Alfred Edersheim · 117 of 129

APPENDIX IX. List of Old Testament Passages Messianically Applied in Ancient Rabbinic Writings · Part 2

Ps. xxi. 1 (2 in the Hebrew) - the King there spoken of is explained by the Targum to be King Messiah. The Midrash on the passage idenfies him with Is. xi. 10, on which Rabbi Chanina adds that the object of the Messiah is to give certain commandments to the Gentiles (not to Israel, who are to learn from God Himself), according to the passage in Isaiah above qutoed, adding that the words ‘his rest shall be glorious’ mean that God gives to the King Messiah from the glory above, as it is said: ‘In Thy strength shall the king rejoice,’ which strength is a little afterwards explained as the Kingdom (ed. Warsh. p. 30 a and b).

Verse 3 is Messianically applied in the Midrash on the passage.

Ps. xxi. 3 (4 in the Hebrew). Only a few lines farther down in the same Midrash, among remarkable Messianic applications, is that of this vese to the Messiah, where also the expression ‘Jehovah is a man of war,’ and ‘Jehovah Zidkenu,’ are applied to the Messiah. Comp. also Shemoth R. 8, where it is noted that God will crown Him with His own crown.

Verse 4 is Messianically applied in Sukk. 52 a.

Ps. xxi. 5 (6 in the Hebrew). The first clause of this verse. Yalkut on Num. xxvii. 20 (vol. i. p. 248 a, line 10 from the bottom) applies to the glory of the King Messiah, immediately quoting the second clause in proof of its Messianic application. This is also done in the Midrash on the passage. But perhaps one of the most remarkable applications of it is in Bemidbar R. 15, p. 63 b, where the passage is applied to the Messiah.

Finally in Ps. xxi. 7 (8 in the Hebrew), the expression ‘king’ is applied in the Targum to the Messiah.

On the whole, then, it may be remarked that Ps. xxi. was throughout regarded as Messianic.

On Ps. xxii. 7 (8 in the Hebrew) a remarkable comment appears in Yalkut on Is. lx., applying this passage to the Messiah (the second, or son of Ephraim), and using almost the same words in which the Evangelists describe the mocking behaviour of the Jews at the Cross.

Ps. xxii. 15 (16 in the Hebrew). There is a similarly remarkable application to the Messiah of this verse in Yalkut.

The promise in Ps. xxiii. 5 is referred in Benid. R. 21 to the spreading of the great feast before Israel in the latter days.

Ps. xxxi. 19 (20 in the Hebrew) is in the Midrash applied to the reward that in the latter days Israel would receive for their faithfulness. Also in Pesiqta, p. 149 b, to the joy of Israel in the presence of the Messiah.

The expression in Ps. xxxvi. 9, ‘In Thy light shall we see light,’ is applied to the Messiah in Yalkut on Isaiah lx. (vol. ii. p. 56 c, line 22 from the bottom).

The application of Ps. xl. 7 to the Messiah has already been noted in our remarks on Gen. iv. 25.

Ps. xlv. is throughout regarded as Messianic. To begin with; the Targum renders verse 2 (3 in the Hebrew): ‘Thy beauty, O King Messiah, is greater than that of the sons of men.’

Verse 3 (4 in the Hebrew) is applied in the Talmud (Shabb 63 a) to the Messiah, although other interpretations of that verse immediately follow.

The application of verse 6 (7 in the Hebrew), to the Messiah in a MS. copy of the Targum has already been referred to in another part of his book, while the words, ‘Thy throne is for ever and ever’ are brought into connection with the promise that the sceptre would not depart from Judah in Ber. R. 99, ed. Warsh. p. 178 b, line 9 from the bottom.

On verse 7 the Targum though not in the Venice edition (1568), has: ‘Thou O King Messiah because Thou lovest righteousness,’ &c. Comp. Levy, Targum. Wörterb. vol. ii. p. 41 a.

The Midrash on the Psalm deals exclusively with the inscription (of which it has several and significant interpretations) with the opening words of the Psalm, and with the words (ver. 16), ‘Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children,’ but at the same time it clearly indicates that the Psalm applies to the latter, or Messianic, days.

On Ps. l. 2 Siphré (p. 143 a) notes that four times God would appear, the last being in the days of King Messiah.

Ps. lx. 7. Bemidbar R. on Num. vii. 48, Parash. 14 (ed. Warsh p. 54 a) contains some very curious Haggadic discussion on this verse. But it also broaches the opinion of its reference to the Messiah.

