deuteronomy 30:4.


If your dispersed ones will be unto the end of heaven, from there the Memra of the Lord your God shall

gather you by the hand of Elijah, the High Priest, and from there He shall bring you near by the hand of

the King Messiah.

Deuteronomy 32:7.


… Consider the years of each generation. This refers to the generation of the Messiah, which will

endure for three generations, as it is said, They shall fear Thee while the sun endureth, and so long as

the moon, throughout all generations (Ps. 72:5).

Deuteronomy 32:14.

Babylonian Talmud, Kethuboth 11b.

… And of the blood of the grape thou drankest foaming wine. It was inferred: The world to come is not

like this world. In this world there is the trouble of harvesting and treading [of the grapes], but in the

world to come a man will bring one grape on a wagon.

Deuteronomy 32:15.


… Similarly you find that in the days of the Messiah Israel will rebel only because of (abundance of)

food and drink, as it is said, But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked … and he forsook God who made

him.(32:15) … Another interpretation: Thou didst wax fat, thou didst grow thick, thou didst become

gross: This refers to the three generations preceding the days of the Messiah, as it is said, Their land

also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures … Their land also is full of

idols; every one worshipeth the work of his own hands, that which his own fingers have made (Isa. 2:7–

8).

Deuteronomy 32:30.


… Except their Rock had given them over (32:30). R. Nehemiah applied it to the nations thus: The nations voided the seven (Noachian)

commandments that I had given them. And there is no understanding in them: There is not one among

them who would upon reflection say, ―Now one of us pursues a thousand Israelites, and two of us make

ten thousand flee. In the days of the Messiah one Israelite will pursue a thousand of us, and two will

make ten thousand flee. (This could not have happened), Except their Rock had given them over.” It

once happened during the revolt in Judea that a mounted decurion pursued an Israelite in order to kill

him. For a while he could not overtake him, but just as he was about to reach to him, a serpent

emerged and stung the Israelite on his heel. Said the Israelite to he decurion, ―Do not think that

because you are mighty we have been delivered into the hands, Except their Rock had given them

over.‖

Deuteronomy 32:36.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a.

… Our Rabbis taught: For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself of his servants, when he

seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left: the son of David will not come until

denunciators are in abundance.

A footnote in the Talmud to: ‘When he seeth that their power is gone‟ is interpreted as meaning that they

will be at the mercy of informers; then God will judge his people—redeem them through the Messiah.

Deuteronomy 33:2.


… He shined forth from Mount Paran: There are four occasions when God shines forth … The fourth

will occur in the days of the Messiah, as it is said, Out of Zion the perfection of beauty, God hath shined

forth (Ps. 50:2).

Deuteronomy 33:12.


… He covereth him all the day—this refers to the First Temple—all the day—this refers to the Second

Temple—and He dwelleth between his shoulders (33:12)—built and beautified in the future. Another

interpretation: He covereth him—in this world—all the day—in the days of the Messiah—and He

dwelleth between his shoulders—built and beautified in the future.

Deuteronomy 33:17.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXV, 6.

… The Rabbis maintained: Ox is an allusion to the one anointed for battle, as it says, His firstling

bullock, majesty is his (Deut. xxxiii, 17); Ass refers to the royal Messiah, for it says of him, Lowly, and

riding upon an ass (Zech. IX, 9).

The footnote in the Midrash explains the one anointed for battle as the first of two Messiahs, who would be

a descendant from Joseph according to the ancient Jewish tradition of two Messiahs. Known as Messiah

ben Joseph, he who would conduct the final war and would be the forerunner of the real Messiah, Messiah

ben David, also known as the royal Messiah.

Deuteronomy 33:17.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XIV, I.

… „Ephraim also is the defense of my head‟ alludes to the Messiah anointed for war who will be

descended from Ephraim, as may be inferred from the text, His firstling bullock, majesty is his (Deut.

XXXIII, 17).

The footnote in the Midrash to the Messiah anointed for war says: ‗The son of Joseph who is to precede the

son of David and lead a war against Israel‘s enemies of whom Gog and Magog are the symbols.‘

Deuteronomy 33:17.

Midrash on Psalms, Book Four, Psalm 92.

… But my horn shalt Thou exalt like the horn of the reem (Ps 92:11). Like the reem whose horns are so

high that it can thrust them to the four ends of the earth, the son of David will thrust to the four ends of

the earth. Of him Moses said: His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the

horns of the reem: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth (Deut. 33:17).

And kings will stand up against the son of David to slay him, as it is said The kings of the earth stand

up … against the Lord, and against His anointed (Ps. 2:2);.…

Deuteronomy 33:21.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XIX, 13.

… For there the portion of the law-giver is hidden, that he might come at the head of the people. He

executed the righteousness of the Lord (Deut. XXXIII, 21).

The footnote in the Midrash indicates that the period that he might come at the head of the people is in the

Messianic era.

Deuteronomy 33:22.


… JUDAH IS A LION‘S WHELP (XLIX, 9). R Hama b. R. Hanina said: This alludes to Messiah the

son of David who was descended from two tribes, his father being from Judah and his mother from

Dan, in connection with both of which ‗lion‘ is written: JUDAH IS A LION‘S WHELP; Dan is a lion‟s

whelp (Deut. XXXIII, 22).

Judges

Judges 5:31. Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XIII, 12.







that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might (Judg. v, 31).…

Ruth

Ruth 1:1.

Targum to the Hagiographa.

And it came to pass in the days of the leaders of leaders that there was a great famine in the land of

Israel. Ten severe famines were decreed by God to be upon the world, from the day on which the

world was created until the coming of the King Messiah, by which to chastise those who dwell on

earth.

The Targumist uses the introductory note of the book for a Midrashic exposition on the great famines,

which, of course, culminates with the great famine that will precede the Messianic advent, a hunger for

religion. To describe this famine, Amos 8:11 is presented in virtually a literal Aramaic translation.

Ruth 1:20-21.

Midrash Rabbah, Ruth III, 6-7.

… So said Naomi, WHY CALL YE ME NAOMI (PLEASANT), SEEING THE LORD HATH

TESTIFIED AGAINST ME, AND THE ALMIGHTY HATH AFFLICTED ME (I, 21). I WENT

OUT FULL AND THE LORD HATH BROUGHT ME BACK EMPTY (ib.). I went out full with sons

and daughters. Another interpretation of I WENT OUT FULL, is I was pregnant. WHY CALL YE

ME NAOMI, SEEING THE LORD HATH AFFLICTED (’anah) ME, AND THE ALMIGHTY HATH

DONE EVIL TO ME. God has afflicted me with His Attribute of Justice, as in the verse, If thou afflict

(’aneh) him in any wise (Ex. XXII, 22). Another interpretation of ’anah is ‗testified‘ against me, as in

the verse, He hath testified (’anah) falsely against his brother (Deut. xix, 18). Another interpretation:

All His concern was with me for in this world THE LORD HATH AFFLICTED ME, but of the

Messianic future it is written, Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good (Jer. XXXII, 41).

Ruth 2:14.


… R. Jonathan interpreted this verse in six ways. The first refers it to David, COME HITHER means,

approach to royal estate … AND SHE DID EAT, AND WAS SATISFIED, AND LEFT THEREOF;

this indicates that he would eat in this world, and in the Messianic age, and in the World to come …

The second interpretation of COME HITHER, etc. refers to Solomon … AND THEY REACHED HER

PARCHED CORN; this indicates that he was restored to the throne. AND SHE DID EAT AND WAS

SATISFIED AND LEFT THEREOF; he would eat in this world, and in the Messianic age, and in the

World to Come. The third interpretation of COME HITHER refers it to Hezekiah … AND SHE DID

EAT AND WAS SATISFIED AND LEFT THEREOF; he would eat in this world, and in the Messianic

age, and in the World to Come. AND SHE DID EAT AND WAS SATISFIED AND LEFT

THEREOF: he would eat in this world, and in the Messianic age, and in the World to Come … The

fourth interpretation of COME HITHER, etc., makes it refer to Manasseh … AND SHE DID EAT

AND WAS SATISFIED AND LEFT THEREOF; he would eat in this world, and in the Messianic age,

and in the World to Come.

Ruth 2:14.


… The fifth interpretation makes it refer to the Messiah. COME HITHER; approach to royal state …

AND EAT OF THY BREAD refers to the bread of royalty; AND DIP THY MORSEL IN THE

VINEGAR refers to his sufferings, as it is said But he was wounded because of our transgressions (Isa.

LIII, 5). AND SHE SAT BESIDE THE REAPERS, for he will be deprived of his sovereignty for a

time, as it is said, For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken

(Zech. XIV, 2). AND THEY REACHED HER PARCHED CORN, means that he will be restored to

his throne, as it is said, And he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth (Isa. XI, 4). R. Berekiah

said in the name of R. Levi: The future Redeemer will be like the former Redeemer. Just as the former

Redeemer revealed himself and later was hidden from them … , so the future Redeemer will be

revealed to them, and then hidden from them.

Unlike the common Jewish belief made popular by Raashi in the 9th century that Isaiah 53 is referring to

the nation Israel, this ancient writing shows that Isaiah 53 was earlier believed to be a Messianic text. The

former Redeemer in this Midrash is Moses and the future Redeemer is Messiah of course. One can‘t help

but notice the striking parallel to the Christian belief in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. According to

Christian belief he like Moses came and was rejected by Israel as their Redeemer at his first appearance

and like Moses is hidden from them now.

Ruth 2:14.


… The fifth interpretation makes it refer to the Messiah. COME HITHER; approach to royal state.…

AND EAT OF THE BREAD refers to the bread of royalty; … AND DIP THY MORSEL IN THE

VINEGAR refers to his sufferings, as it is said, But he was wounded because of our transgressions

(Isa. LIII, 5) … AND SHE SAT BESIDE THE REAPERS, for he will be deprived of his sovereignty

for a time, as it is said, For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be

taken (Zech. xiv, 2) … AND THEY REACHED HER PARCHED CORN, means that he will be

restored to his throne, as it is said, And he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth (Isa. XI, 4).

Ruth 2:14b.


… Said R. Eleazar: „She ate‟ in the days of David, ‘she was sufficed‟ in the days of Solomon, ‘and she

left over‟ in the days of Hezekiah. Some there are who interpret, ‘She ate‘ in the days of David and left

over‘ in the days of Rabbi. For a Master said, Rabbi‘s house steward was wealthier than King Shapur.

In a Baraitha it was taught: „And she ate‟, in this world: „and she was sufficed‟, in the days of the

Messiah: „and she left over‟, in the future that is to come.

Ruth 3:15.

Midrash Rabbah, Ruth, VII, 2.

… R. Judah b. Simon said: The meaning is that as a reward for, AND HE MEASURED SIX

BARLEYS AND LAID [THEM] ON HER, he was vouchsafed that there should arise from her six

righteous men, each one of them possessing six outstanding virtues, viz. David, Hezekiah, Josiah,

Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, Daniel, and the Messiah … The Messiah, as it is said, And the spirit of

the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, etc. (Isa. XI, 2).

Ruth 3:15.


And he said: ―Take the scarf which is upon you and lay hold of it.‖ So she took hold of it. Then he

measured out six seah of barley and placed them upon her, and the Lord gave her strength to carry

them. Immediately, it was announced through prophecy that the six most righteous men of the world

were destined to descend from her, each of whom would be blessed with six blessings: David, Daniel

and his companions, and the King Messiah. And Boaz went into the city.

The Messianic interpretation is suggested by the six measures of barley, which was understood thus in

rabbinic thinking. This passage reflects the homily of Bar Kappara in Sanhedrin 93a-b. ―What of the

Scripture, ‗He gave me these six barley‘ (Ruth 3:17)? What is meant by ‗six barley‘? If we assume that it

actually means six barley, would it be customary for Boaz to give six barley as a gift? Rather, it must

mean six seah barley. But then, would it be customary for a woman to carry six seah? But, he hinted to

her that six sons were destined to descend from her, each of whom would be blessed with six blessings; and

these are David, the Messiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.‖ The Talmud then proceeds to

enumerate the six blessings of each, based on a Scriptural verse pertaining to each. The six blessings of the

Messiah are enumerated in Isa. 11:2. The other versions render this passage literally.

Ruth 3:17.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 93a-b.

… R. Tanhum said: Bar Kappara expounded in Sepphoris; What is meant by, These six of barley gave

he to me? What are six of barley? Shall we say it is meant literally? But was it Boaz‘s practice to give

[only] six barley grains? [93b] But [if it means] six se’ahs, can a woman take six se’ahs?—But he

symbolically intimated to her [by giving her six barley grains] that six sons were destined to come forth

from her, who should each be blessed with six blessings. Viz, David, Messiah, Daniel, Hananiah,

Mishael, and Azariah … The Messiah—as it is written, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge of the

fear of the Lord. And shall make him of quick understanding [wa-hariho] in the fear of the Lord. This

teaches that he loaded him with good deeds and suffering as a mill [is laden]. Raba said: He smells [a

man] and judges, as it is written, and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after

the hearing of his ears, yet with righteousness shall he judge the poor.

Ruth 4:14.

Midrash Rabbah, Ruth, VII, 15.





the days of Athaliah. R. Tanhuma said in the name of R. Samuel: Elsewhere it is written, That we may

preserve seed of our father (Gen. XIX, 32). It is not written ‗son‘, but ‗seed‘; that seed which comes

from another place. Who is thus referred to? The Messiah.

The Talmudic footnote to the ‗one who shall hold dominion and rule over Israel for ever‘ is: The Messiah

of the House of David‘. The footnote to ‗The Messiah‘ reads: ‘Descendant through Ruth of Moab, of

whose incestuous birth the verse speaks.

Ruth 4:18.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XII, 6.

… R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Samuel b. Nahman: Thought these things were created in their

fullness, yet when Adam sinned they were spoiled, and they will not again return to their perfection

until the son of Perez [viz. Messiah] comes; [for in the verse] „These are the toledoth (generations) of

Perez‟, toledoth is spelled fully, with a waw.

The footnote in the Midrash states: ‘The fact the Toledoth is spelled here fully, with a waw, intimates that

they were created with their full power.

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 2:6.

Midrash on Psalms, Book One, Psalm 21.

… R. Berechiah said: The verse means that the king Messiah asked that even Korah and his

companions, men who went alive down into their graves, be raised up again, for it is said The Lord …

bringeth down to the grave, and raiseth up (I Sam 2:6).

1 Samuel 2:10.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations II, 6.

… There are some who add: the horn of the Messiah. ‗The horn of Abraham‘ as it is said My well-

beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill ( Isa. V, I) … ‗There are some who add the horn of the

Messiah,‘ as it is written, And He will give strength unto His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed (1

Sam. II, 10) … When will He restore them to their place? When the Holy One, blessed be He, raises

aloft the horn of His Messiah, as it is written ‟And He will give strength unto His king, and exalt the

horn of His anointed.‘

1 Samuel 2:10.

Targum Jonathan to the Prophets.

The Lord shall shatter the adversaries who arise to do evil to His people; He shall blast them with a

loud noise issuing from Heaven. The Lord shall exact punishment from Gog and from the marauding

armies of the nations who come with him from the ends of the earth. He shall give strength to His king,

and shall make great the Kingdom of His Messiah.

In this passage the Messiah is a king, but mostly a symbol. The Messianic is interwoven with the battle of

Gog, which God will wage, and with the idea of retribution. LXX and Syriac translate literally in v. 10 v: ―

… and shall exalt the horn of his Christ.‖

1 Samuel 2:35.


I will raise up before Me a trustworthy priest, who shall minister according to My word and My will,

and I will establish for him an enduring reign and he shall serve My Messiah all the days.

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 22:28.


… R. Johanan said: When you see a generation ever dwindling, hope for him [the Messiah], as it is

written, And the afflicted people thou wilt save.

2 Samuel 22:32.


Then, in consequence of the miracle and the deliverance which Thou shalt perform for Thy Messiah

and for the remnant of Thy people who remain, all peoples, nations, and tongues shall confess, and say,

―There is no God but the Lord;‖ verily, there is none besides Thee. And Thy people shall say, ―There

is none mighty, save our God.‖

2 Samuel 23:1 .


These are the pronouncements of prophecy of David, which he prophesied concerning the end of the

world, concerning the days of consolation which are destined to come. Said David, the son of Jesse,

said the man who was anointed to the Messianic kingship by the Memra of the God of Jacob, who was

fit to be appointed because of the sweetness of his Psalms of Israel.

2 Samuel 23:3.


Said David: ―The God of Israel spoke to me, the Mighty One of Israel, who has dominion over the sons

of men, the One who judges in truth, and He decided to appoint for me a king, he is the Messiah, who is

destined to arise and rule in the fear of the Lord.‖

2 Samuel 23:5.


Said David, moreover: ―My house is in the presence of God, for He has made an eternal covenant with

me that my kingdom shall be a firmly established as the immutable laws of nature, vouchsafed even

unto the World-to-come; and since all my desires and wishes are fulfilled by Him, no other kingdom

shall endure in His presence.‖

The Targumist understands רני האחדדד as ―the latter things,‖ in v. 1, and the second, וש , ―ruler,‖ v. 3, he

takes as referring to the Messiah.

1 Kings

1 Kings 5:13. Targum Jonathan to the Prophets.

And he prophesied concerning the kings of the house of David who were destined to rule in this world

and in the world of the Messiah.

The Messianic inference here comes from the Hebrew האדרדז, ―the cedar,‖ from Eze 17:22 use of ―the

hyssop‖ as used for purification in preparation for holiness.

2 Kings

2 Kings 6:17.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes III, 15, § I.

… I am He who will make the blind to see in the Messianic era as I have already done through Elisha,

as it is said, And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man (II Kings VI, 17).

2 Kings 8:9.

Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs IV, 8, § 2.

LOOK FROM THE TOP OF AMANA. R. Hunia said in the name of R. Justa: The exiles are destined

to break out into song when they reach the Taurus Munus, and the nations of the world are destined to

bring them like princes to the Messiah. How do we know? Because it says, LOOK (TASHURI) FROM

THE TOP OF AMANA; the word TASHURI indicates an offering, as it says, There is not a present

(teshurah) to bring to the man of God (I Sam. IX, 7). (It is fitting, but I am not fitting.) Have I not

already done as much for you in the days of Hazael, as we read, So Hazael went to meet him and took a

present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels‟ burden (II Kings VIII, 9)? (R.

Judah said: Are all the good things of Damascus only forty camels‘ burden? This expression, however,

is used to inform us that he had with him jewels and pearls which were worth all the good things of

Damascus; and so is says, He took a present with him, and all the good things of Damascus.).

Moreover, the nations will bring the Israelites themselves as a gift to the Messiah. How do we know?

