Messiah ben Joseph & Galilee; Messiah ben David & Judea.
Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 12:30 am
Speculation time again....
I came across and skimmed part of a thesis today, of which one line stood out to me in particular:
I would translate:
The original text of that Midrash (century XI) is available online. I have extracted the relevant portion and provided sort of a translation (of all but one part of it, which I cannot seem to find a good rendering for or figure out on my own):
There is a similar tradition attributed to Hai Goan, as well, in which it is added that an adversary "will slay Messiah ben Joseph" (a somewhat common fate for this messianic figure in the rabbinical texts). But is it my imagination or does the underlined portion of Lekach Tov resemble the angel's words to the women at the tomb in two of our gospels?
Odd that, years after these gospel texts were penned, there should be a Jewish tradition which has the Messiah ben Joseph/Ephraim meeting with Israelites in Galilee and then marching to Jerusalem, where, according to a few texts, he is slain. Whereas Judah, and later Judea, lies in the south, Galilee, of course, is part of the northern area alloted to Israel, often represented by and glossed as Ephraim.
Or could there have been an earlier Jewish tradition linking the Messiah ben Joseph with Galilee, a connection which early Christians exploited in their stories about their own Messiah ben Joseph, as it were? One might posit that, just as the resurrection appearances seem to have originally graced Galilee (Matthew, Mark) before moving to Judea/Jerusalem (Luke, John), so too an original Messiah ben Joseph (Jesus/Joshua, son of Joseph) might have become the more popular Messiah ben David (the Davidic Messiah, fit for an appearance in the capital city).
Roughly speaking, Galilee is to Ephraim/Joseph (and Joshua) as Judea is to Judah (and David).
I am reminded of a passage from the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs:
The Armenian version lacks the bracketed phrases, according to R. H. Charles, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, volume 2, page 356. Even with those phrases removed as (Christian) interpolations, however, what remains is a prediction that in Joseph shall be fulfilled a prophecy to the effect that a sinless man shall die for lawless men, which is similar to that tradition attributed to Hai Goan insofar as the Josephite Messiah is supposed to die. This prediction is either a Jewish one, in which case we have even more and earlier evidence of this motif, or it is a Christian interpolation; if the latter, then what kind of Christian thought that his or her Messiah was of the line of Joseph and not of David? Perhaps one more familiar with the Galilean tradition than with the Judean tradition?
Incidentally, the main passages in the gospel of John which Ricardo Pietrantonio discusses are:
He argues that John thus betrays knowledge of Jesus as the Messiah ben Ephraim/Joseph.
Ben.
I came across and skimmed part of a thesis today, of which one line stood out to me in particular:
Ricardo Pietrantonio, El Mesías Asesinado: El Mesías ben Efraim en el Evangelio de Juan, page 63: El lugar en que se manifiesta primero el Mesías ben Efraim es la Alta Galilea, donde reúne a sus seguidores para marchar hacia Jerusalén a reedificar el templo y ofrecer sacrificios (MidLeqaj Tob Num 24,17).
I would translate:
Ricardo Pietrantonio, The Assassinated Messiah: The Messiah ben Ephraim in the Gospel of John, page 63: The place in which the Messiah ben Ephraim first manifests himself is Upper Galilee, where he (re)unites his followers to march to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the temple and offer sacrifices (Midrash Lekach Tov, Numbers 24.17).
