Messiah in Ancient Israel

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In ancient Israel, a messiah is a king or priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil. The anointment is a sign of authority from God, a sign that a person has been sent for a specific mission.

Messiahs were not exclusively Jewish. Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, is referred to by Isaiah as a messiah.

The expectation of a future, glorious messiah from the House of David is present in several prophetic text.

Isaiah

  • Once he is King, leaders of other nations will look to him for guidance. (Isaiah 2:4)
  • The whole world will worship the One God of Israel (Isaiah 2:11–17)
  • He will be descended from King David (Isaiah 11:1) via Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:8–10, 2 Chronicles 7:18)
  • The "spirit of the Lord" will be upon him, and he will have a "fear of God" (Isaiah 11:2)
  • Evil and tyranny will not be able to stand before his leadership (Isaiah 11:4)
  • Knowledge of God will fill the world (Isaiah 11:9)
  • He will include and attract people from all cultures and nations (Isaiah 11:10)
  • All Israelites will be returned to their homeland (Isaiah 11:12)
  • Death will be swallowed up forever (Isaiah 25:8)
  • There will be no more hunger or illness, and death will cease (Isaiah 25:8)
  • All of the dead will rise again (Isaiah 26:19)
  • The Jewish people will experience eternal joy and gladness (Isaiah 51:11)
  • He will be a messenger of peace (Isaiah 52:7)
  • Nations will recognize the wrongs they did to Israel (Isaiah 52:13–53:5)
  • He will take the barren land and make it abundant and fruitful (Isaiah 51:3, Isaiah 11:6–9; cf. Amos 9:13–15, Ezekiel 36:29–30)

=Jeremiah

  • The people of Israel will have direct access to the Torah through their minds and Torah study will become the study of the wisdom of the heart (Jeremiah 31:33)[12]

Ezekiel

  • The ruined cities of Israel will be restored (Ezekiel 16:55)
  • Weapons of war will be destroyed (Ezekiel 39:9)

Zechariah

  • The peoples of the world will turn to the Jews for spiritual guidance (Zechariah 8:23)

Psalms

  • He will give you all the worthy desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4)
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