Because it says, And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an offering unto the

Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts kirkaroth

(Isa. LXVI, 20).

This returns to the text. God supports the promise that the nations will bring Israel back as princes (or will

bring a gift to the Messiah, according to another reading) by pointing out that He has already caused

Hazael, a prince of Damascus, to bring gifts to Elisha, and he was the precursor of the nations bringing

gifts to the Messiah. AMANA is thus allusion to Damascus; cf. II Kings V, 12.

2 Kings 11:1.






the days of Athaliah. R. Tanhuma said in the name of R. Samuel: Elsewhere it is written, That we may

preserve seed of our father (Gen. XIX, 32). It is not written ‗son‘, but ‗seed‘; that seed which comes

from another place. Who is thus referred to? The Messiah.

The Messiah of the House of David is a descendant through Ruth of Moab, of whose incestuous birth the

verse speaks.

1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 3:24.


And the sons of Elioenai: Hodaviahu, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, who is

the King Messiah who is destined to be revealed. Seven in all.

―And Anani,‖ which is based on Dan. 7:13, and which here becomes a proper noun, the name of the

Messiah. The reference in Daniel reads: ודארו ־ד ל־ננעי שג דיא ―And behold, with the clouds of heaven,‖ ־נדנעי

There is plural in construct with ש דיא and vocalized anane. Here it becomes Anani. ―If Israel is worthy, ־ננעי (the Messiah will come) with the clouds of heaven‖ Sanhedrin 98a. But

even here it is not a proper noun, but an unusual play on the sound of words, for it continues: ―If they

are not worthy, ־ניע ‗humble,‘ and riding on an ass (Zech. 9:9).‖

1 Chronicles 4:22.

Babylonian Talmud, Baba Bathra, 91b.

… [Why] has it been written, Mahlon and Chilion [in one place], and Joash and Saraph in another?—

Rab and Samuel [explained], One said: Their names were Mahlon and Chilion, but they were called

Joash and Saraph [for this reason]: Joash because they lost hope in the [messianic] redemption [of

Israel] [and] Saraph, because they were condemned by the Omnipresent to be burned. And the other

says: Their names were Joash and Saraph, but they were called Mahlon and Chilion [for this reason]:

Mahlon, because they profaned their bodies; and Chilion, because they were condemned by the

Omnipresent to destruction … And why were they called Joash and Saraph?—Joash, because they lost

hope in the [Messianic] redemption [or Israel]; Saraph, because they were condemned by the

Omnipresent to be burned. Who had dominion in Moab, [means], they who married wives of the

women of Moab. And Jashubilehem, refers to Ruth the Moabitess who returned and kept fast by

Bethlehem of Judah. And the things are ancient, [means] these things were said by the Ancient of

days.

1 Chronicles 5:2.


… and as it says, in alike strain, For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came he that is the

prince, etc. (I Chr. v, 2). The tribe of Judah the wise and the great among them possessed a tradition

from our father Jacob as to all that would befall the whole tribe until the days of the Messiah. Every

one of the tribes similarly possessed such traditions from their father Jacob as to what would happen to

them until the days of Messiah..

2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 33:11-13.


… And he prayed unto Him; and He was entreated (wayye‘ather) of him, and heard his supplication (II

Chron. XXXIII, 13). R. Levi commented: In Arabia for ‟athira they say hathira. AND THEY

REACHED HER PARCHED CORN, i.e. he was restored to the throne, as it is said, And brought him

back to Jerusalem to his kingdom (ib). How did He bring him back? R. Samuel said in the name of R.

Aba: He brought him back with a wind, as we say ‗who causeth the wind to blow‘. AND SHE DID

EAT AND WAS SATISFIED AND LEFT THEREOF: he would eat in this world, and in the Messianic

age, and in the World to Come.

Ezra

Ezra 2:63.

Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 48b.

… And the governor said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a

priest with Urim and Thummim, reply to him: [It is only a phrase for the very remote future] as when

one man says to another, ‘Until the dead revive and the Messiah, son of David ,comes‘!

Esther

Esther 1:1. Targum to the Hagiographa, Esther II.

And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, he is Ahasuerus, one of the ten kings who ruled or are

destined to rule in the world. These are they: The first kingdom is that of the King of Kings, the Lord

of hosts, may His kingdom soon be revealed. The second is that of Nimrod. The third is that of

Pharaoh. The fourth is that of Israel. The fifth is that of Nebuchadnezzar. The sixth is that of

Ahasuerus. The seventh is that of Cyrus. The eighth is that of Rome. The ninth is that of the Messiah

son of David. The tenth is that of the King of Kings, the Lord of hosts, extolled and exalted be He;

whose kingdom will soon be revealed over the inhabitants of the earth.

The Targumist expounds his idea of the cycle of history, beginning with God‘s kingdom and culminating

with the final revelation of it. The Messiah is depicted here as the forerunner of the Kingdom of God on

earth.

Esther 3:13.

Pəsiqtâ də -Raḇ Kahănâ, Piska 9, II.

… Haman said: Pharaoh was a fool when he charged his people: Every son that is born ye shall cast

into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive (Exo. 1:16, 22). Did he not know that the

daughters would marry, would be fruitful, and would multiply? I shall not act as unknowingly as

Pharaoh. I shall destroy, slay, and cause to perish all Jews, both young and old, little children and

women (Esther 3:13). R. Levi went on: At the time of the Messiah‘s coming Gog and Magog will

likewise say: Fools were all the former who busied themselves with evil counsel against Israel. Did

they not know that Israel have their Partisan in heaven? We shall not act as unknowingly as all the

other enemies of Israel—first, we will make war against their Partisan, and then we shall turn upon

Israel.

Job

Job 1:14.

Midrash Rabbah, Ruth II, 10.

… The Merciful One never exacts retribution of man‘s life to begin with. Whence is this taught? From

Job, as it is said, There came a messenger unto Job, and said: The oxen were plowing, etc. (Job I, 14).

R. Hama b. R. Hanina said: The Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a foretaste of the World to come,

[as it is said], The plowman shall overtake the reaper (Amos IX, 13).

The Midrash‘s footnote after ‗man‘s life to begin with‘ reads: ―Emended text as in Lev. R. XVII, 4 (E.J.).

God had given Job a foretaste of the Messianic era (with which ‗the world to come‘ must here be

identified) in that ‟the oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding immediately after them‘—immediately

they were finished ploughing the grass was already fit for grazing. (Presumably the Midrashic translation

of the verse, and it then accords with the verse from Amos that follows.)‖ A footnote after the quote of

Amos IX, 13 reads: ―Referring to the Messianic time.‖

Job 7:8.


I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them that acknowledge Me (Ps. 87:4). R. Judah

bar Simon taught: The nations of the earth will bring gifts to the King Messiah. In the next verse, But

of Zion it shall be said: “This man and that man was brought forth in her” (Ps. 87:5), this man and

that man refers to the Messiahs of the Lord, to Messiah the son of David, and to Messiah the son of

Ephraim. By brought forth it is meant that the Messiahs will be lifted up above the nations, as in the

verse Before the mountains were lifted up (Ps. 90:2). And the nations will bring gifts to the King

Messiah, as it is said Gifts (tasuri) from the head of Amana (Song 4:8). (Why is a gift called a tesurah?

Because when men look at a gift, they sing, as is said Shall not the eye that seeth me sing of me

[tesureni]? [Job 7:8].)

Job 12:20.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCIX, 5. Second Version.

AND JACOB CALLED UNTO HIS SONS (XLIX, 1). Why did he call them? In order to reveal to

them the end [Messianic redemption]. It is written, He removeth speech of men of trust, and taketh

away the sense of the elders (Job XII, 20).

Job 28:3 .

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVII, 13. New Version.

… R. Johanan said: … Tiberias will confer [greatness] upon the Messiah … And why will all this

happen? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, has set a limit to the sufferings of the righteous in the

world. Then will the time have arrived for the endless retribution of the wicked and the end of the

sufferings of the righteous, which sufferings He will remove from the world, as it says, He setteth an

end to darkness (Job XXIII, 3).

Job 30:4.


… The fifth interpretation makes it refer to the Messiah … The future Redeemer will be like the former

Redeemer. Just as the former Redeemer revealed himself and later was hidden from them (and how

long was he hidden? Three months, as it is said, And they met Moses and Aaron (Ex V, 20)), so the

future Redeemer will be revealed to them, and then be hidden from them. And how long will he be

hidden? R. Tanhuma, in the name of the Rabbis, said: Forty-five days, as it is said, And from the time

that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away … there shall be a thousand two hundred and

ninety days. Happy is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty

days (Dan. XII, 11–12). What are these extra days? R. Isaac b. Kazarta said on behalf of R. Jonah:

These are the forty five days during which Israel shall pluck salt-wort and eat it, as it is said, They pluck

salt-wort with wormwood (Job XXX, 4).

Job 30:4.


… R. Berechiah said in the name of R. Levi: Like the first redeemer, so the last redeemer; as the first

one appeared among Israel and then disappeared from among them, so the last redeemer will appear

among Israel and then disappear form among them. And for how long will he disappear form among

them? R. Tanhuma said in the name of R. Hama who said it in the name of R. Hoshaia, [and] R.

Menahema said it in the name of R. Hama bar R. Hanina: For forty-five days. With reference to this

period scripture says, From the time that the continual burnt offering shall be taken away, and the

detestable thing that causeth appalment set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days

(Dan 12:11), and then goes onto say, Happy is he that waiteth, an cometh to the thousand three

hundred and five and thirty days (Dan 12:12). These days, forty-five above the number given in the

previous verse, to what do they refer? They refer to the period of forty five days during which the

Messiah, who will have appeared among the children of Israel will disappear form among them again.

[By way of testing their faith], where will he have them go? To the wilderness of Judah, some say; and

some say, to the wilderness of Sihon and Og. Concerning the place he will have them go to, it is

written Therefore, behold, I will allure [Israel], and bring her into the wilderness, etc. (Hos. 2:16).

There he who believes in the Messiah will be content to eat saltwort and the roots of the broom and will

remain alive, for in the wilderness They pluck saltwort with wormwood; and the roots of the broom are

their food (Job 30:4). But he who does not believe in him, will forsake Israel and attach himself to the

heathen nations who will eventually slay him.

Job 38:15.


… He arose and hid it from them, for it is said: But from the wicked their light is withholden. And for

whom did he reserve it? For the righteous in the time to come, for it is said: And God saw the light,

that it was good, (Gen. 1:4) and ‟good‘‘ means only the righteous, for it is said: Say ye of the righteous

that he is good (Isa. 3:10).

The Talmudic footnote after ―time to come‖ says: ‗i.e. the Messianic era cf. Aboth II, 16.‘

Psalms

Psalm 2:1. Babylonian Talmud, Berakoth 10a.

… A certain Min said to R. Abbabu: It is written: A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son

… Why is the chapter of Absalom juxtaposed to the chapter of Gog and Magog?

The Talmudic footnote after ‗Gog and Magog‘ reads: ‘Psalm II, which is supposed by the Rabbis to refer to

the rebellion of Gog and Magog against God and the Messiah.

Psalm 2:1.

Babylonian Talmud, ’Abodah Zarah 3b.

… R. Jose says, In time to come idol-worshippers will come and offer themselves as proselytes. But

will such be accepted? Has it not been taught that in the days of the Messiah proselytes will not be

received; likewise were none received in the days of David or of Solomon?—Well, they will be self-

made proselytes, and will place phylacteries on their foreheads and on their arms, fringes in their

garments, and a Mezuzah on their doorposts, but when the battle of Gog-Magog will come about they

will be asked, ‗For what purpose have you come?‘ and they will reply: ‟Against God and His Messiah ‘

as it is said, Why are the nations in an uproar, and why do the peoples mutter in vain , etc.

The Talmudic footnote after ‗about‘ reads: ‗In the great drama of the Messianic age there will be a combat

with the heathen powers under the leadership of Gog and Magog (Ezek. XXXIX).‘

Psalm 2:2.



into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive (ibid.). Did he not know that the daughters would

marry, would be fruitful, and would multiply? I shall not act as unknowingly as Pharaoh. I shall

destroy, slay, and cause to perish all Jews, both young and old, little children and women (Esther 3:13).

R. Levi went on: At the time of the Messiah‘s coming Gog and Magog will likewise say: Fools were all

the former who busied themselves with evil counsel against Israel. Did they not know that Israel have

their Partisan in heaven? We shall not act as unknowingly as all the other enemies of Israel—first, we

will make war against their Partisan, and then we shall turn upon Israel. Hence it is said The kings of

the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His

anointed (Ps. 2:2). But the Holy One will say to Gog and Magog; Oh ye wicked, do you set yourselves

to make war against Me? As ye live, I myself will wage war against you. Accordingly, Scripture: [At

first, ] the Lord will go forth merely as a mighty man, a man of war, even as He stirs up envy [of Israel

in Gog and Magog], whilst, [like a mortal], He cries and shouts aloud (Isa. 42:13). But then As the

Lord, He will go forth and fight against the nations, even as He fought in the day of battle [at the Red

Sea] (Zech. 14:3).

Psalm 2:2.


… R. Judah bar Nahmani commented: After the generation of the flood, the next generation said,

“Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven” (Gen. 11:4). Ought not

the next generation have profited from the experience of the preceding one? Yet, even in the time-to-

come, Gog and Magog will set themselves against the Lord and His anointed, only to fall down. David,

foreseeing this, said: Why do the heathen rage? … The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers

take counsel together against the Lord, and His anointed.…

Psalm 2:2.


… But my horn shalt Thou exalt like the horn of the reem (Ps. 92:11). Like the reem whose horns are

so high that it can thrust them to the four ends of the earth, the son of David will thrust to the four ends

of the earth. Of him Moses said: His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the

horns of the reem: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth (Deut. 33:17).

And kings will stand up against the son of David to slay him, as it said The kings of the earth stand up

… against the Lord, and against His anointed (Ps. 2:2).

Psalm 2:2b.


… but when the battle of Gog-Magog will come about they will be asked, ‗For what purpose have you

come?‘ and they will reply: ‗Against God and His Messiah‘ as it is said, Why are the nations in an

uproar, and why do the peoples mutter in vain, etc.

Psalm 2:3.

Babylonian Talmud, ’Abodah Zarah 3a.

… [Why then should they be offered this observance in the Messianic time?]—Because the Holy One,

blessed be He, does not deal imperiously with His creatures. And why does He term it an easy

command?—Because it does not affect one‘s purse.] Straightway will every one of them betake

himself and go and make a booth on the top of his roof; but the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause the

sun to blaze forth over them as at the Summer Solstice, and every one of them will trample down his

booth and go away, as it is said, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

Then each of the proselytes will throw aside his religious token and get away, as it is said, Let us break

their bands asunder.

Psalm 2:3.


The Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and

against His anointed. When the children of Israel will come to the Holy One, blessed be He, [with

complaints against their enemies], He will answer, I shall deliver them into your hands (Lam. 3:63): ―I

shall break their power,‖ as it is said God the Most High … hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand

(Gen. 14:20). Should it be reported to the lord Messiah in the time-to-come, ―A certain land is in rebellion against

thee,‖ He will say, ―Let locusts come and smite it,‖ as is said He shall smite the land with the rod of his

mouth (Isa. 11:4). Or should it be reported to him, ―A certain province is in rebellion against thee,‖ he

will say, ―Let the angel of death come and slay, and so destroy it,‖ as is said And with the breath of his

lips shall he slay the wicked (ibid.). And when the kings of the heathen see how great is their affliction,

they will come and bow down to the lord Messiah, as is said They shall bow down to thee with their

face to the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet (Isa. 49:23).

Psalm 2:4.


… But does not Raba say: He who is vexed thereby is freed from dwelling in the Sukkah?—Granted,

they would [in such circumstances] be freed, but would Israelites contemptuously trample it down?).

Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, will laugh at them, as it is said, He that sitteth in heaven

laugheth.

Psalm 2:8.

Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a.

… Our Rabbis taught, The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to the Messiah, the son of David (May he

reveal himself speedily in our days!), ‗Ask of me anything, and I will give it to thee‘, as it is said, I will

tell of the decree etc. this day have I begotten thee, ask of me and I will give the nations for thy

inheritance. But when he will see that the Messiah the son of Joseph is slain, he will say to Him, ‗Lord

of the Universe, I ask of Thee only the gift of life‘. ‗As to life‘, He would answer him, "Your father

David has already prophesied this concerning you‘, as it is said, He asked life of thee, thou gavest it him

[even length of days for ever and ever].

Psalm 2:8.


… In another comment, the verse is read I will tell of the decree: The Lord said unto me: Thou art My

son … Ask of Me, and I will give the nations for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy

possession (Ps. 2:7, 8). R. Yudan said: All these goodly promises are in the decree of the King, the

King of kings, who will fulfill them for the lord Messiah, And why all this? Because the Messiah

occupies himself with Torah … This day have I begotten thee (ibid.). R. Huna said: Suffering is

divided into three portions: one, the Patriarchs and all the generations of men took; one, the generation

that lived in the time of [Hadrian‘s] persecution took; and one, the generation of the lord Messiah will

take. When the time comes, the Holy One, blessed be He, will say: ―I must create the Messiah—a new

creation.‖ As Scripture says, This day have I begotten thee—that is, on the very day of redemption,

God will create the Messiah.

Psalm 2:8.


AND ABRAM SAID: O LORD GOD, WHAT WILT THOU GIVE ME (XV, 2)? R. Jonathan said:

Three persons were bidden ‗ask‘, viz.: Solomon, Ahaz, and the King Messiah … The King Messiah:

Ask of Me, etc. (Ps. II, 8).

Psalm 2:8.


Ask of Me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy

possession (Ps. 2:8). God, speaking to the Messiah, says: If thou dost ask for dominion over the

nations, already they are thine inheritance; if for the ends of the earth, already they are thy possession. R. Johanan taught: To three men—Solomon, Ahaz, and the lord Messiah—the Holy One, blessed

be He, said, “Ask of Me,” To Solomon, as is written In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a

dream by night; and God said: “Ask what I shall give thee” (I Kings 3:5). To Ahaz, as is written “Ask

thee a sign of the Lord thy God: ask it either in the depth, or in the height above” (Isa. 7:11). (Why

was he called Ahaz, ―one who has shut up?‖ Because he shut up and, by not asking, did not let

goodness come to the world. According to another explanation, he was called Ahaz because he shut up

the doors of synagogues and of schools to prevent the study of Torah). To the lord Messiah, as is

written Ask of Me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for

thy possession.

Psalm 2:9.


… Another interpretation: THE SCEPTRE [STAFF] SHALL NOT DEPART FROM JUDAH alludes

to the Messiah, son of David, who will chastise the State with a staff, as it says, Thou shalt break them

with a rod [staff] of iron (Ps. II, 9).

