His Timing
"It was taught in the School of Elijah, the world will endure 6,000 years - 2,000 years in chaos,  2,000 with Torah, and 2,000 years will be the days of the Messiah."-Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a

I have examined and searched all the Holy Scriptures, and have not found the time for the coming of Messiah, clearly fixed, except in the words of Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, which are written in the ninth chapter of the prophecy of Daniel. -Rabbi Moses Abraham Levi

He (Jonathan) moreover sought to make a Targum of the Hagiographa; but the Bath Kol came forth and said, "Enough." And why might he not execute a Targum of the Hagiographa? Because the End about the Advent of the Messiah is revealed in it. Rashi says, "In the Book of Daniel." -Megillah fol. 3a

"All the prophets prophesied only of the days of the Messiah."-Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 99a

All the prophets who prophesied have only made predictions regarding the Messiah. As regards
eternity, it is said in Isaiah 64:4. 'neither hath eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath pre pared
for him who waiteth for Him.-Sanhedrin 99a; Berachot 34b; Shabbat 63a

"Thus says the L-rd of Hosts, saying, ‘Behold the Man whose name is the Messiah who shall be revealed." -Targum to Z'kharyah 6:12 in the Tanakh

"I believe with faith in coming of the Messiah, and even though he should tarry, neverthless I shall await for his coming every day."-Maimonides, Thirteen Articles of Faith, 12th principle

"Kings and rulers shall not cease from the house of Judah…until King Messiah comes."-Targum Pseudo-Jonathan

UNTIL SHILOH COMETH; this alludes to the royal Messiah. AND UNTO HIM SHALL THE OBEDIENCE (YIKHATH) OF THE PEOPLE BE: he [the Messiah] will come and set on edge (makheth) the teeth of the nations of the world.-Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVIII. 8

The Birthplace
Although thou art little among the thousands of Judah, out of thee. shall  come forth unto me a Judge to be Ruler in Israel, and this is the King Messiah. -Rabbi David Kimchi

"And you Bethlehem-Ephrathah who are too little to be counted among the thousands of the house of Judah, from you in My name shall come forth the Messiah who is to be ruler in Israel and whose name has been called from eternity, from the days of old."-Targum Jonathan on Mikah 5:2 in the Tanakh

"The King Messiah... from where does he come forth? From the royal city of Bethlehem in Judah." -Jerusalem Talmud, Berakoth 5a

Rabbi Shemuel bar Nehmani said: On the day when the Temple was destroyed Israel suffered
much for their sins ... . And from whence do we know that on that day [when the Temple was
destroyed] Messiah was born? For it is written, 'Before she travailed, she brought forth'   [the
Messiah].-Bereshit Rabbati 133 (Isaiah 66:7)

O, thou Bethlehem Ephrata ... although thou art little in the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto me a Man, a Ruler in Israel whose goings forth are from the days of old ... that is from the Seed of David ... who was of Bethlehem Judah.-Abarbanel, Mashmiah Jeshua, fol. 62, c. 2.

Reuven, See a Son
For to us a Son is born, to us a Son is given: and he shall receive the law upon him to keep it; and his name is called from of Old, Wonderful, Counsellor, Eloha, the Mighty, abiding to Eternity, the Messiah, because peace shall be multiplied on us in His days.-Targum Jonathan

I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel."

Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.-Psalm 2:7-12

"The exhortation to submit to Yahweh is followed by the exhortation to do homage to Yahweh's Son." -Rabbi Ibn Ezra of Spain, 12th century

Our rabbis have taught that this concerns the Messiah-King... -Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki

If it [Psalm 2] be interpreted of the Messiah, the matter is clear. -Aben Ezra

Our Rabbis taught, The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to the Messiah, the son of David (May he reveal himself speedily in our days!), "Ask of me anything, and I will give it to thee", as it is said, I will tell of the decree etc. this day have I begotten thee, ask of me and I will give the nations for thy inheritance. -Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a

"Behold, a Virgin shall conceive." There are some that say this was made a sign, because a Virgin "fuit non apta generationi" [without benefit of a man]. -Jarchi

