Messiah Hebrew for ‘anointed one’, who will be a saviour of the people, and used in OT of both kings and priests, especially of David and his successors, but also of Cyrus (Isa. 45: 1). In the prophets a future king of eschatological hope is expected to reign with justice and in peace (Isa. 11: 1–5), but the term ‘Messiah’ is not itself found in this sense in the prophets. The Dead Sea scrolls refer to the future coming of two anointed figures, one regal and one priestly, in the tradition of Melchizedek (Ps. 110: 4; Heb. 7: 1), who combined both functions in his person. In the Similitudes of Enoch (Enoch 37–71), from the middle of the 1st cent. CE, there is a Messiah who is also the heavenly Son of Man. So the fundamental reference is to God intervening in human history by sending his representative, and Christian readers discovered hints in the OT (e.g. Ps. 22: 6–8) that this person would have to suffer.

In the NT the Hebrew ‘Messiah’ becomes the Greek ‘Christos’, but references in the synoptics to Jesus as Messiah are scarce (Matt. 27: 17, 22); this rarity seems to reflect the known tradition of Jesus' reluctance to use such a title of himself, though the entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11: 1–10) and the Cleansing of the Temple (Mark 11: 15–19) suggest the notions of delivering his people, as prophesied by Malachi (3: 1). When Jesus was called Christ by Peter, he was rebuked (Mark 8: 29) and told to keep silent about it. Only at the trial did Jesus reply to the high priest's questions about Messiahship in the affirmative (Mark 14: 61 f.) and in Matt. (26: 64) this is modified to mean ‘you are right’—an assent to the question in a form in which Jesus minimizes the importance of the statement about the present: he was, to be sure, the Messiah (he means); but in the near future he would receive a position which would establish his Messianic dignity beyond doubt ‘at the right hand of God’—an utterance of blasphemy needing no further corroborative evidence in court. Similarly, the reply of Jesus to Pilate (Matt. 27: 11) is an admission of Messiahship but without explanation or justification—except in John (18: 36—‘my kingdom is not from this world’).

When the Church became predominantly gentile, ‘Christ’ lost its original significance of Messiah, anointed one. Gentiles were not much interested in a Messiah who would restore the kingdom to Israel, so Christos became used as an adjective (perhaps confused with Chrestos, pronounced in the same way, meaning ‘good’) to describe Jesus. Then Christos became a proper name on its own account. Even Paul, Jew though he was, was beginning to use ‘Christ’ as a substitute for Jesus, or combined with it.

Messiah or Messias [Heb.,=anointed], in Judaism, a man who would be sent by God to restore Israel and reign righteously for all mankind. The idea developed among the Jews especially in their adversity, and such a conception is clearly indicated in Isaiah 9. Messianic expectations generally focused on a kingly figure of the house of David, who would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5.2). However, a second Messianic figure, the Messiah son of Joseph, was said to precede the Messiah son of David, preparing the way for him by combating the enemies of Israel and reuniting the twelve tribes for the return to Jerusalem where he would die in combat with the enemies of God before the final redemption under the Davidic Messiah. Jesus considered himself, and is considered by Christians, to be the promised Messiah to whom the whole Old Testament pointed; the name Christ is Greek for Messiah (Mat. 16.16). The Christian ideal of the Messiah is fundamentally different from the early Jewish conception in the aspect of suffering; the common idea of Jesus' time was that the Messiah should reign in glory as an earthly king, a political figure sent by God, not a savior in the Christian sense. The expectation of the second coming of Jesus is similar to the Jewish belief in the Messianic advent. The idea of a messiah, a redeemer sent by God, is common among many different peoples throughout history and may reflect a universal psychological pattern. Ancient Middle Eastern texts foretell the coming of savior-kings. Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Confucians believe in the redemption of mankind, or the advent of a golden age, through the arrival of a Holy One. In Islam, the coming of the Mahdi is closely related to the messiah concept. Other peoples also believe in messiah figures; among the Native North Americans, Wovoka is the most famous.

Bibliography: See W. D. Wallis, Messiahs, Their Role in Civilization (1943); J. Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel (1955); A. H. Silver, A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel (1955); V. Lanternari, The Religions of the Oppressed: A Study of Modern Messianic Cults (1963); and G. Scholem, The Messianic Idea in Judaism (1971).

Messiah (adaptation of Heb., ha-mashiaḥ, ‘the anointed one’, also transliterated haMashiach).

Judaism

Anointed descendant of the Jewish king David who will restore the Jewish kingdom. The idea of the messiah did not exist before the second Temple period, but grew out of the biblical hope that the House of David would again rule over the Jewish people. As a result of the Roman occupation of Erez Israel, various messiahs emerged, including Jesus (as interpreted after his death by his followers), Judas the Galilean (mentioned in Josephus), and Simeon Bar Kokhba (see MESSIANIC MOVEMENTS). The rabbis taught that, with the coming of the messiah, the climax of human history would be achieved and God's kingdom would be established on earth. From the 13th cent., messianic expectations were centred on kabbalistic thought and culminated in the Shabbatean movement (see MESSIANIC MOVEMENTS).