Psalm 6:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XV, 11.

… In the days of the Messiah it will be made of eight cords; for so in fact says David in the melody,

For the leader; with string-music; on the Sheminith—eight-stringed (Ps. VI, I).

Psalm 12:1.

Babylonian Talmud, ’Arakin 13b.

… R. Judah said, … The harp of the messianic days has eight cords, as it is said: For the leader on the

Sheminith [i.e., the eighth string].

Psalm 12:6.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XVII, 4.

… Those who come into the world will say: ‗If God judged the generation of the flood sitting and yet

blotted them out, and the Egyptians while passing and slew their firstborn, then who will be able to

stand in the Time to Come when He will judge His world standing?‘ Hence does it say: What then

shall I do when God riseth up? Why will He rise up then? Because of the cry of the poor; for it says:

For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, will I arise, saith the Lord (Ps. XII, 6).

Psalm 12:6.

Pəsiqtâ də -Raḇ Kahănâ, Supplement 5, 3.

… R. Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of R. Johanan: It is written Hope deferred maketh the heart

sick; but desire fulfilled is a tree of life (Prov. 13:12). When a man waits for a particular thing to

happen, and what he awaits is not brought about for him, his heart is sick. But when what he awaits is

brought about for him, it seems to him as though new life had been given him. And so the

congregation of Israel says: Master of universes, every hope in the world has a set time for its

fulfillment, but the hope for the Messiah has no such set time. The Holy One answers: Come, and I

will reassure thee, as is said The Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places (Isa.

51:3). And what will He say to her? Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is

risen upon thee (Isa. 60:1). The congregation of Israel replies: Rise Thou up at the head of us, and we

shall follow Thee. Thereupon the Holy One will rise, as is said Now will I arise, saith the Lord; now

will I be exalted; now will I lift Myself up (Isa. 30:10). And again Now will I arise, saith the Lord; I

will set him in safety at whom they puff (Ps. 12:6).

Psalm 16:4.


Another comment on Their sorrows shall be multiplied … R. Levi taught in the name of R. Idi:

Suffering is divided into three portions: One, the Patriarchs and all the generations of men took; one,

the generations that lived in time of [Hadrian‘s] persecution took; and one, the lord Messiah will take.

Psalm 16:5.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXXVIII, 5.

… Corresponding to these the Holy One, blessed be He, will give Israel to drink four cups of salvation

in the Messianic future, as it says, O Lord, the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup, Thou

maintainest my lot (Ps. XVI, 5);.…

Psalm 18:5.


A Psalm of David … who spoke unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered

him from all his enemies … Likewise, when the Messiah comes—may it be soon and in our own

days—the children of Israel will not sing this song until the Messiah will have been reviled, of whom it

is said Thine enemies … O Lord … have reviled the footsteps of Thine anointed (Ps. 89:52).

Psalm 18:32.


For, in consequence of the miracle and the deliverance which Thou shalt perform for Thy Messiah and

for the remnant of Thy people who remain, all peoples, nations, and tongues shall confess, and say:

―There is no God but the Lord,‖ verily there is none besides Thee. And Thy people shall say, ―There is

none mighty, save our God.‖

Psalm 18:35.

Midrash on Psalms, Book One, Psalm 18, 28+29.

Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation (Ps. 18:36): by shield of Thy salvation David means

―strength‖. And Thy right hand hath holden me up (ibid.): by Thy right hand David means Torah,

which was given by Gods‘ right hand. And Thy gentleness hath made me great (ibid.) … R. Yudan said in the name of R. Hama: In the time-to-come, when the Holy One, blessed be He,

seats the lord Messiah at His right hand, as is said The Lord saith unto my lord: “Sit thou at My right

hand” (Ps. 110:1), and seats Abraham at His left, Abraham‘s face will pale, and he will say to the Lord:

―My son‘s son sits at the right, and I at the left!‖ Thereupon the Holy One, blessed by He, will comfort

Abraham, saying: ―Thy son‘s son is at My right, but I, in a manner of speaking, am at thy right‖: The

Lord [is] at thy right hand (Ps. 110:5). Hence Thy gentleness hath made me great.

Psalm 18:50.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations I, 16-17.

… R. Judah b. R. Simon said in the name of R. Samuel b. R. Isaac: King Messiah, whether he be of

those still living or of those who are dead, bears the name of David. R. Tanhuma said: I will give his

reason, viz, Great salvation giveth He to His king; and showeth mercy to His Messiah (Ps. XVIII, 51),

and the text continues, not ‗and to David‘ but to David and to his seed, for evermore.

Psalm 18:51.


… R. Huna said: The Messiah has been given seven names, and these are: Yinnon, Our Righteousness,

Shoot, Comforter, David, Shiloh, Elijah … Where [in Scripture] is David? In the verse, He accords

great victories to His king, [keeps faith with his annointed, with David.] (Ps. 18:51).

Psalm 19:10.

Midrash on Psalms, Book Five, 4.

… What, then, is the Messiah to do? He is to read and study in the Torah which is called truth, for it is

said The ordinances of the Lord are true (Ps. 19:10); and it is also written Buy the truth, and sell it not

(Prov. 19:10); and it is also written Buy the truth, and sell it not (Prov. 23:23). Hence it is said And he

shall sit to it in truth..

Psalm 20:7.

Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs IV, 8, 3.

… Had Hezekiah chanted a paean over the fall of Sennacherib, he would have become the Messiah and

Sennacherib would have been Gog and Magog. He, however, did not do so, but he said, Now know I

that the Lord saveth His anointed … Some trust in chariots, etc.; and then he continued, Save, Lord; let

the king answer us in the day that we call (Ps. XX, 7–10).

The Midrash‘s footnote at the end of the paragraph reads: ‗Because he did not become the Messiah through

his neglect to hymn God, he found it necessary to pray for the future, „Save, Lord,‟ etc., otherwise this

prayer would have been unnecessary (Y.K., ‘E.J.).‘

Psalm 21:2.


For the leader. A Psalm of David. The king shall joy in Thy strength, O Lord (Ps. 21:1-2). These

words are to be read in the light of what Scripture says elsewhere: In that day there shall be a root of

Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the peoples; unto him shall the nations seek (Isa. 11:10)—that

is, seek the king Messiah, David‘s son, who will remain hidden until the time of redemption.

R. Tanhuma said: The king Messiah will come for no other purpose than to teach the nations of the

earth thirty precepts, such as those of the Booth, the Palm-Branch, and the Tefillin. But all the children

of Israel will be taught precepts of Torah by the Holy One Himself, blessed be He, for it is said All thy

children shall be taught by the Lord (Isa. 59:13). Why not by the Messiah? Because of the Messiah it

is said Unto him shall the nations seek.

R. Hanina said in the name of R. Aha: What can His rest shall be glory (ibid.) mean except that

God will bestow a portion of His supernal glory upon the king Messiah. Hence it is said The king shall

joy in thy strength, O Lord.

The Isa 11:10 text is quoted in Matthew 12:21 of the New Testament as a reference that speaks of a time

for Gentile opportunity with the Messiah of Israel. Paul likewise in Romans 15:12 quotes the text as

evidence that the Gentiles would glorify God for his mercy toward them (Rom. 15:9). The Isa 54:13

passage is quoted by Jesus of Nazareth in John 6:45 as a reference to himself as that teacher.

Psalm 21:2-8.


… O Lord, the King Messiah shall be happy in Thy strength, and in Thy deliverance how greatly he

shall rejoice For Thou shalt meet him with goodly blessing; Thou shalt place upon his head a crown of

pure gold. Eternal life he asked of Thee; Thou hast given it to him length of days forever and ever.

Great is his glory, through Thy deliverance; praise and splendor shalt Thou bestow upon him. For

Thou shalt bestow upon him blessings forever; Thou shalt make him rejoice with a joy which comes

from Thee. For the King Messiah trusts in the Lord, and through the loving kindness of the Most High

he shall not be moved.

The Targumist draws the Messianic overtones from the word King in verses 2 and 8.

Psalm 21:2.


… And the ‟areset of his lips Thou hast not withholden Selah (Psa. 21:3b). What is meant by the

‟areset of his lips? ―The authority (rasut) of his lips‖: For when it is reported to the king Messiah, ―A

certain land is in rebellion against thee,‖ he will say; ―Let locusts come and smite that land,‖ as is said

He shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth (Isa. 11:4); or, when it is reported to him ―A certain

province is in rebellion against thee,‖ he will say: ―Let the angel of death come and slay the wicked of

that province,‖ as is said With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked (ibid.). Another comment: The request of his lips Thou hast not withholden means that whatever the king

Messiah decrees, the words of his decree stand.

Psalm 21:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus VIII, I.

… One must not wear the crown of a mortal king, but God will one day place His crown on Messiah,

the King. Of what is the crown of God? Of very fine gold; as it says; His head is as the most fine gold,

his locks are curled, and black as a raven (SS. v, 11), and it is written: Thou settest a crown of fine gold

on his head (Ps. XXI, 4).

A footnote in the Midrash after the Psa. 21:4 quote reads: ‗Which is understood to refer to the Messiah.‘

Psalm 21:3.

Midrash on Psalms, Book One, Psalm 21, 2 + 3.

… A mortal king—one may not wear his crown, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, sets His own crown

on the head of the king Messiah, as it is said Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head (Ps. 21:4).

A mortal king—one may not wear his purple, yet the Holy One, blessed be He, puts His honor and

majesty upon the king Messiah, as is said Honor and majesty dost Thou put upon him (Ps. 21:6).

Psalm 21:4.

Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a.

… Our Rabbis taught, The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to the Messiah, the Son of David (May he

reveal himself speedily in our days!), ‗Ask of me anything, and I will give it to thee‘, as it is said, I will

tell of the decree etc. this day have I begotten thee, ask of me and I will give the nations for thy

inheritance. But when he will see that the Messiah the son of Joseph is slain, he will say to Him,

‗Lord of the Universe, I ask of Thee only the gift of life‘. ‗As to life‘, He would answer him, ‗Your

father David has already prophesied this concerning you‘, as it is said, He asked life of thee, thou gavest

it him [even length of days for ever and ever].

Psalm 21:4.

Midrash on Psalms, Book One, Psalm 2, 10. … The Messiah‘s asking is again referred to in the verse He asked life of Thee, Thou gavest it him; even

length of days for ever and ever (Ps. 21:5). What

Proverbs

Proverbs 2:1. Midrash on Proverbs, Chapter 2, 1.

My son, if you accept my words (Prov. 2:1)—on Mount Sinai God said: My children, if you succeed in

accepting My Torah and doing [what is in] it. I will save you from three punishments: the war of Gog

and Magog, the pangs of the Messiah[‘s advent], and the torment of Gehenna.

Proverbs 3:13.

Midrash on Psalms, Book Five, Psalm 119, 16.

… Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end (Ps. 119:33). Solomon

said: Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that obtaineth understanding. For the

merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver … She is more precious than rubies: and all

the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her (Prov. 3:13, 14, 15). Three men—David,

Solomon, and the king Messiah—asked the Holy One, blessed be He, for wisdom … And of the king

Messiah, it is said A Psalm of Solomon: Give the king Thy judgments, O God (Ps. 72:1). Thus it is said

Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes. Why did he say Teach me? David meant: Do not tell me,

―Behold, the statutes are before Thee. Learn them by thyself.‖ Do Thou teach me. And he goes on in

the next verse: Give me understanding, that I keep Thy law (Ps. 119:34). Hence he said: Teach me, O

Lord, the way of Thy statutes.

Proverbs 3:14.












Proverbs 3:15.












Proverbs 6:11.


… And poverty will come calling upon you, And want, like a man with a shield (Prov. 6:11): This refers

to the King Messiah who will march in the future at the head of Israel, as it is said, Their king marches

before them, the Lord at their head (Micah 2:13).

Proverbs 6:22.


… When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; when thou liest down, it shall watch over thee; and when thou

awakest, it shall talk with thee (Prov. 6:22). When thou walkest, it shall lead thee, in this world; when

thou liest down, it shall watch over thee, in the hour of death; and when thou awakest, in the days of the

Messiah, it shall talk with thee, in the world-to-come.

Proverbs 13:9.


… As soon as He saw the light that He had reserved for the righteous, He rejoiced, for it is said: He

rejoiceth at the light of the righteous.

‗the light of the righteous rejoiceth.‘ is viewed in the footnote in the Talmud to refer to the time to come.

Proverbs 13:12.









51:3).

Proverbs 14:14.


… The dissembler (sug) in heart shall have his fill from his own ways, etc. (Prov. XIV, 14). What is

the meaning of „The sug in heart,‟ etc.? R. Abba b. Kahana explained: The one whose heart is full of

dross (sigim) will ultimately „Have his fill from his own ways‟. And a good man shall be satisfied from

himself (ib.) … He was one of the four people who of themselves learned to know the Holy One,

blessed be He … The Messiah likewise learned to know the Holy One, blessed be He, by his own

unaided effort. It was the same with Abraham.

Proverbs 19:21.


Many designs are in a man‟s mind (Prov. 19:21) … Just as in the case of a plant, from the moment you

plant it, its place is recognizable, so too did God plant kingship in the Tribe of Judah until the Messiah

shall sprout froth, as it is said, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, etc. (Gen. 49:10).

Proverbs 21:30.


… There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord; … Come and hear; for R.

Eleazar b. Zadok said: We used to leap over coffins containing bodies to see the Israelite kings. Nor

did they mean this to apply only to Israelite kings, but also to heathen kings, so that if he should be

privileged [to live to the time of the Messiah], he should be able to distinguish between the Israelite and

the heathen kings. Why so? Let us say, “There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel

before the Lord”?

Proverbs 23:23.


… What, then, is the Messiah to do? He is to read and study in the Torah which is called truth, for it is

said The ordinances of the Lord are true (Ps. 19:10); and it is also written Buy the truth, and sell it not

(Prov. 23:23). Hence it is said And he shall sit to it in truth.

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 1:9. Midrash Rabbah, Ruth V, 6.

… The fifth interpretation makes it refer to the Messiah … Where will he lead them? From the land of

Israel to the wilderness of Judah, as it is said, Behold, I will allure her, and bring her unto the

wilderness (Hos. 11, 16); while some say to the wilderness of Shilon and Og, as it is said, I will yet

again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed season (ib. XII, 10). He who believes

in him will live, and he who does not believe will depart to the Gentile nations and they will put him to

death. R. Isaac b. Marion said: Finally the Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal Himself to them, and

He will rain down manna upon them, And there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1, 9).

The footnote in the Talmud reads after this: ‗Whatever is destined to occur in the future Redemption

occurred in the first.‘

Ecclesiastes 1:9.


… R. Berechiah said in the name of R. Levi: Like the first redeemer, so the last redeemer; as the first

one appeared among Israel and then disappeared from among them, so the last redeemer will appear

among Israel and then disappear from among them. And for how long will he disappear from among

them? R. Tanhuma said in the name of R. Hama who said it in the name of R. Hoshaia, [and] R.

Menahema said in the name of R. Hama bar R. Hanina: For forty-five days. With reference to this

period Scripture says, From the time that the continual burnt offering shall be taken away, and the

detestable thing that causeth appalment set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days

(Dan. 12:11), and then goes on to say, Happy is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three

hundred and five and thirty days (Dan. 12:12). These days, forty-five above the number given in the

previous verse, to what do they refer? They refer to the period of forty-five days during which the

Messiah, who will have appeared among the children of Israel will disappear from among them again.

[By way of testing their faith], where will he have them go? To the wilderness of Judah, some say; and

some say, to the wilderness of Sihon and Og. Concerning the place he will have them go to, it is

written Therefore, behold, I will allure [Israel], and bring her into the wilderness. etc. (Hos. 2:16).

There he who believes in the Messiah will be content to eat saltwort and the roots of the broom and will

remain alive, for in the wilderness They pluck saltwort with wormwood; and the roots of the broom are

their food (Job 30:4). But he who does not believe in him, will forsake Israel and attach himself to the

heathen nations who will eventually slay him. R. Isaac bar Marion said: At the end of the forty-five days, the Holy One will appear to the children

of Israel and bring down the manna [for them]. How do we know? Because that which hath been is

that which shall be, for there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9).

Ecclesiastes 1:11.


There is no remembrance of former generations, nor shall there be any remembrance of the ones that

are to follow among the generations that shall be during the days of the King Messiah.

―latter things,‖ understood as the end of time. This interpretation is probably and allusion to the fact that

the wonders of the Messianic age will surpass all others and make them to be forgotten, based on Jer. 23:7f.

Ecclesiastes 7:24.


Behold, all that has happened from the beginning is already too remote for mortals to know; and of the

day of death and of the day when the King Messiah will come who can find it out by his wisdom?

Ecclesiastes 10:11.

Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anith 8a.

… Resh Lakish said: What is the meaning of the verse, If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then the

charmer hath no advantage? In the Messianic age all animals will assemble and come to the serpent

and say to him, ‘The lion claws [his victim] and devours him, the wolf tears him and devours him, but

as for thee what benefit dost thou derive? His reply will be, The charmer hath no advantage.

Ecclesiastes 11:5.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes XI, 1-5, I.

As THOU KNOWEST NOT WHAT IS THE WAY OF THE WIND (XI, 5). Seven things are

concealed from man, viz, the day of death, the day of consolation [from his troubles], the profundity of

divine judgment, the source from which one will profit, what is in the heart of his fellow, what is in a

woman‘s conception, and when the kingdom of Edom [Rome] will fall. Whence do we know this of

the day of death? As it is said, For man also knoweth not his time (Ecc. IX, 12). Whence is it of the

day of consolation? As it says, I the Lord will hasten it in its due time (Isa. LX, 22). Whence of the

profundity of divine judgment? As it is said, For the judgment is God‟s (Deut. I, 17).

Ecclesiastes 11:7.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes XI, 6, I.

AND THE LIGHT IS SWEET, AND A PLEASANT THING IT IS FOR THE EYES TO BEHOLD

THE SUN (XI, 7). Sweet is the light of the Torah; AND A PLEASANT THING IT IS FOR THE

EYES: happy is he whose study enlightens him like the sun. R. Aha says: Sweet is the light of the

World to Come; happy is he who is worthy to behold that light, as it is stated, Moreover the light of the

moon shall be as the light of the sun (Isa. XXX, 26).

Ecclesiastes 11:8.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes XI, 6, I.

FOR IF A MAN LIVE MAY YEARS, LET HIM REJOICE (XI, 8): in the joy of the Torah; AND

REMEMBER THE DAYS OF DARKNESS: these are the days of evil, FOR THEY SHALL BE

MANY. The Torah which a man learns in this world Is VANITY in comparison with the Torah [which

will be learnt in the days] of the Messiah.

Ecclesiastes 12:1.


