Messiah ben Joseph

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Messiah ben Joseph (Hebrew: משיח בן יוסף) also alternatively known as Messiah ben Ephraim (Hebrew: משיח בן אפרים) is a Messianic figure peculiar to the rabbinical apocalyptic literature. One of the earliest known mentions of him is in (Sukkah52a, b), where three statements occur in regard to him, for the first of which Rabbi 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).

Contents 1 Details 2 Jews Considered the Messiah ben Joseph 3 Gentiles Considered the Messiah ben Joseph 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Details

Details about him are not found until much later, but he has an established place in the apocalypses of later centuries, such as the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel, 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 ben 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 the other, 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 A. 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 (as of 1906). 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. Apocryphally, the prophesy is reported in one place to have been given first by the mother of Joseph of Egypt,^[1] and also by Joseph, who stated that the Messiah of his lineage would restore true worship. ^[2] 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").

Some religious entities have attempted to transpose their beliefs into the conception of Messiah ben Joseph - particularly on the basis of some Midrashim that seem to allude to his death and resurrection. Amongst those who choose to employ such imagery in their attempts to theologically justify their position include Christians who wish to use Jewish texts in their evangelism who believe the term Moshiach ben Yosef to refer to the "First Coming of Jesus"^[3] and lately Messianic factions of Lubavitch Hasidism who believe that the deceased Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is the Messiah^[4].

[edit] Jews Considered the Messiah ben Joseph

• Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572) in his cosmogony thought of himself as being the Messiah ben Joseph and Rabbi Hayyim Vital as his heir.^[5]

• Hayyim Vital (1543–1620) was claimed to be Messiah ben Joseph in a 1574 letter of Abraham Shalom. See Jewish Messiah claimants.

• Joshua Heschel Zoref (b.1633): Claimed to be the Messiah ben Joseph, with Shabbetai Zvi as the Jewish Messiah.

• Judah Leib Prossnitz (d.1750): Claimed to be the Messiah ben Joseph, with Shabbetai Zvi as the Jewish Messiah.

• Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990): One proof often cited is that Moshiach ben Yosef will be a militant figure leading Israel and murdered in the beginning of the war of Gog and Magog - Kahane militantly sought to galvanize world Jewry into action against looming existential threats and was the earliest target of Al-Qaeda on American soil.^[6] Moshiach ben Yosef is also to be instrumental in the ingathering of the exiles - one of Kahane's major points in his platform was the importance of immediate Aliyah, he petitioned hundreds of Jewish communities to migrate to Israel. ^[7] Moshiach ben Yosef is traditionally not going to initially be recognized by many (paralleling the biblical account of Joseph's sale by his brother) - Kahane was castigated by the mainstream Jewish organizational structure which attempted to marginalize him. Incidentally in Kahane's theological magnum opus 'The Jewish Idea' he devoted two very informative chapters entitled 'Mashiach ben Yosef' detailing the qualities and identity of the figure.

[edit] Gentiles Considered the Messiah ben Joseph

• Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805–1844): Though probably not even aware of the concept in Jewish folklore, the nineteenth century Latter-day Saint prophet Joseph Smith has been proposed by some followers as the fulfillment of the Messiah ben Joseph.^[8] Some similarities to the legend include claiming to be preparatory to Messiah ben David, re-establishing true doctrine, gathering the children of Israel around him (Most Mormons believe they are adopted into a house of Israel by entering into a baptismal covenant with God), seeking to restore the Jews and the temple to Jerusalem, and being killed because of his religion. Latter-day Saint patriarchs in different parts of the world claim certain people are adopted into various lineages of the Ten Tribes, thus fulfilling those who gathered around his standard. Joseph Smith stated that his lineage was through Ephraim, the son of Joseph. The Book of Mormon, published in 1830, claims that Joseph of Egypt prophesied that a modern seer also named Joseph would restore the true doctrines and covenants of the Lord.^[9] Further parallels include the return of the prophet Elijah during the days of the Messiah b. Joseph ^[10](Smith reported the visit of Elijah and others on the day of Passover, 1836 ^[11]), and the arrival of the Messiah b. Joseph in the "latter days".^[12]

[edit] Bibliography

• This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.The JE cites the following works.
  • R. Smend, Alttestamentliche Religionsgesch.;
  • W. Nowack, Die Zukunftshoffnung Israels in der Assyrischen Zeit;
  • Hühn, Die Messianischen Weissagungen;
  • Fr. Giesebrecht, Der Knecht Jahwe's in Deutero-Jesaia;
  • Emil Schürer, Gesch. 3d ed., ii. 29;
  • Wilhelm Bousset, Die Religion des Judentums im Neutestamentlichen Zeitalter, part 3, ch. ii.-v.; part 6, pp. 474 et seq.;
  • P. Volz, Jüdische Eschatologie von Daniel bis Akiba, §§ 34-35;
  • H. J. Holtzmann, Lehrbuch der Neutestamentlichen Theologie, i. 68-85;
  • W. Baldensperger, Die Messianisch-Apokalyptischen Hoffnungen des Judentums;
  • F. Weber, Jüdische Theologie auf Grund des Talmud, etc., ch. xxii.-xxiii.;
  • Gustaf H. Dalman, Der Leidende und der Sterbende Messias;
  • idem, Die Worte Jesu, pp. 191 et seq.;
  • Kampers, Alexander der Grosse und die Idee des Weltimperiums in Prophetie und Sage;
  • B. Beer, Welchen Aufschluss Geben die Jüdischen Quellen über den "Zweigehörnten" des Korans? in *Z. D. M. G. ix. 791 et seq.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Jewish Encyclopedia section on Messiah ben Joseph, by Joseph Jacobs and Moses Buttenwieser
• Who is the Moshiach ben Yosef?
• Tutorial: Moshiach ben Yosef