Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Yonah Mishael wrote:

> However, the Christian term "Christ" does not at all bear the sameconnotations as the Jewish word 
> "Mashiach." In English vernacular, theterms are not interchangeable, as much as some religious leaders wouldlike them 
> to be. "Christ" is a specifically Christian term, and itrefers to this person whom they claim rose from the dead and 
> was theson of God. "Messiah" is a Jewish word, which -- although used by someChristians to refer to Jesus at 
> instances -- carries with it thenotion of national redemption for the people of Israel, Davidickingship, and several other 
> concepts that are lost in the term"Christ."
>  

HH: The idea of national redemption for Israel is not lost in the term 
Christ. Nor is the idea of Davidic kingship.


> To sum up: although the Greek term χριστος was used to translated משיחin the 
> LXX and was used in Hellenistic Jewish writings for theconcept, in English 
> the two terms differentiated, and they no longerrefer to the same thing, IMHO.
>  

HH: Christ is the English translation of the Greek word CRISTOS, which 
was the translation for the Hebrew word MESHIACH. You are arguing about 
what you think each word connotes, but the translations are obvious. The 
content of the English word Christ comes from the revelation in the 
Bible given about this figure. Any other connotations the word may have 
are irrelevant to a Bible-believing person.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard