# H4899 - mashiach **Strong's:** [H4899](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h4899/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** maw-shee'-akh **Part of speech:** masculine noun (functioning sometimes as adjective) **Root:** from *H4886 - mashach* (מָשַׁח, "to anoint, smear"), anointing with oil as the rite of consecration. **Greek equivalents:** [G5547 - christos](/codex/g5547-christos/) (Χριστός, "Christ"), direct LXX rendering, the source of the Greek title. **OT occurrences:** 39 ## Semantic range (Brown-Driver-Briggs) 1. **Anointed one**, the basic adjectival sense; one consecrated to office by anointing oil. 2. **Anointed king of Israel**, the dominant biblical usage; Saul, David, Solomon, the Davidic dynasty. 3. **Anointed priest**, particularly the high priest ([Leviticus 4:3](/codex/leviticus-4-3/), [5](/codex/leviticus-4-5/), [16](/codex/leviticus-4-16/); "the anointed priest"). 4. **Anointed prophet**, rare but extant ([1 Kings 19:16](/codex/1-kings-19-16/); [Psalm 105:15](/codex/psalms-105-15/) / [1 Chronicles 16:22](/codex/1-chronicles-16-22/) "do not touch My *meshichai* / anointed ones"). 5. **Foreign king as God's instrument**, extended use; Cyrus of Persia called *meshicho* ("His anointed") in [Isaiah 45:1](/codex/isaiah-45-1/). 6. **The eschatological / Messianic figure**, the future Davidic deliverer who would be "the Anointed One *par excellence*"; [Daniel 9:25-26](/codex/daniel-9-25-26/)'s *Mashiach Nagid* ("Messiah the Prince"). ## Theological force, three offices anointed, one Anointed-One fulfills The OT *mashiach* developed a robust threefold theology of anointing across the offices: - **Prophet**, speaking God's word (Moses, Elijah, Elisha, etc.; explicitly "anointed" in [1 Kings 19:16](/codex/1-kings-19-16/); [Psalm 105:15](/codex/psalms-105-15/)). - **Priest**, mediating between God and people (Aaron and his sons; the high priest as *kohen ha-mashiach*, [Leviticus 4:3](/codex/leviticus-4-3/)). - **King**, ruling God's people (Saul, David, the Davidic dynasty). These three offices were always **separate** in OT Israel, kings did not function as priests (cf. Saul's overstepping in [1 Samuel 13](/codex/1-samuel-13/); Uzziah's leprosy in [2 Chronicles 26:16-21](/codex/2-chronicles-26-16-21/)); priests were not kings. The eschatological hope was for **one figure who would unite all three**, *the* Anointed One who is simultaneously prophet ([Deuteronomy 18:15-18](/codex/deuteronomy-18-15-18/)), priest ([Psalm 110:4](/codex/psalms-110-4/) "according to the order of Melchizedek"), and king ([2 Samuel 7:12-16](/codex/2-samuel-7-12-16/); [Psalm 2:6](/codex/psalms-2-6/)). Christian theology sees this messianic synthesis fulfilled uniquely in Christ: - **Prophet**, "a prophet like Moses" ([Acts 3:22](/codex/acts-3-22/), citing [Deuteronomy 18:15](/codex/deuteronomy-18-15/)) - **Priest**, "a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" ([Hebrews 5](/codex/hebrews-5/)-7, citing [Psalm 110:4](/codex/psalms-110-4/)) - **King**, "King of kings and Lord of lords" ([Revelation 19:16](/codex/revelation-19-16/)) This *triplex munus Christi* (the threefold office of Christ) is one of the major Reformed Christological frameworks, Eusebius, Calvin, Heidelberg Catechism Q. 31. ## Notable verses ### Royal usage, Davidic kings - **[1 Samuel 24:6](/codex/1-samuel-24-6/), [10](/codex/1-samuel-24-10/)**, David's reverence: "the LORD's *mashiach*" (Saul) - **[2 Samuel 1:14](/codex/2-samuel-1-14/)**, David rebukes the Amalekite for striking "the LORD's *mashiach*" - **[2 Samuel 19:21](/codex/2-samuel-19-21/)**, Abishai on cursing "the LORD's *mashiach*" - **[2 Samuel 22:51](/codex/2-samuel-22-51/)**, God's lovingkindness "to His *mashiach*, to David and his descendants forever" - **[Psalm 18:50](/codex/psalms-18-50/)**, paralleling [2 Samuel 22](/codex/2-samuel-22/) ### Priestly usage - **[Leviticus 4:3](/codex/leviticus-4-3/), [5](/codex/leviticus-4-5/), [16](/codex/leviticus-4-16/)**, "the