What follows is a substantially expanded catalog of the major passages in the extant Targums where the Messiah is explicitly mentioned (usually משיחא, "the Messiah," or מלכא משיחא, "King Messiah"). The exact wording varies between manuscripts and editions, especially in Pseudo-Jonathan and Neofiti.
| Verse | Targum | Messianic Expression | Title Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 3:15 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Reconciliation in the days of King Messiah | King Messiah |
| Gen 4:25 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Hope for redemption at the end of days | Messiah implied |
| Gen 35:21 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Messiah revealed from Migdal Eder | King Messiah |
| Gen 49:1 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Jacob seeks to reveal the messianic end | Messiah |
| Gen 49:10 | Onkelos | "Until Messiah comes" | Messiah |
| Gen 49:10 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Kingdom belongs to King Messiah | King Messiah |
| Gen 49:12 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Description of Messiah's prosperity | King Messiah |
| Num 11:26 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Future messianic kingdom allusion | Messiah |
| Num 23:21 | Jonathan | Future kingdom of Messiah | King Messiah |
| Num 24:7 | Jonathan | Future messianic ruler | King Messiah |
| Num 24:17 | Onkelos | Star from Jacob = Messiah | Messiah |
| Num 24:17 | Jonathan | Explicit King Messiah | King Messiah |
| Num 24:19 | Jonathan | Dominion of Messiah | King Messiah |
| Deut 30:4 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Gathering under Messiah | King Messiah |
| Deut 32:39 | Pseudo-Jonathan | Future redemption through Messiah | Messiah |
| 1 Sam 2:10 | Jonathan | God's Messiah exalted | His Messiah |
| 1 Sam 2:35 | Jonathan | Faithful priest serving before Messiah | Messiah |
| 2 Sam 22:28-32 | Jonathan | Messianic kingdom references | Messiah |
| 2 Sam 23:1-5 | Jonathan | David's covenant fulfilled in Messiah | Messiah |
| Isa 4:2 | Jonathan | "Messiah of the Lord" | Messiah |
| Isa 9:6 (Heb. 9:5) | Jonathan | Peace in days of Messiah | Messiah |
| Isa 10:27 | Jonathan | Deliverance through Messiah | Messiah |
| Isa 11:1 | Jonathan | Shoot of Jesse = Messiah | Messiah |
| Isa 11:6-9 | Jonathan | Messianic age | Messiah |
| Isa 16:1-5 | Jonathan | Throne of Messiah established | Messiah |
| Isa 28:5 | Jonathan | Messianic king glorified | Messiah |
| Isa 42:1 | Jonathan | "My servant, the Messiah" | Messiah |
| Isa 43:10 | Jonathan | Messianic servant interpretation | Messiah |
| Isa 52:13 | Jonathan | "My servant the Messiah shall prosper" | Messiah |
| Isa 53:10-12 | Jonathan | Messiah ultimately vindicated | Messiah |
| Isa 61:1 | Jonathan | Anointed redeemer | Messiah |
| Jer 23:5 | Jonathan | Righteous Branch = Messiah | Messiah |
| Jer 23:6 | Jonathan | Messianic king reigns | Messiah |
| Jer 30:9 | Jonathan | David their king = Messiah | Messiah son of David |
| Jer 33:15 | Jonathan | Branch of David | Messiah |
| Ezek 17:22-24 | Jonathan | Messianic ruler from Davidic line | Messiah |
| Ezek 21:32 (27) | Jonathan | Kingdom reserved for Messiah | Messiah |
| Ezek 34:23 | Jonathan | Davidic shepherd = Messiah | Messiah |
| Ezek 37:24 | Jonathan | David as Messiah king | Messiah |
| Ezek 37:25 | Jonathan | Eternal reign of Messiah | Messiah |
| Hos 3:5 | Jonathan | Seek Messiah son of David | Messiah son of David |
| Joel 2:23 | Targum | Teacher connected with messianic era | Messiah implied |
| Amos 9:11 | Jonathan | Restoration through Messiah | Messiah |
| Mic 4:8 | Jonathan | Kingdom restored by Messiah | Messiah |
| Mic 5:2 | Jonathan | Bethlehem ruler = Messiah | Messiah |
| Zeph 3:8 | Targum | Day of redemption | Messiah implied |
| Hag 2:7 | Targum | Precious one of nations | Messiah |
| Zech 3:8 | Jonathan | Branch = Messiah | Messiah |
| Zech 4:7 | Jonathan | Messianic stone imagery | Messiah |
| Zech 6:12 | Jonathan | "Messiah is his name" | Messiah |
| Zech 9:9 | Jonathan | King Messiah enters Jerusalem | King Messiah |
| Zech 10:4 | Jonathan | Cornerstone interpreted messianically | Messiah |
| Zech 12:10 | Later Targumic tradition | Slain Messiah traditions | Messiah ben Ephraim |
| Zech 14:9 | Jonathan | Universal reign under Messiah | Messiah |
| Mal 3:1 | Jonathan | Messenger before Messiah | Messiah |
"The ruler shall not cease from the house of Judah ... until the Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom."
This is one of the earliest and clearest messianic identifications in all the Targums.
"A king shall arise from Jacob, and the Messiah shall be anointed from Israel."
Balaam's star prophecy becomes an explicit messianic prediction.
"Behold my servant, the Messiah, whom I bring near..."
One of the most famous Targumic reinterpretations of the Servant Songs.
"Behold, my servant the Messiah shall prosper; he shall be exalted and increase and be very strong."
This is perhaps the clearest pre-Christian Jewish messianic reading of the opening of Isaiah 53.
"I will raise up for David a righteous Messiah."
"They shall obey the Lord their God and the Messiah, son of David, their king."
This is one of the clearest occurrences of the title Messiah son of David in the Targums.