The original text of that Midrash (century XI) is available online. I have extracted the relevant portion and provided sort of a translation (of all but one part of it, which I cannot seem to find a good rendering for or figure out on my own):
Midrash Lekach Tov, Numbers 24.17: Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Levi [century III], "This teaches that Israel will be gathered in Upper Galilee and that there they will see Messiah ben Joseph out of Galilee; and they will go up, and all Israel with him, to Jerusalem [... ??]. And he will go up and build the Temple and make sacrifices, and the fire will descend from heaven, and he will smite all the Canaanites. / אמר ר' הונא בשם ר' לוי מלמד שיהיו ישראל מקובצין בגליל העליון ויצפה עליהם שם משיח בן יוסף מתוך הגליל והם עולים משם וכל ישראל עמו לירושלים לקיים מה שנא' ובני פריצי עמך ינשאו להעמיד חזון ונכשלו. והוא עולה ובונה את בית המקדש ומקריב קרבנות והאש יורדת מן השמים והוא מוחץ כל הכנענים׃
There is a similar tradition attributed to Hai Goan, as well, in which it is added that an adversary "will slay Messiah ben Joseph" (a somewhat common fate for this messianic figure in the rabbinical texts). But is it my imagination or does the underlined portion of Lekach Tov resemble the angel's words to the women at the tomb in two of our gospels?
Matthew 28.7: 7 "Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee; there you will see Him; behold, I have told you."
Mark 16.7: 7 "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'"
Mark 16.7: 7 "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.'"
Odd that, years after these gospel texts were penned, there should be a Jewish tradition which has the Messiah ben Joseph/Ephraim meeting with Israelites in Galilee and then marching to Jerusalem, where, according to a few texts, he is slain. Whereas Judah, and later Judea, lies in the south, Galilee, of course, is part of the northern area alloted to Israel, often represented by and glossed as Ephraim.
Or could there have been an earlier Jewish tradition linking the Messiah ben Joseph with Galilee, a connection which early Christians exploited in their stories about their own Messiah ben Joseph, as it were? One might posit that, just as the resurrection appearances seem to have originally graced Galilee (Matthew, Mark) before moving to Judea/Jerusalem (Luke, John), so too an original Messiah ben Joseph (Jesus/Joshua, son of Joseph) might have become the more popular Messiah ben David (the Davidic Messiah, fit for an appearance in the capital city).
Roughly speaking, Galilee is to Ephraim/Joseph (and Joshua) as Judea is to Judah (and David).
I am reminded of a passage from the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs:
Testament of Benjamin 3.1-8: 1 Therefore, my children, love the Lord God of heaven, and keep His commandments, following the example of the good and holy man Joseph. 2 Incline your thoughts to what is good, as you know it to be with me, because he who has the right mind sees everything properly. 3 Fear the Lord and love your neighbor. If the spirits of Beliar seek to oppress you with wicked tribulation, they will not overcome you, any more than Joseph my brother. 4 Many people wished to kill him, but God watched over him. For the person who fears God and loves his neighbor has on him the fear of God. 5 And the plots of people nor wild animals can overcome him, for he is helped by the Lord from the love which he has to his neighbor. 6 For Joseph also besought our father that he would pray for his brothers, that the Lord would not count to them as sin whatever evil they had done to him. 7 And thus Jacob cried out, "My child Joseph, my kind son, you have prevailed over the inner affections of your father Jacob." And he embraced him, and kissed him for two hours, saying, 8 "In you will be fulfilled the prophecy of heaven [concerning the Lamb of God and Savior of the world], and that a blameless one will be delivered up for lawless men, and a sinless one will die for ungodly men [in the blood of the covenant, for the salvation of the nations and of Israel, and will destroy Beliar and his servants]."
The Armenian version lacks the bracketed phrases, according to R. H. Charles, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, volume 2, page 356. Even with those phrases removed as (Christian) interpolations, however, what remains is a prediction that in Joseph shall be fulfilled a prophecy to the effect that a sinless man shall die for lawless men, which is similar to that tradition attributed to Hai Goan insofar as the Josephite Messiah is supposed to die. This prediction is either a Jewish one, in which case we have even more and earlier evidence of this motif, or it is a Christian interpolation; if the latter, then what kind of Christian thought that his or her Messiah was of the line of Joseph and not of David? Perhaps one more familiar with the Galilean tradition than with the Judean tradition?
Incidentally, the main passages in the gospel of John which Ricardo Pietrantonio discusses are:
John 1.45: 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
John 11.54: 54 Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.
John 11.54: 54 Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.
He argues that John thus betrays knowledge of Jesus as the Messiah ben Ephraim/Joseph.
Ben.