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Can Yeshua/Jesus be "The King of Israel"?
17 Kislev 5781 | December 3th, 2020
This is an interesting question indeed. A question not to take lightly. This question can come to surface after reading the criteria whereto the Messiah needs to fulfill, according Jewish tradition. To name a few: He needs to be Jewish and a member of the tribe of Judah; To be a member of the tribe of Judah, his biological father needs to be a member of the tribe of Judah; He needs to be a direct descendant of both king David and king Solomon, who were both kings of ‘great’ Israel. Furthermore, the genealogy, described in Matthew 1 and in Luke 3, is considered inconsequent. One goes from David to Solomon and the other goes from David to Nathan. Both of them ends with Joseph, who is the husband of Miryem/Maria, where Yeshua is born from.
To me, reading this criterion, pops up another question:
“Does the Messiah come from the line David => Solomon?”
Let us find answers to these two questions.
Inhoud
The Messiah
When there is spoken over the Messiah, one thinks only to the king.
The Hebrew word for “messiah” is “mashiach” and it comes from the word “mashach”, which means “anointed”. “The Messiah” is in Hebrew: “HaMashiach”: The Anointed.
Who were anointed for their service? Kings, prophets, and priests were anointed for their services.
However, if we search in the Hebrew Bible – the TaNaKH [OT] – for the word “hamashiach [the anointed]”, we will only find four results. All four of them in the book Vayikra/Leviticus. Three times in chapter four and one time in chapter six. All four of them points out to the priests. Why is that, since not only priests are being anointed for their services, but kings and prophets as well? Why is it that only priests are named “HaMashiach [The Messiah = The Anointed]” and not king David for example, or the mediator and prophet Moshe/Moses?
It is because priests are the only ones carrying the iniquities of the people and (symbolically) ate partially the sins of the people (Shemot/Exodus 28:36-38; Vayikra/Leviticus 6:25-26 [18-19]; 10:16-17). When a priest sinned, then automatically the entire people. This was the reason why a priest who had sinned had to offer the same offer as when the entire people had sinned: a young bull
In B’reshit/Genesis 3:14-15 there is mentioned about the coming of the Messiah. It says that a zera will come out of her and will crush the head of the zera that will come out of the snake.
The Hebrew word zera literally means “seed, sperm, offspring, harvest of the sown, sowing time”.
Notice that there has been mentioning about her zera, and not about his zera. Also, in the book Yeshayahu/Isaiah it says that an almah [a young unmarried woman = a virgin] will be pregnant and give birth to a son (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 7:14). Here too there has been no mentioning about his son/son of [beno]. So, claiming that the Messiah must have a biological father, is against the TaNaKH.
We also should know what the Aramaic word “bar בר” and the Hebrew word “ben בן” means.
Both are translated into “son (of)”, but this is not the only meaning of those two words. The words “bar & ben” means “(adoptive)son, grandson, son in law, stepson, student and follower”. A student calls his rabbi “father”.
Taking a closer look at the genealogy according to Luke, it says “Jesus, … being, as reckoned by law, son of Joseph” according to The Scriptures 2009 and “Jesus … He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph” according to New International Version.
In Greek it reads “huios” instead of “son (of)”. Huios means “a son (by birth or adoption), descendant”.
Figuratively speaking is it everyone who has ‘the same nature/character’ as their father.
The translation “so it was thought” is from the Greek “enomizeto”. It is from the verb “nomizo”, which derives from “nomos” and that means “law”. Nomizo means “I practice, according to customs, I consider/think/suppose/assume”. The best translation of enomizeto would be “according to customs”:
“Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. *He was according to customs the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,*”
* He was – ben [adoptive son]-Joseph, ben [son in law]-Heli, …
Thus, Luke begins his list of genealogy. According Greek translation he only mentions one time the word for son: “huios” in verse 23, which both can be by birth or by adoption. He continues with: “tou Heli tou Matthat tou Levi tou Melki, …”. Translated: “the Heli, the Matthat, the Levi, the Melki, …”.
Matthew begins his list of genealogy different. He starts with mentioning whose genealogy it is by placing some kind of a title: “Yeshua HaMashiach ben-David ben-Avraham”; in Greek: “Iesou Christou huiou Dauid huiou Abraam”. When he starts his list, he speaks about “beget” and he begins with Abraham. He ends with Joseph, who is the husband of Miryem, from whom Yeshua was born. By the time he reached from Joseph to Yeshua, he does not speak about “beget”, just like he did not in the title of his genealogy list. This “beget” corresponds with the Hebrew word “zera”.
