Messiah in the Old Testament, The

by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.

Old Testament texts that point to the coming of the Messiah are traditionally interpreted either from the viewpoint of their New Testament fulfillment (evangelicalism) or their linguistic and grammatical distinctiveness within the Hebrew Bible (non-conservative). The Messiah in the Old Testament considers another important line of interpretation that has been neglected in building an Old Testament theology. It approaches Israel's concept of the Messiah as a developing theme and shows how a proper grasp of the textual meaning at each stage of Old Testament revelation is necessary for understanding messianic prophecy. Beginning in the Pentateuch and working through the Old Testament to the Minor Prophets, the author delineates texts that are direct messianic prophecies and examines their meaning and development within the flow of God's plan. The reader will gain an understanding of God's process for bringing the Messiah to earth through the nation of Israel, and of his intent to bring the saving knowledge of Christ to the World through them.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Christian, Old Testament, Religion, Christianity, Faith

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 1995

About the author

Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (PhD, Brandeis University) is president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. He previously taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and at Wheaton College. Kaiser is active as a preacher, speaker, researcher, and writer and is the author of more than forty books, including Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament and The Majesty of God in the Old Testament.

Reviews

[Brian Pate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kaiser explores 65 OT Messianic passages. Although he allows for "typical prophecies" and "applications," Kaiser limits himself in this book to direct prophecies (35).

It seems that his overriding concern is to create a biblical theological system that will (a) prove Messianic expectation existed in the OT and at the same time (b) hold up to the critiques of the liberal and secular academia (23). He seeks to prove that "if the text is taken simply on its own terms" without imposing Western preconceptions, then "there is an apologetic case to be made for the Messiah in the OT" (232). It is crucial, in Kaiser's thinking, that we not sacrifice historicity in our attempt to find Christ in the OT (234).

While Kaiser had helpful commentary on his selected passages, this book has several serious drawbacks:

1. Kaiser limits himself to direct prophecies. Typology is not on his radar. Thus, the book's benefit is limited. (E.g., he finds 13 messianic psalms, whereas I would argue there are 150 messianic psalms.)

2. He regularly leans on minority interpretations of the Hebrew text (e.g., Joel 2:23 prophecies a "Teacher" vs. "autumn rains," pp. 139-42). Perhaps, but he does it enough that it started making me doubt his interpretations.

3. His comments, while helpful, were disconnected from the flow of the biblical book or big story of the Bible. After a while, it felt repetitive. The verse says, "A king." Kaiser says, "This is the Messiah. On to the next verse!"

[Christopher Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scripture is a unity because it has a common source--God. Because of this unity, one may read both the Old Testament and the New Testament and trace common themes without contradiction. The Messianic Hope is one such theme, and Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. in "The Messiah in the Old Testament" traces this theme throughout the pages of the Old Testament.

Kaiser's work is meticulous. He is a scholar, but his writing is accessible and many may profit from his work. Reading this book will provide one with a tremendous understanding of the plan of God for the ages as seen through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. If one struggles with having a handle on how the Old Testament relates to the New Testament, and how God has revealed Himself throughout history, then this will be a helpful volume to consult.

There is another primary benefit of reading this work. The reader will be brought to worship God in all His glory for he has indeed provided for both the Jews and the Gentiles a Messiah--the hope of all the ages. This volume is a gift to the Church and I heartily commend it. Happy reading!

[Patrick Lacson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible research by a fair-minded exegete. If you're interested in tracing the Messiah from the OT Kaiser is a sure guide to walk you through. He believes in single-meaning, authorial intent, and what he calls the "promise-plan" approach. He defines it as, "the messianic doctrine is located in God's single, unified plan, called in the NT his 'promise', which is eternal in its fulfillment, but climactic in its final accomplishment, while being built up by historical fulfillments that are part and parcel of that single ongoing plan as it moved toward its final plateau" (31).

He there rejects alternatives such as: a) double meaning, b) prophetic ignorance (the prophets were clueless as to what they wrote), and c) most typologies except for 'direct prophecy'.

Read this book if you want to fairly understand what the Bible teaches in the OT without enforcing a NT lens that forces you to look for Christ in places where He is not mentioned.

[Jonathan Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent—encouraging reminder of the continuity between the testaments regarding the Messiah. Kaiser’s hermeneutics are patently biblical, left to right and literal. In this way, I was encouraged to see much independent agreement in how we read the OT. Passages like Micah 2 came alive, however, and left me wondering if I had ever truly read that prophecy before. Occasionally, his conclusions seemed to go beyond what was warranted but this was rare—two were in the minor prophets.

