Messiah

Messiah is from the Hebrew mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), meaning anointed one, from the root mashach (to anoint, to smear with oil)[1]. The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint) renders mashiach as Christos (χριστός), which then enters Latin and English as Christ[2]. So Christ is the Greek-derived form of the same word that gives us Messiah from Hebrew.

Anointing with oil was the ancient ritual for setting a person apart for a sacred office. Kings, priests, and (less commonly) prophets were anointed in ancient Israel as a sign of their God-given role[3].

Jewish and Christian understandings of messiah diverge sharply despite shared scriptural language.

In Jewish tradition, the Messiah is the anticipated figure who will inaugurate a future age of justice, peace, and the restoration of Israel[4]. The expectations developed substantially across centuries: from the political and royal expectations of pre-exilic Israel through the apocalyptic and eschatological developments of the Second Temple period and into rabbinic and medieval Jewish thought[5]. Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah includes an extensive treatment of the Messianic Age[6]. Different Jewish movements today hold different views: traditional Orthodox Judaism maintains belief in a personal Messiah; Reform Judaism has historically reframed the Messianic hope as a hope for a Messianic Age of universal justice rather than a personal Messiah.

In Christian tradition, Jesus is confessed as the Messiah promised in the Hebrew scriptures. The Christian claim is that the Messiah has come, that his work has begun but is not yet completed, and that he will return to complete it[7]. The reinterpretation of messianic expectation (especially the redefinition of victory through suffering and resurrection) is one of the central theological developments of the New Testament[8].

Islamic tradition uses the term al-Masih for Jesus, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, though Islamic theology rejects the divinity ascribed to Christ in Christianity[9]. Islamic eschatology speaks of the return of Jesus along with the Mahdi (the rightly-guided one) at the end of time.

Various Jewish and Christian movements in history have proclaimed specific individuals as the Messiah: in Jewish history, figures such as Bar Kokhba (132-135 CE), Sabbatai Zevi (17th century), and others[5]. In Christian history, various sectarian movements have made similar claims. Most mainstream traditions in both Judaism and Christianity have rejected all such claims subsequent to the central figures of their traditions.

Messianic studies cuts across Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, New Testament, and rabbinic literature. Major scholars include Joseph Klausner (early 20th century Jewish scholarship on messianic expectation)[4], Geza Vermes (on Jesus in his Jewish context), Daniel Boyarin (on the shared rabbinic and Christian roots of certain messianic ideas)[10], and many others. Comparative work places Jewish and Christian messianism in dialogue and places both in relation to Islamic, Zoroastrian, and other eschatological traditions.

• The Messianic Idea in Israelby Joseph Klausner
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• The Border Linesby Daniel Boyarin
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