"Behold the man whose name is Messiah."
"Your King Messiah comes to you..."
A few observations emerge from the complete list:
The Pentateuch Targums (especially Pseudo-Jonathan) frequently speak of מלכא משיחא (King Messiah).
Targum Jonathan on the Prophets contains the largest concentration of explicit messianic interpretations.
The Targums overwhelmingly portray the Messiah as:
a Davidic king,
a future redeemer of Israel,
a righteous ruler,
the agent of the final gathering of exiles.
Several passages (especially Isaiah 42, 52–53, Jeremiah 23, Micah 5, and Zechariah 9) show that at least some Jewish interpreters before and during the early Christian era understood these texts messianically.
Explicit references to a divine Messiah are rare; the Targums generally distinguish the Messiah from God while giving him extraordinary authority and honor.
The Targums almost never explicitly call the Messiah "God." In fact, the standard rabbinic tendency in the Targums is to avoid language that could blur the distinction between God and His Messiah.
However, there are a number of passages that scholars have argued attribute to the Messiah characteristics that are unusually exalted, divine-adjacent, or connected with God's own authority. The evidence varies in strength.
| Reference | Targum | Relevant Reading | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 9:6 (Heb. 9:5) | Jonathan | Applies the verse to the Messiah while retaining divine titles in the text | Strongest |
| Micah 5:2 | Jonathan | Messiah's origin is described in language suggesting ancient preexistence | Moderate |
| Zechariah 12:10 | Targumic tradition | Complex relationship between God and the pierced one | Moderate |
| Psalm 45:6 | Targum Psalms | Royal figure receives extraordinarily exalted language | Moderate |
| Psalm 72 | Targum Psalms | Universal reign approaching divine prerogatives | Moderate |
| Psalm 110 | Targum Psalms | Messianic figure enthroned beside God | Moderate |
| Daniel 7:13–14 (Targum traditions) | Later Aramaic interpretation | Son of Man receives universal worship | Strong |
| Isaiah 52–53 | Jonathan | Messiah is exalted beyond ordinary kings | Moderate |
| Zechariah 6:12–13 | Jonathan | Messiah participates in temple-building and eternal rule | Moderate |
The Hebrew text reads:
"Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
The interesting question is whether these titles belong to God or to the child.
Targum Jonathan paraphrases the verse as referring to the Messiah:
"His name has been called from of old, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, He who lives forever, the Messiah in whose days peace shall increase."
Some scholars argue that the Targum preserves the divine titles while still applying the passage to the Messiah.
Others argue that the divine titles refer to God, not to the Messiah himself.
Either way, this is the closest the Targums come to associating explicitly divine titles with the Messiah.
The Hebrew text says:
"whose origins are from ancient times, from days of old."
Targum Jonathan renders the ruler as the Messiah and preserves language implying an origin that stretches back before ordinary human history.
Some Jewish and Christian scholars have viewed this as evidence for a preexistent Messiah.
The Targum on Psalms interprets the psalm messianically.
The Messiah is enthroned at God's right hand and given worldwide dominion.
Although the Messiah is not called God, sitting at God's right hand and ruling the nations is a remarkably exalted role.
Compare with the New Testament's frequent use of Psalm 110 regarding Jesus of Nazareth.
Although Daniel itself is already Aramaic rather than a Targum, later Aramaic Jewish interpretation frequently understood the "Son of Man" figure messianically.
The figure receives:
universal dominion,
everlasting kingship,
service from all peoples and nations.
The Aramaic verb pelach ("serve") is often used elsewhere for worship rendered to God.
This has led some scholars to argue that Daniel presents the highest Jewish view of a Messiah prior to Christianity.
Targum Jonathan famously says:
"Behold, my servant the Messiah shall prosper; he shall be exalted and increase and be very strong."
The Hebrew uses three ascending verbs:
"high and lifted up and greatly exalted."
Elsewhere in Isaiah similar language is used for God Himself (Isaiah 6:1; 57:15).
The Targum applies the passage directly to the Messiah.
This is where the discussion becomes especially interesting.
The Targums frequently replace direct references to God with:
Memra ("Word")
Shekinah ("Presence")
Yeqara ("Glory")
Examples include:
Genesis 3:8
Genesis 28:20–21
Exodus 19:17
Deuteronomy 33:27
The Memra:
creates,
saves,
judges,
redeems,
appears to humans.
Many scholars have noted that the Memra functions in ways strikingly similar to the divine Logos theology later found in the Gospel of John.
However, the Targums generally do not identify the Messiah with the Memra.
Instead, they keep these categories separate.
If we restrict ourselves to explicit statements, the Targums teach that the Messiah is:
the Davidic king,
God's anointed ruler,
the redeemer of Israel,
preeminent among men,
ruler of the nations,
participant in God's final judgment.
They do not explicitly say:
"The Messiah is God."
"The Messiah is Yahweh."
"The Messiah is divine by nature."
Those conclusions are usually drawn indirectly from passages such as Isaiah 9, Psalm 110, Daniel 7, and Isaiah 52–53.
If one were ranking the Targumic evidence for a divine or quasi-divine Messiah, the passages most frequently discussed by scholars would be:
Isaiah 9:6 (Targum Jonathan) — divine titles associated with the Messiah.
Daniel 7:13–14 — the Son of Man receives everlasting worship-like service.
Psalm 110 (Targum Psalms) — the Messiah enthroned beside God.
Isaiah 52:13 (Targum Jonathan) — exaltation language otherwise used of God.
Micah 5:2 (Targum Jonathan) — possible preexistence of the Messiah.
These passages do not amount to a fully developed doctrine that the Messiah is God, but they do show that some Jewish interpreters were willing to attribute to the Messiah a status far above that of an ordinary human king.