… „and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them‟ —this refers to the

Messianic era, wherein there is neither merit nor guilt.

Ecclesiastes 12:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XVIII, 1.

… And the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say: I have no choice in them (ib.) means the days of the

Messiah in which there will be neither merit nor guilt.

Ecclesiastes 12:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations XXIII.

… „Before the evil days come‟ (Ecc. XII, 2): these are the days of the exile. „And the years draw nigh

when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them‟: neither prosperity nor calamity.

Ecclesiastes 12:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes XII, 1.

… REMEMBER THEN THY CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF THY YOUTH, while in the possession

of thy strength. BEFORE THE EVIL DAYS COME. i.e. the days of old age; AND THE YEARS

DRAW NIGH, i.e. [the time of] sufferings. R. Hiyya b. R. Nehemiah said: It refers to the days of the

Messiah in which is neither merit nor guilt.

Song of Solomon

Song of Solomon 1:8. Targum to the Hagiographa.

Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses the Prophet: If they wish to wipe out the Dispersion, the

congregation, which is likened to a beautiful maiden, and so that I Myself may love her, let her walk in

the ways of the righteous, and let her arrange her prayer-service according to her prayer-leaders and the

leaders of her generation; and let her teach her children, who are comparable to kids, to go to the

synagogue and to the school, and by the merit thereof they shall be provided for in the Dispersion until

the time when I send the King Messiah, who shall lead them gently to their tents, that is, the Temple

which David and Solomon, the shepherds of Israel, have built for them.

The Messianic interpretation may have been suggested by the pastorial imagery and the figure of the

shepherds.

Song of Solomon 2:7.

Babylonian Talmud, Kethuboth 111a.

… And Rab Judah?—Another text also is available: I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem by the

gazelles, and by the kinds of the field, [that ye awaken not, nor stir up love, until it please]‟ … And Rab

Judah?—It is written in Scripture, That ye awaken not, nor stir up. And R. Zera?—That text is required

for [an exposition] like that of R. Levi who stated: ‗What was the purpose of those six adjurations?

Three for the purpose just mentioned and the others, that [the prophets] shall not make known the end,

that [the people] shall not delay the end, and that they shall not reveal the secret to the idolaters‘.

The Talmudic footnote refers to ‗the time of the end‘ as: ‗Of the exile. The beginning of the Messianic

era.‘

Song of Solomon 2:7a.

Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs II, 7, I.

… R. Helbo said: Four adjurations are mentioned here. God adjured Israel that they should not rebel

against the Governments, that they should not seek to hasten the end, that they should not reveal their

mysteries to the other nations, and that they should not attempt to go up from the diaspora by force.

For if they do, why should the King Messiah come to gather the exiles of Israel? R. Onia said: He

addressed to them four adjurations corresponding to the four generations who tried to hasten the end

and came to grief, namely, once in the days of Amram, once in the days of Danai, once in the days of

Ben Coziba, and once in the days of Shuthelach the son of Ephraim, as it says, The children of Ephraim

were as archers handling the bow (Ps. LXXVII, 9).

Song of Solomon 2:7b.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes XII, 9, I.

… Koheleth sought to fathom when the end would be, as it is said, That ye awaken not, nor stir up love,

until it please (S.S. II, 7). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ‗I have already recorded it in

―The book of uprightness‖, viz. For the day of vengeance that was in my heart, and My year of

redemption are come‘ (Isa. LXIII, 4). R. Saul of Naveh taught in the name of R. Simeon: Should a

man tell you when the end of the redemption will occur, reply to him, ‗It is written, “For the day of

vengeance that was in My heart.” ‘

The Talmudic footnote refers to the ‗the end‘ as: ‗The advent of the Messiah‘, and after the Song of

Solomon 2:7 quote there is a footnote which reads: ‗Heb. she-tehpaz, of the same root as delight (hefez) in

our text: hence the identification of the two, the verse from SS being referred to the advent of the Messiah.‘


Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs II, 8, § 3.

The Rabbis say: HARK MY BELOVED, BEHOLD HE COMES: this refers to Moses. When he came

and said to Israel, ‗In this month ye are to be redeemed,‘ they said to him: ‗Our teacher Moses, how can

we be redeemed seeing that all Egypt is defiled with our idolatrous worship?‘ He replied: ‗Since God

desires to deliver you, He takes no heed of your idolatry, but LEAPS OVER THE MOUNTAINS,

―mountains‖ being only a name for idolatry, as it says, They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains,

and offer upon the hills (Hos. IV, 13). And in this month ye are to be redeemed, as it says, ―This

month shall be unto you, etc.‖ ‘ R. Judan and R. Hunia also gave different explanations. R. Judan in the name of R. Eliezer the son

of R. Jose the Galilean, and R. Hunia in the name of R. Eliezar b. Jacob, said: HARK MY BELOVED,

BEHOLD HE COMES: this refers to the Messiah. When he will say to Israel, ‗In this month ye are to

be redeemed,‘ they will say to him, ‗How can we be delivered, seeing that the Holy One, blessed be He,

has sworn that He will subject us to the seventy nations?‘ He will give them two answers and say: ‗If

one of you is carried away to Barbary and one to Sarmatia, it is as if all of you had been carried off

there. And again, this state levies troops from all the world, from every nation, and so if one Cuthean

or Barbarian comes and rules over you, it is as if all of his nation had ruled over you and as if you has

served the whole seventy nations. Hence in this month you are to be delivered after all, as it says,

“This month shall be unto you the beginning of months, etc.‖ ‘



… R. Nehemiah said: Hark! My beloved, he cometh (Song 2:8) … R. Yudan taught in the name of R.

Eliezar ben R. Jose the Galilean, and R. Huna taught in the name of R. Eliezer ben Jacob: Hark! My

beloved! behold, he cometh. That is, the king Messiah cometh. When he comes and says to Israel. ―In

this month you shall be redeemed‖ they will ask: ―Our master, O king Messiah, how can we be

redeemed? Has not the Holy One said that He will reduce us to servitude among seventy nations?‖

Then the Messiah will make exactly clear by two illustrations what God meant by His statement: (1) If

only one of you is banished to Barbaria and only another one of you is banished to Sarmatia, He will

consider it as though all of you had been banished. (2) Moreover, since this wicked kingdom—

[Rome]—levies troops from each and every nation, if a Cuthean comes and forces even only one of you

into military service, He will consider it as though the entire people of Israel were conscripted. If and

Ethiopian comes and forces even only one of you into military service, He will consider it as though the

entire people of Israel were conscripted. Hence, in whatever month circumstances such as these occur,

you shall be redeemed. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months (Exod. 12:2)—[the

beginning of your redemption].


Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs II, 13, 4.

Another explanation: MY BELOVED SPOKE AND SAID UNTO ME. He spoke through Elijah and

said through the Messiah. What did he say to me? RISE UP, MY LOVE, MY FAIR ONE, AND

COME AWAY.







one, and come away (ibid.), …



… For lo, the winter is past (ibid.)—that is, said R. Azariah, the wicked kingdom which enticed

mortals into a wintry way has passed on, the wicked kingdom alluded to in the verse ―If thy brother

[Esau, from whom came Edom and Rome], the son of thy mother [Rebekah] … entice thee … saying:

‗Let us go and serve other gods‘ ‖ (Deut. 13:7). The rain is over and gone (Song 2:11) refers to the

enslavement [under Edom] that is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth (Song 2:12).



… AND THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE IS HEARD IN OUR LAND: Who is this? This is the voice

of the Messiah proclaiming, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good

things (Isa. LII, 7).



… The flowers appear on the earth (Song 2:12), the flowers standing metaphorically, as R. Isaac said,

for the craftsmen in the verse ―And the Lord showed me four craftsmen [who wreak deliverance for

Israel]‖ (Zech. 2:3). These craftsmen are Elijah, the king Messiah, Melchizedek, and the priest who

was anointed in time of war [to exhort the armies of Israel]. By the words The time of singing is come

(Song 2:12) is meant [the season when plants are pruned or cut back—hence metaphorically speaking],

the time has come for the foreskin to be cut; the time has come for the wicked to be broken and cut

down: ―The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked‖ (Isa. 14:5); the time has come for the wicked

kingdom to be rooted out of the world; the time has come for the kingdom of heaven to be revealed:

―And the Lord shall be king over all the earth,‖ etc. (Zech. 14:9). And the voice of the turtle (tyyr) is

heard in our land (Song 2:12), words which mean, according to R. Johanan, that the voice of the king

Messiah, the voice of the one who will lead us with great care through the final turnings (tyyr) of our

journey is heard in the land: ―How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good

tidings‖ (Isa. 52:7).



… THE FIG TREE PUTTETH FORTH HER GREEN FIGS. R. Hiyya b. Abba said: Shortly before

the days of the Messiah a great epidemic will come upon the world and the wicked will vanish. AND

THE VINES IN BLOSSOM GIVE FORTH THEIR FRAGRANCE: this refers to the survivors,

spoken of in the verse, And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in

Jerusalem (ib. IV, 3).



… The fig tree drops [as into a grave] her unripe and sickly figs (Song 2:13). R. Hiyya bar Abba said:

In the days of the Messiah a great pestilence will come, and the lives of the wicked will come to an end.

And the vines in blossom give forth their fragrance (Song 2:13). This verse refers to the ones that are

left to live: ―And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem

shall be called holy‖ (Isa. 4:3).



… UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF BETHER: R. Judan said: This means, so that the alien powers

receive punishment (bether) for their rapacity. R. Levi b. Haitha said: When the state [Rome] falls

towards (bathar) the thorn. R. Berekiah said: Said the Holy One, blessed be He: ‗Even if I have no

complaint against them save of what they did in Bethar, my judgment shall be executed on them.‘

What did they do in Bethar? R. Johanan said: The emperor Hadrian slew in Bethar four hundred

myraids of thousands of human beings.

The footnote in the Midrash after the word ‗thorn‘ reads: ‗Rome is elsewhere likened to a thorn, because it

always tearing its subject states with constant demands for taxes. R. Levi says that the Messiah will come

when Rome itself will fall toward a thorn, i.e. become lacerated or torn. This translation follows Levy.‘

The footnote after the word ‗human beings‘ reads: ‗The Bar-Cochba revolt (132–135 CE) ended with the

disastrous defeat at Bethar, where an incredible number were slain (v. Margolis and Marx, A History of the

Jewish People, p. 215)‘.



Your two deliverers who are destined to deliver you, the Messiah the son of David and the Messiah the

son of Ephraim, are like Moses and Aaron, the sons of Jochebed, who are likened to two fawns, twins

of a gazelle; who, by their merit, shepherded the people of Israel in the wilderness for forty years,

supplying them with manna, fattened fowl, and with the water of the well of Miriam.


Midrash Rabbah, Numbers II, 13.

… In the Messianic era the sun and moon will suffer humiliation; as it is said: Then the moon shall be

confounded, and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of Hosts will reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem,

and before His elders shall be glory (Isa. XXIV, 23). The stars, however, will not be humiliated. Thus

will it be with Abraham, and Isaac, whose faces in the hereafter will blanch on account of their

children; Abraham‘s because of Ishmael and the sons of Keturah; Isaac‘s on account of Esau and his

chiefs. And as the stars will suffer no humiliation, so also will Jacob suffer no humiliation, for he will

not need to feel shame; as it is said: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax

pale (ib. XXIX, 22). Why? When he seeth his children, the work of My hands, etc. (ib. 23); because

they are all of them righteous; [as it says,] Thou art all fair, my love (S.S. IV, 7).



I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon as among them that acknowledge Me (Ps. 87:4). R. Judah

bar Simon taught: The nations of the earth will bring gifts to the King Messiah. In the next verse, But

of Zion it shall be said: “This man and that man was brought forth in her” (Ps. 87:5), this man and that

man refers to the Messiahs of the Lord, to Messiah the son of David, and to Messiah the son of

Ephraim. By brought forth it is meant that the Messiahs will be lifted up above the nations, as in the

verse Before the mountains were lifted up (Ps. 90:2). And the nations will bring gifts to the King

Messiah, as it is said Gifts (tasuri) from the head of Amana (Song 4:8).


Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs IV, 8, 2.

LOOK FROM THE TOP OF AMANA. R. Hunia said in the name of R. Justa: The exiles are destined

to break out into song when they reach the Taurus Munus, and the nations of the world are destined to

bring them like princes to the Messiah. How do we know? Because it says, LOOK (TASHURI) FROM

THE TOP OF AMANA; the word TASHURI indicates an offering. as it says, There is not a present

(teshurah) to bring to the man of God (I Sam. IX, 7). (It is fitting, but I am not fitting.) Have I not

already done as much for you in the days of Hazael, as we read, So Hazael went to meet him, and took

a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels‟ burden (II Kings VIII, 9)?

The footnote in the Midrash after ‗the days of Hazael‘ reads: ‗This returns to the text. God supports the

promise that the nations will bring Israel back as princes (or will bring a gift to the Messiah, according to

another reading) by pointing out that He has already caused Hazael, a prince of Damascus, to bring gifts to

Elisha, and he was the precursor of the nations bringing gifts to the Messiah. AMANA is thus an allusion

to Damascus; cf. II Kings V, 12 (Y.K.).‘


Midrash Sifre on Numbers, 84

… They went to Edom; and the Shekina went with them, as it is said (Isa. lxiii. I): “Who is He that

cometh from Edom?” And when they return (in the Messianic Age), the Shekina will return with them;

as it is said (Num. XXX, 3): “And the Lord thy God will bring back thy captivity.” It does not say

―we-heshib, ‖ but ―we-shab,‖ that is, He Himself will return. Again it says (Song iv, 8): “Come with

me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon.”


Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus IX, 6.

… And the following verse supports R. Jose b. Hanina: Awake, O [thou of the] north; and come thou

[of the] south (S.S. IV, 16) … Or, the Messianic King whose place is in the north will come and rebuild

the Sanctuary which is situated in the south. This is [indicated by] what is written: I have roused up

one from the north, and he is come (Isa. XLI, 25).



… Another exposition: The expression, „Awake, O north wind‟ teaches that the winds will, in the

Messianic era, enter into a spirit of rivalry with one another. The south wind will say: ‗I shall bring

back the captivity of Teman and that of the Hagrites and the entire south‘, while the north wind will

say: ‗I will bring back the northern captivity‘.


Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs IV, 16, I.

… Now this supports R. Jose b. Hanina: AWAKE, THOU NORTH WIND, AND COME, THOU

SOUTH. AWAKE, THOU NORTH WIND refers to the burnt offering which was slaughtered on the

north side of the Temple court. Why is the word AWAKE addressed to it? Because it was something

which, so to speak, was asleep and had to be awakened. AND COME, O SOUTH WIND: this refers to

the peace offerings which were slaughtered on the south side of the Temple court [also]. Why is the

word COME addressed to it? Because it was something new. R. Abba b. Kahana and R. Hanina b.

Papa and R. Joshua in the name of R. Levi say: The following verse also supports R. Jose: This is the

law of the burnt offering: that is the burnt-offering (Lev. VI, 2)—namely, which the Bnei Noah offered

originally. But when it comes to the peace-offerings the text says, And this is the law of the sacrifice of

peace offerings, not ‗which they did offer‘, but Which one may offer (ib. VII, 11)—from now onward.

What does R. Eleazar make of this verse, AWAKE, O NORTH WIND, AND COME, THOU SOUTH?

He explains: When the exiles who are living in the north shall bestir themselves and come and encamp

in the south, as it says, Behold I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the

uttermost parts of the earth (Jer. XXXI, 8). When Gog and Magog who live in the north shall come and

fall upon the south, as it says, And I will turn thee about and lead thee on, and will cause thee to come

up (Ezek. XXXIX, 2). When the Messiah who is in the north shall awake and come and build the

Temple which is in the south, as it says, I have roused up one from the north, and he is come (Isa. XLI,

25),


Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs V, 2 § 2.

HARK! MY BELOVED KNOCKETH: by the hand of Moses, when he said, [And Moses said:] Thus

saith the Lord: About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt (Ex. XI, 4). OPEN TO ME. R.

Jassa said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: ‗My sons, present to me an opening of

repentance no bigger than the eye of a needle, and I will widen it into openings through which wagons

and carriages can pass‘. R. Tanhuma and R. Hunia and R. Abbahu in the name of Resh Lakish said: It

is written, Let be (harpu), and know that I am God (Ps. XLVI, 11). Said the Holy One, blessed be He,

to Israel: ‗Let go your evil deeds and know that I am God.‘ R. Levi said: Were Israel to practice

repentance even for one day, forthwith they would be redeemed, and forthwith the scion of David

would come. How do we know? Because it says, For He is our God, and we are the people of His

pasture, and the flock of His hand. To-day, if ye would but hearken to His voice (ib. XCV, 7).


Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs VII, 7, I.

… How fair thou art in this world, (and how pleasant art thou in the days of the Messiah).…


Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs VII, 5 § 3.

… WHICH LOOKETH TOWARD DAMASCUS. R. Johanan said: Jerusalem will in the time to come

extend as far as the gates of Damascus, as it says, The burden of the word of the Lord, In the land of

Hadrach, [and in Damascus shall be His resting-place] (Zech. IX, 1). What is „Hadrach‟? R. Judah

and R. Nehemiah gave different answers. R. Judah said: It is a place called Hadrach. Said R. Jose b.

Durmaskis to him: By the [Temple] service! I am from Damascus, and there is a place there called

Hadrach. R. Nehemiah said: It is the Messiah, who is both sharp and soft (had we-rach)—sharp to the

other nations and soft to Israel. Another explanation of Hadrach: this is the Messiah who will guide

(hadrich) all humanity in the way of repentance before the Holy One, blessed be He. „And in

Damascus shall be His resting place.‟



Your two deliverers who are destined to deliver you, the Messiah the son of David and the Messiah the

son of Ephraim, are like Moses and Aaron, the sons of Jochebed, who are likened to two fawns, twins

of a gazelle.



… This signifies: If you have fulfilled the Torah you may expect Elijah, to whom I said: Go return on

thy way to the wilderness of Damascus (I Kings XIX, 15) and of whom it says, Remember ye the law of

Moses My servant … Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, etc. (Mal. III, 22ff.).

The footnote in the Midrash after the words ‗expect Elijah‘ reads: ‗The herald of the Messianic era.‘



And when it shall be the will of the Lord to deliver His people from the Dispersion, He shall say to the

King Messiah: "Already the time of the End of the Dispersion has been fulfilled. The merit of the

righteous is a fragrant to Me as the fragrance of spices. And the sages of the generation are gathered at

the gates of the academy engaging in scholarly discourse and in words of Torah. Arise, now, and

accept the kingdom which I have stored away for you.



