 | ||
In Jewish eschatology Mashiach ben Yoseph or Messiah ben Joseph (Hebrew: משיח בן־יוסף Mašīaḥ ben Yōsēf), also known as Mashiach bar/ben Ephraim (Aram./Heb.: משיח בר/בן אפרים), is a Jewish messiah from the tribe of Ephraim and a descendant of Joseph. The figure's origins are much debated. Some regard it as a rabbinic invention, but others defend the view that its origins are in the Torah.
Contents
Messianic tradition
Jewish tradition alludes to four messianic figures. Called the Four Craftsmen, each will be involved in ushering in the Messianic age. They are mentioned in the Talmud and the Book of Zechariah. Rashi in his commentary on the Talmud gives more details. Rashi explains that Messiah ben Joseph is called a craftsman because he will help rebuild the temple. Nahmanides also commented on Messiah ben Joseph's rebuilding of the temple. The roles of the Four Craftsmen are as follows. Elijah will be the herald of the eschaton. If necessary, Messiah ben Joseph will wage war against the evil forces and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel. According to Saadia Gaon the need for his appearance will depend on the spiritual condition of the Jewish people. In the Sefer Zerubbabel and later writings, after his death a period of great calamities will befall Israel. God will then resurrect the dead and usher in the Messianic Era of universal peace. Messiah ben David will reign as a Jewish king during the period when God will resurrect the dead. With the ascendancy of Rabbinic Judaism the Righteous Priest has largely not been the subject of Jewish messianic speculation. Most Jews believe that the Third Temple will be built during this era.
Ten Lost Tribes
Throughout the Hebrew bible Ephraim is often used to refer collectively to the northern kingdom. Ephraim was the leading tribe in the north. It has been claimed that Messiah ben Joseph does not represent the leader of the Ten Lost Tribes and that he is never presented as such. Rather he is presented as the leader of all of Israel. However some later Jewish sources do explicitly call the Messiah ben Joseph the leader of the Ten Lost Tribes.
Mikweh Israel was written by the 17th-century kabbalist Menasseh Ben Israel. The text deals at some length with the author’s theory that parts of the ten tribes can be found among the Native Americans. In the text the author calls the Messiah ben Joseph the future leader of the ten lost tribes.
In his commentary on Ezekiel 37 the Malbim also says that the Messiah ben Joseph will be the leader of the Ten Lost Tribes when they return. The Messiah ben Joseph will initiate union with Judah, who will be led by the Messiah ben David. Later, the Messiah ben Joseph is killed and Messiah ben David will rule over all Twelve Tribes.
Jewish understanding
Judaism rejects the Christian doctrine of original sin. It is taught that each Jew individual is responsible to follow the 613 mitzvot to the best of his abilities, for each Jew has individual blessings and tests by God. Non-Jews are encouraged to keep the Seven Laws of Noah. When korbanot ("sacrifices") were offered in ancient times they were offered according to Jewish halakha in the tabernacle and the temple in Jerusalem. Traditionally by way of example, Jews offer vidui ("confessions"), prayers (sacrifices of the lips, "Forgive all iniquity, and accept that which is good; so will we render for bullocks the offering (Korban) of our lips." Hosea 14), ethical civilisation, and tzedakah a form of charity. Traditionally most common among Ashkenazi Jews, some perform kapparot as a form of tzedakah. On Yom Kippur God judges each individual yearly.
If Messiah ben Joseph is killed it is not considered a sacrifice but rather a tragedy that will befall Israel proceeding the eschaton. Neither Messiah ben Joseph nor Messiah ben David will remove the requirement to keep the 613 mitzvot. Observant Jews almost universally believe that animal sacrifice will be resumed once the third temple is built.
Ecstatic Kabbalah
Abraham Abulafia was the founder of Ecstatic Kabbalah. He linked Christ with the month of Tammuz, the month of the sin of the golden calf. Abulafia referred to himself as “the seventh day” and the true Messiah ben David. He claimed to be both the Messiah ben David and a Kohen like Melchizedek. He supported this by claiming that his father was of Judah), his mother of Levi and his wife of the Kohen. He also identified himself as the priestly angel Metatron.
