MESSIAH (Gk. Meacrlas, Ilcssias, or 31(alas, Mcsias, from Aramaic ilcslaklia. equivalent of Itch. hatn-Jfitshiakh, the anointed). A title given to the King or Pontiff in ancient Israel be valise of his anointment as vice-gorent of the deity and ruler of the people: and in later times a designation of the expected deliverer from for eign oppression and founder of a world-wide Jewish empire. Saul (1. Sam. Nil. 3. 5: xxiv. 7, 11), David ( II. Sam. xix. 21: xxiii. 1). and Zedekiab ( Lam. iv. 20) are spoken of as Yahweh's Anointed. in isa. xlv. 1, Cyrus is regarded as Yahweh's vice-gerent on earth. During the Per sian period some hold that the High Priest as head of the State was referred to as the Messiah, the Anointed One (Lev. iv '1 5 16), The same eustorn, neelmling to the same view, continued in the Greek period. as Joshua ben dozadak is alluded to as the Anointed Prinee in Dan. ix. 25, and (trine Ill. as an Anointed One in Dan. ix. 26. It is natural that the priest-kings of the As :can family (see NIAccmams) should ceive this title. Ps. xviii. 50: xx. 6; sxylii. S; lxxxiv. 10; lxxxix. 39, 32 (dearly refer to some of these rulers, though it. is doubtful in some in stances whether one of the actual kings, Aristo bolus I. and Alexander Janineus. or a princely pontiff like .Iona than, Simon. or John Ilyrennlis is meant. From the evident point of view there is no reference in the Old Testament to a lilt deliverer of Israel deseribed as the 31essinh, and the conception of a coming 3lessiall meets us for the first time in the Psalter of Srdomon, written soon after the conquest of Palestine by Pompey in n.c. 63.
nut the elements out of which the Messiah as an eschatological magnitude was formed had long been in existence. There had been a tend ency to attach much importance to the anoint of rulers. From Saul to Zedekiab, from Joshua to Aristobulus IL, the leader of the State, whether king, pontiff, or priest-king, had been consecrated with oil. Originally unction was an application of sacrificial fat. The pour ing of oil upon the stone in which the divinity dwelt was a sacrifice. The King was a holy be ing to whom this offering was made. With the anointing a spirit entered into him (1. Sam. xvi. 13) ; Ile was sacrosanct, his body must not be touched (1. Sam. xxiv. 10) ; he was gradually removed from the gaze of the people and seen only by his officials (11. Kings xix. 15). The pontiff as ruler of Israel was Yahweh's anointed, a 'son of oil' (Zech. iv. 14), having access to the celes tial court (Zeal. iii. 7). It is held by some that in the Asmomean age the priest-king by virtue of his anointment was regarded as Yahweh's 'Son' and as a 'god' sitting on his throne (l's. xlv., lvii., lxxxii.). It is not considered strange by those holding this view that a victorious king engaged as it seemed to his admirers in the con quest of the world should at that time have been addressed as 'god' by a court-poet (l's. xlv. 6). There had also been a tendency to repose ex traordinary faith in the dynasty founded by David. The reason for this may have been its remarkable longevity; perhaps also its promised prosperity. As long as princes of this family lived and received signal honors at the hands of Choi Mean and Persian kings, as was the ease with Je hoiachin, Sheshbazzar, and Zerubbabel, the hope of national independence naturally connected itself with these shoots of the old stock. Thus the
elevation of Jehoiachin from his dungeon to royal dignity in B.C. 561 and the birth of his son, Sin apaluzur (Sheshbazzar). seem according to some to have led a poet to express the hopes of Isaiah ix. 1.6, xi. 1-6, and the presence of Jehoiachin's grandson, Zerubbabel (q.v.), as Governor in Jerusalem at the beginning of the reign of Darius llystaspis raised expectations of his restoring the ()Id dynasty (Hag. ii. 23: Zech. viii. S; iv. 6 sqq.; vi. 12). The gradual disappearance of prominent members of the Davidie family no doubt gave room for independent aspirations. Sanliallat (q.v.) may have been right when he declared that prophets in Jerusalem had an nounced Nehemiah as the coining King (Nell. vi. 7). Simon been me prince as well as high priest. , and Aristolndus I. king, without belonging to the Davidie family. But the strength of the legiti mist feeling may be seen both in the fiction by which the occupant of David's throne was desig , nated as his son, and in the indignant protest of the Pharisees against this fiction. This loyalty to the legitimate line and the increasing difficulty of finding a leader who shonId also lie a genuine descendant of David, necessarily re moved into the future the Messianic King. Of great importance was also the tendency, always strong in Israel. to look beyond present condi tions for better things to come. While the great prophets before the Exile announced impending judgment, there were always those who held up cheerful pictures of the future to the people. I After the Exile, it was especially the author of Isaiah x1.-xlviii. who inspired hope and (-mirage by his promises of good. lie indeed did not look forward to a :Messiah, but he did much to develop that apocalyptic mood out of which this figure was born. The same is true of the Book of Daniel, written about o.c. 165. It reveals a marked growth of the apocalyptic imagery, but it is contended by many that the Messiah holds as yet no place among its eschatological figures. The man-like being appearing on the cloud (ch. vii.) is probably Michael, the celestial represen tative of Israel. The Maccabean uprising and the establishment of a native dynasty encouraged this disposition to map out the future. But while Yahweh's anointed actually sat upon the throne of David and was conquering the neighboring na tions, there was no reason for putting the Mes siah in the future. The atmosphere of the Psalter is saturated with a desire for divine judgment upon the heathen nations and breathes a pathetic confidence in the dynasty occupying the Davidic throne. The enthusiasm seems to have been shared by the Egyptian Jews. Isaiah xix. 16-25 shows how the recognition of Jonathan by Alexander Batas on the occasion of his mar riage to Cleopatra in u.c. 150 affected the Jewish colony at Leontopolis. (Sce Oxm AS'S TEMPLE.) Jonathan is probably the deliverer of verse 20.