In Every Man’s
Talmud Abraham Cohen writes:
Another confirmed
belief was that the Messiah would affect the reunion of the tribes of Israel.
While we find the teaching, ‘The ten tribes will have no share in the World to
Come’ (Tosifta Sanh,XIII.12), the Talmud usually takes the opposite view. By
appealing to such text as Is.xxvii.13 and Jer.iii.12, the Rabbis enunciated the
doctrine of the return of the lost ten tribes (Sanh.110b). ‘Great will be
the day when the exiles of Israel will be reassembled as the day when heaven and
earth were created’(Pes.88a).
The early followers of Yeshua believed that
Isaiah prophesied about Yeshua in passages like Isaiah 53:5. Today, these
passages are often interpreted as referring to Israel as a nation, however, Martin Jaffee points out:
The identity of this divine servant is given
as Israel, but the servant is also to “raise up the tribes of Jacob.” Is
Israel, then, its own redeemer?
Since Messiah ben Joseph comes first, what
should we look for and how do we know when he will come?
We know that Messiah ben David will be a
descendent of King David, but what about Messiah ben Joseph? Will he be a
descendent of Joseph?
Maybe. That is certainly one possibility. However,
one reason given for him to have this title is because
he, at first, is not known. Just as Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, so
too will the identity of Messiah ben Joseph remain hidden, until he is
revealed.
The 9th chapter of the book of Daniel is
often called the “Seventy Weeks Prophecy” (490 years).
Many people of the