Ps. lxi. 6 (7 in the Hebrew). ‘Thou shalt add days to the days of the king,’ is rendered by the Targum: ‘Thou shalt add days to the days of King Messiah.’ There is a curious gloss on this in Pirqé d. R. Eliez. c. 19 (ed. Lemberg, p. 24 b), in which Adam is supposed to have taken 70 of his years, and added them to those of King David. According to another tradition, this accounts for Adam living 930 years, this is, 70 less than 1,000, which constitute before God one day, and so the threatening had been literally fulfilled: In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die.

Ps. lxi. 8 (9 in the Hebrew). The expression, ‘that I may daily perform my vows,’ is applied in the Targum to the day in which the Messiah is anointed King.

Ps. lxviii. 31 (32 in the Hebrew). On the words ‘Princes shall come out of Egypt,’ there is a very remarkable comment in the Talmud (Pes. 118 b) and in Shemoth R. on Ex. xxvi. 15, &c. (ed. Warsh. p. 50 b), in which we are told that in the latter days all nations would bring gifts to the King Messiah, beginning with Egypt. ‘And lest it be thought that He (Messiah) would not accept it from them, the Holy One says to the Messiah: Accept from them hospitable entertainment,’ or it might be rendered, ‘Accept it from them; they have given hospitable entertainment to My son.’

Ps. lxxii. This Psalm also was viewed by the ancient Synagogue as throughout Messianic, as indicated by the fact that the Targum renders the very first verse: ‘Give the sentence of Thy judgment to the King Messiah, and Thy justice to the Son of David the King,’ which is re-echoed by the Midrash on the passage (ed. Warsh. p. 55 b) which applies it explicitly to the Messiah, with reference to Is. xi. 1. Similarly, the Talmud applies ver. 16 to Messianic times (in a very hyperbolical passage, Shabb. 30 b, line 4 from the bottom). The last clause of verse 16 is applied, in Keth. 111 b, line 21 from top, and again in the Midr. on Eccl. i. 9, to the Messiah sending down manna like Moses.

Verse 17. In Sanh. 98 b; Pes. 54 a; Ned. 39 b, the various names of the Messiah are discussed, and also in Ber. R. 1; in Midr. on Lam. i. 16, and in Pirqé de R. Eliez. c. 3. One of these is stated to be Jinnon, according to Ps. lxxii. 17.

Verse 8 is applied in Pirqé de R. El. c. 11, to the Messiah. Yalkut (vol. ii.).on Is. lv. 8 (p. 54 c), speaks of the ‘other Redeemer’ as the Messiah, applying to him Ps. lxxii. 8.

In commenting on the meeting of Jacob and Esau, the Midr. Ber. R. (78, ed. Warsh. p. 141 b) remarks that all the gifts which Jacob gave to Esau, the nations of the world would return to the King Messiah - proving it by a reference to Ps. lxxii. 10; while in Midrash Bemidbar R. 13 it is remarked that as the nations brought gifts to Solomon, so they would bring them to the King Messiah.

In the same place, a little higher up, Solomon and the Messiah are likened as reigning over the whole world, the proof passages being, besides others, Ps. lxxii. 8, Daniel vii. 13, and ii. 35.

On the application to the Messiah of verse 16 we have already spoken, as also on that of verse 17.

Ps. lxxx. 17 (in the Hebrew 18). The Targum paraphrases ‘the Son of Man’ by ‘King Messiah.’

Ps. lxxxix. 22-25 (23-26 in the Hebrew). In Yalkut on Is. lx. 1 (vol. ii. p. 56 c) this promise is referred to the future deliverance of Israel by the Messiah.

Again, verse 27 (28 in the Hebrew) is applied in Shemoth R. 19, towards the end, to the Messiah, special reference being made to Ex. iv. 22, ‘Israel is My first-born son.’

Verse 51 (52 in the Hebrew). There is a remarkable comment on this in the Midrash on the inscription of Ps. xviii. (ed. Warsh. p. 24 a, line 2 from the bottom), in which it is set forth that as Israel and David did not sing till the hour of persecution and reproach, so when the Messiah shall come - ‘speedily, in our days’ - the song will not be raised until the Messiah is put to reproach, according to Ps. lxxxix. 52 (51), and till there shall fall before Him the wicked idolaters referred to in Dan. ii. 42, and the four kingdoms referred to in Zech. xiv. 2. In that hour shall the song be raised, as it is written Ps. xcviii. 1.

