The figure of Simon bar Nowlin (or Bar-Coeh ha was probably as close a realization of the popular Jewish ideal of a Messiah as history ever produced. Of him alone can it he said that he was not only recognized by his pco ple as the Messiah at a time when the Mes sianic idea had reached its full development and regarded himself as such, lint also sue. ceeded temporarily in redeeming Jerusalem from foreign oppression. In less than a year lie conquered 50 fortitied cities and 945 towns and villages. Ills army consisted of (10, 000 men. For two years and a half he reigned as king. Only after 52 battles could Julius Severus vanquish him in A . D. 135. There is some thing sublime in this King of Zion bidding Im perial Rome defiance. The terrible persecutions that followed the Hadrianic insurrection did not quench the Messianic hope. This is shown by the "Eighteen Prayers" by Trypho. who told Justin Martyr that all Jews believed the Mes. siah would come, a man born of men; and by Celsus, who in A.m. 1 78 no doubt correctly repre sented his Jew as cherishing this expectation. • The Targums also indicate its continuance. The idea. of a Mos:shill lien Joseph who is to rule until Messiah hen David conies may be an early Jew ish concession to the Ebiouitish Christians who believed that .Jesus was the son of Joseph. Only in late writings is there any reference to a suf fering Messiah, though the notion of sufferings of Israel previous to the establishment of the Messianic kingdom is common. The end of the ' Roman Empire and the victories of the Moham medans naturally stirred afresh the hope of a return to Palestine and the coming of the Mes siah. In 716-721 Serenns, a Galilean. appeared as a Messianic reformer. after the fashion of Mohammed, certain Ralibinie regula tions as to fond and marriage and gaining many followers. But when lie was brought to task by Yezid, the Caliph, he lacked the courage of his convictions. and was handed over to the :lowish authorities for punishment. From 7.1:i to 755 .thu Isa exercised a great influence as a reformer, abolishing the law of divorce and the sacrificial cult, and himself with it large army against Morwan II. and Abdallah. After his death lie had followers into the tenth century. Yudghan of Hamadan, on the other hand. pur sued no political ends. Ile sought only to re form Judaism, being an ascetic and a believer in the transmigration of souls and the allegorical interpretation of the Bible. lle died c.800 A.D., though his followers believed him to be still liv ing and destined to return in the appointed time. In 1160 David Alrui, of Amadia, Persia, pro claimed himself to he the :Messiah in Azer baijan. ll is plan was to use the weakness of the caliphate for the establishment of a free Jew ish State, and he attracted to himself large masses of Jews; hut he was murdered by his before he could carry out his vast enterprise. A Messianic cult-community, the Menahemites, cherished long his memory and ideal. Abraham ben Samuel Abulaths, of Sara gossa. announced himself as the Messiah in 1280. Ile was a mystic. and occupied himself much with cabbalistic speculations. The expulsion of the Jews from Spain drove many earnest minds to the prophetic writings. Even such a states man as Isaac Abarbanel wrote works in which be announced that 1503 would he the year of re demption. in the sixteenth century David Reu beni and Solomon Molko appeared in the rule of the Messiah. The former pretended to be the
brother of a prince reigning in Arabia, and was received with great honor by Pope Clement VII. The latter, horn in 1500, was a Christian who became a convert to Judaism and seems to have sincerely believed in his mission. He is said to have prophesied accurately the inundation of Rome in 1330 and the earthquake in Portugal in 1531, and thereby gained a great reputation. He was saved from death in Rome by Clement VII. substituting another man for him, but suf fered martyrdom courageously in 1532. His fol lowers long believed that he had escaped death this time also. The most important after Solomon Molko was Sabbathai Zewi (1G20 70). He was born in Smyrna. and belonged to a family of Spanish Jews. His brother was the agent in Smyrna of an English mercantile house, and through bins Sabbathai became acquainted with the speculations of Christian pietists who expected the second advent of Christ in 1666. He was an eager student of cabbalistic works. His personality was very attractive, and in all lands Jews were drawn to him and accepted him as their heaven-sent leader. The enthusiasm was I boundless, and the hope of a return to Palestine I filled thousands of hearts. Sabbathai intended to abrogate the law, establish a new code based I on the Cabbala, introduce the doctrine of a Trin ity consisting of three Ancient of I Days, the Messiah, and the female Sheehinah. In the year 1666. however, he was ordered to I appear before the Turkish authorities at Con stantinople. Here he finally abandoned the Jew ish faith and became a Moslem. The disenchant , ment was great, but a sect of Sabbatians tinned to honor him as the Messiah. It is ob i vions that the Messiahs of Judaism have some times been mystics, obeying what seemed to them a divine call, sometimes political leaders taking up a heroic struggle for liberty, sometimes men of personal ambition and unscrupulous methods. But Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans owe much moral vigor and spiritual uplift to the , Messianie hope.
1 131BmonstAmr. Berfholdt, Chrislologia Judo. oront (Erlangen, 1811) ; Orelli, Die olltestament i liehe Weissogung (Vienna. 1882) ; Riehm, Dic viessionisehe Weissagung (Gotha. 1885) ; ! litzsch, Ilessianisehr Weissagnngen (Leipzig, 1 ; Volz, Die rorcrilisehe Prince-Prophetic nod der Messios (G3ttingen, 1897) : Huhn, Dic niessianisel«'n, Weissagungen (Freiburg, 1599) ; astelli, 11 31 essia second() gli Dbrei 1574) ; Colaui, .D'stis Christ et les eroyances messioniqucs de son temps (Paris, 1862) : Ver nes, II istoire des ith'es messianiques ( Pa ris, 1874) ; Drummond, The Jewish Messiah ( London, 1877) ; Stanton, The Jewish, and the Christian Messiah (Edinburgh. 1880) Jlessin»ic Prophecy (New York, 1886) ; The Messiah of the Gospels (New York, 1895 : Dahnan, Der leidende out der sterbende. Ilessios (Leipzig, 1888) ; Wiinsche, Die Lehlen des llessios ( Leip zig, 1870) ; Graetz, Grschiehte der nden (Leip zig, 1888-1902) ; Bacher, Die Agada der Tan noten (StrassGurg, 1884-90) ; Die .tgoda der palest inensiselun .111101'4er ( St ra ssburg, 1592 99) ; Weber, iidisrhe Theologic (9d ed., Leipzig, 1897) ; Hamburger, in Real-E»ey elopOrlie des -Indent urns) Leipzig, 1896) ; Schmidt, The Son of lion and the Son of God in Mod ern Theology (New York, 1903) ; Bousset, Die Religion des dtalentums (Berlin, 1903) ; West cott, Introduction to the Study of the Gospels ( Ca mhridge, 1800 ) .