Elijah

ELIJAH By : Emil G. Hirsch Eduard König Solomon Schechter Louis Ginzberg M. Seligsohn Kaufmann Kohler

ARTICLE HEADINGS:

—Biblical Data:
Ahab and Elijah.
Elijah at Mount Horeb.
—In Rabbinical Literature:
In the Times of Ahab.
Elijah's Zeal for God.
Elijah in the Guise of an Arab.
Elijah the Friend of the Pious.
Joshua b. Levi and Elijah.
Elijah Explains His Actions.
Elijah as the Forerunner of the Messiah.
The Seven Miracles.
—In Mohammedan Literature:
—In Medieval Folk-Lore:
Sources.
—Critical View:

—Biblical Data:

The name means "Yhwh is (my) God," and is a confession that its bearer defended Yhwh against the worshipers of Baal and of other gods. It has therefore been assumed that the prophet took this name himself (Thenius, in "Kurzgefasstes Exegetisches Handbuch zu I Könige," xvii. 1). Elijah was a prophet in Israel in the first half of the ninth pre-Christian century, under King Ahab. In I Kings xvii. 1 and xxi. 17, etc., Elijah is called "the Tishbite" (), probably because he came from a place (or a family) by the name of "Tishbe." A place of that name lay within the boundaries of Naphtali (comp. Tobit i. 2). But the Hebrew words must refer to a place in Gilead (see, however, Targum, Masoretes and David Kimhi ad loc.).

Elijah, therefore, came from the land east of the Jordan, to wage war, in the name of the God of his fathers, against the worship of Baal. He was marked as an adherent of the old customs by his simple dress, consisting of a mantle of skins girt about the loins with a leather belt (II Kings i. 8). He began his activities with the announcement that the drought then afflicting the land should not cease until he gave the word (comp. Josephus, "Ant." viii. 13, § 2).

Ahab and Elijah.

This announcement, addressed to Ahab and his wife, marked the beginning of a life of wandering and privation for the prophet. He fled from hiding-place to hiding-place, the first being by the brook Cherith (). Since Robinson's explorations in Palestine (ii. 533 et seq.) this brook has been identified with the Wadi el-Kelt, which discharges into the Jordan near Jericho. But the resemblance between the two names is really less close than appears, for it must be remembered that "Kelt" is pronounced with the emphatic "k." Moreover, since the expressions and refer to the land east of the Jordan, the brook Cherith must have been there, even if there is no modern river-name with which to identify it. After the brook Cherith had dried up, the prophet was forced to seek refuge beyond the boundaries of Israel, and found it in the Phenician Zarephath, about four hours' journey south of Sidon, where a widow sustained him. She was rewarded by the prophet's miraculous benefits (I Kings xvii. 9-24).

The greatest achievement of Elijah's life was his victory over the priests of Baal at Mt. Carmel. Having heard that the other prophets of Yhwh were also persecuted, he requested King Ahab to gather the people of Israel, the 450 priests of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Ashtaroth on Mt. Carmel. Then he asked Israel the famous question: "How long do ye halt on both knees?" (A. V.: "How long halt ye between two opinions?"), meaning, "How long will ye be undecided as to whether ye shall follow Yhwh or Baal?" The people remaining silent, he invited the priests of Baal to a contest, proposing that he and they should each build an altar and lay a burnt offering thereon, and that the God who should send down fire from heaven to consume the offering should be accepted as the true God. After various unsuccessful attempts to get a favorable answer had been made by the prophets of Baal, while they were ridiculed with subtle irony by Elijah, Yhwh sent fire from heaven to consume his offering. Yhwh was recognized by Israel, and the priests of Baal were slain near the brook Kishon (I Kings xviii. 40).The Ascension of Elijah. From an illuminated Ketubah of the early nineteenth century.(In the U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C.)
(see image)

Elijah at Mount Horeb.

But this victory brought no rest to Elijah. He had to leave Israel in order to escape the vengeance of Jezebel (ib. xix. 3 et seq.), and fled to the place where Israel's Law had been promulgated by Moses. As he lay under a juniper-tree, exhausted by his journey, he was miraculously provided with food; and on reaching Horeb, the mountain of God, he heard the voice of the Lord exhorting him to patience. This is the sense of the famous passage (ib. xix. 11-13). God manifested Himself neither in the great wind that rent the mountains,nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the "still small voice." The three following measures were suggested: the appointing of a foreign enemy of Israel; the anointing of an Israelitic rival king to Ahab's dynasty; and the anointing of Elisha to continue the spiritual work of the prophet. This, the chief work of the prophet, Elijah himself carried on to the end of his life. After the election of Elisha (xix. 19-21), he prophesied both punishments and promises (xxi. 17-28; II Kings i. 3 et seq.), and left the field of his activities as suddenly as he had appeared (II Kings ii. 11).

Elijah is also mentioned in later Biblical and apocryphal passages as follows: II Chron. xxi. 12. et seq.; Mal. iii. 24; Ecclus. (Sirach) xlviii. 1; 1 Macc. ii. 58; Isaiah's Martyrdom, ii. 14 (in Kautzsch, "Die Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des Alten Testaments," 1898, ii. 125).E. G. H. E. K.

—In Rabbinical Literature:

Elijah, "let him be remembered for good," or "he who is remembered for good" (Yer. Sheb. iii., end); or, as he is commonly called among the Jews, "the prophet Elijah" (Eliyahu ha-nabi'), has been glorified in Jewish legend more than any other Biblical personage. The Haggadah which makes this prophet the hero of its description has not been content, as in the case of others, to describe merely his earthly life and to elaborate it in its own way, but has created a new history of him, which, beginning with his death or "translation," ends only with the close of the history of the human race. From the day of the prophet Malachi, who says of Elijah that God will send him before "the great and dreadful day" (Mal. iii. 23 [A. V. iv. 5]), down to the later marvelous stories of the hasidic rabbis, reverence and love, expectation and hope, were always connected in the Jewish consciousness with the person of Elijah. As in the case of most figures of Jewish legend, so in the case of Elijah the Biblical account became the basis of later legend. Elijah the precursor of the Messiah, Elijah zealous in the cause of God. Elijah the helper in distress—these are the three leading notes struck by the Haggadah, endeavoring to complete the Biblical picture with the Elijah legends. Since, according to the Bible, Elijah lived a mysterious life, the Haggadah naturally did not fail to supply the Biblical gaps in its own way. In the first place, it was its aim to describe more precisely Elijah's origin, since the Biblical (I Kings xvii. 1) "Elijah, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead," was too vague.

Three different theories regarding Elijah's origin are presented in the Haggadah: (1) he belonged to the tribe of Gad (Gen. R. lxxi.); (2) he was a Benjamite from Jerusalem, identical with the Elijah mentioned in I Chron. viii. 27; (3) he was a priest. That Elijah was a priest is a statement which is made by many Church fathers also (Aphraates, "Homilies," ed. Wright, p. 314; Epiphanius, "Hæres." lv. 3, passim), and which was afterward generally accepted, the prophet being further identified with Phinehas (PirKe R. El. xlvii.; Targ. Yer. on Num. xxv. 12; Origen, ed. Migne, xiv. 225). Mention must also be made of a statement which, though found only in the later cabalistic literature (YalKut Reubeni, Bereshit, 9a, ed. Amsterdam), seems nevertheless to be very old (see Epiphanius, l.c.), and according to which Elijah was an angel in human form, so that he had neither parents nor offspring. See Melchizedek.

In the Times of Ahab.

If the deeds which the Scripture records of Phinehas be disregarded, Elijah is first met with in the time of Ahab, and on the following occasion: God bade the prophet pay a visit of condolence to Hiel, who had suffered the loss of his sons because of his impiety. Elijah was unwilling to go, because profane words always angered and excited him. Only after God had promised to fulfil whatever words the prophet might utter in his righteous indignation did Elijah go to Hiel. Here the prophet met Ahab and warned him that God fulfils the maledictions of the godly, and that Hiel had been deprived of his sons because Joshua had anathematized the rebuilding of Jericho. The king derisively asked: Is Joshua greater than his teacher Moses? For Moses threatened all idolaters with hunger and distress, and yet he—Ahab-was faring very well. At this Elijah said (I Kings xvii. 1): "As the Lord God of Israel liveth," etc.; thereupon God had to fulfil His promise, and a famine came in consequence of the want of rain (Sanh. 113a; Yer. Sanh. x.). God sent ravens to supply the wants of the prophet during the famine. Some think "'ore-bim" (ravens) refers to the inhabitants of Oreb (Gen. R. xxxviii. 5; hul. 5a; so also the Jewish teacher of Jerome in his commentary on Isa. xv. 7). The ravens brought meat to Elijah from the kitchen of the pious Jehoshaphat (Tan., ed. Buber, iv. 165; Aphraates, l.c. p. 314; different in Sanh. 113). God, however, who is merciful even toward the impious, sought to induce Elijah to absolve Him from His promise, so that He might send rain. He accordingly caused the brook from which the prophet drew water to dry up, but this was of no avail. God finally caused the death of the son of the widow in whose house the prophet lived, hoping thereby to overcome the latter's relentless severity. When Elijah implored God to revive the boy (compare Jonah in Rabbinical Literature), God answered that this could only be accomplished by means of "the heavenly dew," and that before He could send the dew it would be necessary for the prophet to absolve Him from His promise (Yer. Ber. iv. 9b; different in Sanh. 113a). Elijah now saw that it would be necessary to yield, and took the opportunity to prove before Ahab, by a second miracle, the almighty power of God. He arranged with the king to offer sacrifices to God and Baal at one and the same time, and to see which would turn out to be the true God.

The bulls, which were selected for sacrifice by lot, were twins which had grown up together. But while Elijah brought his bull quickly to the place of sacrifice, the 450 priests of Baal labored in vain to induce the other to move a step. The animal even began to speak, complaining that while it was his twin brother's glorious privilege to be offered upon the altar of God, he was to be offered to Baal. Only after the prophet had convinced him that his sacrifice would also be for the glorification of Godcould the priests of Baal lead him to the altar (Tan., ed. Buber, iv. 165). They then commenced to cry "Baal! Baal!" but there was no response. In order to confound them utterly, "God made the whole world keep silent as if it were void and waste"; so that the priests of Baal might not claim that the voice of Baal had been heard (Ex. R. xxix., end). These proceedings consumed much time, and Elijah found it necessary to make the sun stand still: "Under Joshua thou stoodst still for Israel's sake; do it now that God's name be glorified!" (Aggadat Bereshit, lxxvi.). Toward evening Elijah called his disciple Elisha and made him pour water over his hands. Then a miracle took place: water commenced to flow from the fingers of Elijah as from a fountain, so that the ditch around the altar became full (Tanna debe Eliyahu R. xvii.). The prophet prayed to God that He would send fire down upon the altar, and that the people might see the miracle in its proper light and not regard it as sorcery (Ber. 9b). In his prayer he spoke of his mission as the precursor of the Messiah, and petitioned God to grant his request that he might be believed in future (Midr. Shir ha-Shirim, ed. Grünhuth, 25a; Aggadat Bereshit, lxxvi.).

Elijah's Zeal for God.

