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The Messiah Texts

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This book is the most comprehensive compilation of Jewish texts about the Messiah that I know of in English. When it first came out, it filled a great need for an intelligently-written book where both Jews and non-Jews could read the traditional sources on what Jews believe about the Messiah. As it turns out, those sources are much richer and far more complex that you might imagine.

Patai does not seek to present any particular doctrine as "the truth," nor does he seek to convert anybody to anything. He simply presents all the materials he could find, with some academic overviews of the basic themes. His approach is that of an academic folklorist, not a theologian -- in fact, the book is subtitled "Jewish Legends of Three Thousand Years."

The chapters cover such things as pre-existent names of the Messiah, prophecies, apocalyptic writings, birth of the Messiah, stages of the Great Redemption, Last Judgement, Resurrection, dreams and visions of the future world, etc. There are sources from the Bible, Talmud, Midrash, medieval texts, Hasidic teachings, and modern accounts. Plus there are literary references to the Messiah from such writers as Elie Wiesel, Scholom Asch, Martin Buber, Jacob Wasserman, etc. All in all, 337 pages of prime material.

Most interesting were the various people who have claimed (or were once thought to be) the Jewish Messiah, ranging from Bar Kochba to Shabbetai Zevi to -- get this -- Theodore Herzl! Yes indeed, the founder of the Zionist movement once dreamed that he was the Chosen One (see pp. 272-73) and apparently saw himself as a savior of the Jewish people -- albeit a secular one. (And I suppose if this book were to be updated now, it would also include the late Lubovitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, as well. He never made the claim, but some of his followers did.)

One rather startling piece of info is a chapter on a mythological character named "Armilus" who is a villain that will oppose the true Messiah (see pp. 156-64.) This brought me up short, because the Edgar Cayce readings say that the soul of Jesus is called "Armilius" in the next world. Prior to reading Patai's book, that was the only reference to any "Armilius" I had heard of. Did Cayce read this legend somewhere? If so, he got the story all mixed up, because the Armilus described in the Messiah texts is a pretty nasty guy and not at all like the Jesus of the Gospels.

When the true Messaih does come, according to the legends in this book, the righteous will be treated to a heavenly banquet, where they will eat the Leviathan, a huge fish-creature created especially for this purpose. Also served will be it's dry-land counterpart, Behemoth. (Which means "beast" in Hebrew. Anybody care for a nice juicy slice of Roast Beast?) Those who prefer fowl can enjoy the flesh of the Ziz, a wading bird of cosmic proportions. (Vegetarians, I suppose, will dine on the fruits from the Garden of Eden.)

All in all, this is an excellent sourcebook for teachings that range from the sublime to the utterly bizarre. If you only buy one book on Jewish Messiah texts, this is it!

The Messiah Texts is a comprehensive study of Hebrew messianic prophecy. It explores such topics as pre-existence of the messiah, the suffering messiah theme in Jewish tradition, the signs of times of the messiah. It also explores the Suffering Servant - Israel connection, conceding that the Suffering Servant is a psychological projection of Israel. The quality of research is excellent: excrepts include quotes from Zohar, Genesis Rabbah, Sefer Zerubabel and, of course, the Bible. This book does not present any religious dogma, it simply explores the subject. Anyone studying the Messianic prophecy & tradition will benefit from reading The Messiah Texts.

I picked up my copy of the Messiah Texts in a now-defunct New Mexico metaphysical bookstore, Brotherhood of Life. The only Jewish book in the building, the book had sat on the shelf so long it was permeated with the smell of incense. I loved it the minute I opened it and promptly bought it. Over the years my copy lost its fragance, but not its usefulness. When I was working on my own book, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JEWISH MYTH, MAGIC, AND MYSTICISM, it was invaluable in pointing me to primary sources and highlighting both the major themes and obscure byways of Jewish messianism.

While making heads or tails of the Midrashic style of many of the entries will prove daunting to the casual reader, this book is real prize for anyone interested in Jewish messianic traditions.

This is probably the best reference book available for anyone researching
the messianic idea. It is as simple as that.

This is a one stop shop for all Jewish texts related to the Messiah. The author gives a very good historical introduction and then he divided the texts into themes. Even if you do not share some of the author's opinions, you cannot but be awed by the tremendous amount of work he put in, going through hundreds of works and probably thousand of pages to identify these texts. I will look for other books from this author and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.

This is an excellent book. A must-read for any serious student regarding the Jewish understanding of Messiah.

I highly recommend you get this book.

My Husband loved the book. He is the reader. He has many books. He has over 300 books to be exact of this here type. He believes in researching things out.

This can be part of the understanding why Jesus, as presented within Christianity, cannot be the Messiah...

Joseph was loved so much by his father that his brothers became to hate him. They threw him in a pit to die.

Afterwards they took him out of the pit to sell him to a caravan of Midianite merchants.
They took him to Egypt and Joseph got into the household of Potiphar and became very prosperous.

After being in prison, Joseph explained to Pharaoh his dreams and was put to rule over the land of Egypt.

Then the predicted famine came over the land and allover the world and all came to Joseph in Egypt.

Also driven by famine, the brothers of Joseph came to Egypt to buy grain but they did not recognize Joseph. Why?

He was dressed like an Egyptian, he had an Egyptian name, was married to an Egyptian woman. His true identity was disguised. They did not have the slightest idea that this man in front of them was Joseph, whom they had thrown into the pit and sold to the Midianites.

After returning, the famine drove them back to Egypt. This time they brought Benjamin.

When the brothers were all gathered around Joseph, he found the time ripe to make himself known to his brothers. They were astonished, amazed. How was it possible that this man, totally immersed in Egyptian culture, was their kinsman, their brother?

Yet Joseph himself declared that they did not have to feel bad about what had happened. It was El Shaddai himself who had arranged for him to be sold into slavery, so that later on he would have been able to save them.

Can it be possible that the identity of the true Messiah Yeshua is hidden under the pagan accessories put unto Jesus?
Pagan accessories being sunday service, eating non-kosher, observance of pagan festivals, ...
Yeshua being the true Messiah did observe Shabbat, ate kosher and kept the Feasts of YHWH.

Just the same way as the true identity of Joseph was hidden under the pagan Egyptian accessories?