Luke his list is the genealogy of Miryem/Maria, whose father is Heli. Matthew his list is the genealogy of Joseph, who is married to Miryem. Joseph did not take her son Yeshua as his “stepson” but has adopted him. Joseph was the one who took Yeshua on his 8th day to the Temple for circumcision.
From the line David - Solomon
Genesis 49:10 says that the scepter will not be removed from Yehudah/Judah, until Shiloh comes. I find it remarkable that when the children of Israel wanted a king, our God anointed the Benjaminite Saul/Sha’ul to be king through His prophet Samuel/Shmu’el. The only connection David ben-Yisai [son of Jesse], from the tribe of Yehudah/Judah had, was his covenant with Saul’s son Jonathan (1 Samuel 18-20). And jet, David was anointed to be king by His prophet Samuel, although Saul was still alive and a king.
To David our God said that his zera [zar-acha זרעך your zera] after him [achareicha אחריך = after thee (i.e. after David has passed away)] will reign and that he will build a house for יהוה [YHWH] (2 Samuel 7:12-13). And that is exactly what happened! Solomon, David his son, reigned over – what I called – Great Israel and he build a house for יהוה. However, there is also said that his throne in his kingdom will be ad-olam [forever/till eternity] and that is something that did not happened. The son of Solomon did not reign over Great Israel, but over a small part of it, the southern kingdom named Judea. Also, his descendants, all the way to Jeconiah/Coniah. After him it stops. The sescendants of Coniah are not seen as successors for the throne by יהוה, our God (Jeremiah 22:28-30; 2 Kings 24:6-16; Jeremiah 39:6; 2 Kings 25:7). So, how about it? Did our God made a promise to David which He – The Almighty One and All Known – could not keep in the and after all? Another question we need to find an answer too.
Jeconiah/Coniah/Jehoiachin
Jeconiah/Coniah is one and the same as Jehoiachin mentioned in 2 Kings 24:6-16.
Verse 17 of this chapter says that the king of Babylonia crowned the uncle of Jehoiachin, whose name was Mattaniah, instead of him and changed his name into Zedekiah. But his sons (i.e. the sons of Zedekiah) were all killed. We can read this in Jeremiah 39:6 and in 2 Kings 25:7.
So, Jehoiachin was reconned “childless” by our God and Zedekiah his sons were killed … this would mean that the line David – Solomon is closed to be king. Unless there is another son who has the right to claim the throne. This son has to have a mother who is born from the tribe of Judah.
If we take the promise of יהוה, our God, into memories – the promise that someone’s kingdom will not be removed from him – we’ll remember that this was spoken to David concerning his zera (descendant = singular) and not specific about his son Solomon and his descendants (= plural). And God’s promise about a scepter which will not be taken from until Shiloh comes, is spoken over Judah.
We can read in 2 Samuel 7:14 that when David’s son goes astray, he will be chastened by our God with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of Adam. We know what the iniquities of Solomon where. He went after other gods and built temples/palaces for them. In verse 15 of 2 Samuel we read that our God will not take away His Chesed [charity; kindness; mercy] from him, despite of his iniquities, like He did to Saul. And our God did not, because the punishment happened after Solomon. However, we have to find another zera of king David who will sit on his throne ad-olam [eternally].
In 2 Samuël 7:14 lezen we dat als Davids zera ongerechtigheid pleegt, dat hij dan door onze God zal worden getuchtigd met de roede van de mannen en met de geselingen van de mensen. We weten waar de ongerechtigheid van Salomo uit bestond. Hij is andere goden achterna gaan lopen en heeft tempels/paleizen voor deze gebouwd. In vers 15 lezen wij vervolgens dat ondanks de ongerechtigheid die Davids nakomeling zou plegen, onze God Zijn Chesed [liefdadigheid; vriendelijkheid; genade] niet van hem weg zal nemen, zoals Hij dat bij Saul wel heeft gedaan. En dit is ook niet gebeurd, want de straf is pas na Salomo ingegaan. Echter moeten wij nu wel naar een andere zera van koning David zoeken, die wel ad-olam op zijn troon in zijn koninkrijk zal zitten.