In spite of Elijah's many miracles the great mass of the Jewish people remained as godless as before; they even abolished the sign of the covenant, and the prophet had to appear as Israel's accuser before God (PirKe R. El. xxix.). In the same cave where God once appeared to Moses and revealed Himself as gracious and merciful, Elijah was summoned to appear before God. By this summons he perceived that he should have appealed to God's mercy instead of becoming Israel's accuser. The prophet, however, remained relentless in his zeal and severity, so that God commanded him to appoint his successor (Tanna debe Eliyahu Zuta viii.). The vision in which God revealed Himself to Elijah gave him at the same time a picture of the destinies of man, who has to pass through "four worlds." This world was shown to the prophet in the form of the wind, since it disappears as the wind; storm () is the day of death, before which man trembles (); fire is the judgment in Gehenna, and the stillness is the last day (Tan., PeKude, p. 128, Vienna ed.). Three years after this vision (Seder 'Olam R. xvii.) Elijah was "translated." Concerning the place to which Elijah was transferred, opinions differ among Jews and Christians, but the old view was that Elijah was received among the heavenly inhabitants, where he records the deeds of men (Kid. 70; Ber. R. xxxiv. 8), a task which according to the apocalyptic literature is entrusted to Enoch. But as early as the middle of the second century, when the notion of translation to heaven was abused by Christian theologians, the assertion was made that Elijah never entered into heaven proper (Suk. 5a; compare also Ratner on Seder 'Olam R. xvii.); in later literature paradise is generally designated as the abode of Elijah (compare PirKe R. El. xvi.), but since the location of paradise is itself uncertain, the last two statements may be identical.

It is one of the duties of Elijah to stand at the cross roads of paradise and to lead the pious to their proper places, to bring the souls of the impious out of hell at the beginning of the Sabbath, to lead them back again at the end of the Sabbath, and after they have suffered for their sins, to bring them to paradise forever (PirKe R. El. l.c.). In mystic literature Elijah is an angel, whose life on earth is conceived of as a merely apparitional one, and who is identified with Sandalfon. The cabalists speak also of the struggle between Elijah and the Angel of Death, who asserts his right to all children of men, and who endeavored to prevent, Elijah from entering heaven (Zohar Ruth, beginning, ed. Warsaw, 1885, 76a). The taking of Elijah into heaven or supramundane regions did not mean his severance from this world; on the contrary, his real activity then began. From Biblical times there is his letter to Jehoram, written seven years after his translation (Seder 'Olam R. xvii.; compare, however, Josephus, "Ant." ix. 5, § 2), and his interference in favor of the Jews after Haman had planned their extinction (see harbona; Mordecai). But it is mainly in post-Biblical times that Elijah's interest in earthly events was most frequently manifested, and to such an extent that the Haggadah calls him "the bird of heaven" (Ps. viii. 9, Hebr.), because like a bird he flies through the world and appears where a sudden divine interference is necessary (Midr. Teh. ad loc.; see also Ber. 4b; Targ. on Eccles. x. 20). His appearing among men is so frequent that even the irrational animals feel it: the joyous barking of the dogs is nothing else than an indication that Elijah is in the neighborhood (B. K. 60b). To men he appears in different forms, sometimes while they are dreaming, sometimes while they are awake, and this in such a way that the pious frequently know who is before them. Thus he once appeared to a Roman officer in a dream and admonished him not to be lavish of his inherited riches (Gen. R. lxxxiii.). Once a man came into a strange city shortly before the beginning of the Sabbath, and not knowing to whom to entrust his money (which he was not allowed to carry on the Sabbath), he went to the synagogue, where he saw some one with phylacteries on his forehead, praying. To this man he gave all that he had for keeping, but when he asked for its return at the end of the Sabbath, he found that he had to deal with a hypocrite and impostor. When the poor man fell asleep Elijah appeared to him, and showed him how to obtain his money from the wife of the swindler. When he awoke he followed the advice of Elijah, and not only received his money back, but also unmasked the hypocrite (PesiK. R. xxii.; Yer. Ber. ii.).

Elijah in the Guise of an Arab.

Elijah appeared to many while they were awake, and this in various ways. He often elected to appear in the guise of an Arab () or, more exactly, in that of an Arab of the desert (see Arabia in Rabbinical Literature). In this manner he once appeared to a poor but pious man, and asked him whether he wished to enjoy the six good years which were appointed him now, or at the end of his life. The pious man took him for a sorcerer, and made no reply. But when Elijah came the third time, the man consulted his wife as to what he should do. They concluded to tell the Arab that they wished to enjoy the good years at once; they had hardlyexpressed their wish when their children found a great treasure. The pious couple made good use of their riches, and spent much money for benevolent purposes. After six years the Arab returned and told them that the end of their prosperity had come. The woman, however, said to him: "If you can find people who will use with more conscientiousness what you give unto them, then take it from us and give it to them." God, who well knew what use this pious couple had made of their wealth, left it in their hands as long as they lived (Midr. Ruth Zuta, ed. Buber, near end).

To the pious, Elijah is in many cases a guardian angel, for whom no place is too remote, and who leaves nothing undone to help them in their distress or to save them from misery. Thus, Nahum of Gimzo was once sent on a political mission to Rome and given certain gifts to carry to the emperor; on the way he was robbed of these, but Elijah replaced them, and procured for Nahum riches and honor (Sanh. 109a). He saved the tanna Meïr from the persecuting bailiffs. During the religious persecutions under Hadrian he saved another tanna, Eleazar ben Prata, from the Roman government, which wished to sentence him to death, by removing those who were to testify against him and by bringing him to a place 400 miles distant ('Ab. Zarah 17b). He acted as witness for the amora Shila, when he was accused of exercising jurisdiction according to Jewish law (Ber. 58a), and appeared as comforter to Akiba when the latter was in distress (Ned. 50a). As physician he helped Simi b. Ashi (Shab. 109b), and R. Judah I., whose awful and incessant pains he stopped by laying his hand upon him. This healing had at the same time the effect of reconciling Rabbi with hiyyah, for Elijah appeared to Rabbi in the form of hiyyah, and caused him thereby to hold hiyyah in great respect (Yer. Kil. ix. 32b). Elijah was a daily guest in the academy of Rabbi, and on one occasion he even disclosed a great celestial mystery, for which he was severely punished in heaven (B. M. 85b). Elijah, however, is not only the helper in distress and the peacemaker, but he acted also as teacher of Eleazar ben Simon, whom he taught for thirteen years (PesiK., ed. Buber, x. 92b; see Akiba ben Joseph in Legend).

The following is an Elijah story which was very widely circulated, and which was even given a place in the liturgy: To a pious but very poor man Elijah once appeared and offered himself as servant. The man, at first refusing, finally took him. He did not keep him long, however, for the king needed a skilful builder for a palace which he was about to build; Elijah offered his services, and the pious man received a high price for his servant. Elijah did not disappoint his new master, but prayed to God, whereupon suddenly the palace of the king stood there in readiness. Elijah disappeared (Rabb. Nissim, "hibbur Yafeh meha-Yeshu'ah," near end). This story has been beautifully worked over in the piyyut. "Ish hasid," which is sung, according to the German-Polish ritual, on Sabbath evening.

Elijah the Friend of the Pious.

In olden times there were a number of select ones with whom Elijah had intercourse as with his equals, they being at the time aware of his identity. In Talmudic-Midrashic literature are the following stories: Eliezer ben Hyrcanus was brought by Elijah to Jerusalem to receive instruction there from Johanan ben Zakkai (PirKe R. El. i.). In the great controversy between this teacher and his colleagues, Elijah communicated to Rabbi Nathan what the opinion concerning this controversy was in heaven (B. M. 59b). The same Nathan was also instructed by him with reference to the right measure in eating and drinking (Git. 70a). A special pet of Elijah seems to have been Nehorai, whom he instructed with reference to Biblical passages, and explained to him also some of the phenomena of nature (Yer. Ber. ix. 13c; Ruth R. iv.). Another teacher, called "Jose" (probably not Jose b. halafta), was so familiar with Elijah that he was not afraid to declare openly that Elijah had a rough temper (Sanh. 113a). The words of Elijah to Judah, the brother of Salla the Pious, read: "Be not angry, and you will not sin; drink not, and you will not sin" (Ber. 29b). Besides this friendly advice the pious Judah received important instructions from Elijah (Yoma 19b; Sanh. 97b). Rabbah ben Shila (hag. 15b), Rabbah ben Abbahu (hag. 15b; B. M. 114b), Abiathar (Git. 6b), Kahana (Kid. 41a), Bar He He (hag. 9b), are also mentioned as among the pious who personally communicated with Elijah. Besides these, some others whose names are not given are mentioned as having been in friendly relations with Elijah (B. B. 7b; Yer. Ter. i. 40d; see also Ket. 61a). What kind of people Elijah selected may be seen from the following: Of two pious brothers, one allowed his servants to partake only of the first course at meals, whereas the other allowed them to partake of every course. Elijah did not visit the first, whereas he frequently visited the latter. In like manner he treated two brothers, one of whom served himself first, and then his guests, whereas the other cared for his guests first (Ket. l.c.). The demands of Elijah upon his friends were very strict, and the least mistake alienated him. One of his friends built a vestibule, whereby the poor were at a disadvantage in that their petitioning voices could be heard in the house only with great difficulty; as a result Elijah never came to him again (B. B. 7b).

Very characteristic of Elijah is his relation to the Babylonian amora Anan. A man brought Anan some small fish as a present, which he would not accept, because the man wished to submit to him a law case for decision. The petitioner, however, sooner than have the rabbi refuse his gift, decided to take his case elsewhere, and requested Anan to direct him to another rabbi; this Anan did. The rabbi before whom the case was tried showed himself very friendly toward the man because he had been recommended to him by Anan, and decided in his favor. Elijah, till then Anan's teacher and friend, deserted him from that moment, because, through his carelessness, judgment had been biased (Ket. 105b). The Midrash Tanna debe Eliyahu, in which Elijah often speaks of himself in the first person, recounting his experiences and teaching many lessons, is likewise associated with Anan, who is said to have compiled the work from Elijah's own discourses.

Joshua b. Levi and Elijah.

None of the pious could boast of such a close relation to Elijah as could Joshua b. Levi, to fulfill whose wishes Elijah was always ready, although he sometimes showed himself very severe toward him (Yer. Ter. viii. 4b; Yer. Sheb. ix. 31a; Mak. 11a). Elijah once brought about an interview between Joshua and the Messiah (Sanh. 98a), and he also showed Joshua the precious stones which, according to the words of the prophet (Isa. liv. 11, 12), shall replace the sun in giving light to Jerusalem (PesiK. xviii. 136a). But more precious than these sacred revelations were the lessons which Joshua received from Elijah, especially the doctrine of the theodicy, which Elijah tried to explain to his friend by means of illustrations. Joshua once asked Elijah to take him along on his journeys through the world. To this the prophet yielded on condition that Joshua should never question him concerning the causes of his actions, strange as they might appear; should this condition be violated, the prophet would be obliged to part from him. Both set out upon their journey. The first halt was at the house of a poor man who owned only a cow, but who, with his wife, received the strangers most kindly, and entertained them to the best of his ability. Before they continued their journey next morning, the rabbi heard Elijah pray that God might destroy the poor man's cow, and before they had left the hospitable house the cow was dead. Joshua could not contain himself, but in great excitement said to Elijah: "Is this the reward which the poor man receives for his hospitality toward us?" The prophet reminded him of the condition upon which they had undertaken the journey, and silently they continued on their way. Toward evening they came to the house of a rich man who did not even look at them, so that they had to pass the night without food and drink. In the morning when they left the inhospitable house, Joshua heard Elijah pray that God would build up a wall which had fallen in one of the rich man's houses. At once the wall stood erect. This increased the agitation of the rabbi still more; but remembering the condition which had been imposed upon him, he kept silent. On the next evening they came to a synagogue adorned with silver and gold, none of whose rich members showed any concern for the poor travelers, but dismissed them with bread and water. Upon leaving the place Joshua heard Elijah pray that God would make them all leaders ("heads"). Joshua was about to break his promise, but forced himself to go on in silence again. In the next city they met very generous people who vied with one another in performing acts of kindness toward the strangers. Great, then, was the surprise of Joshua when, upon leaving the place, he heard the prophet pray that God might give them only "one head."