[God] heals with the same he wounds; so you will find in Israel; they sinned by a Virgin, and were punished in a Virgin; so He comforts them by a Virgin according to Jeremiah 31:21, 22. "Turn again O Virgin of Israel," etc.., "a Woman shall compass a man." -Joshua ben Levi on Genesis 41

A Star out of Jacob
Our rabbis have a tradition that in the week in which the Messiah will be born there will be a bright STAR in the east , which is "THE STAR OF THE Messiah."-Pesikta Sortarta fol. 58. c.1

A STAR shall proceed out of Jacob, and there shall come a SCEPTRE in Israel. The KING Messiah is here spoken of as a STAR. -Rabbi Lieva of Prague

When a king shall arise out of Jacob and the Messiah be anointed from Israel, He will slay the princes of Moab, and reign over all the children of man. -Targum Onkelos

"He will be with the last deliverer, (Messiah), as with the first (Moses); as the first deliverer revealed himself first to the Israelites and then withdrew, so also will the last deliverer reveal himself to the Israelites and then withdraw for a while."-Midrash Ruth Rabbath 5:6

"Rabbi Hillel said, ‘there shall be no Messiah for Israel, because they have already enjoyed him in the days of Hezekiah.’ Rabbi Joseph said, ‘may G-d forgive him for saying so. Now, when did Hezekiah flourish? During the First Temple. Yet Zechariah, prophesying in the days of the second, proclaimed, ‘rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.  Behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9)’"-Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 99a
Messiah Ben Yosef
The Isaiah 53 Messiah

A Humble Mashaich
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. -Zechariah 9:9

Exult vehemently, O assemblage of Zion, and exult O assemblage of Jerusalem; Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, just himself and a Saviour, humble, riding on an ass, and a foal, and the young of an ass.-Jonathan ben Uzziel

This is the Messiah our Righteousness. But is it not written of the Messiah, "Lowly, riding upon an ass?" Yes, but this shows he will come in humility, and not in pride upon horses.-Saadiah Gaon on Daniel 7:17

R. Berekiah said in the name of R. Isaac: As the first redeemer was, so shall the latter Redeemer be. What is stated of the former redeemer? And Moses took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass (Ex.XVI, 4). Similarly will it  be with the latter Redeemer [Messiah], as it is stated, Lowly and riding upon an ass.-Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes I. 9, 1

"R. Joshua opposed two verses: it is written, And behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven whilst [elsewhere] it is written, [behold, thy king cometh unto thee...] lowly, and riding upon an ass! --if they are meritorious, [he will come] with the clouds of heaven; if not, lowly and riding upon an ass."-Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b)

The Slain Messiah
"What is the cause of the mourning (Zechariah 12:10)? It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah, the son of Joseph, as it is written, ‘And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son.’" -Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a

"Our sages said, ‘King Messiah is subjected to sufferings in every generation according to the sins of that generation.’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘In that hour (of the Redemption) I shall create him a new and he will no longer suffer.’"-Pesiqto Rabbati page 146b

The prophet(Isaiah 53) here declares, how the Messiah resigns himself to die, and be buried in their tomb.-Japheth ben Ali ha-Levi, c. 920 CE

The Suffering Servant
"But He was wounded," etc. ... meaning that since the Messiah bears our iniquities which produce the effect of His being bruised, it follows that whosoever will not admit that Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities must endure and suffer for them himself. -Rabbi Elijah ben Moses de Vidas, 16th century CE

The expression "My Servant" they [certain contemporary commentators] compare rashly with Isaiah 41:8 "thou Israel art my servant", where the prophet is speaking of the people of Israel (which would be singular): here, however, he does not mention Israel, but a simply says "My Servant": we cannot therefore understand the word in the same sense ... I am pleased to interpret it in accordance with the teaching of our rabbis of the King Messiah, and will be careful, so far as I am able, to adhere to the literal sense: thus, possibly, I shall be free from the forced far-fetched interpretations of which others have been guilty. -Rabbi Moshe Kohen ibn Crispin, circa 1350 CE

He (Messiah) shall intercede for many sins, and the rebellious for his sake will be forgiven.-Targum Jonathan

The fact is it refers to King Messiah. "He was counted with the transgressors," because they appointed his grave by the wicked, He will intercede for the transgressors, and for those who rise up against Him. -Herz Homberg, 1749-1841