[Karen Butman]

Excellent, well written, very informative.

[Colson Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read this again and go slower and read through the passages quoted. It’d be a really good Advent study.

[Michael Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book that studies the clear and direct prophesies of the Messiah in the Old Testament. He does not do a lot of work with typology (see below) but does a solid job working through the "meat and potatoes" of Messianic study. Works through some grammatical issues well and presents a calm-headed solution to many.

Typology is not as strong part of his hermeneutic. This a big missing part in this study was the imagery of the Mosaic Covenant. But, overall, his dealing with direct and concrete prophecies of the Messiah is done. He fully admits its a focused work.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Thoughts:
This is an interesting and often insightful look at many of the clear/direct Messianic prophecies found in the OT. Kaiser’s respect for the original context is welcome. However, I don’t think the restrictions he has applied to his method always result in convincing readings of the text and don’t necessarily always jive with how the NT is willing to understand a text. Additionally, so much of the OT anticipation of the Messiah is authorially intended typology that is completely excluded from this study. In the end, I think it ends up coming short the Emmaus road vision of opening up the life and work of Christ “Beginning with Moses”. Not that Kaiser fails with what he set out to do, but that he falls short of providing a full orbed view of the Messiah in the OT.

Summary:
The question of the relationship between the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, and how the authors of the New Testament understood and used the Scriptures, has received a lot of attention over the years. There has been a heightened interest in the past few years with a large volumes of work being done in area Biblical Theology. This is an important question for Christians since we hold that Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel concerning a coming Messiah and the salvation of the world. When Jesus and the apostles claim that everything which had come to pass among them was in fulfillment of that which was promised in the Scriptures, and they cite those Scriptures as authoritative witnesses, then it’s imperative that we also seek to understand for ourselves in order to continue faithfully presenting the good news of Christ to the world as they did.

Walter Kaiser’s objective in this book is much narrower than comprehensively addressing the issue of how the Old and New Testaments relate. He seeks to address specifically the concept of the Messiah in the Old Testament. Contrary to the claims of some recent scholars who have argued that the OT does not actually make any explicit Messianic claims and that any such ideas must be read into the text, Kaiser is defending the traditional Christian understanding that the OT does contain Messianic promises and that the NT authors were not reading into the text. He sets out to demonstrate that the OT, when taken on its own terms and in its own historical context, looks forward to the coming Messiah.

He begins by surveying the methods that have been used to interpret passages which the NT treats as Messianic. He identifies seven approaches which he says have been found lacking:

1. Dual meaning – The texts had a literal, historical meaning, but also a later fuller meaning which could be Messianic.
2. Single meaning – There was only one (non-messianic) meaning and the Messianic meaning was dogmatically imposed on the text.
3. New Testament meaning – Wherever there was a challenging text, the NT was allowed to serve as the final arbiter of meaning.
4. Developmental meaning – Allowing for only a single meaning within the times and circumstances of the original prophets but to say more when filled out by Christian doctrine.
5. Goal meaning – Christ was the goal of prophecy in the sense of uniting all the disparate strands and filling them with meaning
6. Relecture meaning – The NT read earlier prophecies in a new way and filled them with new meaning.
7. Theological meaning – Christ was the fulfillment of Israel’s history, but only in a theological sense.
Kaiser argues that all of these have a fundamental flaw in that they only focus on either the initial historical word or the ultimate fulfillment, and ignore the working out of the promise in the history of Israel. He proposes approaching these texts as promises revealing a single, unfolding plan and not just as a collection of individual predictions. He states:

“The promises of God were interrelated and usually connected in a series. They were not disconnected and heterogeneous prognostications randomly announced in the OT or arbitrarily chosen for use by the NT. Instead, it is amazing how the depictions concerning the coming Messiah and his work comprised one continuous plan of God. Each aspect was linked into an ongoing stream of announcements beginning in the prepatriarchal period, supplemented by the patriarchal, Mosaic, premonarchial, monarchial, and prophetic periods, down to the postexilic times of Israel’s last leaders and prophets. The promise was a single one; yet it was cumulative in its net results. Indeed, its constituent parts were not a collection of assorted promises about a Messiah who was to come; instead, they formed one continuous pattern and purpose placed in the stream of history.” (29)

