Christology in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

doi:10.1017/9781009307987.002

1 - Christology in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

from Part I - The Christological Sources

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 September 2025

Gregory R. Lanier

Edited by

Timothy J. Pawl and

Michael L. Peterson

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Timothy J. Pawl: Affiliation:
University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis
Michael L. Peterson: Affiliation:
Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky

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Summary

This chapter begins by exploring the prospects and problems of studying Christology in the Hebrew Bible through the lens of “Messiah” language. It then offers a complementary method of studying the roots of Christological ideas by tracing how certain frameworks for a deliverer figure arise in the Hebrew text and receive refinement over time (into the Second Temple period): specifically, a Judahite king, exalted priest, end-times prophet, and transcendent “man.”

Keywords

Jewish Messianism priesthood Davidic kingship son of man Old Testament

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Companion to Christology , pp. 9 - 26

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009307987.002 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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References

Further Suggested Readings

Abernathy, Andrew T. and Goswell, Gregory. God’s Messiah in the Old Testament: Expecting a Coming King. Grand Rapids, MI, 2020.Google Scholar

Bauckham, Richard. Son of Man: Early Jewish Literature. Grand Rapids, MI, 2023.CrossRef Google Scholar

Charlesworth, James H. The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity. Minneapolis, MN, 1992.Google Scholar

Collins, John J. The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature. A(Y)BRL. New York City, NY, 1995.Google Scholar

Day, John, ed. King and Messiah in Israel and the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar. JSOTSup 270. Sheffield, 1998.Google Scholar

Hess, Richard S. and Daniel Carroll, M.. Israel’s Messiah in the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Grand Rapids, MI, 2003.Google Scholar

Knibb, Michael A., ed. The Septuagint and Messianism. BETL 195. Leuven, 2006.Google Scholar

Laato, Antti. A Star Is Rising: The Historical Development of the Old Testament Royal Ideology and the Rise of Jewish Messianic Expectations. Atlanta, GA, 1997.Google Scholar

Lanier, Gregory R. Corpus Christologicum: Texts and Translations for the Study of Jewish Messianism and Early Christology. Peabody, MA, 2021.Google Scholar

Neusner, Jacob, Scott Green, William, and Frerichs, Ernest S., eds. Judaisms and Their Messiahs at the Turn of the Christian Era. Cambridge, 1987.Google Scholar

Oegema, Gerbern S. The Anointed and His People: Messianic Expectations from the Maccabees to Bar Kochba. JSPSup 27. Sheffield, 2006.Google Scholar

Porter, Stanley F., ed. The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments. Grand Rapids, MI, 2007.Google Scholar

Satterthwaite, Philip E., Wenham, Gordon J., and Hess, Richard S., eds. The Lord’s Anointed: Interpretation of Old Testament Messianic Texts. Eugene, OR, 1995.Google Scholar

Tabb, Brian J. and King, Andrew M.. Five Views of Christ in the Old Testament: Genre, Authorial Intent, and the Nature of Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI, 2022.Google Scholar

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