In what publications have Biblical scholars rejected Jesus as the
fullfillment of Old Testament Messianic prophecy?

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 24 Apr 2003 15:41 PDT

slorose,

Thank you for finding my remarks helpful. Would you like me to repost
my comment as an official answer to your question?

~pinkfreud

Hello, slorose!

Thank you very much for accepting my comment as an answer to your
question. Below I have reposted the comment, with additional
information.

======================================

"The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective," by Pinchas Lapide
(an Orthodox Jew who is a New Testament theologian), is one such book.
 
Here is an online article on this subject that may be of interest to
you:
 
Infidels.org
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jim_lippard/fabulous-prophecies.html
 
Most books which dismiss Jesus as the Messiah are written by skeptics
with an agenda who can scarcely be considered Biblical scholars. "The
Passover Plot," by Hugh J. Schonfield, theorizes that Jesus's
crucifixion was engineered as part of a political plan, and that the
resurrection was bogus. "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," by Michael Baigent,
Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh, postulates that Jesus may not have
died on the cross, but lived on to marry and be a father to several
children.

======================================

If you are interested in purchasing any of the books I mentioned
above, here are some comparative prices:

Addall.com: "The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective," by
Pinchas Lapide
http://www3.addall.com/New/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=340734&isbn=080662020X

Addall.com: "The Passover Plot: A New Interpretation of the Life &
Death of Jesus," by Hugh Schonfield
http://www3.addall.com/New/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=340765&isbn=1852308362

Addall.com:  "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," by Michael Baigent, Henry
Lincoln, and Richard Leigh
http://www3.addall.com/New/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=340807&isbn=0440136482

======================================

Here are several more scholarly examinations of New Testament events
which cast doubt upon whether Jesus was the promised Messiah of the
Jews. Below are comparative prices that will enable you to choose the
best bargain if you should decide to purchase these books:

Addall.com: "Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels," by
Geza Vermes
http://www3.addall.com/New/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=340900&isbn=0800614437

Addall.com: "Revolution in Judaea: Jesus & the Jewish Resistance," by
Hyam Maccoby
http://www3.addall.com/New/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=340959&isbn=0800867831

Addall.com: "Jesus and Judaism," by E.P. Sanders
http://www3.addall.com/New/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=340930&isbn=0800620615

Addall.com: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and
the Emergence of Christianity," by Paula Fredriksen
http://www3.addall.com/New/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=341040&isbn=0679767460

======================================

In addition to my personal knowledge of this subject, I used these
search terms, in varying combinations:

"biblical scholar(s)"
"biblical scholarship"
"new testament"
"reject(ing) jesus as the messiah"

If anything I have said is unclear or incomplete, or if a link does
not function, please request clarification and permit me to offer
further assistance before you rate my answer.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

"The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective," by Pinchas Lapide
(an Orthodox Jew who is a New Testament theologian), is one such book.

Here is an online article on this subject that may be of interest to
you:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/jim_lippard/fabulous-prophecies.html

Most books which dismiss Jesus as the Messiah are written by skeptics
with an agenda who can scarcely be considered Biblical scholars. "The
Passover Plot," by Hugh J. Schonfield, theorizes that Jesus's
crucifixion was engineered as part of a political plan, and that the
resurrection was bogus. "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," by Michael Baigent,
Henry Lincoln, Richard Leigh, postulates that Jesus may not have died
on the cross, but lived on to marry and be a father to several
children.

Any book written about Jesus from the Jewish standpoint would fulfill your request.

