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We now come to a particularly interesting episode where we look at the 7th century to see exactly what was happening in that century with the Jews in particular, and especially with this title 'MHMD'.
According to A.J. Deuss, who has done the best work in this area, looking at the evidence from the 7th century it is clear that the Jews considered their Exilarchs (leaders of Judaism in the diaspora, located primarily in what is today Iraq) as 'Messiahs', and even referred to them in Arabic (since that was the language used in Iraq then) as MHMD.
When we look specifically at the successors of Mar Zutra, we find that they are a whole chain of the coming 'Messiah', and thus were known as MHMD.
David C. Mitchell, in his book "Messiah ben Joseph" mentions that all of these Exilarchs in the 7th century were considered by the Jews as Messiahs (Mahmads), but that they were waiting not just for one Messiah, as the Christians were, but two Messiahs, the first who would be a suffering servant, and be called "the Messiah ben Joseph", and the second who would be a conquering king, and known as the "Messiah ben David".
Interestingly, the Qur'an seems to refer to these 2 Messiahs in Surah 61:6, where it says: "And when Isa son of Maryam said: O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming the Taurat before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad".
Later Muslim exegesis assumed that this was referring to Jesus and Muhammad, when in reality it was referring to these two Messiahs prophesied in the Old Testament (See Isaiah 53), and to be fulfilled with the Messiah Joseph and Messiah David.
There are 4 Jewish Sources which refer to these Exilarchs as Messiahs:
1) Between 614-638 AD: The Midrash, Otot ha-mashiah (or 'the Signs of the Messiah') stated that the "Messiah ben Joseph will appear, and his name is Nehemiah ben Hushiel, and with him the tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin, and some of the sons of Gad".
The Exilarch Nehemiah ben Hushiel began his reign in 614 AD, and was killed in 617 AD, and was referred to as the Messiah ben Joseph (i.e. the MHMD), the suffering Messiah.
2) 617-648 AD: The Asereth Otot, Midrash of the 'Ten Signs' was written, where it says "The Holy One, blessed be he, will produce at that time Messiah ben Joseph, whose name is Nehemiah ben Husheil", supporting the earlier writing.
3) 654 AD: In the Pirqei Hekhalot Rabbati (or the "Great Palaces") it suggests that the Messiah ben David (the 2nd and victorious Messiah) would appear 40 years after Nehemiah ben Hushiel, who became governor of Jerusalem in 614 AD, so that would be around 654 AD, which was during the reign of the Exilarch Bostanai, suggesting that he would be the Messiah ben David (MHMD #.2).
4) The Book of Zerubbabel, written by the king Zerubbabel, Nehemiah ben Shealtiel in 516 BC, who built the 2nd temple following the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile, prophesied that someone from his line would built the 3rd temple. So, he was the ancestor of the Exilarch-Governor Nehemiah ben Hushiel.
Mitchell says that "the statement that Israel's salvation will come after 990 years (from the founding of the 2nd temple) suggests that this deliverance would be around 638 AD.
So, the Jews assumed ben Hushiel would build the 3rd temple. But Umar conquered Jerusalem in 638 AD and built a structure on Mt. Moriah instead.
So, it seems that in the 7th century, the Jews believed Nehemiah ben Hushiel (their Messiah ben Joseph) would be their Messiah, but he only lasted 4 years. Thus, his brother Shallum (also known as Salman Farsi, or according to Al Tabari, even Salman al-Farisi = a Pharisee?) was considered the Messiah ben David, but he was a squib, so that title was then given to other Exilarchs after him.
The Conclusion: So in the 7th century, the Jews are waiting for their Messiah to come, and have given that title to their Exilarchs who were primarily located in the area of Baghdad, so that would have all spoken Arabic, and would have been referred to as MHMD (the Messiah).
At the same time the Christians also were waiting for the return of their Messiah, Jesus Christ, and so referred to him likewise as the "Praised One", the MHMD, putting his name on their coins.
It seems that both the Jews and the Christians were vying with each other to have their own Messiahs. Can you now understand why the later 8th century Muslims, who didn't have any prohetic line would like to fulfill what the Jews and the Christians were waiting for, the final Messiah, or the final MHMD?
© Pfander Centre for Apologetics & Polemics - US, 2024
(105,540) Music: 'Country Girl' by aleksound, from filmmusic-io