The Shoresh [root/stump] of Yishai [Jesse]
The prophesies say that the root of Yishai will be there and that a twig shall spout up from the arid ground. (Isaiah 11:10. Compare Isaiah 53:1-2 and Zechariah 6:9-15 with Isaiah 11:10).
Yishai/Jesse is the father of king David. He had offspring through David who were sitting on the throne. They were kings of ‘great’ Israel and of the smaller, southern kingdom Yehuda/Judea. In the prophesy of Ezekiel 17 we read that the tree – cedar – is a symbolism for kingship. So, Jesse’s cedar must have been a huge tree. Unfortunately, this tree was cut down by the line of Coniah, but not before a cutting was taken from it!
Ezekiel 17:22-24
So says the Lord [Adonai] God [YHWH] : And I Myself will take from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will place [it]; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I Myself will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain. In the mountain of the height of Israel I will plant it, and it will bear boughs and bring forth fruit and become a sturdy cedar, and under it shall dwell all birds of every feather; in the shade of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field will recognize that I, the Lord [YHWH], have lowered the high tree, have raised aloft the low tree; that I have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree blossom. I, the Lord [YHWH], have spoken, and I will accomplish it."
From: Chabad.org/library/bible
By reading the prophesies of Haggai, we will see that a certain Zerubavel ben-Sh’altiel/Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel – who was a governor of Judah – will be made as a signet by our God. (Haggai 2:23/24). It was common at the time that men from the line of David would be made governor of Judah, in those days a province of Babylon and later of Persia.
About Coniah is said that though he be/were a signet on His right hand, from there it will be removed. He will be taken away to another land, with his mother who born him, and he will be inscribed as childless (Jeremiah 22:24-30). Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel is a descendant of Coniah.
And now, here in Haggai 2, is prophesied that a certain Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel will be made a signet. Is he the same Zerubbabel as the descendant of Coniah, or is this another Zerubbabel? Both Matthew and Luke named a Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, but the genealogy is a bit different. Before we will find an answer to this question, let us sum up we have so far:
- Jeconiah/Coniah was inscribed “childless”, because no one of his zera [seed] will sit on the throne of David (Jeremiah 22:30).
- There will be a shoresh of Yishai [Jesse] and a twig will sprout up from the arid ground (Isaiah 10:11; 53:1-2; Zechariah 6:9-15).
- From the lofty top of its young twigs of the cedar will be taken a tender one and it will be planted upon a high and lofty mountain in Israel (Ezekiel 17:22-24).
- Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel will be made a signet (Haggai 2:23/24).
Genealogy
Let us put both the genealogies of Matthew and Luke, with the books I and II Kings, together wherein the kings of Judah were mentioned:
| I en II Kings | Matthew (speaks of ‘begat’ or ‘brought forth’) | Luke (speaks of ‘ben/bar [son of]’) |
|---|---|---|
| Saul [Was not the father of David]. Member of the tribe Benjamin | ||
| David | David | David (ben-Yishai) |
| Solomon | Solomon | Nathan (ben-David) |
| Roboam | Roboam | Mattatha (ben-Nathan) |
| Abia | Abia | Menan (ben-Mattatha) |
| Asa | Asa | Melea (ben-Menan) |
| Josaphat | Josaphat | Eliakim (ben-Melea) |
| Jehoram/Joram | Jehoram/Joram | Jonan (ben-Eliakim) |
| Ahazia | Joseph (ben-Jonan) | |
| Joas | Judah (ben-Jozef) | |
| Amazia | Simeon (ben-Judah) | |
| Ozias | Ozias | Levi (ben-Simeon) |
| Joatham | Joatham | Matthat (ben-Levi) |
| Achaz | Achaz | Jorim (ben-Matthat) |
| Ezekias | Ezekias | Eliezer (ben-Jorim) |
| Manasses | Manasses | Jose (ben-Eliezer) |
| Amon | Amon | Er (ben-Jose) |
| Josias | Josias | Elmodam (ben-Er) |
| Joahaz (son of Josias) | Cosam (ben-Elmodam) | |
| Eljakim/Jojakim (son of Josias) | Addi (ben-Cosam) | |
| Jojacin/Jeconiah/Coniah | Jojacin/Jeconiah/Coniah | Melchi (ben-Addi) |
| Shealtiel | Neri (ben-Melchi) | |
| Zerubbabel | Shealtiel (ben-Neri) | |
| Abiud | Zerubbabel (ben-Shealtiel) | |
| Eliakim | Rhesa (ben-Zerubbabel) | |
| Azor | Joanna (ben-Rhesa) | |
| Sadok | Judah (ben-Joanna) | |
| Achim | Joseph (ben-Judah) | |
| Eliud | Semei (ben-Joseph) | |
| Eleazar | Mattathias (ben-Semei) | |
| Matthan | Maath (ben-Mattathias) | |
| Jacob | Naggai (ben-Maath) | |
| Joseph (the husband of Miryem) | Esli (ben-Naggai) | |
| Nahum (ben-Esli) | ||
| Amos (ben-Naüm) | ||
| Mattathias (ben-Amos) | ||
| Joseph (ben-Mattathias) | ||
| Janna (ben-Joseph) | ||
| Melchi (ben-Janna) | ||
| Levi (ben-Melchi) | ||
| Matthat (ben-Levi) | ||
| Heli (ben-Matthat) | ||
| Joseph (ben [son in law]-Heli) | ||
Yeshua/Jezus ben [adoptive son]-Joseph; zera Miryem/Maria |
||
In those days it was common that the genealogy was from father to son. Never from mother to son, or from mother to daughter.
