BEGINNING with the next issue of THE MINISTRY a column entitled Messianic Mileposts will present some of the scriptures of the Old Testament that
point to the Messiah. One text will be singled out for study in each issue. The treatment will include New Testament endorsement where so used, also Jewish sources.
An important feature will be the use of the words Messiah and Memra in the Aramaic Targums.
The Hebrew word for Messiah [Mashiach] can be seen a number of times, but it is translated "Messiah" on but two occasions, in Daniel 9:25, 26. It is
found also in the New Testament and in the Greek text and is transliterated as Messias. It appears in this form in the K.J.V. but twice, in John 1:41; 4:25.
In the Aramaic Targums it occurs many, many times, and where translated in the Greek text of the LXX it is Christos. This is the Greek equivalent for Mashiach, the Hebrew word.
In the New Testament Greek text Christos is used about 350 times, and in our K.J.V. is usually translated, or perhaps we should say, transliterated, as
"Christ," meaning "anointed," or the "anointed one."
Another term found in the Targums when referring to the Messiah is Memra. This is an Aramaic expression that means "word" and appears frequently as a representative of Yahweh and at times is actually equated with Him.
The Jewish Encyclopedia points this out clearly: "In the Targum, the Memra figures constantly as the manifestation of the divine power or as God's messenger in place of God Himself." —Art. Memra, Vol. VIII, p. 464.
Frequent reference will be made to Jewish literature, and the reader may find the following brief glossary helpful.
The Talmud
"The body of Jewish civil and canonical law is contained in an extensive literature known as the Talmud, a word that means 'teaching.' Originating in oral tradition that developed over several centuries, the Talmud began to take written form about the beginning of the third century A.D. with the codification of its basic portion, the Mishnah; during the ensuing two centuries a large body of commentary on the Mishnah was elaborated and codified, which is known as Gemara. These two collections make up the Talmud as a whole, and provide the structure of historic Judaism. See p. 99.
"Oral Tradition—The rabbis of the apostolic age claimed that Jewish oral tradition was of the same divine origin as the written revelation contained in the Torah. This tradition was handed down from generation to generation until about the beginning of the third century A.D. when it was crystallized in written form in the Mishnah, which became the rule of conduct for orthodox Jews.
"When the New Testament was written, Jewish tradition, still flourishing in oral form, concerned itself chiefly with an exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures. This was called Midrash. This exegesis was not a linguistic or historical approach in the modern sense, but rather a search for new knowledge, and the existing Bible text was used only to give direction and inspiration. Such exegesis worked by means of logical deduction, combination of related passages, and allegorical interpretation." —The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 96, 97.
The Midrash
"The Midrash dealing with historical or dogmatic subjects is called Haggada ('expression'), or Haggadic Midrash, and that dealing with legal matters is called Halakah (literally, 'walk,' that is, 'a norm,' or 'a rule'), or Halakic Midrash.
"The term Haggada refers to the exegesis of poetical, historical, and other nonlegal subject matter found in the Hebrew Bible. In the synagogue it was the common method of explaining the Bible, and employed symbol, allegory, fable, and parable. Haggada was not bound to strict rules of exegesis and might use almost any means by which a lasting impression could be made on the hearer. The very voluminous legendary Jewish literature of the later Christian Era is largely the result of haggadic exegesis of the Bible, but only a minor section of the Talmud owes its origin to the Haggada." —Ibid., p. 97.
The Targums
"When the Jews returned from the Babylonian Exile, the Hebrew of their forefathers ceased to be their ordinary speech, and Aramaic, misnamed Chaldee, took its place. It soon became necessary at the public reading of the Scriptures for the reader or his assistant to translate the passage orally that the people might understand.
"The oral targum—that is, interpretation or translation—which became necessary, was at first a simple paraphrase in Aramaic, but eventually it became elaborate; and in order to fix it as a translation and render it authoritative as an interpretation, it was reduced to writing. These written Targums are a valuable aid in determining the text as read in the early synagogues and in discovering the meanings which the Jews attached to difficult passages. The principal Targums are the Targum of Onkelos on the Pentateuch, and the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel on the Prophets." Westminster Dictionary Bible, Art. "Versions," p. 625.
The Zohar
"A pseudepigraphic work which pretends to be a revelation from God communicated through one of the Rabbis to his disciples. ... In the form of a commentary on the Pentateuch, written partly in Aramaic, and partly in Hebrew, it contains a complete Cabalistic theosophy treating on the nature of God, the universe, the soul, or redemption, and of good and evil." —Ibid., p. 689.
"The Zohar spread among the Jews with remarkable celerity. ... Its authority was . .. well established in Spain in the fifteenth century. . . . [The] representatives of Talmudic Judaism began to regard it as a sacred book and to invoke its authority in the decision of some ritual questions." —Jewish Encyclopedia, Art. "Zohar," p. 692.