Elijah Explains His Actions.

Joshua could not refrain any longer, and asked, Elijah to explain to him his strange actions, although he knew that by asking he would forfeit the prophet's companionship. Elijah answered: "The poor but generous man lost his cow because of my prayer, for I knew that his wife was about to die, and I asked God to take the life of the cow instead of that of the wife. My prayer for the heartless rich man was because under the fallen wall was a great treasure which would have come into the hands of this unworthy man had he undertaken to rebuild it. It was also no blessing which I pronounced upon the unfriendly synagogue, for a 'place which has many heads will not be of long duration'; on the other hand, I wished for the others, the good people, 'one head,' that union and peace may always be among them." This is a widely circulated legend, first found in Nissim ben Jacob's "hibbur Yafeh," 1886, pp. 9-12, and reprinted in Jellinek's "Bet ha-Midrash," v. 133-135 (vi. 131-133 gives another version). For Judæo-German and other renderings of this legend see Zunz, "G. V." 2d ed., p. 138. The antiquity of the legend may be seen from the fact that Mohammed mentions it in the Koran, sura xviii. 59-82; compare also "R. E. J." viii. 69-73.

Besides Joshua ben Levi, Elijah showed another rabbi, Baroka by name, that things must not be judged from outward appearances. Once they were in a lively street of a great city, when the rabbi asked Elijah whether there were any in the multitude who would have a place in the world to come. The prophet could give an affirmative answer in regard to three men only: a jailer and two jesters—the first, because he saw to it that chastity and morality prevailed among the inmates of the prison; the latter, because they tried by their jests to banish all anxious thoughts from the people (Ta'an. 22a).
(see image) The Prophet Elijah.(From a printed Passover Haggadah, Prague, 1526.)

The Tannaim and Amoraim are not the only ones who could boast of the special favor of Elijah. The mystics and cabalists of all times frequently appealed to Elijah as their patron. Among them was the gaon Joseph, of whom it was said that Elijah was a daily visitor at his academy (First Epistle of Sherira, ed. Neubauer, p. 32). The introduction of the Cabala to Provence is traced directly to Elijah, who revealed the secret doctrine to Jacob ha-Nozer. Similarly Abraham b. Isaac and Abraham ben David of Posquières are mentioned as privileged ones, to whom Elijah appeared (see Jellinek, "Auswahl Kabbalistischer Mystik," pp. 4, 5). The pseudonymous author of the "Kanah" asserted that he had received his teachings directly from Elijah. In the Zohar, Simon ben Yohai and his son Eleazar are mentioned as among those who enjoyed the special friendship of Elijah. This work, as well as the TiKKun Zohar and the Zohar hadash, contains muchthat is ascribed to Elijah (compare Friedmann, "Seder Eliyahu Rabba we-Seder Eliyahu Zuta," pp. 38-41). When, toward the middle of the fourteenth century, the Cabala received new prominence in Palestine, Elijah again took a leading part. Joseph de la Regna asks Elijah's advice in his combat with Satan. The father of the new cabalistic school, Isaac Luria, was visited by Elijah before his son was born. In like manner, the father of Israel Ba'al Shem-tob received the good news from Elijah that a son would be born unto him, "who would be a light in Israel" ("Ma'asiyyot Peliot," pp. 24, 25, Cracow, 1896, which contains an interesting narrative of Elijah's meeting with the father of Ba'al Shem-tob).

Elijah as the Forerunner of the Messiah.
(see image) Elijah Announcing the Coming of the Messiah.(From an illuminated Mahzor in the town hall of Frankfort-on-the-Main.)

The climax of Elijah's activity is his appearance shortly before the Messianic time. "He is appointed to lead aright the coming ages, to restore the tribes of Jacob," says Ben Sira of him (Ecclus. [Sirach] xlviii. 10, 11). In the second half of the first Christian century it was expected that Elijah would appear shortly before the coming of the Messiah, to restore to families the purity which in the course of time had become doubtful ('Eduy. viii. 7; this is the opinion of Johanan b. Zakkai). A century later the notion prevailed that Elijah's office was "to bring peace and adjust all differences" (ib.). It was expected that all controversies and legal disputes which had accumulated in the course of time would be adjusted by him, and that difficult ritual questions and passages of Scripture seemingly conflicting with each other would be explained, so that no difference of opinion would exist concerning anything (Men. 45b; Ab. R. N. xxxiv.; Num. R. iii., near the end; compare also Jew. Encyc. i. 637a). The office of interpreter of the Law he will retain forever, and in the world to come his relation to Moses will be the same as Aaron's once was (Zohar, Ẓaw, iii. 27, bottom). But the notion which prevailed at the time of the origin of Christianity, that Elijah's mission as forerunner of the Messiah consisted mainly in changing the mind of the people and leading them to repentance, is not unknown to rabbinical literature (PirKe R. El. xliii., xlvii.). His real Messianic activity—in some passages he is even called "go'el" (="redeemer"; compare Friedmann, l.c. pp. 25, 26)—will commence three days before the coming ofthe Messiah. On the first day he will lament over the devastation of Palestine, but will close with the words: "Peace will now come over the earth"; on the second and third days he will speak words of comfort (PesiK. R. xxxv. 161; Elijah as the "good messenger of salvation" is a frequent figure in the apocalyptic midrashim). When the archangel Michael blows the trumpet, Elijah will appear with the Messiah, whom he will present to the Jews ("Otot ha-Mashiah," in Jellinek, "B. H." ii. 62, 125; see Eschatology). They will ask of Elijah, as an attestation of his mission, that he raise the dead before their eyes and revive such of the dead as they personally knew (Shir ha-Shirim Zuta, ed. Buber, 38, end; compare also Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch; Bousset, "The Antichrist Legend," p. 203).

The Seven Miracles.

But he will do more than this, in that he will perform seven miracles before the eyes of the people: (1) He will bring before them Moses and the generation of the wilderness; (2) he will cause Korah and his company to rise out of the earth; (3) he will revive the Messiah, the son of Joseph; (4) he will show them again the three mysteriously lost sacred utensils of the Temple, namely, the Ark, the vessel of manna, and the vessel of sacred oil (see Antichrist); (5) he will show the scepter which he received from God; (6) he will crush mountains like straw; (7) he will reveal the great mystery (Jellinek, l.c. iii. 72). At the bidding of the Messiah, Elijah will sound the trumpet, and at the first blast the primitive light will appear; at the second, the dead will rise; and at the third, the Divine Majesty will appear (Jellinek, l.c. v. 128). During the Messianic reign Elijah will be one of the eight princes (Micah v. 4), and even on the Last Day he will not give up his activity. He will implore God's mercy for the wicked who are in hell, while their innocent children who died in infancy on account of the sins of their fathers, are in paradise. Thus he will complete his mission, in that God, moved by his prayer, will bring the sinful fathers to their children in paradise (Eccl. R. iv. 1). He will bring to an end his glorious career by killing Samael at the behest of God, and thus destroy all evil (YalKut hadash, ed. Radawil, 58a). Compare Elijah's Chair.

Bibliography: Bousset, The Antichrist Legend, s.v.;
Friedmann, Seder Eliyahu Rabba we-Seder Eliyahu Zuta, pp. 1-44, Warsaw, 1902;
S[amuel] K[ohn], Der Prophet Elia in der Legende, in Monatsschrift, xii. 241 et seq., 361 et seq.;
Ginzberg, Die Haggada bei den Kirchenvätern, i. 76-80.S. S. L. G.

—In Mohammedan Literature:

Elijah is mentioned in the Koran as a prophet together with Zechariah, John, and Jesus (sura vi. 85); while in sura xxxvii. 123-130 it is said: "Verily, Elijah [Ilyas] was of the prophets, when he said to his people, 'Will ye call upon Baal and leave the best of creators, God, your Lord?'" In verse 130 he is called "Ilyasin": "Peace upon Ilyasin, thus do we reward those who do well."

According to Baiḍawi, the people to whom Elijah was sent were the inhabitants of Baalbek in Cle-Syria. When Elijah made his appearance as a prophet the king (Ibn al-Athir says that the king's name was Ahab, but places him after Ezekiel) believed in him, though the people did not. The king made Elijah his vizier, and both worshiped God. But the king soon apostatized, and Elijah separated from him. The prophet then afflicted the country with famine, and no one save himself had bread to eat; so that if one noticed the odor of bread he said: "Elijah must have passed this way."

One day Elijah came into the house of an old woman who had a paralytic child named Elisha ibn Ukhtub. Elijah cured the child, who remained with the prophet, and, after Elijah's translation, became his successor.

The Jewish tradition that Elijah is identical with Phinehas is current among the Moslems also. They have, moreover, another tradition borrowed from the Jews. Elijah, they say, will appear on the last day, and either he or one of his descendants will await, in the interior of a mountain, the second coming of the Messiah.

Certain Islamic authorities confound Elijah with Al-Khiḍr (= "the green" or "fresh one"), famous in Mohammedan literature on account of his having discovered the fountain of perpetual youth. Even their names have been combined in "Khiḍr-Ilyas" or "Khiḍralas." Other authorities, among them the author of the "Ta'rikh Muntahab," distinguish Elijah from Al-Khiḍr, whom they identify with Elisha. They believe that, while the latter is the guardian of the sea, Elijah is the guardian of the desert (the idea originating, doubtless, in the fact that Elijah hid himself in the desert; I Kings xix. 4).

Elijah's translation is thus described by the Moslems: God had told Elijah in a vision to go out of the town and to mount anything which he might see before him. He departed with his disciple Elisha, and, seeing a horse, mounted it. God covered him with feathers, enveloped him with fire, took away from him the desire of eating and drinking, and joined him to His angels. According to Ibn al-Athir, God made Elijah of a twofold nature: man and angel, earthly and heavenly.

Bibliography: Ibn al-Athir, Al-Ta'rikh al-Kamil, i. 90, 91, Cairo, 1891-92;
Tabari, Chroniques (French transl. of Zotenberg), i. 374, 381, 409-411;
Rampoldi, Annali Musulmani, iv. 491, vi. 549, Milan, 1822-25;
E. Rödiger, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. section i., part 33, p. 324;
D'Herbelot, Bibliothèque Orientale, iii. 345, s.v. Ilia;
Hughes, Dict. of Islam, s.v.E. G. H. M. Sel.