"The Holy One brought forth the soul of Messiah, and said to him, ‘Art thou willing to be created and to redeem my sons after 6,000 years?’ He replied, ‘I am.’ G-d replied, ‘If so, thou must take upon thyself chastisements in order to wipe away their iniquity, as it is written, ‘Surely our sicknesses he has carried.’ The Messiah answered, ‘I will take them upon me gladly.’"-P’Siqtha according to Hulsius in "Theologia Judaica"

"The Holy One, blessed be He, will tell him (the Messiah) in detail what will befall him... their sins  will cause you to bend down as under a yoke of iron and make you like a calf whose eyes grow dim with suffering and will choke your spirit as with a yoke, and because of their sins your tongue will cleave to the roof of your mouth. Are you willing to endure such things?... The Messiah will say: ‘Master of the universe with joy in my soul and gladness in my heart I take this suffering upon myself provided that not one person in Israel shall perish, so that not only those who are alive be saved in my days, but also those who are dead, who died from the days of Adam up to the time of redemption.’"-Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 36.1; Zohar II. 212a

"The Patriarchs will arise and say to the Messiah... ‘our righteous Messiah, even though we are your ancestors, you are greater than we because you did suffer for the iniquities of our children, and terrible ordeals befell you, such ordeals as did not befall earlier generations or later ones for the sake of Israel.’" -Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 37:1

He is speaking of King Messiah:"Come hither draw near to the throne "and dip thy morsel in the vinegar," this refers to the chastisements, as it is said, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities."-Ruth 2:14 commentary from The Midrash Rabbah, 6th century

"I may remark then, that our Rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of the King Messiah, and we ourselves shall adhere to the same view."-Rabbi Mosheh El-Sheikhof Safed: a disciple of Joseph Caro the author of the Shulchan Arukh, late 6th Century CE, Commentaries on the Earlier Prophets regarding Yesha'yahu 53 in the Tanakh

Forthwith the Holy One began to make a covenant with the Messiah: O Messiah, my righteousness, said he, the iniquities of those who are hidden beside thee will cause thee to enter into a hard yoke ... said the Messiah, Lord of the world I accept it joyfully, and will endure these chastisements ... Messiah accepted the chastisement of love, as it is written; He was oppressed, and he was afflicted. -Rabbi Moshe Ha-Darshan, 10th, 11th century CE, Midrash on Bereshith

Jonathan ben Uzziel interprets it in the Targum of the future Messiah; and this is also the opinion of our own learned men in the majority of their Midrashim. -Rabbi don Yitzehak Abarbanel, circa 1500 CE

If we search the prophets we shall find that He who is promised as the Shepherd of Israel is THE MESSIAH. The Messiah therefore is the person to be smitten before the scattering of the sheep.-Rabbi David Kimchi on Zechariah

Atonement
"Our Rabbis taught: during the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the lot for the L-rd (on Yom Kippur) did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white (on the neck of the scapegoat); nor did the western-most light shine; and the doors of the Hekal (Temple) would open by themselves."-Babylonian Talmud, Yoma, 39b

This is the exact statement of the statutes in which they shall walk until the coming of the Messiah of Aaron and Israel who will pardon their iniquity -Damascus Rule xiv, Vermes, G. The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Third Edition. ondon: Penguin Books, 1987, ©1962, p. 99.

A Leper Scholar You Say?

"The Rabbis said: His name is "the leper scholar," as it is  written, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and   afflicted."-Sanhedrin 98b,see similar verses Ruth Rabbah v.6; Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 36:142; and the Zohar II 212a.

"Rabbi Yochanan said, ‘The Messiah - what is his name?’… And our Rabbis said, ‘the pale one… is his name,’ as it is written ‘Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows - yet  we considered him stricken by G-d, smitten by him and afflicted.’" -Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98, p. 2

"In this chapter there seem to be considerable resemblances and allusions to the work of the
Christian Messiah and to the events which are asserted to have happened to Him, so that no other
prophecy is to be found the gist and subject of which can be so immediately applied to Him."-Abraham Farissol ( 1451- 1526)

Messiah Ben David
King Messiah of Daniel 7

 "King Messiah, whether he be of those still living or of those who are dead, bears the name of David."-Eicha(Lamentations) Rabbah

"And now let us speak in praise of King Messiah who will come in the future with the clouds of heaven and two Seraphim to his right and to his left, as it is written, Behold, with the clouds of heaven came one like the son of man."-Pirque Mashiah (Chapters of the Messiah), dating from the 7th to 10th centuries, cited from The Messiah Texts, p. 83.