In the Midr. on Cant. ii. 13 it is said: If you see one generation after another blaspheming, expect the feet of the King Messiah, as it is written, Ps. lxxxix. 53.

Ps. xc. 15. The Midr. (ed. Warsh. p. 67 b) remarks: The days wherein Thou hast afflicted us - that is, the days of the Messiah. Upon which follows a discussion upon the length of days of the Messiah, R. Eliezer holding that they are 1,000 years, quoting the words ‘as yesterday,’ one day being 1,000 years. R. Joshua holds that they were 2,000 years, the words ‘the days’ implying that there were two days. R. Berachiah holds that they were 600 years, appealing to Is. lxv. 22, because the root of the tree perishes in the earth in 600 years. R. José thinks that they are 60 years, according to Ps. lxxii. 5, the words ‘throughout all generations’ (dor dorim) being interpreted: Dor = 20 years; Dorim = 40 years: 20 + 40 = 60. R. Akiba says: 40 years, according to the years in the wilderness. The Rabbis say: 354 years, according to the days in the lunar year. R. Abahu thinks 7,000 years, reckoning the 7 according to the days of the bridegroom.

On Ps. xc. the Midrash concludes by drawing a contrast between the Temple which men built, and which was destroyed, and the Temple of the latter or Messianic days, which God would build, and which would not be destroyed.

Ps. xcii., verses 8, 11, and 13 (7, 10, and 12 in our A. V.), are Messianically interpreted in Pirqé de R. El. c. 19. In the Midrash on verse 13 (12 in our A. V.), among other beautiful applications of the figure of the Psalm, is that to the Messiah the Son of David. The note of the Midrash on the expression ‘like a cedar of Lebanon,’ as applied to Israel, is very beautiful, likening it to the cedar, which, although driven and bent by all the winds of heaven, cannot be rooted up from its place.

Ps. xcv. 7, last clause. In Shem. R. 25 and in the Midrash on Cant. v. 2 (ed. Warsh. p. 26 a), it is noted that, if Israel did penitence only one day [or else properly observed even one Sabbath], the Messiah the Son of David would immediately come. [The whole passage from which this reference is taken is exceedingly interesting. It introduces God as saying to Israel: My son, open to Me a door of penitence only as small as a needle’s eye, and I will open to you doors through which carriages and wagons shall come in. It almost seems a counterpart to the Saviour’s words (Rev. iii. 20): ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to Him.’] Substantially the same view is taken in Sanh. 98 a, where the tokens of the coming of the Messiah are described - and also in Jer. Taan. 64 a.

Ps. cii. 16 (17 in the Hebrew) is applied in Bereshith R. 56 (ed. Warsh. p. 104 b) to Messianic times.

Ps. cvi. 44. On this there is in the Midrash a long Messianic discussion, setting forth the five grounds on which Israel is redeemed: through the sorrows of Israel through prayer, through the merits of the patriarchs, through repentance towards God, and in the time of ‘the end.’

Ps. cx. is throughout applied to the Messiah. To begin with, it evidently underlies the Targumic of ver. 4. Similarly, it is propounded in the Midr. on Ps. ii. (although there the chief application of it is to Abraham). But in the Midrash on Ps. xviii. 36 (35 in our A. V.), Ps. cx. verse 1, ‘Sit thou at My right hand’ is specially applied to the Messiah, while Abraham is said to be seated at the left.

Verse 2, ‘The rod of Thy strength.’ In a very curious mystic interpretation of the pledges which Tamar had, by the Holy Ghost, asked of Judah, the seal is interpreted as signifying the Kingdom, the bracelet as the Sanhedrin, and the staff as the King Messiah, with special reference to Is. xi. and Ps. cx. 2 (Beresh. R. 85, ed. Warsh. p. 153 a) Similarly in Bemid. R. 18, last line, the staff of Aaron, which is said to have been in the hands of every king till the Temple was destroyed, and since then to have been hid, is to be restored to King Messiah, according to this verse; and in Yalkut on this Psalm (vol. ii. Par. 869, p. 124 c) this staff is supposed to be the same as that of Jacob with which he crossed Jordan, and of Judah, and of Moses, and of Aaron, and the same which David had in his hand when he slew Goliath, it being also the same which will be restored to the Messiah.

Verse 7 is also applied in Yalkut (u. s. col. d) to Messianic times, when streams of the blood of the wicked should flow out, and birds come to drink of that flood.

Ps. cxvi. 9 is in Ber. R. 96 supposed to indicate that the dead of Palestine would live first in the days of the Messiah.