He also seems to have linked Christ with the concept of Messiah ben Joseph, referring to him as “the sixth day” and as Satan. According to 10th-century legend, the Antichrist would be the offspring of a virgin and the devil, and the 11th-century CE Midrash Vayosha describes "a monstrosity" anti-Messiah figure which will be defeated by the Mashiach ben Yoseph to come. Being Gog's successor, his inevitable destruction by "Messiah, son of Joseph" symbolizes the ultimate victory of good over evil in the Messianic age.
Abulafia set out on a messianic mission to Rome to convert the Pope to Judaism. Pope Nicholas III ordered him burned at the stake. However the day before he entered Rome (August 22. 1280 CE), the Pope died of an apoplectic stroke. Abulafia claimed to have killed the Pope by invoking the name of God.
In one of his later works Abulafia claimed to have been driven mad by Satan but that God had protected him. He claimed that Elijah brought him to Messina where he completed the Otzar Eden HaGanuz. He wrote that but for accidents and fantasies his seven disciples would not have been driven away from him. He hoped that one in particular Rabbi Saadia ben Yitzchak Sanalmapi who he dedicated the work to would forgive him.
Abulafia’s writings were condemned by his local Jewish congregation and were not used in Spanish schools. His meditation techniques would influence many later writings and are still studied today. Later writers would marginalize Abulafia's messianic elements. In Ecstatic Kabbalah Metatron is a messianic figure. This tradition predates Abulafia going back to the Book of Parables and 3 Enoch and other writings. The earlier Merkabah mysticism also references Metatron.
Lurianic Kabbalah
In Lurianic Kabbalah Adam incorporated all souls; it is possible for different soul-sections to be given to different people. In addition multiple people can share the same soul root. In the Kabbalistic understanding, the Righteous Priest would be reincarnated as Abel, Seth, Noah and Shem. Moses like Adam also incorporated all souls. Messiah ben Joseph was incarnated as Cain he was notably reincarnated as Joseph (son of Jacob) and Jeroboam. Messiah ben David was incarnated as Abel and David. Most of the Messiah ben Joseph claimants have been Kabbalists, or made by Kabbalists. In the Kabbalistic understanding this does not necessarily mean a literal claim of messiahship is being made.
Academic views
The exact origins of Messiah ben Joseph are a matter of debate among scholars. It has been suggested that Messiah ben Joseph arose out of a Jewish collective memory of Simon bar Kokhba. Others suggest that his origins are older.
Some academic scholars have argued to varying degrees that Christianity and Judaism did not separate as suddenly or as dramatically as sometimes thought and that the idea of two messiahs, one suffering, the second fulfilling the traditional messianic role, was normative to ancient Judaism, in fact predating Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus would have been viewed as fulfilling this role.
Traditional
Traditional Christians do not believe that Jesus was a candidate for the Messiah ben Joseph. They believe rather that he was the Messiah ben David and that he was of the tribe of Judah and a descendant of David, whereas the Messiah ben Joseph will be a descendant of Joseph from the tribe of Ephraim. Furthermore, some assert that the passages associated with Messiah ben Joseph have no power of redemption. Christians have associated the Four Craftsmen in varying ways with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Messianic Jews
Certain Messianic Jewish groups have associated Messiah ben Joseph with Jesus based on the New Testament account in which Jesus’s stepfathers name is given as Joseph. Ben in this context literally translates from Hebrew as "son of".
Christian Kabbalah
In some modern forms of Christian Kabbalah, based on Lurianic Kabbalah, Jesus is not literally the Son of God but rather a composite being like Adam. In other words, a full rectified Adam. In this understanding Jesus is linked with the title Son of Man given in the New Testament. Messiah ben Joseph is part of this entity.
In some Christian forms of Ecstatic Kabbalah Jesus is Metatron, Melchizedek, Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David. Oftentimes, incompatible Kabbalists' teachings are blended together with Christian, new age and occult beliefs.
Mormons
Some Mormon groups have associated Messiah ben Joseph with Joseph Smith, as he was anointed king over Israel via Council of Fifty.