Messiah ben Joseph
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I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph… They shall be as though I had not rejected them.
-Zechariah 10:6-12
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Who is Messiah ben Joseph (Yosef)?
The priestly class of Hebrews had a hard time squaring the prophecies about the coming Messiah. To them it felt like they were describing two completely different people with different lives. In reaction to this they would slice writings into two different archetypes.
One for Messiah ben Joseph (called the “herb of the field” at times [Zohar Bereshit.21.234]) the pierced, suffering, merging of north and south Israel who will pay the debt of the dead to reclaim them by dying in a struggle with evil and preparing the way for Messiah ben David.
The other is Messiah ben David (called often the “plant of the field”), a future Warrior King from the line of David who will have offspring from his body and will defeat the enemies of God and build a house for God establishing his kingdom forever and become an eternal shepherd over the children of light.
Why did ancient Hebrews need to divide the two?
Ancient Hebrew Priests had a hard time dividing the details about each. One would be pierced and die and would cause mourning like as with a dead child?
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They will look on Me whom they have pierced; they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only child.
-Zechariah 12:10
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The other would live forever as king and shepherd of the Children of Light.
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My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd… and My servant David shall be their prince forever.
-Ezekiel 37:24–25
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These points, along with many others, created a perception of a complex duality in their minds. They envisioned a debt-paying Messiah who would be pierced and die to prepare the way for a conquering Messiah. The latter would end war and rule from Jerusalem over the entire globe.
As with most prophecy, the exact manner in which events will unfold remains unclear until they are fulfilled. Similarly, the role and mission of the ultimate Messiah follow this pattern, revealing their true form only in hindsight.
What is written about & what did they say about Messiah ben Joseph?
Messiah ben Joseph would, as mentioned up above, merge the Houses of Judah and the house of Joseph like sticks (often referred to as the “stick of Joseph”) as if God had not rejected or divorced them.
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I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph… They shall be as though I had not rejected them.
-Zechariah 10:6-12
.I will make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.
-Ezekiel 37:15-28
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Messiah ben Joseph would be pierced and die as mentioned above in Zechariah 12:10. He would also have victory and power over the grave (Sheol).
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I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death
-Hosea 13:14
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It is helpful to read the debates and perspective of the Priests and Rabbis, who even though often wrong in how prophecy will play out their struggle can showcase the thought process, details and themes from centuries earlier than many historians would like to cover. For example below where Rabbis are working to nail down when exactly Messiah ben Yosef would die and in what context. This echos the constant debate in Judeo-Christianity of is the Messiah going to literally lead and reign or just metaphorically “cure” mankind so they can reign.
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What is the cause of the mourning [mentioned in Zechariah 12:10]? Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis disagree concerning this matter. One said that this eulogy is for Messiah ben Yosef who was killed in the war of Gog from the land of Magog prior to the ultimate redemption with the coming of Messiah ben David. And one said that this eulogy is for the evil inclination (yetzer hara) that was killed.
-Sukkah 52a
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In Sukkah 52a They are unsure of does the Messiah ben Joseph die to just bring about the real redemptive power of Messiah ben David or does he actually remove the sin nature of man (called the yetzer hara). Regardless they are just sure that:
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The Lord then showed me four craftsmen” (Zechariah 2:3). Who are these four craftsmen? Rav Ḥana bar Bizna said Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida said: Messiah ben David, Messiah ben Yosef, Elijah, and the righteous Priest (see Melchizedek).
-Sukkah 52b:10
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Here the Rabbis are sure that there are four craftsmen to the final destruction of the nations that stand against God. The “two” forms of Messiah and his two Witnesses (Elijah and the Righteous Priest). In later years (13th Century AD) Rabbi David Kimhi and others would work to eliminate the Messiah and his best men as the source of the deliverace and make it four nations that would reverse the power of the four powers that attack Israel.
Something to keep in mind is Rabbis in the Age of Grace had deep concerns about the perceived delay in the revealing of the Messiah ben Joseph and took steps to subtract time from the Anno Mundi calendar date (see Seder Olam Rabbah), ban the calculation of the dates of Daniel for the arrival of the Messiah (Sanhedrin 97b) and tried to lift up a mythical Nehemiah ben Hushiel as the realization of Messiah ben Joseph and end the debate about the delay in his arrival. As time went on more so effort was spent to prop up interpretations that eliminated anything but practical understandings of the prophecies to help eliminate any future delays in prophecies that had ages or dates connected to them.
Messiah ben Joseph & Messiah ben David were had for ancient Hebrews to see as one Man in two earthly visitations. We expect Messiah ben David to make his return sometime before the end of the final Jubilee of this age of grace which ends in 2075 AD along with his two witnesses who will pronounce his return and reveal his great calendar and plans.
Where they were confused about a Messiah ben Joseph that would remove yetzer hara and die so he could get the keys to sheol, we know that to be the first visitation of Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth.
