Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Messiah
(1,065 words)

1. Definition and premises

In the Hebrew Bible, the term Messiah, the Graecisized form of the Hebrew word mashiach (“anointed one”), denotes an individual who has be called to a leadership office (priest, king, prophet) by an act of anointing. In the course of the Exile, the notion arose of a politically, socially, and religiously ideal ruler of Davidic descent [5]. After the destruction of the First Temple (587/586 BCE), politically restorative and utopian hopes were ass…

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Riemer, Nathanael, “Messiah”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 28 March 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_023986>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20190801



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