Ps. cxvi. 13 has been already commented upon.

On Ps. cxix. 33 the Midrash remarks that there were three who asked wisdom of God: David, Solomon, and the King Messiah, the latter according to Ps. lxxii. 1.

Ps. cxx. 7 is applied to the Messiah in the Midrash (p. 91 a, ed. Warsh.), the first clause being brought into connection with Is. lvii. 19, with reference to the Messiah’s dealings with the Gentiles, the resistance being described in the second clause, and the result in Ps. ii. 9.

Ps. cxxi. 1 is applied in Tanchuma (Par. Toledoth 14, ed. Warsh. p. 37 b. See also Yalkut, vol. ii. 878, p. 127 c) to the Messiah, with special reference to Zech. iv. 7 and Is. lii. 7.

Ps. cxxvi. 2. In Tanchuma on Ex. xv. i. (ed. Warsh. p. 87 a) this verse is applied to Messianic times in a rapt description, in which successively Is. lx. 5, Is. lviii. 8, Is. xxxv. 5, 6, Jer. xxxi. 13, and Ps. cxxvi. 2, are grouped together as all applying to these latter days.

The promise in Ps. cxxxii. 18 is applied in Pirké de R. El. c. 28 to Messianic times, and verse 14 in Ber. R. 56.

So is Ps. cxxxiii. 3 in Ber. R. 65 (p. 122 a), closing lines.

The words in Ps. cxlii. 5 are applied in Ber. R. 74 to the resurrection of Israel in Palestine in the days of Messiah.

The words, ‘When thou awakest,’ in Prov. vi. 22 are Messianically applied in Siphré on Deut. (ed. Friedmann, p. 74 b).

In Midr. on Eccl. i. 9 it is shown at great length that the Messiah would re-enact all the miracles of the past.

The last clause of Eccl. i. 11 is applied to the days of the Messiah in the Targum.

Eccl. vii. 24 is thus paraphrased in the Targum: ‘Behold, it is remote from the sons of men that they should know what was done from the beginning of the world, but a mystery is the day of death - and the day when shall come King Messiah, who can find it out by his wisdom?’

In the Midr. on Eccl. xi. 8 it is noted that, however many years a man might study, his learning would be empty before the teaching of Messiah. In the Midr. on Eccl. xii. 1 it is noted that the evil days are those of the woes of Messiah.

Canticles. Here we have first the Talmudic passage (Sheb. 35 b) in which the principle is laid down, that whenever throughout that book Solomon is named, except in chap. viii. 12, it applies, not to Solomon, but to Him Who was His peace (there is here a play on these words, and on the name Solomon).

To Cant. i. 8 the Targum makes this addition: ‘They shall be nourished in the captivity, until the time that I shall send to them the King Messiah, Who will feed them in quietness.’

So also on verse 17 the Targum contrasts the Temple built by Solomon with the far superior Temple to be built in the days of the Messiah, of which the beams were to be made of the cedars of Paradise.

Cant. ii. 8, although applied by most authorities to Moses, is by others referred to the Messiah (Shir haShirim R., ed. Warsh., p. 15 a, about the middle; Pesiqta, ed. Buber, p. 47 b). Cant. ii. 9 is Messianically applied in Pesiqta, ed. Buber, p. 49, a and b.

The same may be said of verse 10; while in connection with verse 12, in similar application, Is. lii. 7 is quoted.

In connection with verse 13, in the same Midrash (p. 17 a), Rabbi Chija bar Abba speaks of a great matter as happening close to the days of the Messiah, viz., that the wicked should be destroyed, quoting in regard to it Is. iv. 3.

Cant. iii. 11, ‘the day of his espousals.’ In Yalkut on the passage (vol. ii. p. 178 d) this is explained: ‘the day of the Messiah, because the Holy One, blessed be His name, is likened to a bridegroom; “as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride”’ - and ‘the day of the gladness of his heart,’ as the day when the Sanctuary is rebuilt, and Jerusalem is redeemed.

On Cant. iv. 5 the Targum again introduces the twofold Messiah, the one the son of David, and the other the son of Ephraim.

Cant. iv. 16. According to one opinion in the Midrash (p. 25 b, line 13 from the bottom) this applies to the Messiah, Who comes from the north, and builds the Temple, which is in the south. See also Bemidbar R. 13, p. 48 b.

On Cant. v. 10 Yalkut remarks that He is white to Israel, and red to the Gentiles, according to Isaiah lxiii. 2.