He limits the scope of the book’s treatment to those prophecies which he considers direct predictions of a future personal Messiah, foregoing discussion of indirect prophecies concerning a Messianic age. He also avoids delving into the issues of Messianic typology and foreshadowing in the people and institutions of Israel. I think I would take issue with some aspects of Kaiser’s hermeneutic approach, and I have some quibbles about specific interpretations on some of the texts covered in the book, but this is a great contribution to the discussion and a helpful treatment of a large number of Messianic texts. I’d recommend reading this from Kaiser in addition to representatives of several other evangelical approaches to interpreting the OT in relation to the NT, such as Sailhamer (The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation; see also The Messianic Hope: Is the Hebrew Bible Really Messianic? by Michael Rydelnik), Beale (A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New), Clowney (The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament; see also Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures by Dennis Johnson), and Leithart (Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture).
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Additional notes...

[Joseph]

Laying my cards on the table: I'm a former Christian, "former" largely because I don't think a lot of Christianity's claims line up with the Hebrew Bible. I read this to reexamine the evidence and see if it could convince me.

(One could argue that I'm not using this book for its intended purpose. But then, Kaiser says that he wants readers to use it for apologetics, so me reading it as an apologetic seems reasonable to me.)

Anyway, I appreciate the book for laying out (the author's version of) the Christian position in a systematized way. But my "former" remains in place.

I don't want to go into every point/counterpoint, since that feels more like a debate about the subject matter than the book itself. I do want to highlight, however, that its description says that it's trying to move beyond interpreting these passages "from the viewpoint of their New Testament fulfillment." I honestly would like to ask Kaiser in what sense he thinks he did that, because while it does develop a theory of how the Messianic concept developed, the book really highlights the problem with most Christian apologetics: it doesn't start with the evidence and follow where it leads, it begins with the conclusion—"ergo, Jesus is the Messiah, the High Priest and also God"—and then tries to force the evidence to fit.

There are a few interpretations that I find challenging, but more often, it feels like Kaiser is really reaching to make his arguments work. He usually doesn't quote the passages that he's examining, so have a Bible handy if you read this—and be careful, because his interpretations often add or skate over details in order to lead you where he wants. (His interpretations can also be dull and repetitive, though that's not entirely his fault; some of these prophecies are pretty samey. How do you summarize "David's descendant will be a great king," especially when you've already done it a dozen times?)

Unlike some other reviews, I do like he sticks with what he considers to be "definite" Messianic prophecies, instead of going into every typological argument. I would argue that he occasionally broke, or at least bent, that rule, but still.

[Ethan Preston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited for this book, but ultimately disappointed. Essentially, Kaiser walks through the most simple OT messianic texts one by one and gives a few paragraphs of explanation. This did not feel like a 'Old Testament Biblical Theology' but a series of short exposition of texts. Also frustrating was the fact Kaiser did not address many texts he could have, while including very questionable texts (i.e. 'the desire of the nations' in Haggai). I do not feel like his defense of classic Messianic texts from reinterpretation were generally persuasive to anyone who knows the debates. Kaiser is also clearly influenced to some degree by dispensational hermeneutics which shows itself often. He often arbitrarily interprets some texts as referring to the first coming of the Messiah and others to the second, yet never demonstrating exegetically why such is the case other than that it fits his theological system. He is also inconsistent in applying a 'literal' hermeneutic, demanding literal fulfillments of a temple and for ethnic Israel, yet when speaking of a text which says the Messiah will abolish "chariots," "war-horses, and "the battle-bow," he says the fulfillment will correspond to "their modern equivalents." It is unclear why some texts must be applied strictly literally yet others not. Yet, for all that, there are a few good sections pointing out Messianic trajectories in the OT. There is also helpful appendices listing OT Messianic prophecies (whether you agree with the exact inclusions or exclusions) and NT references of fulfillment. One of the lines I found most helpful was in the conclusion and had hardly anything to do with the book, "The fact that history can never lift the inquirer beyond the realm of probability must be accepted as true, but that is not to say that faith must stop at the point where history is obliged to halt."

[Randy Corn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a FWBBC library sale in 2006. I had intended to read it before it had been on my shelf for 10 years, but that is what happened! I am in the process of reworking the Life Long Learning class Christ in the OT and this was a book on the supplementary reading list. Garnett had suggested this was a well written volume so I pulled it down and have slowly read it in the last two weeks. I agree with Garnett’s assessment, this is a well written book.

