The Messiah Texts: Jewish Legends of Three Thousand Years

by Raphael Patai

Following a detailed introduction to the world of messianic ideology and its significance in Jewish history, The Messiah Texts traces the progress of the messianic legend from its biblical beginnings to contemporary expressions.

Renowned scholar Raphael Patai has skillfully selected passages from a voluminous literature spanning three millennia. Using his own translations from Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Latin, and other original texts, Patai excerpts delightful folk tales, apocalyptic fantasies, and parables of prophetic power. All are central to the understanding of a magnificent heritage. patai also investigates the false messiahs who have appeared throughout Jewish history, the modern Messiah-influenced movements such as reform Judaism and Zionism, and the numerous reasons put forth by the various branches of Judaism as to why the Messiah has not yet appeared.

Genres: Religion, Judaism

432 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1979

About the author

Raphael Patai (Hebrew רפאל פטאי; born Ervin György Patai, was a Hungarian-Jewish ethnographer, historian, Orientalist and anthropologist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael...

Reviews

[Craig Bolton]

Messiah Texts by Raphael Patai (1989)

[Samuel Rood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting collection of texts dealing with Messianic themes in Judaism. Anyone wanting to understand Jewish beliefs about the Messiah should read this book.

[JabJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough collection of prophecies from Judaic scriptures, mostly the Old Testament, regarding the expected arrival of the Messiah. Since Christians have based their entire religion on assuming these prophecies, particularly Isaiah, applied to Jesus of Nazareth, they might find it worth a read. It's important to realize Isaiah was written as an effect of the hugely demoralizing Babylonian captivity, with the statements promising that Israel would rise again to its own power and rule over all the other nations. When this didn't immediately happen, successive prophets embellished and reemphasized similar prophecies, mostly becoming more and more aggressive and ominous towards their enemies and blaming the Messiah's non-appearance on the sinful behavior of the current population.

What is striking is that in spite of being greatly favoured by Jehovah, nowhere, as far as I could make out, is the Messiah described as the son of God, equal to God, part of a Blessed Trinity, a redeemer of souls, or any other divine aspect normally attributed by Christians to Jesus. About the closest we get to the Jesus connection is that he is to be "a shoot out of the tree of Jesse." For the remainder, the Messiah is described as a warrior King, fighting for Israel on behalf of Jehovah of the armies.

No surprise then, that the Nazarene was rejected by the local Jewish population when he failed to deliver. But what is interesting is how his momentum took off with the Gentiles (eg Greeks) once Paul got involved. Otherwise Christianity may have remained an aberrant Jewish sect, something like Sabbatianism. Patai, the author, does not go into such themes. He just provides the quotes, make of them what you will.

[zane littleswol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with so many different opinions.

[Charles Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informs the reader on the many occurrences of messianic idioms throughout Israelite literature.

[Jose Papo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Messiah Texts is an amazing book dealing about the Messianic Idea and its themes focusing on Judaisms since Antiquity until the modern era. Raphael Patai opens each chapter with a small intro and review of the theme. After that he collects the most important texts related to it.

We can find themes like: the names of the Messiah, the question of his preexistence, early messiahs, the suffering messiah, Messiah and Kabbalah, Gog and Magog, the Pangs of Times, the ingathering of the exile, the resurrection of the dead, the last judgement, the banquet, how tzadikim(pious men) tried to hasten the coming of the Messiah and many others.

Really a must read book for anyone interested in knowing the History of religious ideas in Judaism, specially in relation to the Messiah figure.

[DissidentCat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, written by an atheist hungarian jew, is probably the best collection of rabbinical writings from Talmuds, midrashim, haggadot, apocryphal books and hasidic stories regarding the Messiah. It doesn't have rabbinical bias towards Christianity typical of the "anti-missionaries". At least 3000 years of "Messianology" condensed in nearly 350 pages.
Recommended!
5/5.