Abstract
This article surveys the beliefs of Jewish scholars who have written about the historical Jesus. Specifically, it explores the modern Jewish scholarship on the person and role of the Messiah and how this relates to the study of the resurrection of Jesus. Many of the traditional beliefs about the messiah preclude a discussion of the resurrection of Jesus. However, with more understanding of the background of Second-Temple Judaism, many long-held beliefs about the messiah are being re-evaluated. The three main issues discussed in this article are the concept of a pagan messiah, the death of the messiah and the possibility of a divine messiah.
Highlights
The role of the Messiah has a long and winding history in Jewish tradition
A number of Christian scholars have http://www.hts.org.za studied the boundaries of monotheism in the 1st century in an attempt to better understand the New Testament’s claims (Bauckham 2008; Hengel 1976; Hurtado 2005; Newman, Davila & Lewis 1999)
His book is a major challenge to the traditional Jewish understanding of monotheism, as expressed in the opening statement: ‘The God of the Hebrew Bible has a body, this must be stated at the outset, because so many people, including many scholars, assume otherwise’ (Sommer 2009:1)
Summary
The role of the Messiah has a long and winding history in Jewish tradition. The word has meant different things at different times, and there is quite a bit of leeway regarding interpretation (Patai 1979; Schiffman 1987). This article will address three common presuppositions about the nature and role of the Messiah, the changing Jewish views of these issues in recent years and their relevance for the study of the resurrection of Jesus. A popular argument in the 19th and most of the 20th century says that Paul created Christianity by adding pagan elements to the original Jewish message of Jesus.
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