Israel's Messiah: In the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Rating:
Summary: Table of Contents
Review: Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Editors' Preface
List of Abbreviations

Part 1: The Messiah in the Old Testament

My Servant David: Ancient Israel's Vision
of the Messiah
Daniel I. Block

If He Looks Like a Prophet and Talks Like a
Prophet, Then He Must Be . . .: A Response
to Daniel I. Block
J. Daniel Hays

New Lenses to Establish Messiah's Identity?
A Response to Daniel I. Block
M. Daniel Carroll R.

Part 2: The Messiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls

The Messiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls
Craig A. Evans

Messiahs Here and There: A Response to
Craig A. Evans
Richard S. Hess

Part 3: The Messiah in the New Testament

Messiah in the New Testament
Craig L. Blomberg

Christos: Jewish Title or Hellenistic Name?
A Response to Craig L. Blomberg
William W. Klein

Part 4: The Messiah in Latin American Theology

Jesus' Messianism: A Proposal and an
Assessment from Latin America
Gerardo A. Alfaro Gonzalez

Reflections on Jesus as Liberator: A
Response to Gerardo A. Alfaro Gonzalez
Karen H. Jobes

Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Writings
Index of Modern Authors

Rating:
Summary: Good theological give and take between scholars
Review: This book was not what I expected. I guess I was expecting a treatise on the messianic concept in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Hebrew Scriptures. But the book turned out to be a series of essays by evangelical Old Testament scholars, followed by brief replies from critical reviewers. I really enjoyed this format. The most interesting article was the opening one by Daniel Block, where he tried with all of his might to show that the Messiah in the Old Testament was a kingly messiah all the way through, even in the suffering servant passages of Isaiah 42-53. It was hard to see where Block was coming from, and why he felt the way he did. I felt that Richard Hess did a great job of exposing some of the fallacies of Block's thinking.

There was also a good article by Craig Evans about the messiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls (it was hard to follow at times, but I learned a lot about the teacher role of the Messiah in these writings). The last article seemed out of place. It was about the Latin American messianic concept in response to some of those who hold to liberation theologies. The man who wrote that article was quite a wordsmith, and wrote with an engaging style. The female scholar who critiqued his article had nothing but glowing comments.

I recommend this book for scholarly pastors and those who are interested in learning more about messianic theology from a Christian perspective.