On Cant. vi. 10 Yalkut (vol. ii. p. 184 b) has some beautiful observations, first, likening Israel in the wilderness, and God’s mighty deeds there, to the morning;and then adding that, according to another view, this morning-light is the redemption of the Messiah: For as, when the morning rises, the darkness flees before it, so shall darkness fall upon the kingdoms of this world when the Messiah comes. And yet again, as the sun and moon appear, so will the Kingdom of the Messaih also appear - the commentation going on to trace farther illustrations.

Cant. vii. 6. The Midrash thus comments on it (among other explanations): How fair in the world to come, how pleasant in the days of the Messiah!

On Cant. vii. 13, the Targum has it: ‘When it shall please God to deliver His people from capitivity, then shall it be said to the Messiah: The time of captivity is past, and the merit of the just shall be sweet before Me like the odour of balsam.’

Similarly on Cant. viii.1, the Targum has it: ‘And at that shall the King Messiah be revealed to the congragation of Israel, and the children of Israel shall say to Him, Come and be a brother to us, and let us go up to Jerusalem, and there suck with thee the meaning of the Law, as an infant its mother’s breast.’

On Cant. viii. 2 the Targum has it : ‘I will take Thee, O King Messiah, and make thee go up into my Temple, there Thou shalt teach me to tremble before the Lord, and to walk in His ways. There we shall hold the feast of leviathan, and drink the old wine, which has been kept in its grapes from the day the world was created, and of the pomegranates and of the fruits which are prepared for the just in the Garden of Eden.’

On verse 4 the Targum says: ‘The King Messiah shall say: I adjure you, My people, house of Israel, why should you rise against the Gentiles, to go out of captivity, and why should you rebel against the might of Gog and Magog? Wait a little, till those nations are consumed which go up to fight against Jerusalem, and then shall the Lord of the world remember you, and it shall be His good will to set you free.’

Chap. viii. 11 is applied Messianically in the Talmud (Shebhu. 35 b), and so is verse 12 in the Targum.

(It should, however, be remarked that there are many other Messianic references in the comments on the Song of Solomon.)

Is. i. 25, 26, is thus explained in the Talmud (Sanh. 98 a): ‘The Son of David shall not come till all the judges and rulers in Israel shall have ceased.’

Similarly Is. ii. 4 is Messianically interpreted in Shabb. 63 a.

Is. iv. 2 the Targum distinctly applies to the times of the Messiah.

Is. iv. 4 has been already commented upon in our remarks on Gen. xviii. 4, 5, and again on Deut. xxiii. 11.

Verses 5 and 6 are brought into connection with Israel’s former service in contributing to, and making the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and it is remarked that in the latter days God would return it to them by covering them with a cloud of glory. This, in Yalkut (vol. i. p. 99 c), and in the Midrash on Ps. xiii., as also in that on Ps. xvi. 9.

Is. vi. 13 is referred in the Talmud (Keth. 112 b) to Messianic times.

The reference of Is. vii. 21 to Messianic times has already been discussed in our notes on Gen. xviii. 7.

Is. viii.14 is also Messianically applied in the Talmud (Sanh. 38 a).

Is. ix. 6 is expressly applied to the Messiah in the Targum, and there is a very curious comment in Debarim R. 1 (ed. Warsh., p. 4 a) in connection with a Haggadic discussion of Gen. xliii. 14, which, however fanciful, makes a Messianic application of this passage - also in Bemidbar R. 11.

Verse 7, ‘Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,’ has already been referred to in our comments on Num. vi. 26.

Is. x. 27 is in the Targum applied to the destruction of the Gentiles before the Messiah. Is. x. 34, is quoted in the Midrash on Lam. i. 16, in evidence that somehow the birth of the Messiah was to be connected with the destruction of the Temple.

Is. xi., as will readily be believed, is Messianically interpreted in Jewish writings. Thus, to begin with in the Targum on verses 1 and 6; in the Talmud (Jer. Berach. 5 a and Sanh. 93 b); and in a number of passages in the Midrashim. Thus, verse 1 in Bereshith R. 85 on Gen. xxxviii. 18, where also Ps. cx. 2 is quoted, and in Ber. R. 99, ed. Warsh., p, 178 b. In Yalkut (vol. i. p. 247 d, near the top), where it is described how God had shown Moses all the spirits of the rulers and prophets in Israel, from that time forward to the Resurrection, it is said that all these had one knowledge and one spirit, but that the Messiah had one spirit which was equal to all the others put together, according to Is. xi. 1.