Essentially, this volume is a survey of the prophecies in the OT about the coming Messiah. Some of these I was familiar with, but even those that I was acquainted with I did not know in the depth that Kaiser reveals. I learned a lot from this book, and I’m more convinced than ever of the unity of the Old and New Testaments.

I had watched the video of Garnett’s class in connection with this, and I suspected that this book influenced the way he did that class. He brought out much of the detail that you find in this book, though naturally there is more in this book than in his class lectures.

I am sure that this book will be on my recommended reading list, but I think it is doubtful that many pastors will want to get into the detail this volume presents, and that is a bit sad. It may be just the book for the budding OT scholar.

[Joshua Pearsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely amazing book. Kaiser is still alive (as the time I am writing this, at 91 years old) and this work is phenomenal. I will be pulling quite a bit from this work in my series and lessons "Jesus as Messiah" (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...) and cannot reccomend this work enough. I have been telling people if you buy this & the Moody Handbook of Prophecy, you are set up to understand the Orthodox Christian (the one and only true approach and true religion) understanding. There are many things he covers I don't, and many things I will be covering he doesn't, but both our works will most definitely give you plenty of other places to dig into for much deeper research into Messianic thought if you wish. Kaiser covers the Psalms as messianic, the divine Messiah, the suffering Messiah, gives a compact but comprehensive survey of the Old Testament and Messianic thought giving you plenty of introduction and plenty to deeply research, the Divine Messiah coming and dying for His people on behalf of His people. This work, is phenomenal.

[Alfie Mosse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good starting point for seeing the development of thought about the Jewish Messiah in the Old Testament. At times I thought there was a little too much speculation and systemization, but that is a minor criticism. I would also have liked to see more interaction with Jewish literature besides the OT - also also a minor criticism. Perhaps that would have made the book too long. At 235 pages it is readable and gives the reader much to think about.

[Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because I'm analytically centered, this book was exceptional to me. I love that it aggregates the full extent of Messianic prophecy throughout the OT. It also reinforces a direct need to maintain the Old Testament united to the new. It reads easy though it's handy to have a copy of the bible at one's side while consuming. I will agree with other reviews in that it may be more for the academic than for the lay reader.

[Seth Channell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would give this four stars as a reference book. Kaiser does a through job of discussing the messiah in the OT. And while I would recommend the book for study purposes, it is a boring read from cover to cover.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did this for my Advent reading this year and learned a lot!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Final Post on The Messiah in the Old Testament (Walter Kaiser)

I am loathe to write this post because if you read my blogs regularly, you know at the beginning of 2016, I intended to write blog posts throughout the year reacting to Kaiser’s book. He makes the case that anticipation of Jesus coming as Messiah (Anointed one of God, the Christ) is seen in the Old Testament. According to Kaiser, from Genesis to Malachi, there is unmistakable evidence of the Messiah’s presence in the Old Testament. I wanted to learn Kaiser’s perspective and share it with you, my readers.
I did OK through the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy) and I reviewed his assessment of OT books up through the Psalms. Alas, time caught up with me. Some of Kaiser’s meatiest work is done in the prophets. In 2016, other interests (family life, church, study of racial dynamic in American life) took me away from working on writing my responses to the ideas in this book.
So now, I conclude by recommending that you go to Amazon (or whatever site you prefer) and get your own copy of Kaiser’s book.
I do offer this. I have only recently come to appreciate just how important and controversial it is to think that New Testament concepts arose first in the Old Testament and then served as fulfillment of the Old Testament. For Jewish people who do not believe Jesus is the Messiah, this is a great insult. For them, the Old Testament is not “Old.” It is “the Bible,” the Torah. Some Jews may feel that their book was stolen from them by the same Christians who perpetrated the Pogroms and ignored the Holocaust. I think the story is more complicated than that, but I want to be gentle with the feelings of others, especially those who have suffered enormous wounding in history.
I want to respect the Jewish reading of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). I want to be in dialogue with Jewish friends and neighbors. I want to learn about this sacred text from them; they’re the experts. If I see something about the Messiah (Jesus as Messiah) in Psalm 22 or Genesis 3 or Isaiah 53, something my Jewish friends don’t see or refuse to see, I want to come to that knowledge humbly. I want to hold that reading reverently and with no intent to marginalize or discard the Jewish viewpoint.
At the same time, I recognize the absolute nature of this conversation. Either Jesus is the Messiah or he isn’t. I believe he is. I believe His Holy Spirit resides in me and compels me to read the Hebrew Bible through Gospel-tinted lenses. I believe what Kaiser says is true. “A straightforward understanding and application of the text leads one straight to the Messiah and to Jesus of Nazareth, who has fulfilled everything these texts said about his first coming” (p.232).
Thus, I live in this tension. I want to love and respect my Jewish neighbor who says “Don’t undermine my Bible by insisting that its message is fulfilled in Jesus.” At the same, I believe scripture (including the Old Testament) can be properly only when read in such a way that we see that the message points to Jesus. The Bible is about God’s relationship with humanity, and God’s relationship with humanity is made whole through the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth who is the Christ, the Messiah. I believe that with all my being, all my soul.
I pray that conversations around this topic can be peaceful and friendly, even if they end in disagreement.

