particular task as it relates to the liberation of Israel from its perceived travail and suffering.5 Another subject for discussion is the extent to which messianic ideas have their roots in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. Anointing was associated with three primary offices or ministries in ancient Israel: king,6 priest,7 and prophet,8 but mostly with the first of these. More to the point, the word משׁיח, “anointed one,” was not used of eschatological
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