Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Shoshanna Walker wrote:

> There IS NO Greek equivalent of Mashiach.
>
> They don't attribute the same meaning to the concept that we do.
>
> They don't understand OUR concept of Mashiach.
>
> It is not just a word.
>  

HH: The New Testament is a record from the first century showing the 
Jews referred to the Messiah as Cristos, "anointed one." It was not just 
Christians who used this term. Many Jews spoke Greek, and that was the 
Greek term. It did have the content of the Hebrew word. Here is one example:

Matt. 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have 
seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Matt. 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, 
and all Jerusalem with him.
Matt. 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of 
the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
Matt. 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is 
written by the prophet,
Matt. 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least 
among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that 
shall rule my people Israel. 

HH: So Christos was a term to designate the king of the Jews promised by 
prophecy. None of the people in the passage above were Christians. The 
New Testament was written in Greek by Jews about Jews, so you are 
reading an English translation. The NT was written in the first century, 
and if it did not correspond to the way Israelites actually thought, it 
would have been useless. Nobody would have paid attention to it.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard

> Shoshanna
>
>
>
> Dear Shoshanna,
>
> HH: You may not realize this, but Christ is the English form of the
> Greek word Cristos, which means "anointed one" and is the Greek
> equivalent of Messiah (meshiach). The antichrist is the one is who is
> against Christ, or who imitates Christ as a pretender.
>
> Yours,
> Harold Holmyard
>
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