anointed priest" - **[Leviticus 6:22](/codex/leviticus-6-22/)**, high priest's anointing ### Eschatological / Messianic usage - **[Psalm 2:2](/codex/psalms-2-2/)**, "the kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His *mashiach*" - **[Psalm 132:10](/codex/psalms-132-10/), [17](/codex/psalms-132-17/)**, "for the sake of David Your servant, do not turn away the face of Your *mashiach*… I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for My *mashiach*" - **[Daniel 9:25-26](/codex/daniel-9-25-26/)**, "from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until *Mashiach Nagid* there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks… then after the sixty-two weeks the *mashiach* will be cut off" - **[Habakkuk 3:13](/codex/habakkuk-3-13/)**, "You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your *mashiach*" ### Foreign king as anointed instrument - **[Isaiah 45:1](/codex/isaiah-45-1/)**, "Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His *mashiach*" (the Persian conqueror as God's instrument) ### "The anointed ones" (plural, patriarchs / prophets) - **[1 Chronicles 16:22](/codex/1-chronicles-16-22/) / [Psalm 105:15](/codex/psalms-105-15/)**, "do not touch My anointed ones (*meshichai*) and do My prophets no harm" ## [Daniel 9:24-27](/codex/daniel-9-24-27/), the Messianic timeline This passage deserves separate treatment for its apologetic weight. Daniel's "seventy weeks" prophecy uses *mashiach* twice (vv. 25 and 26): 1. **From the decree to restore Jerusalem until *Mashiach Nagid***, 7 + 62 = 69 weeks (of years = 483 years). 2. **After the 62 weeks the *mashiach* will be cut off (*yikkareth*)**, and "have nothing." Christian interpreters from Tertullian (*Against the Jews* 8, c. AD 200) and Eusebius (*Demonstration of the Gospel* VIII, c. AD 320) onward have used this prophecy as a chronological proof of Christ's identity: starting from Artaxerxes's decree ([Nehemiah 2:1-8](/codex/nehemiah-2-1-8/), c. 445 BC) and counting 483 lunar/calendar years brings one to the early 1st century AD. The *mashiach* "cut off", crucified, fulfills v. 26 with high specificity. Modern apologetic use (Robert Anderson's *The Coming Prince*, 1894; Harold Hoehner's *Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ*, 1977) develops the calculation in detail. The chronology argument is one of the strongest single OT prophecy → NT fulfillment cases in Christian apologetics. ## Patristic / scholarly note Targum Jonathan (rabbinic Aramaic translation, pre-Christian to early-Christian era) interprets [Isaiah 53](/codex/isaiah-53/) explicitly as the Messiah; later medieval Jewish exegesis (Rashi, ibn Ezra) shifts to corporate-Israel reading. [Justin Martyr](/codex/justin-martyr/) (*Dialogue with Trypho* 13, 32, 49, c. AD 160) and Tertullian (*Against the Jews*) use *mashiach*-passages extensively against Trypho's emerging counter-readings. The Targumim, Septuagint, and Qumran scrolls (4QFlorilegium = 4Q174; 11QMelchizedek = 11Q13) all show pre-Christian Jewish messianic expectation focused on the Davidic-and-priestly *mashiach* figure. Modern apologetic scholarship (Michael Brown, *Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus*, vol. 3; Mitch Glaser, ed., *The Gospel According to [Isaiah 53](/codex/isaiah-53/)*) develops the case for the individual-Messianic reading from these primary sources. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ ## See also - *H4886 - mashach*, the cognate verb "to anoint" - [G5547 - christos](/codex/g5547-christos/), Greek "Christ", direct equivalent - [Isaiah 53](/codex/isaiah-53/), Suffering Servant; Messianic prophecy - [Isaiah 9.6](/codex/isaiah-9-6/), Messianic throne-names - [Micah 5.2](/codex/micah-5-2/) (pending, to be enriched), Messiah's birthplace prophecy - [Psalms 110.1](/codex/psalms-110-1/) (pending, to be enriched), Messiah's enthronement - [H3068 - YHWH](/codex/h3068-yhwh/)