Joseph was married to Miryem … she who gave birth to Jesus. Thus, she was taken into the house of Joseph, and Joseph – being Miryem’s “head [rosh]” became co-heir of Miryem’s inheritance. Joseph also became the father of Joseph by law (huios means (adoptive)son; descendant). Joseph calling Yeshua/Jesus his “huios/ben/bar” is not unusual within Judaism. In the Mishna Bava Batra 8:6 and in Bava Batra 134a:10 we read:
If a man said, “This is my son”, he is believed.
This Mishna is about inheritance. That an inheritance can also been given to the daughters is in Numbers 27:1-12. However, Zelophehad’s daughters should only marry members of their father’s tribe. Otherwise the inheritance would be diminished from the inheritance of their father and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. This is for every woman who would inherit from her father, who had no sons to give the inheritance to (Numbers 36:1-11).
Those who are against the refutation “Yeshua/Jesus can be and is the King of Israel” are reading lots of articles in the Scriptures that is manly about the Good News – i.e. the “Brit Chadashah/New Testament”. Regarding to this subject, the genealogy – placed above in a table – is a favorite subject to make a statement that there is something very wrong with the claim that Jesus could be the promised Messiah and King.
However, doing so, they skip several items.
First is the old rule that an adopted child is a full member of the inheritance. An example of this is Jacob, the grandfather of Manasseh and Ephraim. These two boys were the sons of Joseph, the oldest son of Jacob’s wife Rachel and the 11th son of Jacob. The boys were born in Egypt [Mitsrayim] and had an Egyptian mother. When Jacob met them, he adopted them and thus they became co-heirs of Jacob.
Joseph was a viceroy [vasal] of Egypt and had – by the Hand of God – his part by the Pharaoh. His part was that even his own father, and his own brothers, should go to him and bow before him to gain some food. But by adopting his two sons, Jacob took care that they did not inherit the inheritance from Egypt, but the inheritance of Israel. And so, their descendants too.
I think the Mishna – mentioned earlier – is also about the adoption, which makes it lawful for the son to be a co-heir of his father’s inheritance. He is seen as an offspring of his father and his father’s fathers.
Second is a passage from Genesis I have mentioned at page 1:
Genesis 3:14-15
And the Lord [YHWH] God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed be you more than all the cattle and more than all the beasts of the field; you shall walk on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I shall place hatred between you and between the woman, and between your seed [זַרְעָה zar-ah]. He will crush your head [יְשׁוּפְךָ jeshuf-chah = he will crush you/your], and you willbite his[תְשׁוּפֶנּוּ teshufenu = you will crush us/our] heel."
From: Chabad.org/library/bible
Both zar-achah and zar-ah comes from the word zera זרע. Literally it means “seed, sperm, offspring, harvest of the sown, sowing time”.
Some translations read “offspring” instead of “seed”. I think this is a good translation, since an offspring is in fact someone who came forth from someone’s loin/belly … someone who is your biological son/daughter.
Please notice that there is mentioned about her seed, and not about his seed.
