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Biblical Hermeneutics

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  • Not quite accurate. משיח is also used to describe a Gentile, the Persian king Koresh ("Cyrus") (Isa. 45:1). And, frankly, the idea of "hoped-for anointed one" is yet to be proven and shouldn't simply be assumed according to what people have understood by hearsay or tradition. Commented Jun 18, 2013 at 21:52
  • Was not Jesus the "hoped-for anointed one" in the minds of John the Baptist and Jesus' disciples? (Cp., inter alia, John 1:29-45.) And don't the followers of both Judaism and Judeo-Christianity still look for their respective versions of Messiah ("hoped-for anointed one")? Commented Jun 19, 2013 at 1:27
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    Last names weren't used the same way back then as now. Can you show some evidence that Paul regarded Christos as the last name of Jesus of Nazareth? Commented Jun 19, 2013 at 3:24
  • Agree with Frank. The notion that Paul uses Christos as a surname has nothing to do with the Greek text, and doesn't account for the fact that he places Christos both before and after Iesous. The truth of the matter is that Paul used the term just as one would expect from a 1st century Jew who believed something of eschatological significance had occurred. I.e. he used the term to refer to Jesus as the Messiah. Commented Jun 19, 2013 at 5:05
  • @PatFerguson: The way you word it, it appears that "hoped-for" is instrinsically related to the meaning of the Hebrew word משיח or Greek word χριστός. The words simply means "anointed one." Commented Jun 19, 2013 at 5:59