And at that time the King Messiah will be revealed to the congregation of Israel. The children of Israel

shall say to him: ―Come, be a brother to us, and let us go up to Jerusalem and imbibe the explanations

of the Torah with you as a suckling child sucks the breasts of its mother. For, during the time that I

wandered outside of my land, when I would remember the name of the great God and would sacrifice

myself for His Godhead, even the nations of the earth did not despise me‖.



I will conduct you, O King Messiah, and take you into my Temple, that you may teach me to fear the

Lord and to walk in His way. There we will partake of the feast of Leviathan, and we will drink the old

wine which has been concealed in its grapes from the day when the world was created, and from

pomegranates, the fruit make ready for the righteous in the Garden of Eden.

In 8:2, the feast of Leviathan is introduced. In the apocalypses Leviathan and Behemoth are mentioned,

with intimations of their Messianic purpose. In rabbinic thought they assume greater proportions in later

legends, as the food of the Messianic banquet, preserved from the fifth day. The special Messianic elixir,

wine preserved in its grapes since Creation, is also mentioned in the Talmud. That the pomegranate will be

food for the righteous in Paradise, or that they will drink of its juice, is a novel creation by Jewish legend

by the author of this Targum, probably suggested by the Hebrew text itself in 8:2.



The King Messiah shall say: ―I adjure you, O my people, house of Israel! Why do you contend with

the nations of the earth in order to get out of the Dispersion, and why do you rebel against the armed

might of Gog and Magog? Would that you might wait but a little longer, until the nations who have

gone up to wage war against Jerusalem are destroyed, and after that the Master of the world shall

remember for your sake the love of the righteous, and it shall be His will to deliver you‖.

Verse 8:4 sounds a Messianic note that remains influential in some quarters to this day. Deliverance must

be divine act, not human, and even the Messiah is only a symbol. The Jewish people is not to strive for

victory and vindication by itself, but to wait for divine intervention. An extreme Orthodox wing of

Judaism to this day is opposed to the modern Zionist ideal on these grounds.

Isaiah

Isaiah 1:7.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations XXI.

… R. Jose b. Halafta said: Whoever knows how many years Israel worshipped idols also knows when

the son of David will come; and we have three verses to support this statement … R. Simeon b. Lakish

said: [It may be derived from] Your land, strangers devour it in your presence (Isa. I, 7); i.e. as against

what you have done, strangers devour it.

Isaiah 1:25.


… R. Simlai said in the name of R. Eleazar, son of R. Simeon: The son of David will not come until all

judges and offices are gone from Israel, as it is written, And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely

away thy dross and take away all thy tin: And I will restore thy judges as at first … R. Papa said: When

the haughty cease to exist [in Israel] the magi shall cease [among the Persians]; when the judges cease

to exist [in Israel], the chiliarchi shall cease likewise. Now, ‗when the haughty cease to exist, the magi

shall also cease,‘ as it is written, And I will purely purge away thy haughty ones and take away all thy

tin.

Isaiah 1:25.


… And when the exiles are assembled, judgment will be visited on the wicked, as it says, And I will

turn my hand thee and purge away thy dross as with lyre.

Isaiah 1:26.


… and it is written further. And I will restore thy judges as the first. … But the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that

forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

Isaiah 1:27.


Ulla said: Jerusalem shall be redeemed only by righteousness, as it is written, Zion shall be redeemed

with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

Isaiah 1:28.


… and presumptuous sinners are included with them, as it is written, But the destruction of the

transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

Isaiah 2:2.


… THAT WHICH SHALL BEFALL YOU IN THE END OF DAYS … R. Judah said: He showed

them the rebuilding of the Temple, as you read, And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the

mountain of the Lord‟s house shall be established (Isa. II, 2).

Isaiah 2:4.

Babylonian Talmud, Shabbath 63a

… R. ELIEZER SAID: THEY ARE ORNAMENTS FOR HIM. BUT THE SAGES MAINTAIN,

THEY ARE MERELY SHAMEFUL. FOR IT IS SAID, AND THEY SHALL BEAT THEIR

SWORDS INTO PLOWHARES, AND THEIR SPEARS INTO PRUNINGHOOKS: NATION SHALL

NOT LIFT UP SWORD AGAINST NATION, NEITHER SHALL THEY LEARN WAR ANY

MORE.

Isaiah 2:4b.

Babylonian Talmud. Shabbath 63a

… R. ELIEZER SAID: THEY ARE ORNAMENTS FOR HIM. It was taught: Said they [the Sages] to

R. Eliezer: Since they are ornaments for him, why should they cease in the days of the Messiah?

Because they will not be required, he answered, as it is said, nation shall not lift up sword against

nation.

Isaiah 2:7-8.


… Another interpretation: Thou didst wax fat, thou didst grow thick, thou didst become gross: This

refers to the three generations preceding the days of the Messiah, as it is said, Their land also is full of

silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures … Their land also is full of idols; every one

worshipeth the work of his own hands, that which his own fingers have made (Isa. 2:7-8).

Isaiah 2:11.


And should you ask, in those years during which the Almighty will renew his world, as it is written,

And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

Isaiah 2:11.


… Even as R. Zera, who, whenever he chanced upon scholars engaged thereon [i.e., in calculating the

time of the Messiah‘s coming], would say to them: I beg of you, do not postpone it, for it has been

taught: Three come unawares: Messiah, a found article and a scorpion. R. Kattina said: Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one [thousand, the seventh], it shall be

desolate, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.…

It has been taught in accordance with R. Kattina: Just as the seventh year is one year of release in

seven, so is the world; one thousand years out of seven shall be fallow, as it is written, And the Lord

alone shall be exalted in that day; …

Isaiah 2:17.


… The next world was created with a yod: as the yod has bent [curved] back, so are the wicked: their

erectness shall be bent and their faces blackened [with shame] in the Messianic future, as it is written,

And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down (ib. II, 17).

Isaiah 2:18.


… What will he [the wicked] say? And the idols shall utterly pass away (ib. 18).

Isaiah 3:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XVIII, 21.

… This refers to the Messiah, of whom it also says, I will raise unto David a righteous shoot (zemah zaddik), and he shall reign as king and prosper, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the

land. The captain of fifty (Isa. III, 3).

Isaiah 3:10.


… and „good‟ means only the righteous, for it is said: Say ye of the righteous that he is good.

Isaiah 4:2 .


At that time, the Messiah of the Lord shall be a joy and an honor, and those who fulfill the Torah shall

be great and glorious to the remnant of Israel.

.branch,‖ is a favorite Messianic term that is used here with the name of the Lord― צ ח

Isaiah 4:3.


… [The] Tanna debe Eliyyahu [states]: The righteous, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, will

resurrect, will not revert to dust, for it is said, And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion and

he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in

Jerusalem; just as the Holy One endures for ever, so shall they endure for ever.

A footnote after the word ‗dust‘ in the Soncino edition of the Talmud reads: ―In the interval between the

Messianic era and the time of the world to come; but their flesh will remain intact upon them until they live

again in the future.‖

Isaiah 4:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Song of Songs II. 13, 4.

… THE FIGTREE PUTTETH FORTH HER GREEN FIGS. R. Hiyya b. Abba said: Shortly before the

days of the Messiah a great epidemic will come upon the world and the wicked will vanish. AND THE

VINES IN BLOSSOM GIVE FORTH THEIR FRAGRANCE: this refers to the survivors, spoken of in

the verse, And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem (ib.

IV, 3).

Isaiah 4:3.






one, and come away (ibid.). For lo, the winter is past (ibid.)—that is, said R. Azariah, the wicked

kingdom which enticed mortals into a wintry way has passed on, the wicked kingdom alluded to in the

verse ―If thy brother [Esau, from whom came Edom and Rome], the son of thy mother [Rebekah] …

entice thee … saying: ‗Let us go and serve other gods‘ ‖ (Deut. 13:7). The rain is over and gone (Song

2:11) refers to the enslavement [under Edom] that is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth

(Song 2:12), the flowers standing metaphorically, as R. Isaac said, for the craftsmen in the verse ―And

the Lord showed me four craftsmen [who wreak deliverance for Israel]‖ (Zech. 2:3). These craftsmen

are Elijah, the king Messiah, Melchizedek. and the priest who was anointed in time of war [to exhort

the armies of Israel] … By the words The time of singing is come (Song 2:12) is meant [the season

when plants are pruned or cut back—hence metaphorically speaking], the time has come for the

foreskin to be cut; the time has come for the wicked to be broken and cut down: ―The Lord hath broken

the staff of the wicked‖ (Isa. 14:5); the time has come for the wicked kingdom to be rooted out of the

world; the time has come for the kingdom of heaven to be revealed: ―And the Lord shall be king over

all the earth.‖ etc. (Zech. 14:9). And the voice of the turtle (twr) is heard in our land (Song 2:12),

words which mean, according to R. Johanan, that the voice of the king Messiah, the voice of the one

who will lead us with great care through the final turnings (tyyr) of our journey is heard in the land:

―How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings‖ (Isa. 52:7). The fig

tree drops [as into a grave] her unripe and sickly figs (Song 2:13). R. Hiyya bar Abba said: In the days

of the Messiah a great pestilence will come, and the lives of the wicked will come to an end. And the

vines in blossom give forth their fragrance (Song 2:13). This verse refers to the ones that are left to

live: ―And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be

called holy‖ (Isa. 4:3).

Isaiah 4:4.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XLVIII, 10.

… In the Messianic future? When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion

(ib. IV, 4).

Isaiah 4:5.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus L, 5.

… The Holy One, blessed be He, said: [‗Because] you have made curtains of goats‘ hair [therefore]

will I protect you with a cloud in the Messianic Age,‘ for it says, And the Lord will create over the

whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, etc. (Isa. IV, 5).

Isaiah 4:6.

Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 2a-2b.

… R. Zera replied: From the following verse, And there shall be a booth for a shadow in the daytime

from the heat … Nor do they agree with R. Zera, since that verse refers to the Messianic age.

A footnote after the word ‗Messianic age‘ in the Soncino edition of the Talmud states: ‗When there shall be

booths for shelter against heat etc.‘

Isaiah 4:6.


In the Messianic future?… And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in the day-time from the heat

(Isa. IV, 6).

Isaiah 6:13.

Babylonian Talmud, Kethuboth 112b.

… R. Zera said: R. Jeremiah b. Abba stated, ‗In the generation which the son of David will come there

will be prosecution against scholars‘. When I repeated this statement in the presence of Samuel, he

exclaimed, [There will be] test after test, for it is said in Scripture, And if there be yet a tenth in it, it

shall again be eaten up.

A footnote after the words ‗son of David‘ in the Soncino edition of the Talmud reads: ‗The Messiah‘.

Isaiah 7:21.


… And it shall come to pass (we-hayah) in that day, that a man shall rear a young cow, etc. (ib. VII,

21).

A footnote at the end of this reference in the Soncino edition of the Talmud reads: ‗This refers to the

Messianic era‘.

Isaiah 7:21.


… In the Messianic future? And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall rear a young cow,

and two sheep (Isa. VII, 21).

Isaiah 8:14.


… When the wine took effect, they began by saying: The son of David cannot appear ere the two ruling

houses in Israel shall have come to and end, viz., the Exilarchate in Babylon and the Patriarchate in

Palestine, for it is written, And he shall be for a Sanctuary, for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of

offense to both houses of Israel.

A footnote after the words ‗son of David‘ in the Soncino edition of the Talmud reads: ‗I.e., the Messiah‘.

Isaiah 9:5.


The prophet announced to the house of David that: ―A boy has been born unto us, a son has been given

unto us, who has taken the Torah upon himself to guard it; and his name has been called by the One

who gives wonderful counsel, the Mighty God, He who lives forever: ‗Messiah,‘ in whose day peace

shall abound for us‖.

Isaiah 9:6.


AND COMMAND THOU THE PEOPLE, SAYING (II, 4) … Another explanation: He said to him: ‗I

have yet to raise up the Messiah,‘ of whom it is written, For a child is born unto us (Isa. IX, 5).

This Midrash gives the evidence that Jewish thought agrees with Christianity‘s belief that Isaiah 9:6 is a

Messianic passage.

Isaiah 9:6.


9:6 The prophet announced to the house of David that: ―A boy has been born unto us, a son has been

given unto us, who has taken the Torah upon himself to guard it; and his name has been called by the

One who gives wonderful counsel, the Mighty God, He who lives forever: ‗Messiah,‘ in whose day

peace shall abound for us. 9:6 He shall make great the dignity of those who labor in the Torah and of

those who maintain peace, without end; on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it

and to build it in justice and in righteousness, form this time forth and forever. This shall be

accomplished by the Memra of the Lord of Hosts.‖

Isaiah 9:7.


… Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end .

Thought by many to refer to Hezekiah as the Messiah.

Isaiah 9:7.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVII. New Version.

… R. Johanan said: Tiberias will confer [greatness] upon the Messiah, as it says, The foot shall tread it

down, even the feet of the poor (ib. 6); what follows this? And a throne is established through mercy

(ib. XVI, 5).… What does this mean? Said R. Johanan: It alludes to the righteous, who in this would are like one

sitting in darkness and gloom. In that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, will render to the righteous

reward without end and without limit. Happy are the righteous who increase Torah [learning] and

pursue peace for Israel, for they are requited for their labour with a limitless and endless reward for all

eternity, as it says, That the government may be increased, and of peace there be no end (Isa. IX, 6).

A footnote after the Isa. IX, 6 reference states: ‗The Midrash interprets: To him who increases the

government (rule, of the Torah, by disseminating it) and peace, there is no end to his reward.‘

Isaiah 9:7.


… And give thee peace. Peace at thy coming in and peace at thy going out. Peace with all men. R.

Hananya, the segan of the priests, says: ― „And give thee peace‟; i.e. in thine own house.‖ R. Nathan

says: ―This refers to the peace of the kingdom of the house of David (the Messianic kingdom), as it is

said (Isa. IX. 6): ‗Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.‘ ‖

Isaiah 10:27.


It shall come to pass at that time, that his tyranny shall be removed from you, and his yoke from upon

your neck, and the nations shall be shattered before the Messiah.

Isaiah 10:34.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations I. 16, 51.

… What is the name of King Messiah?… ‗Did I not tell you at his coming [the Temple] was destroyed

and at his coming it will be rebuilt‘? R. Abun said: Why should I learn this from an Arab when there is

an explicit text wherein it is stated, And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one (Isa. X, 34),.…

Isaiah 11:1.

Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations I. 16, 51.

… What is the name of the King Messiah?… ‗Did I not tell you at his coming [the Temple] was

destroyed and at his coming it will be rebuilt‘? R. Abun said: Why should I learn this from an Arab

when there is an explicit text wherein it is stated, And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one (Isa. X, 34),

which is followed by, And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall

grow forth out of his roots (ib. XI, I).

Isaiah 11:1.

Midrash on Psalms, Book Two, Psalm 72, 3.

… Another comment on Give the king Thy judgments O God, and Thy righteousness: here king means

the King Messiah, of whom it is said And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse … And

the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him … And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither

decide after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with

equity for the meek of the land (Isa. 11:1a, 3b–c, 4a).

Isaiah 11:1.


And a king shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah shall be anointed from among his

children‘s children. And upon him shall rest the spirit of divine prophecy, the spirit of wisdom and

sagacity, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. And the lord

shall bring him near to the worship of Him. He shall not judge according to the sight of his eyes, not

shall he reprove according to the hearing of ears. But he shall judge the poor in truth, and shall reprove

in faithfulness for the needy of the people. He shall smite the guilty of the land with the word of his

mouth, and with the speech of his lips he shall slay Armilus the wicked. The righteous shall surround

him, and the faithful shall be near him.

Isaiah 11:2.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 93a-93b.

… R. Tanhum said: Bar Kappara expounded in Sepphoris: What is meant by, These six of barley gave

he to me? What are „six of barley‟? Shall we say it is meant literally? But was it Boaz‘s practice to

give [only] six barley grains? [93b] But [if it means] six se’ahs, can a woman take six se’ahs?—But he



Mishael and Azariah. David, for it is written, Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I

have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a

man of war, and understanding in matters, … The Messiah—as it is written, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom

and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge of the fear of the Lord. And

shall make him of quick understanding [wa-hariho] in the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 11:2.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis II, 4.

… AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED: this alludes to the spirit of Messiah, as you read, And the

spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isa. XI, 2).

Isaiah 11:2.


Another reason why “attudim” is written in full and the other word with a superfluous waw. It

alludes to the six sons descended form Nahshon who were possessed of six blessings. They are the

following: David, the Messiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. How do we know it of David?

Because it is written, ‗Skilful in playing‘, etc. (I Sam. XVI, 18). ‗The Messiah‘? Because it is written,

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; the spirit of wisdom and understanding (Isa. XI, 2), …

Isaiah 11:2.


… R. Judah b. Simon said: The meaning is that as a reward for, AND HE MEASURED SIX

BARLEYS AND LAID [THEM] ON HER, he was vouchsafed that there should arise from her six

righteous men, each one of them possessing six outstanding virtues, viz. David, Hezekiah, Josiah,

Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, Daniel, and the Messiah … The Messiah, as it is said, And the spirit of

the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, etc. (Isa. XI, 2).

Isaiah 11:3.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 93a-93b.

… R. Tanhum said: Bar Kappara expounded in Sepphoris: What is meant by, These six of barley gave

he to me? What are „six of barley‟? Shall we say it is meant literally? But was it Boaz‘s practice to

give [only] six barley grains? [93b] But [if it means] six se’ahs, can a woman take six se’ahs?—But he



Mishael and Azariah. David, for it is written, Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I

have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a

man of war, and understanding in matters, … The Messiah—as it is written, And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom

and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge of the fear of the Lord. And

shall make him of quick understanding [wa-hariho] in the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 11:3.







Isaiah 11:3b.


Raba said: He smells [a man] and judges, as it is written, and he shall not judge after the sight of his

eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, yet with righteousness shall he judge the poor. (Bar Koziba reigned two and a half years, and then said to the Rabbis, ‗I am the Messiah.‘ They

answered, ‗Of Messiah it is written that he smells and judges: let us see whether he [Bar Koziba] can do

so.‘ When they saw that he was unable to judge by the scent, they slew him.)

Isaiah 11:4a.


Raba said: He smells [a man] and judges, as it is written, and he shall not judge after the sight of his

eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, yet with righteousness shall he judge the poor.

(Bar Koziba reigned two and a half years, and then said to the Rabbis, ‗I am the Messiah.‘ They

answered, ‗Of Messiah it is written that he smells and judges: let us see whether he [Bar Koziba] can do

so.‘ When they saw that he was unable to judge by the scent, they slew him.)

Isaiah 11:4 .