We will find this back in Isaiah 7:14:
Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
From: 21st Century King James Version
Therefore, the Lord, of His own, shall give you a sign; behold, the young woman is with child, and she shall bear a son, and she shall call his name Immanuel.
From: Chabad.org/library/bible
Instead of “virgin” in KJ21 and “young woman” in Chabad, it reads in Hebrew ha-almah. It means: “the young unmarried woman” and according to my dictionary, written by Dr. Menachem Bolle & Jitschak Pimentel, almah means “girl/maid; maiden (dignified/decent)”. King James’ “virgin” translation is not wrong, but a correct translation. Today it is considered “normal” when an almah has sex before marriage, but in those days, it was not so (and in some cultures it still is not so). When you have done this, you were named zonah [זֹנָה]. It means whore/prostitute. Furthermore, when an almah had done this, and it was made known and confirmed by two or more truthful witnesses, then she had to be taken to her father’s house and placed in its doorway to be stoned to death.
Taken this all into consideration, we can make a statement that the Messiah does not have a biological father. He does, however, has a biological mother, who happened to be a descendant of king David.
Yeshua has a mother from which he was born. She is a descendant from king David, by his son Nathan. Her husband Joseph happened to be also a descendant from king David, by his son Solomon. However, the sons of Solomons offspring Jeconiah/Coniah – and, therefore, also Joseph’s ancestor – may not be inscribed as heirs to the throne of king David. So, Joseph could not put a claim to the throne of king David.
Two things could have happened:
- Haggai 2 states that our God, the Omniscient and Almighty, has turned back his ‘curse’, spoken over Coniah.
- Our God, the Omniscient and Almighty, foresaw long ago what the descendants of Solomon would do and has made known by His prophets Ezekiel and Haggai how He will keep His promise, made to king David and also to king Solomon, anyway.
Summarize
- King David is a descendant of Yishai [Jesse].
- Yishai never was a king. Jet the prophesies states that his stump/root [shoresh] will be there and will stand as a banner/standard [nes] to the peoples [amim] and that the nations [goyim] will search for him (Isaiah 11:10). When the nations will see this banner/standard, who is being raised by our God, they will bring the “sons and daughters of Zion” back to Zion (Isaiah 49:22).
- There will be a man who will build the Heichal of Adonai יהוה, and his name will be Tsemach who will sprout up from his place (Zechariah 6:12).
- Our God, Adonai יהוה, has taken from the lofty cedar – He has crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and has planted it in a high and lofty mountain in Israel (Ezekiel 17).
- There will rise up from her a zera [masculine] who will crush the head of the snake (Genesis 3:14-15).
Our God will give a sign Himself, which is an almah [girl/maid; maiden (dignified/decent); young unmarried woman] who will be pregnant and gave birth to a son, who she will give the name Imanu-El (Isaiah 7:17). - Yehoshua/Yeshua/Jesus is zera ha-almah Miryem/Maria, and by Miryem zera David hamelech [an offspring of king David]. Miryem is from the line David => Nathan and daughter of Heli. Yeshua is the promised zera of David (Luke 3).
- Joseph is ish-Miryem [husband of Miryem] and ben-Heli [Son in law of Heli]. Joseph is from the line David => Solomon and son of Jacob. By his marriage with Miryem he has become co-heir of Miryem’s inheritance (Numbers 27:1-12; 36:1-11). Yehoshua/Yeshua/Jesus is not his zera, but he is his beno [his son] (Matthew 1; Luke 3).
- Zerubbabel ben Shealtiel [son of Shealtiel], who was made a signet by our God, is from the line David => Nathan. His grandfather’s name was Neri (Luke 3). This is according Haggai 2; Ezekiel 17; Genesis 3:14-15 and Isaiah 7:14.
Yehoshua/Yeshua/Jesus is the promised Messiah ben-David in both seed [zera] as from the house of David. By Miryem/Maria he is a descendant of David by his son Nathan, and by his father [through adoption] Joseph he is a [great, great, great …] grandson of David by his son Solomon.
Thus, Adonai יהוה, our God, has kept His promise to king David. A zera from his loins will rise up and (eventually) will build the Heichal for the Name of our God. And the house of David will not be rejected from the throne but will keep it forever.
“Can Yeshua/Jesus be the King?”
Of course, he can! King David himself was anointed first by our God to be king, before he was recognized, accepted, and anointed to be king by the people!