—In Medieval Folk-Lore:

Owing to his ubiquitousness and to the universal belief that he remained after his departure from the earth the ever-ready helper of the Jew, Elijah the prophet became the prototype of the Wandering Jew. Many characteristics of wandering deities and heroes like those of Buddha, of Zeus, and of Thor and Wodan who were believed to wander about the earth to test the piety and hospitality of the people, hence also those of Khiḍr, the Arabic legendary hero, were incorporated in the history of Elijah. He was accordingly expected to appear from time to time, especially on solemn occasions, as "the angel of the covenant," the genius of Jewish home sanctity who keeps a record of every mésalliance (Kid. 70a). He was believed to be present as the angel of the covenant at the circumcision (see Elijah's Chair), or to appear as a guest at the Seder and as protector of the Jewish household whenever the door was opened on that night. Every Saturday evening his blessedintervention was invoked for the work of the new week; hence the many mystic formulas in the cabalistic liturgy for the close of the Sabbath.

He was often identified with other heroes of Jewish legend to whom immortality was attributed, such as Melchizedek, who had no father or mother, and Enoch-Metatron, who is said to have been a shoemaker by profession (YalK. Reubeni, Bereshit, 27a and 9d), and this seems to explain the original story of the Wandering Jew.

Bibliography: A. Tendlau, Sprichwörter und Redensarten Deutsch-Jüdischer Vorzeit, pp. 14-16, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1860;
idem, Das Buch der Sagen und Legenden Jüdischer Vorzeit, notes to Nos. 3, 28, Frankfort, 1873;
L. Geiger, Zeitschrift für die Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland, iii. 297;
Mannhardt, Germanische Mythen, pp. 118, 725, Berlin, 1858;
Nork, Etymologisches Mythologisches Wörterbuch, s.v. Elias.K.

Sources.

—Critical View:

The stories of Elijah are not all derived from the same author. This is evident, first, from the fact that the longer form of the name () is used (about sixty times) everywhere except in II Kings i. 3-12 and (in reference to other persons of the name) in I Chron. viii. 27; Ezra x. 21, 26. Then, too, there is a significant disagreement between I Kings xix. 15 et seq., where Elijah is commissioned to anoint Kings Hazael and Jehu, and II Kings viii. 7 et seq., ix. 1 et seq., where it is said that these two kings were appointed by Elisha. Neither of these stories, however, bears marks of exilic or post-exilic origin, for the compound prepositions (I Kings xviii. 19) or (xxi. 29) are not a proof of such origin, although the latter preposition is often used by preference in the post-exilic period. It is also obvious that the mention of the sacrifice (I Kings xviii. 36) does not stamp the story as post-exilic (contrary to G. Rösch, "Der Prophet Elia," in "Theologische Studien und Kritiken," 1892, pp. 557 et seq.; comp. Ed. König, "Einleitung ins Alte Testament," p. 264).

Many scholars, nevertheless, consider the stories legendary; and, although something extraordinary must have happened at Mt. Carmel, it can not be denied that the miraculous incidents of the prophet's career may have been magnified as they passed on from generation to generation. The account of the destruction of the two captains and their soldiers may be taken as an example of this; and, indeed, the fact that the shorter form of the prophet's name is used proves the account to be undoubtedly of later origin.

Some modern scholars regard the stories as mythological—Hugo Winckler, for instance, in his "Geschichte Israels" (1900, ii. 273).

Three other persons by the name of Elijah are mentioned in the Old Testament: a Benjamite who lived before the time of Saul (I Chron. viii. 27), and two persons of the post-exilic period (Ezra x. 21, 26).

Messiah

MESSIAH By : Joseph Jacobs Moses Buttenwieser

ARTICLE HEADINGS:
The Ideal in Isaiah.
The "Immanuel" Passage.
In Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
Ideal of the Second Isaiah.
In the Apocrypha.
Alexander as Messiah.
Rise of Popular Belief in a Personal Messiah.
Development of Conception.
In the Older Apocalyptic Literature.
In the Psalms of Solomon.
In the Testaments of the Patriarchs.
The Heavenly Messiah.
In Rabbinic Literature.
Heavenly Preexistence.
Earthly Preexistence.
Messiah ben Joseph.

The Name. The name or title of the ideal king of the Messianic age; used also without the article as a proper name—"Mashiaḥ" (in the Babylonian Talmud and in the midrash literature), like Χριστός in the Gospels. The Grecized Μεσσιας of the New Testament (John i. 41, iv. 25) is a transliteration of the Aramaic form, Aramaic being the spoken language of Palestine in the time of 1st Century CE. "The Messiah" (with the article and not in apposition with another word) is, however, not an Old Testament expression, but occurs for the first time in apocalyptic literature. Similarly, in all probability the use of the word "Mashiaḥ" to denote the Messianic king is not found earlier than the apocalyptic literature. In the Old Testament the earliest use of the word is with Yhwh (or with a pronominal suffix referring to Yhwh) as a title of the ruling sovereign Meshiaḥ Yhwh ("God's anointed one"; I Sam. ii. 10, 35; xii. 3, 5; xvi. 6; xxvi. 9, 11, 16, 23; II Sam. i. 14, 16; xix. 21; II Chron. vi. 42; Ps. xviii. 51 [A. V. 50]; xx. 7 [A. V. 6]; cxxxii. 17 [applying to David]; Lam. iv. 20). In post-exilic times, the high priest, filling the place formerly occupied by the king, is spoken of as "ha-Kohen ha-Mashiaḥ" (the anointed priest; Lev. iv. 3, 5, 16; vi. 5), also (Dan. ix. 25, 26) as "Mashiaḥ Nagid" (an anointed one, a ruler) and simply "Mashiaḥ" (an anointed one), referring to Onias III. As the anointing of the high priest consecrated him above all his brethren to God's service and gave him immediate access to God (comp. Lev. viii. 12, xxi. 10-12; Zech. iii. 7), so the anointing of the king made him Meshiaḥ Yhwh, placed him in a special relationship to God, and established him as the one chosen by God to represent His rulership in Israel and to bear witness to His glory before the nations (comp. II Sam. vii. 8-11, 14; Isa. lv. 4; Ps. lxxxix. 4, 21-29). As "God's anointed one" the king was sacrosanct and inviolable (comp. I Sam. xxvi. 9). Hence the later applications of the title "Meshiaḥ Yhwh" in the Old Testament.

In Isa. xlv. 1 Cyrus is called "God's anointed one," because God has called him and given him victory after victory for the distinct purpose of putting an end to the Babylonian kingdom and the worship of idols, of setting free exiled Israel, and thus introducing the new era of God's universal dominion. In Ps. cv. 15 the Patriarchs are called "God's anointed ones" because they are under the special protection of God and therefore inviolable. Finally, in Hab. iii. 13, Ps. xxviii. 8, lxxxiv. 10 (A. V.9), and possibly in lxxxix. 39, 52 (A. V. 38, 51), the title is applied to Israel, God's chosen people. See Anointing.

"Mashiaḥ" (anointed one of God) in Ps. ii. 2, which was formerly thought to have Messianic reference, is now taken as referring either to a Hasmonean king or to Israel. The latter interpretation is that prevailing in the Midrash (comp. Midr. Rabbah and Tanḥuma, Emor; Yalḳuṭ, Toledot, near end; Midr. Shoḥer Ṭob, ad loc.), though the Messianic interpretation occurs in the eschatological description (Pesiḳ. Zuṭarta, Balaḳ).

The Ideal in Isaiah.

But though the name is of later origin, the idea of a personal Messiah runs through the Old Testament. It is the natural outcome of the prophetic future hope. The first prophet to give a detailed picture of the future ideal king was Isaiah (ix. 1-6, xi. 1-10, xxxii. 1-5). Of late the authenticity of these passages, and also of those passages in Jeremiah and Ezekiel which give expression to the hope in a Messiah, has been disputed by various Biblical scholars (comp. Hackmann, "Die Zukunftserwartung des Jesaiah"; Volz, "Die Vorexilische Jahweprophetie und der Messias"; Marti, "Gesch. der Israelitischen Religion," pp. 190 et seq.; idem, "Das Buch Jesaia"; Cheyne, "Introduction to Isaiah," and edition and transl. of Isaiah in "S. B. O. T.").

The objections of these scholars, however, rest principally on the hypothesis that the idea of the Messiah is inseparably bound up with the desire for universal dominion, whereas, in reality, this feature is not a characteristic of the Messianic hope until a later stage of its development. The ideal king to whom Isaiah looks forward will be a scion of the stock of Jesse, on whom will rest the spirit of God as a spirit of wisdom, valor, and religion, and who will rule in the fear of God, his loins girt with righteousness and faithfulness (xi. 1-3a, 5). He will not engage in war or in the conquest of nations; the paraphernalia of war will be destroyed (ix. 4); his sole concern will be to establish justice among his people (ix. 6b; xi. 3b, 4). The fruit of his righteous government will be peace and order throughout the land. The lamb will not dread the wolf, nor will the leopard harm the kid (xi. 8); that is, as the following verse explains, tyranny and violence will no longer be practised on God's holy mountain, for the land will be full of the knowledge of God as the water covers the sea (comp. xxxii. 1, 2, 16). The people will not aspire to political greatness, but will lead a pastoral life (xxxii. 18, 20). Under such ideal conditions the country can not but prosper, nor need it fear attack from outside nations (ix. 6a, xxxii. 15). The newly risen scion of Jesse will stand forth as a beacon to other nations, and they will come to him for guidance and arbitration (xi. 10). He will rightly be called "Wonderful Counselor," "Godlike Hero," "Constant Father," "Prince of Peace" (ix. 5).

The "Immanuel" Passage.

This picture of the future fully accords with Isaiah's view, that the judgment will lead to a spiritual regeneration and bring about a state of moral and religious perfection; and it agrees also with the doctrine, which, in his bitter opposition to the alliances with Assyria and Egypt, he preached to his people—the doctrine, namely, that their sole concern should be God and their sole reliance be on Him, for thus, and thus only, might they endure (vii. 9; comp. also v. 4, viii. 13, xxx. 15). The prophets advocated a government which would be in conformity with God's will and be regulated by His laws of righteousness. In connection with Isaiah's Messianic hope it remains to be observed that the "Immanuel" passage, Isa. vii. 14, which is interpreted in xxxx. i. 23 as referring to the birth of xxxx, has, as Robertson Smith ("The Prophets of Israel," pp. 271 et seq., 426 et seq.) and others have pointed out, no Messianic import whatever. The name has reference merely to events of the immediate present. He means to give a token by which the truth of his prophetic word may be tested, saying that any young woman giving birth to a son in the near future will call him "Immanuel" (= "God with us"), in remembrance of the withdrawal of the Syrian-Ephraimitic armies from the country (v. 16). "'Almah" does not mean "virgin" (as given in A. V. and other versions; the only word meaning this is "betulah"), but "a young woman sexually mature," whether married or unmarried; the article "ha-" of "ha-'almah" is the generic article.

In Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

The idea of a personal Messiah is not met with again until the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (the Messianic picture of Micah v. 1, 3-8, as is proved by the fact that in it Israel and the Messiah hold dominion over the nations, according to this view can not be a pre-exilic product of prophecy; in fact, it must have originated late in post-exilic times). Jeremiah's picture of the Messiah is not a detailed one; but, like his future hope in general, it agrees in all essentials with that of Isaiah. The Messiah will be "a righteous sprout of David," who will establish just judgment and wise government in the country, and whose name will be (= "God is our salvation"; xxiii. 5, 6; these two verses recur in almost the same form in xxxiii. 15, 16, but in the latter verse the name is applied to Jerusalem, an application which did not originate with Jeremiah. Ch. xxx. 9 et seq., 21 does not claim consideration here, as it is of later origin).