The fifth interpretation makes it refer to the Messiah … AND THEY REACHED HER PARCHED

CORN, means that he will be restored to his throne, as it is said, And he shall smite the land with the

rod of his mouth (Isa. XI, 4).

Isaiah 11:4.


… Should it be reported to the lord Messiah in the time-to-come, ―A certain land is in rebellion against


mouth (Isa. 11:4).

Isaiah 11:4.







Isaiah 11:4.


… The verse He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall

break in pieces the oppressor (Ps. 72:4) is like the verse in which it is said of the Messiah, ―But with

righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the land; and he shall

smite the land with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked‖ (Isa.

11:4).

Isaiah 11:4.

Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs VI, 10, § 1.

… R. Huna said in the name of R. Eleazar the Modean: It is not written here, like „degalim‟ but, like

„midgaloth‟ implying, like the generation which was on the point of being carried into captivity but

was not. Which is this? The generation of the Messiah, as it says, … And how do we know that he

will inspire fear? Because it says, And he shall smite the land with the rod of his mouth (Isa. XI, 4).

Isaiah 11:6.


And a king shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah shall be anointed from among his

children‘s children. And upon him shall rest the spirit of divine prophecy, the spirit of wisdom and

sagacity, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. And the lord

shall bring him near to the worship of Him. He shall not judge according to the sight of his eyes, not

shall he reprove according to the hearing of ears. But he shall judge the poor in truth, and shall

reprove in faithfulness for the needy of the people. He shall smite the guilty of the land with the word

of his mouth, and with the speech of his lips he shall slay Armilus the wicked. The righteous shall

surround him, and the faithful shall be near him. In the days of Israel‘s Messiah, peace shall abound in

the land; the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf

and the lion and the fatling together, and a small suckling child leading them. And the cow and the

bear shall graze, their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The

suckling child shall play laughingly over the hole of the winding serpent, and the weaned child shall put

his hands over the eyeballs of the venomous snake. They shall do no harm nor destroy on all My holy

mountain, for the land shall become full of the knowledge of the worship of the Lord, as the waters

cover the sea. And it shall be at that time that kings shall obey the descendant of Jesse, who is destined

to stand as a sign to the nations, and the place of his dwelling shall be glorious. At that time the Lord

shall again show His might a second time, to deliver the remnant of His people who are left, from

Assyria, form Egypt, from Pathros, from India, from Elam, from Babylon, from Hamath, and from the

islands of the sea. And He shall raise a sign to the nations, and shall gather together the scattered of

Israel, and shall bring back the Dispersion of Judah from the four directions of the earth. The jealousy

of the tribe of Ephraim shall vanish, and they who oppress the tribe of Judah shall be destroyed. They

of the tribe of Ephraim shall not be jealous of the tribe of Judah, and they of the tribe of Judah shall not

oppress the tribe of Ephraim. But they shall put their shoulders together to smite the Philistines who

are in the west; together they shall despoil the people of the east; they shall put forth their hand against

Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall become subservient to them. And the Lord shall dry up the

tongue of the sea of Egypt, and He shall raise the striking power of his might over the Euphrates by the

word of His prophets, and He shall smite it into seven brooks which they can cross dryshod. And there

shall be a paved road for the remnant of His people who are left from the Assyrian, just as there was for

Israel on the day of their going up from the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 11:7.


… The sixth is that The cow and bear shall feed (ib. XI, 7)

The footnote after the reference in the Midrash says: ‗Universal peace, even among wild beasts, will

prevail.‘

Isaiah 11:10.


… Furthermore, the royal Messiah will be descended from the tribe of Judah, as it says, And it shall

come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him

shall the nations seek (Isa. XI, 10).

Isaiah 11:10.


R. Hanin said: Israel will not require the teaching of the royal Messiah in the future, for it says, Unto

him shall the nations seek (Isa. XI, 10).

Isaiah 11:10.

Midrash on Psalms, Book One, Psalm 21, I.

For the leader. A Psalm of David. The king shall joy in Thy strength, O Lord (Ps. 21:1-2). These

words are to be read in the light of what Scripture says elsewhere: In that day there shall be a root of

Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; unto him shall the nations seek (Isa. 11:10)—that

is, seek the king Messiah, David‘s son, who will remain hidden until the time of redemption.

Isaiah 11:11.


… And it shall come to pass (we-hayah) in that day, that the Lord will set His hand again a second

time to recover the remnant of His people (ib. XI, 11);

The Midrash‘s footnote that precedes this text says: ‗This refers to the Messianic era.‘

Isaiah 11:11.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus I, 5.

… Joseph—for God will one day again redeem Israel from the wicked dominion as he redeemed them

from Egypt, as it says: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set His hand again

(yosif) the second time (Isa. XI, 11).

The Midrash‘s footnote after ‗it says‘ states: ‗The entire chapter is Messianic‘.

Isaiah 12:2.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XXIII, 6.

… „I will sing of Thy strength,‟ refers to the Messianic era, for it says, Behold, God is my salvation; I

will trust, and will not be afraid (Isa. XII, 2).

Isaiah 14:5.

Pəsiqtâ də -Raḇ Kahănâ, Piska 5.












are Elijah, the king Messiah, Melchizedek, and the priest who was anointed in time of war [to exhort

the armies of Israel]. By the words The time of singing is come (Song. 2:12) is meant [the season when

plants are pruned or cut back—hence metaphorically speaking], the time has come for the foreskin to

be cut; the time has come for the wicked to be broken and cut down: ―The Lord hath broken the staff of

the wicked‖ (Isa. 14:5); the time has come for the wicked kingdom to be rooted out of the world; the

time has come for the kingdom of heaven to be revealed: ―And the Lord shall be king over all the

earth,‖ etc. (Zech. 14:9).

Isaiah 14:29.


Rejoice not, all you Philistines, that the dominion which had held you in servitude is shattered, for the

Messiah shall come forth from the descendants of Jesse, and his deeds among you shall be like those of

the flying serpent.

The Messianic interpretation of this text comes from the phrase ׃שרש ―from the root,‖ in verse 29 which is

presumed to be the root of Jesse.

Isaiah 16:1.


They shall send tribute to the mighty Messiah of Israel, because they were like a desert to the mountain

of the congregation of Zion. And he shall be like a bird whose nestlings are removed; the daughters of

Moab shall be carried off and exiled to Arnon. Take counsel, get advice! Make your shade during

midday like the night. Hide the homeless and do not expose the ones who are scattered. O Kingdom of

Moab, let the exiles settle among you; shelter them form the despoilers. For the oppressor has come to

an end, the despoiler has been destroyed, all who used to trample to death have vanished from the earth.

Then the Messiah of Israel shall establish his throne in goodness, and shall occupy it in truth, in the city

of David, judging, demanding, justice and doing righteousness.

The normal translation in verse 1 is ―ruler of the land,‖ the Targumist takes universally as the ruler or the

earth, rather than merely of the land.

Isaiah 16:5.



down, even the feet of the poor (Isa 26:6); what follows this? And a throne is established through

mercy (Isa. 16:5).

Actually this verse occurs much earlier in the Book of Isaiah. But the idea is that after the ‗treading down‘

shall come the reign of the Messiah. In R. H. 31b the verse laying it low, etc. (and the same will apply here

to the foot shall tread it down) is applied to Tiberias, because of its low-lying position.

Isaiah 16:5.

Midrash on Psalms, Book 5, Psalm 110, 4.

… To the Messiah also it will be said And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit to it

in truth in the tent of David, judging (Isa. 16:5). That is, the Holy One, blessed be He, declared: The

Messiah shall sit, and I will fight the battles. Hence, he shall sit to it in truth in the tent of David.

What, then, is the Messiah to do? He is to read and study in the Torah which is called truth, for it is said

The ordinances of the Lord are true (Ps. 19:10); and it is also written Buy the truth, and sell it not

(Prov. 23:23). Hence it is said And he shall sit it in truth.

Isaiah 16:5.


Then the Messiah of Israel shall establish his throne in goodness, and shall occupy it in truth, in the city

of David, judging, demanding, justice and doing righteousness.

The Targumist takes ―throne,‖ in verse 5 as ―his‖ throne in a universal sense and the ―tent of David‖ is

rendered the ―city of David‖. The Midrash understands verse 5 Messianically. All of the major rabbinic

commentators take it as a reference to Hezekiah.

Isaiah 18:5.


… R. Hama b. Hanina said: The sons of David will not come until even the pettiest kingdom ceases [to

have power] over Israel, as it is written, He shall both cut off the springs with pruning hooks and take

away and cut down the branches; …

Isaiah 18:7.


… R. Hama b. Hanina said: The sons of David will not come until even the pettiest kingdom ceases [to

have power] over Israel, as it is written, He shall both cut off the springs with pruning hooks and take

away and cut down the branches; … and this is followed by, In that time shall the present be brought

unto the Lord of hosts of a people that is scattered and peeled.

Isaiah 18:7.


UNTIL SHILOH COME. This indicates that all the nations of the world will bring a gift to Messiah the

son of David, as it says, In that time shall a present be brought (yubal shay) unto the Lord of hosts

(Isa. XVIII, 7). Transpose „yubal shay‟ and expound it, and you find that it reads Shiloh.

Isaiah 18:7.


… R. Judah said—some maintain that it was said by R. Berechiah in the name of R. Judah: At that time

a present (sy) shall be brought unto the Lord of hosts, a people scattered (Isa. 18:7). By Atbash, sy

equals bm, meaning ―in their persons.‖ Thus all nations shall bring in the persons of the children of

Israel a gift to the King Messiah—that is, ―they will bring Israel,‖ for it is said And they shall bring all

your brethren as a gift unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in covered

litters (sabbim), and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain (Isa. 66:20).

Isaiah 21:11-12.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers XI, 5.

… Another exposition: AND KEEP THEE means, He will watch the end for you. In the same strain it

says, The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir: Watchman, what of the night?… The

watchman said: The morning cometh, etc. (Isa. XXI, 11f.).

The footnote in the Midrash indicates that the ‗end‘ is referring to the end of Israel‘s sufferings; the arrival

of the Messianic era.

Isaiah 21:12.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XVIII, 12.

Why does He call it A NIGHT OF WATCHING (XII, 42)? Because, on that night, He performed great

things for the righteous, just as He had wrought for Israel in Egypt … and on that night Messiah and

Elijah will be made great; for it says: The watchman said: The morning cometh, and also the night

(Isa. XXI, 12).

Isaiah 21:12.

Midrash Sifre on Numbers §40.

… And keep thee. Keep thee from troubles which are to precede the Messianic times. Cf. (Isa. xxi,

12): “Watchman, what of the night”? (interpreted eschatologically).

Isaiah 23:18.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes I, 7, 9.

… From the place where wealth accumulates, viz. the kingdom of Edom, in this world, thence it will be

dispersed in the days of the Messiah; as it is written, And her gain and her hire shall be holiness to the

Lord (Isa. XXIII, 18).

Isaiah 24:16.

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 94a

… Straightway the earth exclaimed: ‗Sovereign of the Universe! Let me utter song before Thee instead

of this righteous man [Hezekiah], and make him the Messiah.‘ So it broke into song before Him, as it

is written, From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. Then

the Prince of the Universe said to Him: ‗Sovereign of the Universe! It [the earth] hath fulfilled Thy

desire [for songs of praise] on behalf of this righteous man.‘ But a heavenly Voice cried out. „It is my

secret, it is my secret.‟ To which the prophet rejoined, ‗Woe is me, woe is me: how long [must we

wait]‘? The heavenly Voice [again] cried out. „The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea,

the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously:‟ which Raba—others say, R. Isaac—interpreted:

until there come spoilers, and spoilers of the spoilers.

Isaiah 24:23.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus V, 10, 12.

… and in Messianic times it will also be so, as it is said: For the Lord of Hosts will reign in Mount

Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be glory (Isa. XXIV, 23).

Isaiah 24:23.

Midrash Rabbah, Numbers II, 13, 13.

… In the Messianic era the sun and moon will suffer humiliation; as it is said: Then the moon shall be

confounded, and the sun ashamed; for the Lord of Hosts will reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem,

and before His elders shall be glory (Isa. XXIV, 23).

The Midrash‘s footnote reads: ‗The comparison may also be drawn as follows: The sun is one (Abraham);

the moon is one (Isaac), while the stars are many (Jacob and his seeds). E.J. explains the comparison

differently. The sun possesses light in itself; the moon merely reflects the light of the sun. The stars, too,

possess light themselves, but they are enormously distant. Similarly, Abraham possessed that inner light

by which he abandoned idolatry of his own accord and came to the true understanding of God. Isaac,

however, was brought up from very birth with that understanding. Hence his light was but a reflection of

Abraham‘s, Jacob represents the nation as fully grown and developed. They will shine with their own

light, but only like the stars—in the distance—i.e. in the hereafter or the Messianic era.‘

Isaiah 24:23.

Midrash Sifre on Numbers, Numbers 11:16.

… R. Shimeon ben Johai says: ―Whence [do we know] that also in the future (Messianic kingdom) God

will honour the elders? From Isa. xxiv. 23: ‗When the Lord shall reign in Zion and to all his elders

honour (glory).‘ It does not say: ‗His messengers,‘ ‗His prophets,‘ but ‗His elders.‘ Now if God (who

said the world should be and it was) honour them?‖ Thus thou also findest that God has more sorrow

over one elder than over the whole of Israel, as it is said (Isa. xlvii, 6): “I was wroth with my people, I

have polluted (holatti) my inheritance”; God, as it were, was “sick” over Israel, but concerning the

elders, it goes on to say, “Upon the ancient His yoke was very heavy.”

Isaiah 24:23.


… They shall fear thee as long as the sun is upon them and the moon is before them until the

generation of generations (Ps. 72:5): They shall fear the Messiah as long as the sun is upon them—that

is, fear him in this world in which the light of the sun is required; and shall fear him as long … as the

moon is before them—that is, fear him for as long as the moon looks down upon them before its light is

finally confounded. For there will come a time of which it is said ―Then the moon shall be confounded

and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem‖ (Isa. 24:23).

Isaiah 25:8.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XXVI, 2.

… R. Hanina said: In the Messianic age there will be death among none save the children of Noah. R.

Joshua b. Levi said: Neither among Israel nor among the other nations, for it is written, And the Lord

God will wipe away tears from off all faces (Isa. XXV, 8).

Isaiah 25:8.


… The ninth is that there will be no more death in the world, for it says: He will swallow up death for

ever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of His people will He

take away (ib. XXV, 8).

Isaiah 25:8.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XXX, 3.

But when Perez arose, his „generations‟ were spelt fully again, because from him Messiah would arise,

and in his days God would cause death to be swallowed up, as it says, He will swallow up death for

ever (Isa. XXV, 8); on this account is the „toledoth‟ of „The heaven and the earth‟ and of Perez spelt

fully. For a similar reason the „toledoth‟ of Isaac is spelt defectively, to exclude Jacob from the

category of the wicked.

The Midrash has a footnote after the word ‗wicked‘ which reads: ‗For otherwise it should have been spelt

in full, since the Messiah can be traced back to Isaac‘s generations (E.J.).‘

Isaiah 25:9.

Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anith 31a.

… Ulla Bira‘ah said in the name of R. Eleazar: In the days to come the Holy One, blessed be He, will

hold a chorus for the righteous and He will sit in their midst in the Garden of Eden and every one of

them will point with his fingers towards Him, as it is said, And it shall be said in that day: Lo, this is

our God, for whom we waited, that He might save us; this is the Lord for whom we waited, we will be

glad and rejoice in His salvation.

Isaiah 25:9.


… but in the Messianic future there will be no death at all; as it is stated, He will swallow up death for

ever (Isa. XXV, 8).

Isaiah 26:6.



down, even the feet of the poor (ib. 6); …

Isaiah 26:6.


… Upon Edom do I cast My shoe (Ps. 60:10) to trample it under foot, as is said The foot shall trample it

down (Isa. 26:6). This is the foot of the Holy One, blessed be He, for Scripture says, ―Yea, I trod them

in Mine anger, and trampled them in My fury‖ (Isa. 63:3). Even the feet of the poor (Isa. 26:6): that is,

the king Messiah, ―poor, and riding upon an ass‖ (Zech. 9:9), will trample Edom down, and so, too,

will The steps of the needy (Isa. 26:6), that is, the steps of Israel of whom it is said ―And Israel was

greatly impoverished‖ ( Judg. 6:6).

Isaiah 26:10.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXVII, 5.

… ‗Thou indeed hast thus said: AND WHAT THEN SHALL I DO FOR THEE.‘ ‗Yet Let favour be

shown to him‘ (Isa. XXVI, 10), he pleaded;— „He is wicked‟ (ib.), came the reply. „Hath he not learned

righteousness‟ (ib.) he pursued, ‗did he then not honour his parents?‘—„In the land of uprightness will

he deal wrongfully‟ (ib.), He made answer, ‗for he will one day stretch out his hand against the

Temple.‘ ‗In that case,‘ said he to him, ‗vouchsafe prosperity to him in this world, And let him not

behold the majesty of the Lord (ib.) in the Messianic future.‘

Isaiah 26:19.


… UNTO THE PLACE WHITHER THE RIVERS GO, THITHER THEY CAN GO AGAIN; i.e. to

the place where the dead assemble in the World to Come they return and will utter a song in the days of

the Messiah. What is the reason for this statement? From the uttermost part of the earth have we

heard songs (Isa. XXIV, 16), and Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise, awake and sing (ib.

XXVI, 19).

Isaiah 27:10.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus I, 26.

… (The Messianic king, too, who will one day punish Edom, dwells with them in that province, as it is

said: There shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down (Isa. XXVII, 10).

The Midrash has a footnote after this quote which reads: ‗The beginning of the verse reads: For the

fortified city is solitary. The Rabbis referred this to Rome in its days of punishment, and would seem to

have translated the end of the verse thus: and there (sc. in Rome) he— i.e. the Messiah—shall lie down.‘

Isaiah 27:13.


… Our Rabbis taught: In the seven year cycle at the end of which the son of David will come—in the

first year this verse will be fulfilled: And I will cause it to rain upon one city and cause it not to rain

upon another city, … in the sixth, [Heavenly] sounds; in the seventh, wars; and at the conclusion of the

septennate the son of David will come.

The Talmud has a footnote after the word ‗sounds‘ which reads: ‗Either Heavenly voices announcing the

advent of Messiah, or the blasts of the great Shofar‘; cf. Isa. XXVII, 13.

Isaiah 27:13.

Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 11b.

… In Tishri they will be delivered in time to come‘. This is learnt from the two occurrences of the

word ‗horn‘ … and it is written in another place, In that day a great horn shall be blown.

Isaiah 27:13.