kriswrite

HI! SLOROSE-GA. THERE ARE DOZENS OF PUBLICATIONS ALL TRYING TO EXPLAIN
WHY JESUS WAS KILLED. JUST ABOUT ALL ARE FROM A SECULAR VIEWPOINT.
WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS JESUS DIED FOR US ALL, IT WAS JUST NOT THE CASE OF
A MAN OR PROPHET DYING TO MAKE US ALL FEEL BETTER. JESUS WAS GOD`S SON
AND WAS PERFECT [ IN THAT HE HAD NOT COMMITTED ANY SIN.] THE FIRST
MAN, ADAM, WAS PERFECT THEN BECAME IMPERFECT IMPERFECT BY SINNING [
FAILING TO OBEY GOD`S REQUIREMENTS [GENESIS 3;17]. ROMANS 5;12 SAYS,
THROUGH ONE MAN,[ADAM] SIN ENTERED INTO THE WORLD AND DEATH THROUGH
SIN, AND THUS DEATH SPREAD TO ALL MEN BECAUSE THEY HAD ALL SINNED. NO
MATTER HOW UPRIGHTLY WE MAY LIVE, ALL OF US ARE SINNERS FROM BIRTH.
PSALMS 51;5. SO THE DEATH OF JESUS WAS A RANSOM PAID BY GOD HIMSELF TO
GET US ALL BACK TO A SINLESS CONDITION. ROMANS 6;23 SAYS, THE WAGES
SIN PAYS IS DEATH. SINCE ONE MANS SIN [THAT OF ADAM] HAD BEEN
RESPONSIBLE FOR CAUSING THE ENTIRE HUMAN FAMILY TO BE SINNERS, THE
SHED BLODD OD ANOTHER PERFECT HUMAN [ IN EFFECT A SECOND ADAM] BEING
OF CORRESPONDING VALUE , COULD BALANCE THE SCALES OF JUSTICE.IF THIS
DEBT COULD BE PAID BY SOMEONE ELSE, ADAM`S OFFSPRING COULD BE
DELIVERED. AND IT WAS, BY JESUS. WHAT THE MAINLINE SO CALLED CHRISTIAN
RELIGIONS DO NOT TEACH IS THAT JESUS HAD A PRE-HUMAN EXISTENCE
ALONGSIDE GOD AS HIS CO-WORKER [ PHILIPPIANS 2;5-11 KEEP THIS MENTAL
ATTITUDE IN YOU, THAT WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS, 6. WHO, ALTHOUGH HE
WAS EXISTING IN GOD`S FORM [ AS A SPIRITUAL BEING] GAVE NO
CONSIDERATION TO A SEIZURE, NAMELY, THAT HE SHOULD BE EQUAL TO GOD.
JESUS WAS NOT AND IS NOT GOD HIMSELF AS SOME TEACH. 7. NO, BUT HE
EMPTIED HIMSELF AND TOOK A SLAVE`S FORM [ HUMAN EXISTENCE THROUGH HIOS
MOTHER MARY] AND CAME TO BE IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN. MORE THAN THAT,
WHEN HE FOUND HIMSELF IN FASHION [AS] A MAN, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF AND
BECAME OBEDIENT [ TO GOD] AS FAR AS DEATH. YES, DEATH ON A TORTURE
STAKE [ A VERTICAL STAKE, NOT A CROSS]   TRANSLATION, GREEK " STAUROS"
MEANING STAKE, NOT " CRUX" MEANING CROSS. JESUS FULFILLED ALL THE
PROPHECIES STATED ABOUT HIM, AND THERE ARE IN THE BIBLE FURTHER
PROPHECIES STILL TO BE FULFILLED. A  MAJOR ONE, CONSIDERING THE
PRESENT SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST, IS FOUND AT PSALMS 46; 9. HE
[GOD] IOS MAKING WARS TO CEASE TO THE EXTREMITY OF THE EARTH. THE BOW
HE BREAKS APARYT AND DOES CUT THE SPEAR IN PIECES. [ WEAPONS OF WAR]
THE WAGONS HE BURNS IN THE FIRE.CONSIDERING THAT PSALMS WAS WRITTEN IN
THE DAYS OF KING DAVID, FIFTEEN HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE JESUS, IT
DEMONSTRATES HOW GOD IS PROTECTING HIS WORD AND PREVENTING ANY
ALTERATIONS BY HUMAN THOUGHTS. 2 TIMOTHY 3;16,17 SAYS " ALL SCRIPTURE
IS INSPIRED OF GOD AND BENEFICIAL FOR TEACHING, FOR REPROVING, FOR
SETTING THINGS STRAIGHT, FOR DISCIPLINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, THAT THE
MAN OF GOD MAY BE FULLY COMPETENT, COMPLETELY EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD
WORK.

The article provided by pinkfreud is very interesting, especially the
part dealing with the Masoretic punctuation, or vocalization. There
were actually several such systems of punctuation, chiefly the
Babylonian and the Palestinian (or Tiberian); the latter is the
elaborate system exhibited in all the printed Hebrew Bibles.

Despite the extraordinary job the Masoretes (lit. 'carriers of
tradition') did in preserving the traditional reading of the Hebrew
text and the true grammatical inflexions of the Hebrew, the Masoretic
system does have its problems. For one thing, the phonemicity of vowel
length is debatable, which in Biblical Heb. played an important role.
And then there's the case where the Masoretes preserved in many places
inferior readings in the Heb. text, noting it as Kethibh ('written'),
while introducing into the margin what they would have substituted in
their place, noting it as Kere or Qere ('read'). For the most part,
our English translations adopt the Kere readings. However, given the
fact that there exist many textual traditions of the Tanak, or Old
Testament (in the Dead Sea Scrolls, for example, scholars have found
evidence of text types that differ from the Rabbinic Recension - i.e.,
the recension that's ancestral to the Masorah, our traditional Heb.
Bible), and that the Masorah represents but one tradition - a south.
or Judean dialectal tradition - I often wonder if some of the Kere
readings are actually an inherited group of mistakes or secondary
readings perpetuated by copyists generation after generation.

As for Isaiah 7:14, there exists no technical Heb. term for virgo
intacta. The term betula, or bethulah (often transl. "virgin"),
denotes a woman of marriageable age, who would usually, but not
necessarily, be chaste.

pinkfreud sent an answer that was scholarly and extremely helpful.I
would gladly pay more for his/her help.
kriswrite's response was not a response at all--of no use
pugwash responded with conviction but it was an evangelical
response--not scholarly

I am quite satisfied with your answer as it was extremely helpful. You
may repost it as an official answer if you wish.Thank you

sian-ga  I neglected to reply to your answer which along with
pinkfreud-ga's answer was very helpful. Many thanks for the input.

Many thanks for the five-star rating and the generous tip!

~pinkfreud

You're quite welcome, slorose. And I'm not at all surprised that you
found pinkfreud's answer extremely helpful, for she's truly a superb
researcher.

Shortly after earning my theol. degree back in '95, I read John
Dominic Crossan's The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean
Jewish Peasant which forever altered my conservative beliefs
concerning Jesus and his teachings. If you haven't read Prof.
Crossan's book, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Other books which I highly
recommend are:

1. James Charlesworth (ed.), Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
2. Morton Smith, Jesus the Magician.
3. Robert W. Funk and the Jesus Seminar, The Five Gospels: The Search
for the Authentic Words of Jesus.
4. John Dart, The Jesus of Heresy and History: The Discovery and
Meaning of the Nag Hammadi Gnostic Library.
5. Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels.

From a philological perspective, John Allegro's The Sacred Mushroom
and the Cross gave me much food for thought. However, I don't quite
know what to make of his theory that Jesus never existed as an
historical figure, but was only an image evoked in the psyche under
the influence of psilocybin.

Namaste,
sian-ga