In Ezekiel, the Messiah is a purely passive figure, the only personal reference to him being in xvii. 23—"he will become a mighty cedar" (Hebr.). The regeneration of the people, like their restoration, is exclusively the work of God.

But in xxxiv. 23 et seq., xxxvii. 24 et seq., which passages date from exilic times, there is an entirely new feature—the prophecy that David will be the king of the future state. As after the decline of the Holy Roman Empire the saga arose of the return of the emperor-hero Barbarossa, so, after the fall of the nation, the Jews of the Exile dreamed of the coming of a second David, who would reestablish them as a glorious nation. So Ezekiel lays emphasis on the fact that the future Israel is to be a united nation as it was under David of old. The hope in the return of David is expressed also in the spurious passage mentioned above (Jer. xxx. 9) and in the gloss to Hos. iii. 5 ("and David their king"), and ismet with sporadically also in Neo-Hebraic apocalyptic literature (see below).

In post-exilic prophetic literature the hope in a Messiah is found only in the first two prophets of the post-exilic community, Haggai and Zechariah, and in Deutero-Zechariah, ch. ix., which, probably, dates from the time of the Seleucids. Haggai and Zechariah see in Zerubbabel the promised "sprout of David"; but they state merely that he will rebuild the Temple and attain great eminence as a ruler (Hag. ii. 23; Zech. iii. 8, vi. 12).

Deutero-Zechariah's Messiah has much in common with Isaiah's. He is described (Zech. ix. 9, 10) as a righteous Prince of Peace, who will rise from the ranks of the pious and oppressed, who will ride into Jerusalem not in military splendor, but on an ass (comp. xxxxxx' entry into Jerusalem on an ass, and also Ibn Ḳuṭaibah's account of Salman, the governor of Medina at the time of the dissensions of the califs, who rode upon an ass in order to show his advocacy of peace). For, unlike worldly rulers, he will not maintain his dominion by the sword—he will destroy all the instruments of war (if, instead of , is read in accordance with the LXX. , 3d s. m.); but, by his jurisdiction, which will extend to the ends of the earth, he will establish peace among the nations. Thus Deutero-Zechariah's conception of the Messiah combines Isaiah's conception with the hope of world-dominion cherished by his own age.

Ideal of the Second Isaiah.

The personal Messiah does not figure at all in the future hope of Deutero-Isaiah, whose lofty universalism marks the final step in the development of the religious ideas of the Prophets. The salvation of mankind is the goal of history, and Israel's prerogative becomes but the privilege of suffering for the good of the whole world. God has called Israel for the realization of His purpose toward man. Israel, and not an individual, is "the servant of God" (Isa. xlii. 1-6, xlix. 1-6, l. 4-9, lii. 13-liii. 12), through whom the regeneration of mankind will be accomplished, who will spread the true religion among all nations, convert all men into willing servants of God, and lead all tongues to confess Him (xlv. 23). Naturally, not the actual Israel of the present is meant, but the ideal Israel of the future, risen to spiritual heights in consequence of his wonderful deliverance by God. For this high destiny Israel has been especially fitted by reason of the religious experience which God has stored up in him in the course of his history; and, by submitting, in accordance with God's will, to suffering and ignominy, he fulfils his mission and advances toward his final goal. In Isa. ii. 1-4 and Micah iv. 1-4 there is the same picture of the Messianic future as in Deutero-Isaiah—Jerusalem as the religious center of the world, whence salvation will radiate to all men—but contain the additional promise that universal peace will ensue in consequence thereof. In like manner the post-exilic prophets Trito-Isaiah, Malachi, and Joel, and the post-exilic Apocalypse of Isaiah, xxiv.-xxvii., have no personal Messiah. According to them, God Himself, without the instrumentality of a man, will redeem Israel from his present misery and bring about the new era of salvation. The conclusion, however, of Malachi (the authorship of which is doubtful) speaks of a messenger, Elijah, whom God will send to convert men and thus pave the way for His own coming.

In the Apocrypha.

As in the prophetic writings just enumerated, so in the Apocrypha of the Old Testament the figure of the Messiah has no prominence whatever. In I Maccabees there is a brief general reference to the promise given to David, that his throne would be reestablished (ii. 57), but Ecclesiasticus, Judith, Tobit, Baruch, II Maccabees, and the Wisdom of Solomon contain no mention of the Davidic hope. The Hellenistic author of the Wisdom of Solomon is so thoroughly universalistic that the idea of a Messiah is precluded. His eschatological picture shows no nationalistic feature whatever.

Alexander as Messiah.

The natural deduction from the facts thus far outlined is that while from the time of the Prophets the belief in an ideal future determined the character and tendency of Jewish religious life and thought to such an extent that this belief may be called the special characteristic of the Jewish genius, still, in the periods thus far covered, the idea of a personal Messiah is far from having that general prominence which one would, at first, be inclined to assume. Further, it has been seen how Deutero-Isaiah heralded Cyrus as the favorite of God, the hero called by God to introduce the new era of universal bliss. In like manner, no doubt, as Kampers has shown in his "Alexander der Grosse und die Idee des Weltimperiums in Prophetie und Sage," the Jewish contemporaries of Alexander the Great, dazzled by his glorious achievements, hailed him as the divinely appointed deliverer, the inaugurator of the period of universal peace promised by the Prophets. Proof of this is: (1) The legend related in Josephus ("Ant." xi. 8) and in the Talmud (Yoma 67b) of the audience of the high priest Jaddua (in the Talmud it is Simon the Just) with Alexander the Great in Gaza. Alexander recognizes in the high priest the man who had appeared to him in a dream, urging him to the conquest of Asia and promising him that he himself would lead his army and deliver the Persian kingdom into his hands; he prostrates himself to worship God, whose name he sees inscribed on the plate of gold on the high priest's cidaris, accompanies the high priest to Jerusalem to sacrifice to God in His Temple, and is there shown the Book of Daniel, in which it is written that the Persian kingdom will be conquered by a Greek—a prophecy which Alexander applies to himself. (2) The various sagas which sprang up about Alexander, chiefly among the Jews in Alexandria, and out of which the Alexander romance of pseudo-Callisthenes grew, the only explanation of which is that Alexander had once been the central figure in their future hope. (3) The apocalyptic traditions about Alexander the Great in medieval apocalyptic literature and also in the midrashic literature—for example, the tradition (mentioned by Josephus) of Alexander imprisoning Gog and Magog behind the mountains of darkness in the far north. The version of this legend given by Jacob of Serug (521 C.E.) and in the Koran, sura 18 (comp.Kampers, l.c. pp. 73, 76 et seq.) leaves no doubt that it was purely of apocalyptic origin.

But while all these hopes centering in Alexander the Great bear witness to the liberality and broad-mindedness of the Jews of that time, they, on the other hand, corroborate the conclusion, expressed above, that the hope in the Messiah had, as yet, no definite form and can not have been commonly an article of faith. This is true, not only of the time of Alexander the Great, but even as late as the first period of apocalyptic literature, and is proved by the absence of a personal Messiah in the oldest apocalyptic writing, the Book of Daniel, as well as in the oldest part of the Book of Enoch ("The Apocalypse of the Ten Weeks") and in the Book of Jubilees, which also date from the Maccabean period, apart from the fact, pointed out above, that in the contemporaneous apocrypha there is but vague reference to the Messiah. The "one of the likeness of man" ("ke-bar enash") of Dan. vii. 13 (Hebr.), to whom the rulership in the divine world-monarchy will be entrusted, is, according to the author's own explanation (vii. 18, 22, 27), the nation of God's holy ones (i.e., the faithful Jews). These constitute the earthly representatives of God in the "civitas Dei," and in contrast to the other nations of the world, who are represented under the figures of animals, they are represented under the figure of a man in order to signify that in them the divine ideal of manhood has preserved itself most faithfully.

Rise of Popular Belief in a Personal Messiah.

Not until after the fall of the Maccabean dynasty, when the despotic government of Herod the Great and his family, and the increasing tyranny of the Roman empire had made their condition ever more unbearable, did the Jews seek refuge in the hope of a personal Messiah. They yearned for the promised deliverer of the house of David, who would free them from the yoke of the hated foreign usurper, would put an end to the impious Roman rule, and would establish His own reign of peace and justice in its place. In this way their hopes became gradually centered in the Messiah. As evidence that in the Roman period the Messianic hope had become universal among the Jews may be adduced: (1) xxxxx' conviction that he was the Messiah, a conviction inspired in him by the current belief in a Messiah, as is shown by the fact that on his entry into Jerusalem the populace hailed him as such; (2) the testimony of Josephus ("B. J." vi. 5, § 4), Tacitus ("Hist." v. 13), and Suetonius (Vespasian, iv.) regarding the Messianic belief of the Jewish people at that time; (3) the fact that even in Philo's picture of the future, in spite of its moralistic tendency, the Messianic king has a place (comp. "De Præmiis et Pœnis," § 16). It may be noted in this connection that the "Prayer for the Coming of the Messiah," as the version of it given both in the Babylonian and in the Palestinian recensions of the Shemoneh 'Esreh shows (see Nos. 14 and 15 respectively), can not have become an integral part of the daily prayers later than the time immediately following the destruction of the Temple, for in that period the "Shemoneh 'Esreh" received its present form. Hillel's assertion (Sanh. 98b) that there would be no future Messiah for Israel since the latter had had its Messiah in the days of Hezekiah, can have no weight as a contrary argument, as Hillel lived in the reign of Herod the Great, at the beginning of the period which marks the development of the popular belief in the Messiah.

Development of Conception.

As the future hopes of the Jews became Messianic in character the figure of the Messiah assumed a central and permanent place in apocalyptic literature; and as apocalyptic literature in general, so the Messiah-concept in particular, embodies a multitude of bizarre fantasies which can not possibly be reconciled or woven into anything like a connected picture. There are many factors which contributed to this manifold and variegated imagery. Not only was all the Messianic and quasi-Messianic material of the Scriptures collected, and out of it, by means of subtle combinations, after the manner of the Midrash, a picture of the Messiah sedulously drawn, but everything poetical or figurative in the Prophets' descriptions of the future was taken in a literal sense and expounded and dogmatized accordingly. Many foreign elements, moreover, crept in at this time and became part of the general potpourri of imagery relating to the Messiah. This being the case, an exceedingly complex and difficult question arises—where, in the Messiah-pictures, and, indeed, in the pictures of the future in general, presented by apocalyptic literature, has one to deal with organic development from prophetic ideas, and where with foreign religious elements? At present it is not possible to form a final judgment in regard to the place of origin of these foreign ideas. The material from the Assyro-Babylonian religion and mythology which has been offered in recent years by Assyriologists shows what an involved question is presented in this one point, and that a series of preliminary and exhaustive studies is necessary before a final decision can be reached regarding it or the various questions bound up with it. The one thing safe to maintain in this connection is, perhaps, that, according to the time at which the heterogeneous character of the conceptions becomes noticeable in the literature, Alexandria must have had a prominent part in the fusion of the native and foreign elements, since that city had been from the time of Alexander the Great the seat of religious syncretism as well as the intellectual metropolis of the civilized world.

