deity of christ

[psaltis]

Did early jews believe the messiah would be God?

how did they view the messiah
thanks..

[DanielRB]

Did early jews believe the messiah would be God?

how did they view the messiah
thanks..

Shalom, Psaltis, and thanks for the post :wave:

Keep in mind that what we call "Orthodoxy" today--Trinitarianism as defined by the councils--was by no means the dominant viewpoint for several centuries of the Church's history. From an historical point of view, there were at times that Arianism (for example) seemed to be in the majority (think of "Athanasius against the world.")

Uniformity in theology was not found in Judaism, either. In many ways, the Judaism of the second Temple period was more diverse than it is today.

Did the early Jews expect the Messiah to be God incarnate? Perhaps some held that view, but I don't believe many did. The New Testament views it as a mystery, and the Tanakh ("Old" Testament) doesn't clearly spell it out--oh, there are hints here and there and some ambigious language--but nothing that clearly says "Messiah will be God incarnate."

We have to remember that whenever we approach Scripture (either Testament), that we are reading it through eyes that have been colored by 2,000 years of Christian understanding and history, which follows 1,500 years of Jewish understanding and development. It's not always easy to determine how the early readers understood the text.

Bottom line, however: the Jewish tradition that survives today (non-Messianic) is not looking for a divine Messiah, only a human being. Messianic Jews, on the other hand, are most often Trinitarian (though there are exceptions.)

In Messiah,

Daniel

[psaltis]

Shalom, Psaltis, and thanks for the post :wave:

Keep in mind that what we call "Orthodoxy" today--Trinitarianism as defined by the councils--was by no means the dominant viewpoint for several centuries of the Church's history. From an historical point of view, there were at times that Arianism (for example) seemed to be in the majority (think of "Athanasius against the world.")

Uniformity in theology was not found in Judaism, either. In many ways, the Judaism of the second Temple period was more diverse than it is today.

Did the early Jews expect the Messiah to be God incarnate? Perhaps some held that view, but I don't believe many did. The New Testament views it as a mystery, and the Tanakh ("Old" Testament) doesn't clearly spell it out--oh, there are hints here and there and some ambigious language--but nothing that clearly says "Messiah will be God incarnate."

We have to remember that whenever we approach Scripture (either Testament), that we are reading it through eyes that have been colored by 2,000 years of Christian understanding and history, which follows 1,500 years of Jewish understanding and development. It's not always easy to determine how the early readers understood the text.

Bottom line, however: the Jewish tradition that survives today (non-Messianic) is not looking for a divine Messiah, only a human being. Messianic Jews, on the other hand, are most often Trinitarian (though there are exceptions.)

In Messiah,

Daniel
Thank you for your reply,
yes you are right there are hints throughtout the old testament, indeed it is a mystery.