"What is the name of the King Messiah? Rabbi Abba Bar Kahana said, ‘His name is the L-rd our Righteousness.’"-Midrash Lamentations Rabbah 1.16.51; Pesikta de Rab Kahana 22.5a; Midrash on Psalms 21.2; Baba Bathra 75b, Babylonian Talmud; Yalkut Shimoni, fol. 384: all referring to Yirmeyahu 23:6 in the Tanakh

"A king shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and the Messiah shall grow up from his sons’ sons." -Targum to Yesha'yahu 11:1 in the Tanakh

"Behold the days come says the L-rd that I will raise up unto David a righteous Messiah and he shall reign as King and understand."-Targum to Yirmeyahu 23:5 in the Tanakh

"The world was created but only for the Messiah."-Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b, I have been informed the quote also says it was for Moshe and David

"Rabbi Johanan said, ‘The world was created for the sake of the Messiah, what is this Messiah’s name?’ The school of Rabbi Shila said, ‘his name is Shiloh, for it is written, until Shiloh comes. (Genesis 49:10)’"-Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b

"Satan said before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Master of the World! The light which is hidden under your throne of Glory, for whom is it?’ He said to him, ‘For him who will turn you back and disgrace you, and shame your face.’ He (Satan) said to him, ‘Master of the World! Show him to me.’ He said to him, ‘Come and see him.’ When Satan saw the Messiah, he trembled and fell upon his face and said, ‘Surely this is the Messiah who in the future will cast me and all the princes of the nations of the world into Gehenna.’"-Pesiqta Rabbati page 161a

 'And God saw the light, that it was good.' This is the  light of Messiah ... to teach you that God
saw the generation of Messiah and His works before He created  the universe, and He hid the
Messiah ... under His throne of glory. Satan asked God, Master of the Universe: 'For whom is this
Light under Your Throne of Glory?' God answered him, 'It is for ... [the Messiah] who is to turn you
backward  and who will put you to  scorn with shamefacedness.' -Yalkut on Isaiah 60; see Alfred Edersheim. The life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Wm. B. Eerdmans 1977) p. 728.

"In the times of the Messiah, the L-rd shall manifest a second time His hand’ (Isaiah 11:11). He  shall be the Redeemer in person so that ‘Israel shall be saved in the L-rd with an everlasting salvation’ (Isaiah 45:17). And ‘his rest shall be glorious’ (Isaiah 11:10). All the world shall say, ‘It is fitting that his rest shall be glorious, for while ordinary kings acquire glory for themselves through victorious wars, and do not believe themselves to be esteemed when they are at rest, he, on the contrary, without waging war makes everyone subject to him, and all render him homage."-Commentary Minha-Ghedola — in the Grand Rabbinic Bible of Amsterdam, 1700-1705— Rabbinic Bible of Bombergi

The Miracle Messiah

"Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,"says the LORD of hosts.-Malachi 3:1

The LORD is the King Messiah; He is also the Angel of the Covenant. -Rabbi David Kimchi

The LORD is both the Divine majesty and the Angel of the Covenant, for the sentence is doubled.-Rabbi Aben Ezra

The LORD may be explained of King Messiah -Mashimiah Jeshua fol. 76

What is to be the manner of Messiah’s coming, and where will be the place of his first appearance? He will make his first appearance in the land of Israel, as it is written, ‘The Lord whom ye seek will come suddenly to His Temple’. -Maimonides

"And as for the wonders that are not the work of Adonai, when he, that is the Messiah, comes
then he will heal the sick, resurrect the dead, and to the poor announce glad tidings." -4Q521, Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran

[The Angel of Adonai] is given the name Metatron, which indicates a special relationship with God. One meaning of "meta" and "thronos," two Greek words, gives the sense of "one who serves behind the throne" of God.⁽¹⁾ He is also known as "the Prince of the Countenance"⁽²⁾- Rabbi Loren Jacobs, An Angel You Ought To Know, (1).Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 2, Keter Publishing House, Ltd.: Jerusalem, 1971, p. 1446.2.p. 1443.

