Book of Zerubavel

If you read the last post/s, you learned that there was no connection really between "anicent Jewish mysticism" and messsianism. Well, here is the exception to the rule - Sefer Zerubavel.

This book is attributed to the Scion of David during the Babylonian exile and the return to Zion. It is a mysterious document, it is not clear when it was compiled, nor by whom. 

It doesn't particularly connect to any group on the map in Judaism - not inherently Rabbinic Judaism, not necessarily against it. It’s just other. It is reminiscent of apocalyptic literature and kind of mystical. In other words, it is very messianic, quite apocalyptic, sort of mystical - but we mention it here anyways, because it is important for messianism and doesn't fit anywhere else.

It's one of the most important texts in messianic history! We find in it a few interesting themes that we encountered in our survey of messianic sources. It is apocalyptic, illusory, and homiletic style of writing.

Excerpt of the Exception

(This is) the word which came to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (future) governor of Judah... the Lord showed me this spectacle there while I was prostrating in prayer before the Lord my God, experiencing a visionary spectacle which I saw by the river Kebar... He answered me and conversed with me just as a person would speak to their friend… A wind lifted me up between heaven and earth and carried me to the great city Nineveh, city of blood… 

He said to me, ‘Go to the “house of filth” near the market-district,’ and I went just as he had commanded me. He said to me, ‘Turn this way,’ and so I turned. He touched me, and then I saw a man (who was) despicable, broken down and in pain… I asked him, ‘Sir, what is the name of this place?’ He said to me, ‘This is mighty Rome, wherein I am imprisoned.’

I said to him, ‘Who then are you? What is your name? What do you seek here? What are you doing in this place?’ He said to me, ‘I am the Messiah of the Lord, the son of Hezekiah confined in prison until the time of the End…’ 

And as I was speaking to him, behold, a man with two wings approached me and said to me, ‘Zerubbabel!  What are you asking the Messiah of the Lord?’ I answered him and said, ‘I asked when the appointed time for deliverance is supposed to come.’ ‘Ask me,’ he replied, ‘and I will tell you.’

I said to him, ‘Sir, who are you?’ He answered and said, ‘I am Michael, the one who delivered good news to Sarah. I am the leader of the host of the Lord God of Israel, the one who battled with Sennacherib…

Michael, who is (also) Metatron, answered me saying: ‘I am the angel who guided Abraham throughout all the land of Canaan. I blessed him in the name of the Lord. I am the one who redeemed Isaac and [wept] for him. I am the one who wrestled with Jacob at the crossing of the Jabbok... He placed His name within me: Metatron in gematria is the equivalent of Shadday… ask me and I will tell you what will happen at the End of Days.’

Then he said to me: ‘This is the Messiah of the Lord: (he has) been hidden in this place until the appointed time (for his manifestation). This is the Messiah of the lineage of David, and his name is Menahem ben ‘Amiel. He was born during the reign of David, king of Israel, and a wind bore him up and concealed him in this place, waiting for the time of the end.’ 

Then I, Zerubbabel, posed a question to Metatron, the leader of the host of the Lord.  He said to me: ‘The Lord will give a rod (for accomplishing) these salvific acts to Hephsibah, the mother of Menahem ben ‘Amiel. A great star will shine before her, and all the stars will wander aimlessly from their paths…

What to Make of It

I did not bring the whole text here of course. It is reminiscent of Zechariah, Danielic visions and apocalyptic literature thereafter... 

But we find the most interesting theme of a leper like messiah in waiting in Rome, together with hints of Isaiah 53 the Suffering Servant! Just like in the Talmudic homily we saw previously, Messiah is a leper among lepers in Rome, waiting…

We also find Metatron, a central figure in much of the apocalyptic literature, the great angel (in some texts he is Michael, in other texts there is Metatron and there is Michael as separate figures). 

We also find a rare item which is the mother of Messiah, and she is a central

figure in the messianic plot. 

And there is Menachem (son of Hezekiah), a messianic name we also saw in the Talmud besides the Talmud here, this is unfamiliar to us!

Beyond that, I have nothing to say. It is what it is. It is special, outstanding, very messianic. It is an external source to the main stream of messianic traditions yet has overlap with the themes we saw that made it into the rabbinic literature.

What can that mean? It means that there were various groups in the Jewish social religious circles, their thinking and writings overlapped, and over time, we ended up with some traditions that survived (others did not) in various forms.