… And it shall come to pass (we-hayah) in that day, that a great horn shall be blown, etc. (Isa. XXVII,

13); And it shall come to pass (we-hayah) in that day, that a man shall rear a young cow, etc.…

The Midrash has a footnote after these references which reads: ‗This refers to the Messianic era.‘

Isaiah 28:3.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCIX, 8.

… NOR THE RULER‘S STAFF FROM BETWEEN HIS FEET: when he comes of whom it is written,

The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under foot (Isa. XXVIII, 3).

The Midrash has a footnote after this quote which reads: ‗Which the Midrash refers to the Messianic era. v.

supra, XCVII (NV)‘.

Isaiah 28:5.


At that time the Messiah of the Lord of Hosts shall be a wreath of joy and a crown of praise to the

remnant of His people,

The Targumist gives no indication where he draws a Messianic implication from this verse.

Isaiah 28:6.



down, even the feet of the poor (ib. 6); …

The Midrash has a footnote after the word ‗Messiah‘ which reads: ‗The Sanhedrin were not exiled from

Tiberias. There the Torah waits, as it were, for the Messiah, and there the Torah will confer greatness on

him. Another possible rendering is: Tiberias completes (the servitude), for the Sanhedrin shall not be

exiled from Tiberias as it was from its previous stations‘.

Isaiah 28:6.


And a proclamation of true justice to those who preside in court, that they may render right decisions;

and to accord victory to those who go forth to battle, and return them to their homes in peace.

The Targumist gives no indication where he draws a Messianic implication from this verse.

Isaiah 29:22.


… In the Messianic era the sun and moon will suffer humiliation; as it is said: … The stars, however,

will not be humiliated. Thus will it be with Abraham, and Isaac, whose faces in the hereafter will

blanch on account of their children; Abraham‘s because of Ishmael and the sons of Keturah; Isaac‘s on

account of Esau and his chiefs. And as the stars will suffer no humiliation, so also will Jacob suffer no

humiliation, for he will not need to feel shame; as it is said: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither

shall his face now wax pale (ib. XXIX, 22).

Isaiah 29:23.


… In the Messianic era the sun and moon will suffer humiliation; as it is said: … And as the stars will

suffer no humiliation, so also will Jacob suffer no humiliation, for he will not need to feel shame; as it

is said: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale (ib. XXIX, 22). Why?

When he seeth his children, the work of My hands, etc. (ib. 23); …

Isaiah 30:10.









51:3). And what will He say to her? Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is

risen upon thee (Isa. 60:1). The congregation of Israel replies: Rise Thou up at the head of us, and we

shall follow Thee. Thereupon the Holy One will rise, as is said Now will I arise, saith the Lord; now

will I be exalted; now will I lift Myself up ( Isa. 30:10).

Isaiah 30:18.


… But [even so], wait for him, as it is written, Though he tarry, wait for him. Should you say. We look

forward [to his coming] but He does not: therefore Scripture saith, And therefore will the Lord wait,

that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you.

But since we look forward to it, and He does likewise, what delays [his coming]?—The Attribute of

Justice delays it. But since the Attribute of Justice delays it, why do we await it?—To be rewarded [for

hoping], as it is written, blessed are all they that wait him.

The Talmud has a footnote after ‗The Attribute of Justice delays it‘ that explains the reason for the delay of

Messiah‘s of advent to be: ‗I.e. because we are not yet worthy of it.‘

Isaiah 30:25.


… How do we know that He will do the same in the time to come?… And that the same wil l happen in

the days of the Messiah? From: And there shall be upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill

streams and watercourses (Isa. XXX, 25), and also from: I will open rivers upon the high hills (ib. XLI,

18).

This Rabbinic belief about Messiah is that in the Messianic era the Lord will supply the children with an

ample supply of water.

Isaiah 30:26.

Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim 68a.

R. Hisda opposed [two verses]. It is written, Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed;

whereas it is written, Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the

sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days? There is no difficulty: the former refers to the

world to come; the latter to the days of the Messiah.

Isaiah 30:26.


R. Hisda opposed [two verses]. It is written, Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,

when the Lord of Hosts shall reign, whilst [elsewhere] it is written, Moreover the light of the moon

shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days .—It

is difficulty: the latter refers to the Messianic era, the former to the world to come.

Isaiah 30:26.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis III, 6.

It was taught: The light which was created in the six days of Creation cannot illumine by day, because

it would eclipse the light of the sun, nor by night, because it was created only to illumine by day. Then

where is it? It is stored up for the righteous in the Messianic future, as it says, Moreover the light of the

moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven

days (Isa. XXX, 26).

Isaiah 30:26.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis X, 4.

R. Phinehas said in the name of R. Hama of Sepphoris: We learned: White figs have their Sabbatical

year in the second year, because they produce in three years. But on that day the fruits were produced

in one day. And in the Messianic future the Holy One, blessed be He, will heal that injury, for it is

said, And He will heal the stroke of their wound (Isa. XXX, 26), i.e. He will heal the wound of the

world.

Isaiah 30:26.


… Is there a man able to look at God? But what will God do to the sun? He will make it give forty-

nine times as much light, as it says: And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the

light of the sun shall be sevenfold (ib. XXX, 26).

Isaiah 30:26.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XVIII, 11.

In this world the miracle was performed at night, because it was of a transitory nature, but in the

Messianic Age, night will become day, for it is said: Moreover, the light of the moon shall be as the

light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold (Isa. XXX, 26), as the light which God had

created at first, but stored away in Paradise.

Isaiah 30:26.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus L, 5.

‗[Because] you have made a candlestick for Me, I will cause it to shine for you sevenfold in the

Messianic Age,‘ as it is said, Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the

light of the sun shall be sevenfold (ib. XXX, 26).

Isaiah 30:26.








that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might (Judg. v, 31). ‗His life‘ [immortality]?

From the text, For as the days of a tree shall be the days of My people (Isa. LXV, 22) … ‗His stature‘

(komatho)? From, And made you go upright—komemiyuth (Lev. XXVI, 13) … How do we know it

of the fruit of the earth and the fruit of the tree? Because it is written, For as the seed of peace, the vine

shall give her fruit and the ground shall give her increase, etc. (Zech. VIII, 12). Whence of the lights?

From, The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun (Isa. xxx, 26).

Isaiah 30:26.

Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes XI, 6.

AND THE LIGHT IS SWEET, AND A PLEASANT THING IT IS FOR THE EYES TO BEHOLD

THE SUN (XI, 7). Sweet is the light of the Torah; AND A PLEASANT THING IT IS FOR THE

EYES: happy is he whose study enlightens him like the sun. R. Aha says: Sweet is the light of the

World to Come; happy is he who is worthy to behold that light, as it is stated, Moreover the light of the

moon shall be as the light of the sun (Isa. XXX, 26).

Isaiah 32:20.

Midrash Rabbah, Deuteronomy VI, 7.

Another explanation: What is the meaning of, THOU SHALT IN ANY WISE LET THE DAM GO? If

you will fulfill this precept you will hasten thereby the coming of King Messiah, of whom Scripture

uses the expression shiluah (‗sending free‘), as it said, That send forth freely the feet of the ox and the

ass (Isa. XXXII, 20).

Tanhuma, par, on Gen. XXXII, 6, refers this verse to the Messiah.

Isaiah 33:7.


… And so the congregation of Israel says: Master of universes, every hope in the world has a set time

for its fulfillment. but the hope for the Messiah has no such set time. The Holy One answers: Come,

and I will reassure thee, as is said The Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places (Isa.

51:3) … The voice of them that wait in thy behalf? They lift up the voice, together do they sing ; [for

they shall see, eye to eye, how the Lord returneth to Zion] (Isa. 52:8). R. Meir said: by them that wait

in thy behalf are meant ministering angels who have been waiting for the rebuilding of Jerusalem,

weeping and mourning for Jerusalem ever since she was destroyed, as is said The celestial beings cry,

―[The Temple‟s destruction] is an outrage”, the angels of peace weep bitterly (Isa. 33:7).

Isaiah 33:14.


… It is written, The sinners in Zion are afraid (Isa. XXXIII, 14) … Thus, in the Messianic future … the

Gentiles will fear: „The sinners in Zion are afraid.‟

Isaiah 33:20.

Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs I, 5.

… R. Eleazar b. Jacob taught: It is written, A tent that shall not be removed—yiz’an (Isa. XXXIII, 20):

the word yiz’an is equivalent to ‗shall not go forth (yeze) and shall not stir (yanu’a)‘. Just as the tents

of Kedar are subject to no foreign yoke, so in the Messianic future shall Israel be subject to the yoke of

no man.

Isaiah 34:5.


THAT WHICH SHALL BEFALL YOU IN THE END OF DAYS … Behold, it shall come down upon

Edom, etc. (Isa. XXXIV, 5).

Isaiah 34:5.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XXI, 1.

… In the Messianic era, both will receive their rewards; Esau will receive his, for it says, For My sword

hath drunk its full in heaven; behold, it shall come down upon Edom (Isa. XXXIV, 5).

Isaiah 35:10.


… The tenth is that there will no longer be any sighing, wailing or anguish, but that all will be

rejoicing, for it says: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion (ib.

XXXV, 10).

The Midrash has a footnote after this quote which reads: ―In Gen. R. XII, 6, six things are enumerated that

will happen in Messianic times, among which are some not enumerated here. It is also surprising that our

passage does not include Resurrection and other things promised by the Prophets. The point stressed by

the Midrash is that all these things will be renewed in the month on which they departed from Egypt, ha-hodesh ha-zeh (E.V. ‗THIS MONTH‘) now being translated ‗this renewal‘, from hadash ‗new‘ ‖.

Isaiah 35:10.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XXIII, 11.

… But in the Messianic Age, there will no longer be any troubles, for it says, Because the former

troubles are forgotten (Isa. LXV, 16), and They shall obtain gladness and joy (ib. XXXV, 10).

Isaiah 35:10.

Pəsiqtâ də -Raḇ Kahănâ, Supplement 5.

… The splendor of the garment He puts on the Messiah will stream forth from world‘s end to world‘s

end, as implied by the words As a bridegroom putteth on a priestly diadem (Isa. 61:10) … Another

comment: A bride is adorned with grace in the eyes of all who see her. But since a bride—once the

days given over to her bridal bower are done—must go back to household tasks, is the congregation of

Israel likewise to go back to its servitude? No, says Scripture, The ransomed of the Lord shall return

… and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads (Isa. 35:10, 11).

Isaiah 35:11.


… The splendor of the garment He puts on the Messiah will stream forth from world‘s end to world‘s

end, as implied by the words As a bridegroom putteth on a priestly diadem (Isa. 61:10) … Another

comment: A bride is adorned with grace in the eyes of all who see her. But since a bride—once the

days given over to her bridal bower are done—must go back to household tasks, is the congregation of

Israel likewise to go back to its servitude? No, says Scripture, The ransomed of the Lord shall return

… and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads (Isa. 35:10, 11).

Isaiah 40:31.


And should you imagine that they will suffer pain—therefore Scripture saith, But they that wait upon

the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be

weary; and they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 41:16a.


… Says Israel: ‗The hour will come in the Messianic future and you will see how Thou shalt fan them,

and the wind shall carry them away‘ (Isa. XLI, 16); …

Isaiah 41:16b.


… Says Israel: ‗The hour will come in the Messianic future and you will see how Thou shalt fan them,

and the wind shall carry them away (Isa. XLI, 16); but as for Israel—And thou shalt rejoice in the

Lord, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel‘ (ib.).

Isaiah 41:18.


… How do we know that He will do the same in the time to come?… And that the same will happen in

the days of the Messiah? From: And there shall be upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill

streams and watercourses (Isa. XXX, 25), and also from: I will open rivers upon the high hills (ib. XLI,

18).

This Rabbinic belief about Messiah is that in the Messianic era the Lord will supply the children with an

ample supply of water.

Isaiah 41:25.


… Or, the Messianic King whose place is in the north will come and rebuild the Sanctuary which is

situated in the south. This is [indicated by] what is written: I have roused up one from the north, and

he is come (Isa. XLI, 25).

Isaiah 41:25.


… When the king Messiah who abides in the north will awaken he will come and build the Temple

which is situated in the south. This accords with the text, I have roused up one from the north, and he

is come, etc. (Isa. XLI, 25).

Isaiah 41:25.

Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs IV, 16.

… AWAKE, O NORTH WIND, AND COME, THOU SOUTH? He explains: When the exiles who are

living in the north shall bestir themselves and come and encamp in the south, as it says, Behold, I will

bring them from the north country, and gather them form the uttermost parts of the earth (Jer. XXXI,

8). When Gog and Magog who live in the north shall come and fall upon the south, as it says, And I

will turn thee about and lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up (Ezek. XXXIX, 2). When the

Messiah who is in the north shall awake and come and build the Temple which is in the south, as it

says, I have roused up one from the north, and he is come (Isa. XLI, 25).

Isaiah 41:27.

Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim 5a.

… For the School of R. Ishmael taught: As a reward for [the observance of] the three ‗firsts‘ they

[Israel] merited three firsts: to destroy the seed of Esau; the building of the Temple; and the name of the

Messiah … ‗and the name of the Messiah,‘ for it is written, First unto Zion, behold, behold them.

Isaiah 41:27.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXIII, 8.

… and will bring you the first, viz. the royal Messiah, of whom it is written, A harbinger [lit. ‗first‘]

unto Zion will I give: Behold, behold them, and unto Jerusalem, etc. (Isa. XLI, 27).

Isaiah 41:27.


… Here is another explanation of THIS MONTH SHALL BE UNTO YOU THE BEGINNING OF

MONTHS. God is in a way called „first‟, as it says: I am the first, and I am the last (Isa. XLIV, 6); …

and Messiah is called „first‟, for it says: The first [E.V. „harbinger‟] unto Zion will I give: Behold,

behold them (Isa. XLI, 27) … Then will Messiah who is called „first‟ come in the first month, as it is

said: THIS MONTH SHALL BE UNTO YOU THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS.

Isaiah 41:27.


… and Messiah is called „first‟, for it says: The first [E.V. „harbinger‟] unto Zion will I give: Behold,

behold them (Isa. XLI, 27).

Isaiah 41:27.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XXX, 16.

… and shall bring to you the „first‟, namely the King Messiah, of whom it is written, The First unto

Zion will I give: Behold, behold them, and to Jerusalem a messenger of good tidings (Isa. XLI, 27).

Isaiah 42:1.

Midrash on Psalms, Book Two, Psalm 43.

… and Thy truth being the Messiah, son of David, as is written ―The Lord hath sworn in truth unto

David; He will not turn from it: of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne‖ (Ps, 132:11).

Likewise Scripture says, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet (Mal. 3:23) who is one redeemer,

and speaks of the second redeemer in the verse Behold My servant whom I uphold (Isa. 42:1). Hence O

send out Thy light and Thy truth.

Isaiah 42:1.

Targum Jonathan To The Prophets.

Behold, My servant, the Messiah, whom I bring near, My chosen one, in whom My memra takes

delight; I will place My holy spirit upon him, and he shall reveal My law to the nations. He shall not

cry, nor shout, nor raise his voice on the outside. The humble, who are like the bruised reed, he shall

not break, and the poor of My people, who are like candles, he shall not extinguish; he shall truly bring

forth justice. He shall not faint and he shall not tire unto he establishes justice in the earth; and the isles

shall wait for his Torah. Thus says the God of the universe, the Lord, who created the heavens and

suspended them, who established the earth and its inhabitants, who gives life to the people who are

upon it and spirit to those who walk in it. "I, the Lord, have anointed you in righteousness, and have

firmly taken you by the hand, and established you, and I have given you as a covenant of the people, a s

a light of the nations. To open the eyes of the house of Israel, who have been blind to the Torah; to

bring back their Dispersions from among the nations, they, who are like prisoners; and to deliver them,

who are imprisoned like prisoners in darkness, from the servitude of the empires. I am the Lord, that is

My name, and My glory, which I have revealed unto you, I will not give to any other people, nor My

praise to those who worship idols. The former things, behold, they have come to pass, and new things I

declare; even before they occur I announce them to you.

Isaiah 42:5.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVI, 5.

(Our teachers said two things in R. Helbo‘s name: Why did the Patriarchs long for burial in Eretz

Israel? Because the dead of Eretz Israel will be the first to be resurrected in the days of Messiah …

Resh Lakish said: There is a text explicitly teaching that when they reach Eretz Israel God will put a

soul into them, for it says, He giveth a soul unto the people upon it (Isa. XLII, 5).

Isaiah 42:5.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVI.

… R. Simeon b. Lakish said: Because the dead of that land will be the first to be resurrected in the days

of the Messiah. R. Simeon b. Lakish inferred this in Bar Kappara‘s name from the following verse: He

giveth a soul unto the people upon it (Isa. XLII, 5).

Isaiah 42:5.

Midrash Rabbah, Genesis LXXIV, 1.

… It means, however, the land whose dead will be the first to be resurrected in the days of the Messiah.

Resh Lakish in Bar Kappara‘s name deduced it from the following verse: He giveth a soul unto the

people upon it (Isa. XLII, 5).

Isaiah 42:13.

Pəsiqtâ də -Raḇ Kahănâ, Piska 9.


into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive (ibid.). Did he not know that the daughters would

marry, would be fruitful, and would multiply? I shall not act as unknowingly as Pharaoh. I shall

destroy, slay, and cause to perish all Jews, both young and old, little children and women (Esther 3:13).

R. Levi went on: At the time of the Messiah‘s coming Gog and Magog will likewise say: Fools were all

the former who busied themselves with evil counsel against Israel. Did they not know that Israel have

their Partisan in heaven? We shall not act as unknowingly as all the other enemies of Israel—first, we

will make war against their Partisan, and then we shall turn upon Israel. Hence it is said The kings of

the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His

anointed (Ps. 2:2). But the Holy One will say to Gog and Magog: Oh ye wicked, do you set yourselves

to make war against Me? As ye live, I Myself will wage war against you. Accordingly, Scripture: [At

first,] the Lord will go forth merely as a mighty man, a man or war, even as He stirs up envy [of Israel

in Gog and Magog], whilst, [like a mortal], He cries and shouts aloud (Isa. 42:13). But then As the

Lord, He will go forth and fight against the nations, even as He fought in the day of battle [at the Red

Sea] (Zech. 14:3).

Isaiah 43:6.


… Another exposition: The expression, „Awake, O north wind‟ teaches that the winds will, in the

Messianic era, enter into a spirit of rivalry with one another. The south wind will say: ‗I shall bring

back the captivity of Teman and that of the Hagrites and the entire south‘, while the north wind will

say: ‗I will bring back the northern captivity.‘ And the Omnipresent will make peace between them,

and both will enter by one door, in order to fulfill the words of the text, I will say to the north: Give up,

and to the south: keep not back, bring My sons from far, etc. (ib. XLIII, 6).

Isaiah 43:6.