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi met Elijah and asked him when the Messiah would come. Elijah told him to go over to the Messiah and ask him personally. Messiah was sitting among the poor lepers. "When wilt thou come, Master?" Messiah answered, "Today." The questioner told Elijah, "He spoke falsely to me, stating that he would come today, but has not." Elijah responded, "This is what he said to thee, Today if ye will hear his voice."-Sanhedrin 98a

A Prophet Like Moses
And a right Prophet [a Prophet of Righteousness] will the LORD your God give you, a Prophet from among you of your brethren like unto me with the Holy Spirit, will the Lord your God raise up unto you; to Him shall ye be obedient. -Targum Palestine, Targum Jerusalem

In fact the Messiah is such a Prophet as is stated in the Midrash on the verses, ‘Behold my servant shall prosper ...’ Moses by the miracles which he wrought drew but a single nation to the worship of God, but the Messiah will draw all nations to the worship of God. -Rabbi Levi ben Gershom

We may all feel thankful that the Jewish race was so prolific in great men, that even so late in history, it produced one (Jesus) who deserves to be compared with Moses, Isaiah and Hillel.-Rabbi Adolph Moses, The Courier Journal 1885

"The Messiah will be higher than Abraham, because Abraham possessed nothing except seventy souls, but King Messiah will turn to the service of G-d, many peoples, (i.e. the whole world). More exalted than Moses, for Moses drew but a single nation to the service of G-d, but the King Messiah will bring to his service many peoples, and will restore peace between many kings; and even loftier than the ministering angels, for His sway will extend even over the heavens, whose movements He will miraculously change." -Rabbi Shlomoh Astruc

Messiah in the  Zohar?

"Hear, O Israel, Adonai Eloheinu Adonai is one. These three are one. How can the three Names be one? Only through the perception of faith; in the vision of the Holy Spirit, in the beholding of the hidden eye alone. . . . So it is with the mystery of the threefold Divine manifestations designated by Adonai Eloheinu Adonai--three modes which yet form one unity."-Zohar II:43b (vol. 3, p. 134 in the Soncino Press edition)

"Behold Jehovah, rideth swift upon a cloud."  "...it is the Son, of Whom it is written, 'Kiss the Son'; Thou art the Son, the faithful shepherd; of Thee it is said, 'Kiss the Son.' Tho Thou art the Governor of the universe, the Head of Israel, the Lord  of the ministering angels, the Son of the Highest, the Son of the Holy and blessed One, yea the very Shechinah." -Part 3, folio 307, Amsterdam edition

"Prepare the way! The King Messiah comes... may the mountains abase themselves, may the valleys be filled, may the cedars incline to render him homage. Prostrate yourselves all of you before the Messiah King, and bend your knees before him who is seated at the right hand of the Holy One."-Zohar I. 4b

"The Messiah will appear in the land of Galilee."-Zohar I, Bereshith, 119a

"The Messiah... will arise in the land of Galilee… the Messiah shall reveal himself in the land of Galilee because in this part of the Holy Land the desolation (Babylonian exile) first began, therefore he will manifest himself there first."-Zohar III, Shemoth 7b, 8b, 220a; Otzar Midrashim, 466

"As long as Israel dwelt in the Holy Land, the rituals and sacrifices they performed (in the Temple) removed all those diseases from the world; now the Messiah removes them from the children of the world."-Zohar 2:212a

"And the King Messiah will be revealed and all the nations of the world will gather around King Messiah, and the verse will be fulfilled, ‘The root of Jesse which standeth as the peoples’ ensign, unto it shall the nations seek, and his resting place shall be glory. (Isaiah 11:10)’"-Zohar 2:172b

Messiah: A Modern Perspective

". . .in his ethical code there is a sublimity, distinctiveness and originality in form unparalleled in any other Hebrew ethical code."-Dr Joseph Klausner, Jesus of Nazareth, His Times, His Life and His Teaching