[Andy Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare for me to rate a book as 5 stars even when it was written as recently as 20 years ago; it is even rarer for me to rate a non-fiction book so. For me, five stars means a book is not only good now, but it will be good for fifty or a hundred years. Yet Walter Kaiser's book 'The Messiah in the Old Testament' will be regarded as a standard apologetic work on Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament at least 50 years from now.

Dr. Kaiser begins by examining different methods of prophetic interpretation and settles on: '1) the meaning of the OT references to the Messiah must reflect the author's own times and historical circumstances, and 2) the meaning must be a meaning that is reflected in the grammar and syntax of the OT text'. Using these criteria he filters out many OT messianic references.

Dr. Kaiser then goes through the Messianic scriptures in chronological order, from Genesis 3:15 to Malachi 4:2. His second criterion necessarily requires him to delve extensively into Hebrew grammar. This is where his writing may become difficult for the lay reader of the Bible.

Persistence through these grammatical sections will lead the reader to a deeper understanding of the progressive revelation of the Messianic theme through the OT and how it unites the OT and NT. Detail upon detail concerning the coming Messiah will be revealed until the conclusion is inescapable: Jesus Christ is the Messiah.

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Substance: 3/5
Readability: 1/5

I'm a seminary student and this was required for reading for class. Kaiser's treatment of Messianic prophecies in the OT is more of a "reference manual" than it is a book; thus it was a bit exhausting to read. Kaiser considers in total 69 OT texts to be explicitly Messianic and makes a point of spending two-three paragraphs on each one. So one can see the read as "exhausting" to sit down and launch through a dozen texts in one sitting.

Kaiser supports his claims from a Dispensationalist bent. This review is not the place for the dispensation-covenant debate, but readers should know this about him before coming in (especially with this subject matter).

It may stay on my shelf, but I wouldn't be surprised if I sold it at a later point. Knowledgeable guy, just hard to follow his logic and writing in this specific work.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kaiser explores the picture of the Messiah that is formulated as the Old Testament advances through its historical timeline. Kaiser takes the time to exegete important key words that greatly impact the way in which each respective passage should be understood. Ultimately, the reader is able to understand the deep implication that each OT prophecy has on the picture of the Messiah that is constantly growing as the OT advances.

In his introduction, Kaiser correctly notes that the implications for Jesus Christ as the Messiah spoken of by ancient Jewish texts is the central tenet to all of Christianity. Using this as his framework, he explores how Jesus Christ was, in fact, the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament and His actions in the New Testament fulfill them.

[John Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book while doing extensive research on the meaning of Messiahship during the time of Jesus. I was able to compare it with other works about the messianic names of Jesus and messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. Kaiser has done an excellent job digging into the Scriptures. In some cases his views do not line up with those of other scholars, but he does not force every detailed conclusion on his readers. The overall message of the book is clear and points the reader in the right direction - toward faith in God and especially in the ways in which Jesus fulfilled Scriptural prophecy.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided strong proof of Jesus as the Messiah as predicted in the Old Testament. Kaiser provides a careful exegesis of all verses related to the Messiah. I would like to go through it again more slowly. He seems to be a strong dispensationalist, pre-mill, so the prophecies as he understands them always had that bent. So, while it was clear that the OT prophets were indicating events in the future, I did not always agree on those event or the timing of those events.

[Peter Mead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaiser, a great Old Testament scholar and compelling communicator, here offers a very helpful introduction to the predictions of the coming Messiah that will help preachers accurately handle the Old Testament predictive content. (Anything by Kaiser is worth reading, although don’t expect Theophany/Christophany in this little book.)

[Matthew Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of good information, but not casual reading. Written for seminary students.