On the 2nd verse see our remarks on Gen. i. 2, while in Yalkut on Prov. iii. 19, 20 (vol. ii. p. 133 a) the verse is quoted in connection with Messianic times, when by wisdom, understanding, and knowledge the Temple will be built again. On that verse see also pirq. d. R. El. 3.

On Is. xi. 3 the Talmud (Sanh. 93 b, lines 21 &c. from the top) has a curious explanation. After quoting ch. xi. 2 as Messianic, it makes a play on the words, ‘of quick understanding,’ or ‘scent,’ as it might be rendered, and suggest that this word {hebrew} is intended to teach us that God has laden Him with commandments and sufferings like millstones ({hebrew}). Immediately afterwards, from the expression ‘He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, but reprove with equity for the meek of the earth,’ it is inferred that the Messiah knew the thoughts of the heart, and it is added that, as Bar Kokhabh was unable to do this, he was killed.

Verse 4, ‘he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,’ is Messianically applied in the Midrash on Ps. ii. 2, and in that on Ruth ii. 14 - also in Yalkut on Is. lx.

Verse 7 has been already noticed in connection with Ex. xii. 2.

On verse 10 see our remarks on Gen. xlix. 10 and Ps. xxi. 1.

Verse 11 is Messianically applied in Yalkut (vlo. i. p. 31 b and vol. ii. 38 a), as also in the Midrash on Ps. cvii. 2.

Verse 12 is Messianically applied in that curious passage in the Midrash on Lamentations i. 2, where it is indicated that, as the children of Israel sinned from {hebrew} to {hebrew}, so God would in the latter days comfort them from {hebrew} to {hebrew} (i.e. through the whole alphabet), Scripture passages being in each case quoted.

The Messianic application of Is. xii. 3 is sufficiently established by the ancient symbolic practice of pouring out the water on the Feast of Tabernacles.

In connection with Is. xi. 5 the Midrash on Ps. cxviii. 23 first speak of the wonderment of the Egyptians when they saw the change in Israel from servitude to glory of their Exdous, and then adds, that the words were intended by his Holy Ghost to apply to the wonders of the latter days (ed. Warsh. p. 85 b).

On Is. xiv. 2, see our comments on Gen. xviii. 4, 5.

Is. xiv. 29, xv. 2, xvi. 1, and xvi. 5 are Messianically applied in the Targum.

Is. xviii. 5 is similarly applied in the Talmud (Sanh. 98 a); and Is. xxiii. 15 in Sanh. 99 a.

Is. xxi. 11, 12 is in Jer. Taan. 64 a, and in Shem. R. 18, applied to the manifestation of Messiah.

Is. xxiii. 8 the Midr. on Eccl. i. 7 sees a curious reference to the return of this world’s wealth to Israel in Messianic days.

Is. xxiii. 15 is Messianically applied in the Talmud (Sanh 99 a) where the expression ‘a king’ is explained as referring to the Messiah.

Is. xxiv. 23 is Messianically applied in the curious passage in Bemidbar R. quoted under Gen. xxii. 18; also in Bemidbar R. 13 (ed. Warsh. p. 51 a).

The remarkable promise in Is. xxv. 8 is applied to the times of the Messiah in the Talmud (Moed Q. 28 b), and in that most ancient commentary Siphra, (Yalkut i. p. 190 d applies the passage to the world to come). But the most remarkable interpretation is that which occurs in connection with Is. lx. 1 (Yalkut ii. 56 c, line 16 from the bottom), where the passage (Is. xxv. 8) is after an expostulation on the part of Satan with regard to the Messiah, applied to the casting into Gehenna of Satan and of the Gentiles. See also our remarks on Ex. xii. 2. In Debar. R. 2, Isaiah xxv. 8 is applied to the destruction of the Jetser ha-Ra and the abolishing of death in Messianic days; in Shem. R. 30 to the time of the Messiah.

Verse 9. Tanchuma on Deuteronomy opens with a record of how God would work all the miracles, which He had shown in the wilderness, in a fuller manner for Zion in the latter days, the last passage quoted in that section being Is. xxv. 9. (Tanchuma on Deut. ed. Warsh. p. 99 a, line 5 from the bottom).

Of Is. xxvi. 19 there is Messianic application in the Midrash on Ecclesiates i. 7.

Of Is. xxvii. 10 Shem. R. 1, and Tanchuma on Exod. ii. 5 (ed. Warsh. p. 64 b) remark that, like Moses, the Messiah, Who would deliver His own from the worshippers of false gods, should be brought up with the latter in the land.