Midrash Rabbah, Esther II, 14.

… But in the Messianic future, at the gathering of the exiles, God has said, ‗I will bring a strong

clearing wind into the world in which both winds are combined‘; and so it says, I will say to the north:

Give up, and to the south: Keep not back, bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of

the earth (Isa. XLIII, 6).

Isaiah 43:10.


―You are witness before Me,‖ says the Lord, ―and My servant is the Messiah, whom I have chosen; that

you may know and believe Me, and that you may understand that I am He who was from the beginning,

and also that all eternities belong to Me, and besides Me there is no God.‖

The implication of this passage is that the coming of the Messiah is a testimonial to the existence of God,

even as Israel itself is a witness to Him. It is to be a vindication of Israel and Israel‘s faith.

Isaiah 43:18.

Babylonian Talmud, Berakoth 12b-13a.

… It has been taught: Ben Zoma said to the Sages: Will the Exodus from Egypt be mentioned in the

days of the Messiah? Was it not long ago said: Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, that

they shall no more say: As the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of

Egypt; but, As the Lord liveth that brought up that led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north

country and from all the countries whither I had driven them? … This does not mean that the name

Jacob shall be obliterated, but that Israel shall be the principal name and Jacob a secondary one. And

so it says: Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

Isaiah 44:6.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XXIV, 9.

… how much more glory will there be when the ‗I‘ used by the Holy One, blessed be He, will come to

be fulfilled, namely, that referred to in, Even to old age I am the same (Isa. XLVI, 4), and in the text,

Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and the last,

and beside Me there is no God (ib. XLIV, 6).

Isaiah 45:1.

Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 12a.

… R. Nahman son of R. Hisda gave the following exposition. What is the meaning of the verse, Thus

saith the Lord to his anointed to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden. Now was Cyrus the Messiah?

Rather what it means is: The Holy One blessed be He, said to the Messiah: I have a complaint on thy

behalf against Cyrus. I said, He shall build my house and gather my exiles.

Isaiah 45:13.

Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 12a.

… R. Nahman son of R. Hisda gave the following exposition. What is the meaning of the verse, Thus

saith the Lord to his anointed to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden. Now was Cyrus the Messiah?

Rather what it means is: The Holy One blessed be He, said to the Messiah: I have a complaint on thy

behalf against Cyrus. I said, He shall build my house and gather my exiles.

Isaiah 46:4.

Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus XXIV, 9.

… how much more glory will there be when the ‗I‘ used by the Holy One, blessed be He, will come to

fulfilled, namely, that referred to in, Even to old age I am the same (Isa. XLVI, 4).

Isaiah 48:11.


… R. Johanan also said: The son of David will come only in a generation that is either altogether

righteous or altogether wicked … Or altogether wicked, … and it is [elsewhere] written, For mine own

sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it.

Isaiah 49:7.

Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anith 14b–15a.

… R. Eleazar further said: Not all [will in the Messianic era] rise [before Israel], nor will all prostate

themselves; king will rise and princes prostrate themselves; ‗Kings will rise‘, for it is written, Thus

saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One [15a] to him who is despised of men, to him who is

abhorred of nations, to a servant of rulers; kings shall see and arise; and princes will prostrate

themselves,‘ for it is written, Princes and they shall prostrate themselves.

Isaiah 49:13.

Midrash on Proverbs, Chapter 19, 21

… The Messiah has been given seven names, and these are: Yinnon, Our Righteousness, Shoot,

Comforter, David, Shiloh, Elijah … Where [in Scripture] is Comforter? In the verse, For the Lord has

comforted His people, and has taken back His afflicted ones (Isa. 49:13).

Isaiah 49:18.







fulfillment, but the hope of the Messiah has no such set time. The Holy One answers: Come, and I will

reassure thee, as is said The Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places (Isa. 51:3).

And what will He say to her? Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon

thee (Isa. 60:1). The congregation of Israel replies: Rise Thou up at the head of us, and we shall follow

thee. Thereupon the Holy One will rise, as is said Now will I arise, saith the Lord; now will I be

exalted; now will I lift Myself up ( Isa. 30:10). And again Now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him

in safety at whom they puff (Ps. 12:6). And wherewith will the Holy One comfort Israel? By Zion‘s

ingathering of her sons in joy, as is said Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather

themselves together, and come to thee, etc. (Isa. 49:18).

Isaiah 49:20.

Midrash Rabbah, The Song of Songs VII, 5, § 3.

… Another explanation of Hadrach: this is the Messiah who will guide (hadrich) all humanity in the

way of repentance before the Holy One, blessed be He. „And in Damascus shall be His resting-place.‟

Is Damascus His resting-place? Is his resting-place any other than the Temple, as it says, This is My

resting-place for ever (Ps. CXXXII, 14)? He replied: Jerusalem will one day expand on all sides until

it reaches the gates of Damascus, and the exiles will come and rest under it, to fulfill what is written,

‗And Damascus shall be His resting-place‘; as if to say, As far as Damascus is His resting-place. What

does R. Johanan make of the verse, And the city shall be builded upon her own mound (Jer. XXX, 18)?

[He replies]: It will be like a fig-tree which is narrow below and broad above. So Jerusalem will

expand on all sides and the exiles will come and rest beneath it, to fulfill what is said, For thou shalt

spread abroad on the right hand and on the left (Isa. LIV, 3). This proves expansion in length. What

is the proof for breadth? Because it says, From the tower of Hananel unto the King‟s winepresses

(Zech. XIV, 10). R. Zakkai Rabbah said: Up to the pits of Ripa; up to the wine presses which the

supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, pressed. So much for the length and breadth of it.

What about the height? Because it says, And the side-chambers were broader as they wound about

higher and higher (Ezek. XLI, 7). It was taught: Jerusalem is destined to expand and ascend until it

reaches the Throne of Glory, until it will say, ‗The place is too strait for me; [give place to me that I

may dwell‘]. (Isa. XLIX, 20). R. Jose b. R. Jeremiah said: We have still not learnt the whole of the

glory of Jerusalem. Whence do you learn its full glory? From [what is said of] its walls, as it says, For

I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about (Zech. 11, 9).

Isaiah 49:20.


A story. R. Eleazar ben Azariah and R. Eleazar the Modite sat engaged with the meaning of the verse

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord (Jer. 3:17). R. Eleazar ben Azariah asked

R. Eleazar the Modite: Can Jerusalem hold as many people [as will crowd into it when it becomes His

throne]? R. Eleazar replied: The Holy One, will say to Jerusalem: Extend thyself, enlarge thyself,

receive thy hosts—Enlarge the place of thy tent, etc. (Isa. 54:2). R. Johanan said: Jerusalem is destined

to grow to the gates of Damascus. And the proof? The verse The burden of the word of the Lord. In

the land of Hadrak and in Damascus shall be His resting place (Zech. 9:1). As to the meaning of

Hadrak, R. Judah and R. Nehemiah differ. According to R. Judah, the term Hadrak refers to the king

Messiah, who will be rough (had) with the nations and gentle (rak) with Israel. According to R.

Nehemiah, Hadrak is actually the name of a place. For R. Jose, son of a woman from Damascus, said: I

am from Damascus and I swear that a certain place there is called Hadrak. R. Judah then asked R.

Nehemiah: If you take Hadrak to be merely the name of a place, how do you construe the verse‘s

conclusion, namely, and in Damascus shall be His resting place (ibid)? R. Nehemiah replied: As a fig

tree is narrow at the base but spreads out at the top, so is Jerusalem destined to keep spreading out, and

the banished will come and find rest therein to fulfill the pledge in the words and in Damascus shall be

His resting place (ibid). Here resting place refers to Jerusalem, as in the verse in which God said of

Zion: This is My resting place for ever; here will I dwell; for I have desired it (Ps. 132:14). Then R.

Judah asked: If Jerusalem is to extend to Damascus, how do you construe The city shall be builded on

her own mound (Jer. 30:18)? R. Nehemiah replied: Jerusalem will not be moved from its original place:

from each of its sides it will keep spreading out, however, and the banished will come and find rest

therein, thus fulfilling the words For thou shalt spread abroad on the right and on the left (Isa 54:3),

phrases which refer to Jerusalem‘s length, [south and north]. Whence the proof that Jerusalem will also

be enlarged in breadth, [east and west]? The verse From the tower of Hananel unto the king‟s

“hollows” (Zech. 14:10), the latter, according to R. Berechiah, referring to the Ocean; but, according to

the elder R. Zakkai, the phrase refers to the harbor of Jaffa. And the two do not really disagree as to the

extent of Jerusalem‘s spreading to the west: for he who says, ―unto the Ocean‖ construes the verse as

referring to the ―hollows‖ which the King who is King of kings, blessed be He, hollowed out; while he

who says ―unto the harbor of Jaffa,‖ construes the verse as referring to the one king Solomon hollowed

out. We thus have proof [of Jerusalem‘s being enlarged] in length and breadth. And whence the proof

concerning its height? The verse And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward on the

sides thereof (Ezek. 41:7). R. Eliezer ben Jacob said: Jerusalem is destined to keep rising until it reaches the throne of glory

where it will say to the Holy One, The place [on earth] is too strait for me; give [place] where I may sit

(Isa. 49:20).

Isaiah 49:23.


… Should it be reported to the lord Messiah in the time-to-come, ―A certain land is in rebellion against


mouth (Isa. 11:4). Or should it be reported to him, ―A certain province is in rebellion against thee,‖ he

will say, ―Let the angel of death come and slay, and so destroy it,‖ as is said And with the breath of his

lips shall he slay the wicked (ibid.). And when the kings of the heathen see how great is their affliction,

they will come and bow down to the lord Messiah, as is said They shall bow down to thee with their

face to the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet (Isa. 49:23).

Isaiah 51:3.









51:3).

Isaiah 51:12.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XXIX, 9.

… Had He spoken, they would have said: ‗Baal has answered us.‘ How much more natural was it then

that when God spoke on Mount Sinai, the whole world became silent, so that all creatures might know

that there is none beside Him. Then He said: I AM THE LORD THY GOD. And of the Time to Come

it says, I, even I, am He that comforteth you (Isa. LI, 12).

The Midrash has a footnote after this quote which reads: ‗Because they received the Commandments

beginning with anochi, God will comfort them in the Messianic Age also with anochi. [anochi is the

Hebrew for ―I am‖ found in the first commandment].‘

Isaiah 52:7.


… The Rabbis said: Great is peace, seeing that when the Messianic king is to come, he will commence

with peace, as it is said, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings

that announce peace (ib. LII, 7),

Isaiah 52:7.


… AND THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE IS HEARD IN OUR LAND: Who is this? This is the voice

of the Messiah proclaiming, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messengers of good

tidings (Isa. LII, 7).

Isaiah 52:7.













are Elijah, the king Messiah, Melchizedek. and the priest who was anointed in time of war [to exhort

the armies of Israel]. By the words The time of singing is come (Song 2:12) is meant [the season when

plants are pruned or cut back—hence metaphorically speaking], the time has come for the foreskin to

be cut; the time has come for the wicked to be broken and cut down: ―The Lord hath broken the staff of

the wicked‖ (Isa. 14:5); the time has come for the wicked kingdom to be rooted out of the world; the

time has come for the kingdom of heaven to be revealed: ―And the Lord shall be king over all the

earth.‖ etc. (Zech. 14:9). And the voice of the turtle (twr) is heard in our land (Song 2:12), words

which mean, according to R. Johanan, that the voice of the king Messiah, the voice of the one who will

lead us with great care through the final turnings (tyyr) of our journey is heard in the land: ―How

beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings‖ (Isa. 52:7).

Isaiah 52:7.


… will go up [to Jerusalem] where they will be the first to bring offerings, since of them it is said a

man to stand before Me for ever, words which include and allusion, one may infer, to the days of the

Messiah. R. Dosa said: The mountains themselves will be the first to bring good tidings to Israel, since at the

time Israel were banished, they mourned for Israel, as is said I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they

trembled (Jer. 4:24). A parable of a king of flesh-and-blood: he had two sons, one of whom died;

whereupon the people of the principality donned black. The king said to the people: Since you donned

black at the one‘s dying, I shall have you don white at the other‘s rejoicing. Likewise the Holy One

said to the mountains: Since you took up a weeping at My children‘s banishment, as is said With the

mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing (Jer. 9:9), out of you, O mountains, I shall bring tidings

of My children‘s rejoicing, as is said How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of

good tidings (Isa 52:7)

Isaiah 52:7.


How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings (Isa. 52:7). These

words mean to teach you that the Holy One will bring down Jerusalem, built anew, from heaven and

will set it [as upon four pillars] upon the tops of the four mountains, Sinai, Tabor, Hermon, and Carmel

[that in the time-to-come will mark the boundaries of the new Jerusalem]. Thus, standing upon the four

mountains, Jerusalem will bring to Israel the good tidings of the time set for redemption. And why will

Jerusalem be established upon the mountains? Because, said God, from the kind of place where Israel

received the Torah as well as transgressed it, I shall bring them good tidings. Hence How beautiful

upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good tidings … Also ―beautiful upon the

mountains‖ is he that announceth peace (Isa. 52:7), namely, Moses, supreme among Prophets: Even

when the Holy One turned Sihon over the Moses to do with as he liked, he announced his wish to make

peace with Sihon, saying ―I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of

Hebron with words of peace‖ (Deut. 2:26). Also ―beautiful upon the mountains‖ is the harbinger of

good tidings (Isa. 52:7), namely, Isaiah, who said of himself, ―The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the lord hath anointed me to bring good tidings unto the humble‖ (Isa. 61:1). Also ―beautiful

upon the mountains‖ is he that announceth redemption (Isa. 52:7), namely, the redeemer of whom it is

said ― The redeemer shall come unto Zion‖ (Isa. 59:20). Also ―beautiful upon the mountains‖ is David,

king of Israel, who saith unto Zion: “Thy God reigneth” (Isa. 52:7). Hence it is said How beautiful

upon the mountains (Isa. 52:7).

Isaiah 52:8.


The voice of thy watchmen! They lift up the voice, together do they sing (Isa. 52:8). These words are to

be considered in the light of the verse Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all ye that wait for

the Lord (Ps. 31:25). Of whom did David utter this verse? He uttered it of Israel who had been waiting

and yearning for the time God would return to His Temple and thus cause His Torah to rejoice. Indeed,

the Holy One also yearns and waits for the time when He will be returning to His temple and cause

Israel to rejoice. When will that time be? When He has requited wicked Edom. Then Israel will say:

Master of the universe, Edom caused us much grief. It destroyed our Sanctuary, slew our Sages, put us

into bondage, and consumed the fruit of our labor; and now, hungry and thirsty [for Thy requital of

her], I sit and wait for the day when Thou wilt come and in my behalf punish her, as is said My soul

thirsteth for the God [of requital], for the living God (Ps. 42:3) … but the hope for the Messiah has no

such set time. The Holy One answers: Come, and I will reassure thee, as is said The Lord will comfort

Zion, He will comfort all her waste places (Isa. 51:3) … The voice of them that wait in thy behalf! They

lift up the voice, together do they sing; [for they shall see, eye to eye, how the Lord returneth to Zion]

(Isa. 52:8). R. Meir said: By them that wait in thy behalf are meant ministering angels who have been

waiting for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, weeping and mourning for Jerusalem ever since she was

destroyed, as is said The celestial beings cry, “[The Temple‟s destruction] is an outrage”, the angels of

peace weep bitterly (Isa. 33:7). A parable of a king of flesh-and-blood who left his palace and went

away to [makeshift residence in] an inn. The members of his household were grief-stricken, and the

servants wore themselves out during the journey—in short, everyone felt bereaved because the king

had left his palace. Likewise the Holy One left His palace, saying, I have forsaken My House, I have

cast off My heritage, I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies (Jer.

12:7). What servants of His may be said to have been grief-stricken? The celestial beasts who carry

the throne of glory. And what members of His household may be said to have been worn out? The

ministering angels felt bereaved when the King, the King of kings, the Holy One, went forth out of the

Temple. Of His return at the time set for redemption Scripture says, Rejoice for joy with Jerusalem, all

ye that mourn for her (Isa. 66:10). Or: In comment on: The voice of them that wait in thy behalf! They

lift up the voice; [for they shall see, eye to eye, how the Lord returneth to Zion] (Isa. 52:8), R. ‘Akiba

said: By them that wait in thy behalf is meant the Prophets who await Israel‘s redemption. Even

though the Prophets had spoken words of rebuke to Israel, they turned about and brought them good

tidings and comforting. A parable of king‘s daughter: Her father appointed a guardian for her, and

when she did the king‘s bidding, self-governance was allowed her. But when she rebelled, self-

governance was not allowed her.

Isaiah 52:12a.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XIX, 6.

… And thus shall ye eat it, etc. (Ex. XII, 11), For in haste didst thou come forth out of the land of Egypt

(Deut. XVI, 3), but in the Messianic era, we are told: For ye shall not go out in haste, neither shall ye

go by flight (Isa. LII, 12).

Isaiah 52:12b.

Midrash Rabbah, Exodus XIX, 6.

… but in the Messianic era, I alone will proceed before them, as it says: For the Lord will go before

you, and the God of Israel will be your rearward (Isa. loc. cit.) i.e. Isa. 52:12b.

Isaiah 52:13.


Behold, My servant the Messiah shall prosper; he shall be exalted and great and very powerful.

Isaiah 53:4.


… What is his [the Messiah‘s] name?—―The School of R. Shila said: His name is Shiloh, for it is

written, until Shiloh come. The School of R. Yannai said: His name is Yinnon, for it is written, His

name shall endure forever: e‟er the sun was, his name is Yinnon. The School of R. Haninah

maintained: His name is Haninah, as it is written, Where I will not give you Haninah. Others say: His

name is Menahem the son of Hezekiah, for it is written, Because Menahem [‗the comforter‘], that

would relieve my soul, is far. The Rabbis said: His name is ‗the leper scholar,‘ as it is written, Surely

he hath born our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and

afflicted.‖

Isaiah 53:5.


… The fifth interpretation makes it refer to the Messiah. COME HITHER: approach to royal state.

AND EAT OF THE BREAD refers to the bread of royalty; AND DIP THY MORSEL IN THE

VINEGAR refers to his sufferings, as it is said, But he was wounded because of our transgressions (Isa.

LIII, 5).

Isaiah 53:10.

Targum Jonathan to the Prophets. It is the will of the Lord to purify and to acquit as innocent the remnant of His people, to cleanse their souls

to sin, so that they may see the kingdom of their Messiah, have many sons and daughters, enjoy long life,

and observe the Torah of the Lord, prospering according to His will. He shall save them from the servitude

of the nations, they shall see the punishment of their enemies and be sated with the spoil of their

the rabbinic messiah

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