Christianity

Although at an early date the followers of Jesus were marked out as those who believed that Jesus was the promised messiah/christ, Jesus appears to have resisted any attempt to interpret what he was doing and saying in his God-derived way through that category—to such an extent that it gave rise to the theory of the messianic secret—see SCHWEITZER, ALBERT. Some aspects of his life (e.g. the entry into Jerusalem) were clearly open to the interpretation that he was acting as the descendant of David, but it was only after his death and resurrection that the appropriateness of interpreting him as messiah was developed. The New Testament reveals a certain amount of scripture-searching to find ways in which Jesus fulfilled messianic prophecies in Tanach (Jewish scripture), but it remains a Jewish objection to Jesus as Christ that few of the biblical signs of the messiah were fulfilled.

Islam

In Islam, al-Masiḥ is a description (almost a name, except that the Arabic article is never dropped) for ʿIsā/Jesus.

Messiah (Heb. for ‘anointed’). A person invested by God with special powers and functions. It was rendered in Greek by χριστός, from which ‘Christ’ derives.

In the OT the term could be applied to anyone set apart for a special function, such as the priest in Lev. 4: 3, but it was used more particularly of the king, who was conceived as anointed by Divine command; as ‘the Lord's anointed’ his person was sacrosanct (1 Sam. 24: 6). Later the whole Davidic dynasty was seen as specially chosen by God, and the hope that a king who should be both ‘the Lord's anointed’ and ‘the son of David’ never died out.

In the NT, Jewish expectations of a deliverer are echoed at Lk. 24: 21 and Acts 1: 6, and at Mt. 2: 2–4 where, using the absolute form not found in early Judaism, Jesus is called ‘the Christ’ (AV) or ‘the Messiah’ (modern translations commonly render the word thus when the Greek has a definite article, and leave it as ‘Christ’ where there is no such article). The expectation that the deliverer would be descended from David is present both in the genealogies and in such titles as ‘Son of David’. The inscription on the Cross confirms that Jesus was executed as a Messianic figure, but it is unclear whether He Himself defined His role in these terms. In Mk., at a central point St Peter confesses Jesus as Messiah (8: 29), but the disciples are silenced and His identity is revealed only at His Passion (14: 61 f.) and in His death (15: 39). In the letters of St Paul the title ‘Christ’ (or ‘Messiah’) is already on the way to becoming simply a name. See also CHRISTOLOGY, JESUS CHRIST, and MESSIANIC SECRET.

Messiah. Oratorio by Handel to lib. selected from scriptures by Charles Jennens. Comp. between 22 Aug. and 14 Sept. 1741, though parts are adaptations from other works by Handel. F.p. Dublin, 13 April 1742; London, 23 March 1743; Boston, Mass., 25 Dec. 1818 (extracts in NY 1770). There is no single definitive version, Handel having altered, rewritten, and added numbers for various perfs. It became the custom in the 19th cent. to perf. Messiah with grossly inflated forces, but in the mid-20th cent. various performing edns. restored the work nearer to its original proportions and reverted to the correct tempo and rhythm for many nos. Mozart composed additional accs. for Messiah for an occasion when no org. was available to provide the figured bass, and these are still frequently used.

Messiah, Handel's most famous and frequently performed oratorio, was written in just over three weeks and first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742. It was a great success, raising £400 for charity, and Handel revived it many times, often adding different arias for new soloists. Charles Jennens's libretto selects biblical texts concerning the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, and this subject-matter, together with the unusually high proportion of choruses, has contributed to the work's lasting popularity with choral societies. The gentle lyricism of arias like ‘I know that my redeemer liveth’ and the jubilant grandeur of the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus have survived countless rearrangements and doubtful performances.

Eric Cross

Messiah (Heb. ‘anointed’) Saviour or redeemer. Specifically, the Messiah was the descendant of King David expected by the Jews of ancient times to become their king, free them from foreign bondage, and rule over them in a golden age of glory, peace, and righteousness. It refers to the ‘idealized’ king as having been anointed by God or his representative in the way that David and his successors were. The title ‘Christ’, derived from the Greek version of the term Messiah, was probably applied to Jesus by his followers.

mes·si·ah / məˈsīə/ • n. 1. (the Messiah) the promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. ∎  Jesus regarded by Christians as the Messiah of the Hebrew prophecies and the savior of humankind. 2. a leader or savior of a particular group or cause: to Germany, Hitler was more a messiah than a political leader. DERIVATIVES: mes·si·ah·ship / -ˌship/ n.

Messiah, Handel's most famous and frequently performed oratorio, was written in just over three weeks and first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742. It was a great success, raising £400 for charity. The gentle lyricism of arias like ‘I know that my redeemer liveth’ and the jubilant grandeur of the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus have survived countless rearrangements and doubtful performances.

Messiah XVI. Earlier forms Messie XIV (- (O)F. Messie), Messias XIII — late L. Messīās — Gr. Messíās — Aram. m^ešiḥā, Heb. māšîāh anointed, f. māšah anoint.
So Messianic XIX. — modL. Messiānicus.

Messiah,
1. a famous oratorio by Handel;

2. a sacred eclogue by Pope published in the Spectator in May 1712, embodying in verse the Messianic prophecies of Isaiah.

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