"There was...a remarkable tradition that insisted that Abraham completed the sacrifice and that afterward Isaac was miraculously revived.... According to this haggadah, Abraham slew his son, burnt his victim, and the ashes remain as a stored-up merit and atonement for Israel in all generations ...."-The Torah: A Modern Commentary (UAHC, 1981), p.151, n.5

"Ibn Ezra (commentary on Gen. 22:19) also quotes an opinion that Abraham actually did kill Isaac...and he was later resurrected from the dead. Ibn Ezra rejects this as completely contrary to the biblical text. Shalom Spiegel has demonstrated, however, that such views enjoyed a wide circulation and occasionally found expression in medieval writings."-Encyclopedia Judaica, 2:482, "Akedah" ©1972

In a similar but ancient train of  thought. . .
'A bundle of myrrh (kofer) is my well-beloved' (Cant. I,14). This refers to Isaac, who was tied up like a bundle upon the altar. Kofer, because he atones for the sins of Israel.-Cant. R. I, Sec 14,I, on I, 14; f. 12b

If then Isaac's descendants fall into sin and evil deeds, do thou make mention of the binding of Isaac, and get up from the throne of judgment, and sit down upon the throne of compassion, and be filled with pity, and turn the attribute of judgement into the attribute of mercy.-Lev.R. 29:9

R. Judah says: When the sword touched Isaac's throat his soul flew clean out of him. And when He let his voice be heard from between the two cherubim, 'Lay not thy hand   upon the lad, 'the lad's soul returned to his body. Then his father unbound him, and Isaac rose, knowing that in this way the dead would come back to life in the future; whereupon he began to recite, Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who quickens the dead.-Pirkei de-Rav Eliezer 31

When Father Isaac was bound on the altar and reduced to ashes and his sacrificial dust was cast onto Mount Moriah...-Shibbole ha-Leket

Two Messiahs?
When the death of the Messiah became an established tenet in Talmudic times, this was felt to be irreconcilable with the belief in the Messiah or redeemer who would usher in the blissful millennium of the Messianic age. The dilemma was solved by splitting the person of the Messiah in two: Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David-Raphael Patai, noted anthropologist, author and former professor of Hebrew at Hebrew University, The Messiah Texts (New York: Avon Books, 1979), p. 166.

A Resurrected Messiah?

"The rabbis have taught, the Holy One, blessed by He, will say to Messiah ben David, may he be revealed soon in our days. ‘Ask of Me anything and I shall give it to you.’ For it is written, Adonai said to me, ‘Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of Me and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance (Psalm 2:7-8).’ And when he will see that Messiah ben Joseph will be slain, he will say before Him, ‘Master of the World! I ask nothing of you except life.’ G-d will say to him, ‘Even before you said, "life," your father David prophesied about you, as it is written, ‘He asked life of thee, Thou gavest it to him. (Psalm 21:5)’ " -Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52a

"Messiah ben Joseph, also called Messiah ben Ephraim, referring to his ancestor Ephraim, the son of Joseph, is imagined as the first commander of the army of Israel in the Messianic wars. He will achieve many signal victories, but his fate is to die at the hands of Armilus in a great battle in which Israel is defeated by Gog and Magog. His corpse is left unburied in the streets of Jerusalem for forty days, but neither beast nor bird of prey dares to touch it. Then, Messiah ben David comes, and his first act is to bring about  the resurrection of his tragic forerunner...."- Raphael Patai, The Messiah Texts (New York:Avon Books,1979), pp. 165-66.

"In none of the cases where rabbinic literature speaks of such visions did it result in an essential change in the life of the resuscitated or of those who had experienced the visions....It is different with the disciples of Jesus on that Easter Sunday....If the defeated and depressed group of disciples overnight could change into a victorious movement    of faith, based only on autosuggestion or self-deception--without a fundamental faith experience--then this would be a much greater miracle than the resurrection itself." -Pinchas Lapide, The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1983), pp. 125-26. (Good point Pinchas!)

"Now there was about this time, Yeshua (Eaysoos in Greek), a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Mashiach (Christos in Greek); and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of "Christians" (followers of Messiah), so named from him, are not extinct at this day." -Antiquities of the Jews, book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3; Yosef ben Matthias, a.k.a Flavius Josephus