For the better understanding of the Messianic pictures in apocalyptic literature it is important to point out that, although frequently interlaced, two distinct sets of ideas may be traced—the one set concerned with this world, hence realistic and national; the other directed to the world to come, hence transcendent and universalistic. The Messiah presents a correspondingly double character. Side by side with the traditional idea of an earthly king of the house of David is the new conception of a heavenly preexistent Messiah, from which it follows that in regard to the question of the Messiah the older apocalyptic literature, as well as the younger rabbinical branch, falls naturally into two groups.

In the Older Apocalyptic Literature.

In the older apocalyptic literature the first book to be mentioned in which the Messiah figures as an earthly king is "The Vision of the Seventy Shepherds of the Book of Enoch" (ch. lxxxv.-xc.) of the time of John Hyrcanus (135-105 B.C.). The Messiah appears under the figure of a white bull at the conclusion of the world-drama (xc. 37 et seq.) and commands the respect and fear of all the heathen, who eventually become converted to God. Yet he does not take any actual rôle. It is God Himself who wards off the last attack of the heathen against Israel, gives judgment, and establishes the world-dominion of Israel. Second in this group come those parts of the Sibylline Books whose date, as Geffken's recent critical analysis has established ("Komposition und Entstehungszeit der Oracula Sibyllina," pp. 7-13), is about the year 83 B.C. The Messiah is pictured (verses 652-666) as a king sent by God from the rising of the sun, who will put an end to war all over the earth, inasmuch as he will destroy some peoples and make permanent treaties with the others; in all his actions he will be solicitous not to follow his own counsel, but to obey the commands of God. The writer then describes at length the attack by the heathen nations on the magnificent Temple of God and on the Holy Land, and the annihilation of the nations by God; the Last Judgment, with the ensuing conversion of the heathen to God; the establishment of God's eternal kingdom over all men and the reign of universal peace; but, strange to say, throughout the description there is no mention of the Messiah. In fact, in verses 781 et seq. the Israelites are spoken of as the prophets of God, the judges of mankind, and the just kings who will put an end to the sway of the sword upon earth.

In the Psalms of Solomon.

"The Vision of the Seventy Shepherds" and Sibyllines, iii. 652 et seq. say nothing whatever about the lineage of the earthly Messiah, but in the Psalms of Solomon (xvii.), which were called forth by the conquest of Jerusalem by Pompey (63 B.C.), he is designated as the "son of David," who will appear at a time known only to God. These Psalms (l.c.) contain a more detailed description of his personality and of his reign than any other writing of that period. The Messiah will first crush the unjust rulers and rid Jerusalem of, and destroy, the impious heathen. Then he will gather the scattered ones of Israel, distribute them through the land according to their tribes, and found his own kingdom of peace and justice. No wicked person will be tolerated in his kindgom nor will foreigners be allowed to dwell there. He will subject the heathen nations to his rule, glorify the Lord before the whole world, and make Jerusalem pure and holy as of old, so that the nations will come from the ends of the earth to witness God's glory. The description which follows of his righteous reign shows the influence of Isa. xi. 1 et seq. Free from sin, strong in the divine fear, and filled with the spirit of God, of valor, and of justice, he will tend the flock of the Lord faithfully, hold the higher officers in check, and make sinners cease by the power of his word, so that injustice and tyranny will not be practised in the land. He will not rely upon horses and warriors, nor heap up gold and silver to wage war, nor keep armies. In God alone will he place his trust, and his strength will be in Him.

In the Apocalypse of Baruch (70-100 C.E.) the earthly Messiah will appear at the close of the fourth (i.e., the Roman) world-empire and destroy it. The last ruler of the empire will, after his hosts have been destroyed, be brought in chains before the Messiah on Mount Zion, and there, after the impiousness of his rule has been pointed out to him, he will be put to death by the Messiah's own hand. Of the other nations, those hostile to Israel will be put to the sword and the remainder subjected to the rule of the Messiah, who will establish himself on the throne of his kingdom, inaugurate the reign of morality and bliss, and hold dominion until the end of time, that is, until the consummation of the present world (xxix. 3, xxxix. 5-xl. 3, lxxii.-lxxiii. 4. Ch. xxx. 1 is to be taken, with Volz ["Jüdische Eschatologie," pp. 37, 203], as Christian interpolation).

In the Testaments of the Patriarchs.

The Testament of Levi (ch. viii. and xviii.) shows a unique conception of the Messiah. He is not, as in the Testament of Judah (see below) and according to the popular belief, a descendant of David, but a priestly king of the tribe of Levi. His character and activity are altogether spiritual. The pouring out of the spirit and knowledge of the Lord over all mankind and the cessation of sin and evil will be the fruit of his ideal priesthood, which will last for all eternity. He himself will open the doors of paradise, cast aside the sword threatening Adam, and give the saints to eat of the tree of life. He will chain up Belial and will give his children power to trample on the evil spirits. The picture of the Messiah in the Testament of Judah (ch. xxiv.), although far more brief, resembles, in its spiritual character and in its universalistic tendency, that in the Testament of Levi. The sole mission of the Messiah will be the regeneration of mankind, and his kingdom will be one of justice and salvation for the whole world. If, as Bousset sought to prove ("Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft," i. 193 et seq.), the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs date mainly from the time of the Maccabees, then the Messiahconception of the Testament of Levi is easily accounted for; the author expects that the future Savior will be a prince of the reigning priestly house of the Maccabees.

The Heavenly Messiah.

The oldest apocalypse in which the conception of a preexistent heavenly Messiah is met with is the Messiological section of the Book of Enoch (xxxvii.-lxxi.) of the first century B.C. The Messiah is called "the Son of Man," and is described as an angelic being, his countenance resembling a man's, and as occupying a seat in heaven beside the Ancient of Days (xlvi. 1), or, as it is expressed in ch. xxxix. 7, "under the wings of the Lord of spirits." In ch. xlviii. 3, 6, xlix. 2b it is stated that "His name was called before the Lord of spirits before the sun and the signs of the zodiac were created, and before the stars of heaven weremade"; that "He was chosen and hidden with God before the world was created, and will remain in His presence forevermore" (comp. also lxii. 6); and that "His glory will last from eternity unto eternity and his might from generation unto generation" (that "his name" in xlviii. 3 means really "son of man" is evident from verse 6; comp. the similar use of "Shem Yhwh" for "Yhwh" in Isa. xxx. 27). He is represented as the embodiment of justice and wisdom and as the medium of all God's revelations to men (xlvi. 3; xlix. 1, 2a, 3). At the end of time the Lord will reveal him to the world and will place him on the throne of His glory in order that he may judge all creatures in accordance with the end to which God had chosen him from the beginning. When he rises for the judgment all the world will fall down before him, and adore and extol him, and give praise to the Lord of spirits. The angels in heaven also, and the elect in the Garden of Life, will join in his praise and will glorify the Lord. "He will judge all hidden things, and no one will be able to make vain excuses to him"; he will judge also Azazel, with all his associates and all his hosts. The wicked ones of the earth, especially all kings and potentates, he will give over to damnation, but for the just and chosen ones he will prepare eternal bliss, and he will dwell in their midst for all eternity (xlv. 3, 4; xlvi. 4-6; xlviii. 4-10; xlix. 4; li. 3; lv. 4; lxi. 7-lxii. 14).

It is worthy of special note that in the appendix to the Messiological section of Enoch, the latter himself is the Son of Man = Messiah (lxxi. 14), and, as in the Slavonic Book of Enoch and the Hebrew Book of Enoch (see Jew. Encyc. i. 676, s.v. Apocalyptic Literature), as well as throughout rabbinical literature, Enoch is identical with Meṭaṭron = Μετάθρονος or Μετατύρανος (i.e., the highest, ministering spirit, who stands next to God and represents His rulership over the universe), so there is an important connecting-link between the conception of the Son of Man = Messiah, and the Logos, which appears repeatedly in Philo in place of the earthly future king (comp., e.g., his interpretation of "ẓemaḥ," Zech. vi. 12, in "De Confess." § 14; see Memra). The Fourth Book of Ezra (about 100 C.E.) presents both the pre-existent and the earthly Messiah. The latter is seen in ch. vii. 28, xi. 37-46, xii. 31-34, where the Messiah is represented as the Lion "who will spring from the seed of David," will destroy the fourth (i.e., the Roman) world-monarchy, will rule 400 years till the end of the Messianic interim, and then will die, together with all men. The former appears in the vision of the man rising from the sea (ch. xiii.). Here, as in the Messiological section, the Messiah is described as "one resembling a man" and is called "ille homo" or "ipse homo" (verses 3, 12). The statement is made also (under the influence of Dan. vii. 13) that he "flew with the clouds of heaven." Other points of contact with the Messiological Book are: the statement that "he is the one whom the Most High has reserved for many ages to deliver creation" (verse 26); the reference to his being hidden with God (verse 52)—"Even as no one can fathom nor learn what is in the depths of the sea, so none of the inhabitants of earth can see My son nor his escort [i.e., the host of angels who will accompany him when he appears upon earth], unless it be at the appointed hour"; and, finally, the obvious reference to his preexistence in heaven, where the promise is given to Ezra, "Thou wilt be taken from among men [to heaven] and wilt dwell with My son and with thy comrades until the end of time" (xiv. 9).

In Rabbinic Literature.

Whether the Messiah in Sibyllines v. 415-430, where he is called "a blessed man coming from heaven," is the preexistent or the earthly Messiah can not be determined. In the Assumptio Mosis, however (c. 4 B.C.), it may be concluded, on the ground of the identification of the Son of Man = Messiah with Enoch = Meṭaṭron in Enoch lxxi. 14, that it is the preexistent Messiah who is referred to (x. 2), for it is stated that, at the end of the last tribulation, when God's dominion will be established over all creation, "the hands of the angel who stands in the highest place will be filled, and he will immediately avenge them [Israel] on their enemies." As the author of the Fourth Book of Ezra (xiii.), as well as the author of the Messiological Book, evidently had Dan. vii. 13 in mind when he described the preexistent Messiah, it may be mentioned here that, while the Messianic interpretation of this passage prevails in the rabbinic literature (the oldest example is the Messianic tradition in Sanh. 98a, for which Joshua b. Levi is mentioned as authority), the Greek text of Dan. vii. 13 presents not only the Messianic interpretation of "Bar Nash," but unmistakably also, in καὶ ὡς παλαιὸς ἡμερῶν παρῆυ added after ὡς υἱὸς ἀνϑρώπου ἥρχετο, the conception of the preexistent Messiah. Moreover, contrary to the view held by many that all the passages concerning the Son of Man = Messiah in the Book of Enoch and IV Ezra are of Christian origin, it may be pointed out that the phrase "Bar Nash" (= "Son of Man") must have been a common name for an angel of the highest order among the Palestinian Jews of the first Christian centuries. Yer. Yoma v. relates that, when reference was made in the bet ha-midrash to Simon the Just's having, every year of the forty during which he was high priest, been accompanied into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement by an "aged one," veiled and garbed in linen (i.e., by a heavenly being; comp. the "labush ha-badim" in Ezek. ix. 1, 3 et al.), R. Abbahu objected: "Does not the prohibition, 'No man shall be present in the Tabernacle when the high priest enters the sanctuary,' extend to those of whom it is said, 'the appearance of their countenance was that of a man's countenance'?" (Lev. xvi. 17; Ezek. i. 10). Whereupon the rejoinder was made, "Who says that that being was Bar Nash? It was the All Holy Himself." It may be noted in passing that this haggadah is of importance for the Greek text of Dan. vii. 13 as well as for the identification of the Son of Man = Messiah with Enoch = Meṭaṭron.

