A Star Rising

The Messiah is a central concept in the dialogue between Judaism and Christianity. This study examines the history of the concept of the messiah preceeding and within the Jewish and Christian biblical texts. The author identifies the roots of this concept in Near Eastern royal ideology and traces the complex process of its development into a central issue in the Old Testament and in Jewish eschatology of the Second Temple period. New Testament christology then developed in conjunction with Jewish messianic ideas. This fascinating historical 'biography' of the Messiah will engage and inform scholars and students in biblical studies, and clergy and academics interested in Jewish-Christian dialogue.