In the rabbinical apocalyptic literature the conception of an earthly Messiah is the prevailing one, and from the end of the first century of the common era it is also the one officially accepted by Judaism. As proof of this may be given: (1) "The Prayer for the Coming of the Messiah," mentioned above, inwhich the Messiah is called "descendant of David." (2) The information given in the second century by Justin ("Dialogus cum Tryphone," ch. xlix.) and by the author of "Philosophumena" (ix. 30). Both writers state expressly that, contrary to the belief of the Christians, the Jews emphasize the human origin of the Messiah, and the author of "Philosophumena" adds that they expect him to be descended from David. (3) The liturgy of later times, which, like the Daily Prayer, calls him the descendant of David throughout. His mission is, in all essential respects, the same as in the apocalypses of the older period: he is to free Israel from the power of the heathen world, kill its ruler and destroy his hosts, and set up his own kingdom of peace (comp. the descriptions of him in Jew. Encyc. i. 675, s.v. Apocalyptic Literature, Neo-Hebraic).

Heavenly Preexistence.

The conception of the preexistent Messiah is met with in Pesiḳ. R. xxxiii., xxxvi. (pp. 152b, 162, ed. Friedmann; comp. Yalḳ. i. 339). In accordance with the Messiological section of Enoch the former of these two passages says: "At the beginning of the creation of the world was born the King Messiah, who mounted into God's thoughts before the world was made"; and in the latter passage it is related that God contemplated the Messiah and his works before the creation of the world and concealed him under His throne; that Satan, having asked God who the Light was under His throne, was told it was the one who would bring him to shame in the future, and, being then allowed, at his request, to see the Messiah, he trembled and sank to the ground, crying out, "Truly this is the Messiah who will deliver me and all heathen kings over to hell." God calls the Messiah "Ephraim, my righteous Messiah."

The preexistent Messiah is presented also in the Haggadah (Pes. 54a; Ned. 39a; Yalḳ. i. 20; et al.), where the name of the Messiah is included among the seven things created before the world was made, and where he is called "Yinnon," reference being made to Ps. lxxii. 17 (which passage probably was in the mind of the author of the Messiological section of Enoch when writing xlviii. 3). That, contrary to the view of Weber ("Jüdische Theologie," 2d ed., p. 355) and others, it is actual preexistence which is meant here, and not predestination, is evident from the additional remark—"According to another view, only the Torah and the Throne of Glory were [actually] created; as to the other [five] things the intention was formed to create them" (Yalḳ., l.c.; in regard to "the name of the Messiah" compare the comment above to Enoch, xlviii. 3). Finally, the preexistence of the Messiah in paradise is minutely described in "The Revelation of R. Joshua b. Levi" (see Jew. Encyc. i. 680), in Midrash Konen (Jellinek, "B. H." ii. 29), and in "Seder Gan Eden" (ib. iii. 132 et seq., 195). In the first two, regardless of the apparent anomaly, the preexistent Messiah is called "Messiah ben David."

Earthly Preexistence.

The conception met with in the rabbinical literature of an earthly preexistence of the Messiah must be distinguished from that of his heavenly preexistence. It occurs in various forms, representing, probably, different stages of development. First, he is expected to lead a hidden life and then to step forth suddenly. (On this conception of the sudden, unexpected appearance of the Messiah comp. Matt. xxiv. 27, 43-44, where it is said that the Messiah will come like a thief in the night or like a flash of lightning.) This is the conception of him in Ex. R. i. and in Tan., Shemot, both of which say that as Moses, the first deliverer, was reared at the court of Pharaoh, so the future deliverer will grow up in the Roman capital; in agreement with this, in the Agadat ha-Mashiaḥ (Jellinek, l.c. iii. 142) it is said that the Messiah will suddenly be revealed to Israel in Rome. Then, again, the Messiah is represented as born, but not yet revealed. This conception appears as early as the second century in Justin Martyr's "Dialogus cum Tryphone" (ch. viii.), and in accordance with it is the passage Sanh. 98b, where R. Joshua ben Levi is quoted as saying that the Messiah is already born and is living in concealment at the gates of Rome. In Targ. Yer. to Micah iv. 8 the Messiah is on the earth, but because of the sins of the people he is still in hiding. Finally, the Messiah is thought of as born at a certain time in the past. This is the case in Yer. Ber. ii., which states that the Messiah was born at Bethlehem on the day the Temple was destroyed, and in the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel (see Jew. Encyc. i. 682), which declares he was born in the days of King David and is dwelling in Rome.

The notion, traceable to Ezek. xxxiv. 23 et al., that David himself is the Messiah, is another variation of the conception of earthly preexistence. It occurs in the apocalyptic fragment of the "Siddur" of R. Amram (see Jew. Encyc. i. 678, s.v. Apocalyptic Literature, 2) and in Yer. Ber. ii. The latter states that whether the King Messiah belongs to the living or to the dead, his name is David.

Messiah ben Joseph.

Finally, there must be mentioned a Messianic figure peculiar to the rabbinical apocalyptic literature—that of Messiah ben Joseph. The earliest mention of him is in Suk. 52a, b, where three statements occur in regard to him, for the first of which R. Dosa (c. 250) is given as authority. In the last of these statements only his name is mentioned, but the first two speak of the fate which he is to meet, namely, to fall in battle (as if alluding to a well-known tradition). Details about him are not found until much later, but he has an established place in the apocalypses of later centuries and in the midrash literature—in Saadia's description of the future ("Emunot we-De'ot," ch. viii.) and in that of Hai Gaon ("Ṭa'am Zeḳenim," p. 59). According to these, Messiah b. Joseph will appear prior to the coming of Messiah b. David; he will gather the children of Israel around him, march to Jerusalem, and there, after overcoming the hostile powers, reestablish the Temple-worship and set up his own dominion. Thereupon Armilus, according to one group of sources, or Gog and Magog, according to the other, will appear with their hosts before Jerusalem, wage war against Messiah b. Joseph, and slay him. His corpse, according to one group, will lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem; according to theother, it will be hidden by the angels with the bodies of the Patriarchs, until Messiah b. David comes and resurrects him (comp. Jew. Encyc. i. 682, 684 [§§ 8 and 13]; comp. also Midr. Wayosha' and Agadat ha-Mashiaḥ in Jellinek, "B. H." i. 55 et seq., iii. 141 et seq.).

When and how this Messiah-conception originated is a question that has not yet been answered satisfactorily. It is not possible to consider Messiah b. Joseph the Messiah of the Ten Tribes. He is nowhere represented as such; though twice it is mentioned that a part of the Ten Tribes will be found among those who will gather about his standard. There is a possibility, however, as has been repeatedly maintained, that there is some connection between the Alexander saga and the Messiah b. Joseph tradition, for, in the Midrash, on the strength of Deut. xxxiii. 17, a pair of horns, with which he will "strike in all directions," is the emblem of Messiah b. Joseph (comp. Pirḳe R. El. xix.; Gen. R. lxxv.; Num. R. xiv.; et al.), just as in the apocalyptic Alexander tradition in the Koran (referred to above) the latter is called "The Double-Horned" ("Dhu al-Ḳarnain"). See also Eschatology; Judaism.

Holiness of Israel

Israel, Holiness of:HOLINESS OF: By : Joseph Jacobs Judah David Eisenstein

ARTICLE HEADINGS:
Duration of Holiness.
Rewards of Residence.
Reaction.
Burial in Palestine.

The sacredness of Palestine in the esteem of the Jews is partly accounted for by the fact that it was the cradle and sepulcher of their Patriarchs and their "Promised Land." Moreover, many of the Mosaic laws could apply to Palestine only, and the holiness of these laws was largely reflected on the Holy Land. Palestine was distinguished as "a land which the Lord thy God cared for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it" (Deut. xi. 12). God calls it "my land" (Joel iii. 2). The term "holy land" is mentioned only once in the Bible (Zech. ii. 12). In rabbinical literature Palestine is generally known as "Ereẓ Yisrael" (Land of Israel). "Ereẓ ha-Ḳedoshah" (The Holy Land) is used more as a poetical expression. The Mishnah says, "Palestine is the holiest of all countries" (Kelim i. 6).

Duration of Holiness.

From a legal standpoint, however, this holiness ceased with the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the Jewish people. Ezra resanctified Palestine on his return from Babylon; but whether or not the sanctification of Ezra continued after the Second Temple was destroyed is a moot question in the Talmud ('Eduy. viii. 6; Mak. 19a; Hul. 7a; 'Ar. 32a; Niddah 46b), and upon its solution, in exilic times, rested the validity of many obligations pertaining to tithes, the Sabbatical year (see Shemiṭṭah), etc. From a sentimental standpoint, however, the sacredness of Palestine never varied. "The Holy Temple built or destroyed, the Shekinah never moved from that place, as God promised at the dedication of the Temple: 'Mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually'" (I Kings ix. 3).

The angels that guarded Jacob in Palestine were of a higher order than those elsewhere. The angels, it is said, used to change guard at Mahanaim (Gen. R. lxviii. 18). To be driven out of Palestine means, "Go, serve other gods" (I Sam. xxvi. 19; Ket. 110b). R. Simeon b. YoHai said, "Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion were the foremost men and leaders in Israel, and the only sin for which they were punished was their sin in leaving Palestine in time of famine" (B. B. 91a).

One must not speak ill of Palestine. The wicked King of Assur merited the title "the great and noble Asnapper" (Ezra iv. 10) because he refrained from abusing the Holy Land, and held it in as much esteem as Babylon, when he said, "I [will] come and take you away to a land like your own land" (II Kings xviii. 32; Sanh. 94a).

Rewards of Residence.

Veneration and love for Palestine were maintained by the Rabbis in many ways. R. Johanan declared that one who walks a distance of 4 cubits in Palestine may be confident of a share in the future world (Ket. 111a). "The merit of living in Palestine equals the merit of observing all the commandments." It is told of R. Eleazar b. Shammua' and R. Johanan ha-Sandalar, who had decided to leave Palestine to study under R. Judah b. Beterah, that they had gone only as far as Sidon when the thought of the sanctity of Palestine overcame their resolution, and they shed tears, rent their garments, and turned back (Sifre, Deut. 80). R. Hiyya b. Gammada showed his devotion by rolling himself in the dust of Palestine, in conformity with the words of the Psalmist: "For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof" (Ps. cii. 14). R. Jose ben Hanin kissed the stones of Acre, saying, "Up to this point is the land of Israel." R. Ze'era went through the waters of the Jordan without removing his garments (Yer. Shebu. iv. 9). As a mark of reverence this is done to-day also by devout Christian travelers in Palestine, who immerse themselves in the Jordan dressed in shrouds.

Reaction.

This ardent love for Palestine had certain disadvantages, inasmuch as it tended to bar emigration and limit the area of Jewish learning instead of diffusing it in other countries. Opposed to this tendency was the fact that the Jewish persecutions in Palestine for centuries after the destruction of the Temple made it so difficult for the Rabbis to maintain their position that many were compelled to remove to Babylon, which offered them better protection (comp. Pes. 87a). Under these circumstances the Babylonian rabbis found it necessary to counteract the ardor and high regard for Palestine. Judah thought "living in Babylon is like living in Palestine." He even declared it to be a transgression to return to Palestine, and quoted Jer. xxvii. 22 (Ket. 110b).

The revival of the feeling of reverence for Palestine is principally due to NaHmanides and R. Jehiel of Paris, who left Europe to settle there in the thirteenth century. They were followed in the sixteenth century by the rabbis Alshech, Caro, and Luria, and, still later, by the disciples of Elijah of Wilna and Ba'al Shem-Ṭob. Zionism is a modern development of the ancient regard for Palestine.

Jewish liturgical literature comprises many poems on the holiness of Palestine. Among these are: "Ẓiyyon ha-Lo Tish'ali," by Judah ha-Levi (12th cent.); "Ereẓ, ha-Ḳedoshah Yeḳarah Hamudah," by Abraham Selamah (1540); "Ereẓ Asher Adonai Eloheka Doresh," by Shabbethai Cohen (1622-63); "Ereẓ Yisrael Hayu Bah 'Eser Ḳedushshot," by Abraham Abele (1655-92; Zunz, "S. P." passim). A collection of Palestinian national songs, ancient and modern, under the title "Kinnor Ẓiyyon," was published in Warsaw in 1900.

Burial in Palestine.

The holiness of Palestine attracted Jewish settlers, not only to live, but to die there. R. Anan says, "To be buried in Palestine is like being buried under the altar" (Ket. 111a). All sins are considered absolved for the Jew who is buried in Palestine, according to the saying, "His land will absolve His people"(Deut. xxxii. 43, Hebr.). Even Jeroboam, the most wicked king of Israel, is to be freed from Gehinnom and resurrected when the Messiah comes, solely because of his having been buried in Palestine (Pesiḳ. R. 81a; Yer. Ket. xii. 3). Palestine is named "Ereẓ. Hayyim" (the land of the living; Ezek. xxvi. 20). R. Eleazar based on this his assertion that the dead will not be resurrected outside of Palestine, but that a subterranean passage will lead the righteous who die elsewhere into Palestine, where they will arise (Ket. ib.). The cabalists claim that the resurrection in the Holy Land is to precede the resurrection elsewhere by forty years. It is for this reason that some earth or sand from the Holy Land, generally from Mount Olivet, in Jerusalem, is spread over the dead when buried outside Palestine; this is called "terra santa" by Sephardim. The author of Midrash Talpiyyot (s.v. "Ereẓ Yisrael") says: "I heard that Palestinian dust put on the eyes, navel, and between the legs of the dead outside the Holy Land is equivalent to burying the body in Palestine." The custom of importing dust from Palestine for this purpose is in vogue among the Orthodox Jews all over the world, including America.

It is recorded of a number of great men who died outside Palestine that, either by their expressed will or to do them honor, they were disinterred and reburied in Palestine; for example, R. Huna (M. Ḳ. 25a) and 'Ula (Ket. ib.). A special provision permits disinterment for the purpose of reinterring in the Holy Land (ShulHan 'Aruk, Yoreh De'ah, 363, 1). The Talmud, however, declares that "there is a difference between being absorbed in the soil of Palestine when alive and after death." The Zohar is even more severe on this point. "It is a great privilege," said R. Judah, "for one to take up his abode in the Holy Land" ("Ar'a Ḳaddisha"), as he draws the dew of heaven dropping on the earth. One who is bound to the Holy Land when alive is destined to be bound to the higher Holy Land after death; but of one who dies elsewhere and has his body brought back to Palestine, the Scriptures say, "Ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination" (Jer. ii. 7): "Inasmuch as his soul is left in a strange place while his body is in a holy place, thus making the holy common and the common holy" (Zohar, AHare Mot, p. 72b, ed. Wilna, 1882). Since the sixteenth century the holiness of Palestine, especially for burial, has been almost wholly transferred to four cities—Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed. See also Haluḳḳah; Pilgrimage; Zionism.

Passages Repeated

Passages Repeated.

Yerushalmi, when regarded as a work of literature, is noteworthy for a textual peculiarity which is characteristic of it, though found also in Babli, namely, the large number of literal repetitions. Entire passages, sometimes whole columns, of the Talmud are found in two, occasionally in three, separate treatises, in which they differ from each other by mere variants, most of them due to corruptions of the text. These repetitions throw some light on the redaction of the Talmudic text, since they prove that before the editing of the treatises was undertaken a uniform mass of material was already at hand in a definitely revised form; they likewise show that in the compilation of the Talmud one portion was explained by another, as was natural in view of the character of the contents. The opportunity was gladly seized, moreover, to repeat didactic material in passages where it did not strictly belong. These repetitions are obviously of great value in the textual criticism of the Talmud. Since sufficient attention has never yet been paid to this phenomenon of Yerushalmi, a list is here given of those passages of the first order, Zera'im, which are repeated in other orders. It must be noted, however, that this list includes neither citations based on passages of another treatise nor parallel passages consisting of a single sentence.

(a)

Passages from the order i. repeated in the order ii.:

• Ber. 3b, lines 10-55 = Shab. 3a, 69-3b, 20.
• Ber. 4a, 30-56 = SheK. 47a, 13-59 = M. K. 83c, 40-83d, 8.
• Ber. 5a, 33-62 = M. K. 82b, 14-47.
• Ber. 5d, 14-20 = Shab. 3a, 55-61.
• Ber. 5d, 65-6a, 9 = M. K. 83a, 5-27.
• Ber. 6c, 4-17 = Yoma 44d, 58-68.
• Ber. 6d, 60-67 = Meg. 73d, 15-22.
• Ber. 7b, 70-7d, 25 = Ta'an. 67c, 12-67d, 47.
• Ber. 7d, 75-8a, 59 = Ta'an. 65c, 2-69.
• Ber. 8c, 60-69 = R. H. 59d, 16-25.
• Ber. 9a, 70-9b, 47 = Ta'an. 63c, 66-63d, 44.
• Ber. 9c, 20-31 = Meg. 75c, 8-19.
• Ber. 9c, 49-54 = Meg. 75b, 31-36.
• Ber. 10a, 32-43 = Pes. 29c, 16-27.
• Ber. 11c, 14-21 = Pes. 37c, 54-71.
• Ber. 12c, 16-25 = 'Er. 22b, 29-37.
• Ber. 12c, 44-62 = Suk. 24a, 6-21 = Meg. 72a, 15-31.
• Ber. 13d, 72-14a, 30 = Ta'an. 64a, 75-64b, 35.
• Pe'ah 15a, 67-15b, 21 = hag. 76b, 24-53.
• Pe'ah 17a, 39-72 = hag. 76b, 13-47.
• Pe'ah 18d, 16-33 = SheK. 46a, 48-67.
• Pe'ah 18d, 66-19a, 5 = SheK. 48c, 75-48d, 13.
• Pe'ah 21a, 25-29 = SheK. 48d, 55-58.
• Dem. 22a, 31-40 = SheK. 48d, 40-49.
• Kil. 29b, 27-61 = 'Er. 19c, 15-49 = Suk. 52a, 40-73.
• Kil. 29b, 62-76 = Suk. 52a, 73-52b, 11.
• Sheb. 34c, 27-49 = M. K. 80b, 26-52.
• Sheb. 38a, 50-60 = Shab. 3c, 55-65.
• Ter. 44a, 32-38 = Shab. 44d, 4-10.
• Ter. 45d, 42-51 = Shab. 3d, 2-15 (comp. 'Ab. Zarah 41d, 13-28).
• Ter. 46a, 41-46b, 35 = Pes. 28a, 34-28b, 37.
• Ma'as. 49a, 22-28 = Suk. 53d, 43-53.
• Ma'as. 49b, 14-32 = Shab. 6b, 17-36.
• Ma'as. 49b, 39-48 = Bezah 62b, 72-62c, 6.
• Ma'as. Sh. 53b, 6-44 = Yoma 45c, 2-36 (comp. Shebu. 32b. 56-34c, 3).
• Ma'as. Sh. 54b, 48-58 = SheK. 51b, 15-25.
• Ma'as. Sh. 55a, 23-55 = 'Er. 24c, 33-66.
• Ma'as. Sh. 55d, 62-67 = M. K. 80b, 72-80c, 10.
• hal. 57c, 16-20 = R. H. 57b, 60-63.

(b)

Passages from the order i. repeated in the order iii.:

• Ber. 6a, 35-6b, 17 = Naz. 56a, 12-68.
• Ber. 6b, 51-56 = Kid. 61c, 11-17.
• Ber. 9d, 3-19 = Git. 47b, 49-63.
• Ber. 11b, 42-68 = Naz. 54b, 2-27.
• Ber. 14b, 45-70 = Sotah 20c, 40-64.
• Pe'ah 15b, 41-47 = Ket. 32c, 10-16.
• Pe'ah 15c, 7-16 = Kid. 61a, 75-61c, 10.
• Dem. 25b, 60-45c, 7 = Kid. 63a, 75-63b, 21.
• Kil. 32a, 64-32d, 7 = Ket. 34d, 74-35b, 56.
• Sheb. 36b, 25-68 = Kid. 61c, 56-61d, 17.
• Ter. 40c, 42-40d, 6 = Yeb. 13c, 70-13d, 32.
• Ter. 42b, 44-53 = Naz. 53d, 16-27.
• Ter. 44c, 9-44d, 44 = Ket. 27b, 5-27c, 39.
• Ma'as. Sh. 55a, 69-55b, 13 = Git. 47d, 55-70.
• 'Orlah 61b, 8-33 = Naz. 55c, 32-63.
• Bik. 64a. 32-44 = Yeb. 9b, 71-9c, 8.

(c)

• Passages from the order i. repeated in the order iv.:
• Ber. 3a, 52-69 = Sanh. 30a, 65-30b, 8 = 'Ab. Zarah 41c, 46-63.
• Ber. 6b, 20-41 = Sanh. 20a, 43-60.
• Pe'ah 16b, 22-25, 43-60 = Sanh. 27c, 38-60.
• Sheb. 35b, 26-40 = 'Ab. Zarah 44b, 27-41.
• Sheb. 39b, 14-38 = Mak. 31a, 33-50.
• Ter. 45c, 24-45d, 11 = 'Ab. Zarah 41a, 18-41b, 3.
• Ter. 47c, 66-47d, 4 = 'Ab. Zarah 41c, 13-23.
• Ma'as. Sh. 54d, 71-55a, 8 = Sanh. 19a, 63-76.
• Ma'as. Sh. 56c, 9-18 = Sanh. 18d, 13-22.
• 'Orlah 62b, 49-62c, 10 = 'Ab. Zarah 45a, 32-45b, 10.

The following parallel passages from the second and fourth orders may also be mentioned on account of their length: Shab. 9c, 62-9d, 59 = Sanh. 24c, 19-24d, 14; Shab. 14d, 10-15a, 1 = 'Ab. Zarah 40d, 12-41a, 4.

Despite these parallel passages in the four orders of Yerushalmi, which might be regarded as a proof of the uniform redaction of the entire work, there is proof to the contrary, which shows that the first two orders differ in origin from the third and fourth. While the first and second contain a large number of baraitot with the introductory formula "Samuel transmits []," there is not a single baraita by Samuel in the third and fourth orders. These latter two include, on the other hand, many controversies between Mani and Abin, two amoraim of the second half of the fourth century, while Zera'im and Mo'ed contain very few (see Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." iii. 398). The redaction of Yerushalmi is discussed in further detail below.

• Talmud