Prophecies in the Bible: Textual Analysis and Historical Context

The Bible contains many passages that Christians claim as prophecies about Jesus that were fulfilled. However, a closer examination shows that these so-called prophecies were interpreted after the events to make Jesus fit, rather than being true predictions. This article analyzes some of the key biblical texts used as “prophecies” and places them in their proper historical context.

Exegesis and Interpretation in Second Temple Judaism

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls are works called pesharim, where writers took passages from the Hebrew Bible and interpreted them in light of later events. For example, the Habakkuk Pesher from the 1st century BC interpreted the 7th century BC book of Habakkuk as prophesying the events of its own time, including the ministry of the Teacher of Righteousness. This type of scriptural exegesis was common during the Second Temple period when early Christianity arose. Jews believed scriptures had multiple layers of meaning, and a prophetic significance could be discerned through new revelation or insight. The early Jesus movement similarly found new meanings in texts regarding Jesus as the Messiah.

Finding Jesus in the Old Testament

Just as the Dead Sea Scrolls sects found their Teacher of Righteousness in scripture through pesher interpretations, the early Jesus believers did the same for Jesus. Motivated by the belief that Jesus was God’s anointed one (Messiah), they analyzed scriptures to find passages that could be interpreted anew to show Jesus fulfilled prophecies. For example, Psalm 30:3 about being raised from the dead is taken out of context. Most of the 365 supposed prophecies listed for Jesus are fulfillments extracted creatively from unrelated texts through pesher exegesis, not actual predictions.

Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled Himself

Certain gospel passages depict Jesus deliberately fulfilling prophecy. In John 13:18, Jesus cites a verse from Psalms to insist his betrayal by Judas was foretold. However, the gospel embellishes the story to better fit the “prophecy”.

Creating Prophecies through Narrative Details

At times, gospel writers added story elements to claim prophecy fulfillment. For example, the non-Biblical detail of soldiers dividing Jesus’ clothes may have been invented just to reference Psalms 22:18. Literary creation, not just finding proofs, influenced these supposed prophecies.

Examining Key “Prophetic” Texts

A closer look at some of the messianic prophecies demonstrates they were interpreted after the fact to apply to Jesus, rather than true predictions.

Isaiah’s Suffering Servant

Isaiah 40-66 depicts a Suffering Servant who sacrifices for Israel’s sins. While Jews saw this as Israel collectively, Christians applied it to Jesus’ death. However, this was a post-Jesus reinterpretation, not the original meaning.

Zechariah’s Triumphal Entry

Matthew 21 has Jesus ride two donkeys to fulfill Zechariah 9:9’s poetic parallelism. But this is an obviously ridiculous literalization just to profess prophecy fulfillment. Such proofs relied on loose exegetical tricks, not solid predictions.

“Prophecies” Not in the Bible

Curiously, some supposed prophecies cited in the Gospels like Jesus settling in Nazareth or his resurrection on the third day, are nowhere found in scripture. This raises questions about the reliability of such proof texts.

Assessing the Authenticity of Messianic Prophecies

A objective examination shows that:

• Messianic prophecy was an interpretive category invented by early Christians, foreign to original texts and alien to mainstream 1st century Judaism.
• The supposed proofs amount to pesher-style eisegesis rather than predictive prophecy. Texts were bent out of original context andmeaning through creative reinterpretation.
• claims of prophecies fulfilled through narrative events in some cases involved the gospel writers shaping stories to cite proof texts, rather than just finding proofs.
• Not all details about Jesus matched prophecies, like failing to usher in eternal world peace or redeem Israel asExpected of the Jewish Messiah. So in summary, the messianic prophecies were spin developed after the fact to validate Christian claims about Jesus through creative scriptural manipulation, not genuine predictions fulfilled by him. A balanced review suggests they are not convincing evidence of Jesus’ purported divine identity.

  Exegesis, Prophecy and the Early Jesus Movement

  To understand the supposed messianic prophecies objectively, we must consider the following points:

• Works like the Dead Sea Scrolls show pesher-style interpretation was common in Second Temple Judaism to find new meanings in old texts.
• The first followers of Jesus, like other sects, engaged in this exegetical technique to prove their leader from the Hebrew scriptures in light of their fervent beliefs.
• However, mainstream Jews before and since have not seen the cited passages as messianic predictions fulfilled by Jesus.
• Details added to the Jesus story and gospel narratives sometime reflect an interest in creating proofs by fulfilling alleged prophecies through invented story points.
• Not all specifics about Jesus matched expected messianic details, so some proof texts had to be selectively interpreted in his favor and others effectively ignored. So in historical context, it seems best to understand the supposed messianic prophecies not as objective fulfilled predictions, but as an understandable example of how new religious movements legitimate themselves by associating with older respected texts in creative adaptive ways, through the interpretive methods of their time. For Jews and other outsiders, they remain improbable proofs of extraordinary divine claims.

  Conclusion

  In modern scholarly analysis, the supposed messianic prophecies cited for Jesus fall short as compelling evidence for extraordinary theological claims like his divinity. Texts were generatively reinterpreted through ancient Jewish exegetical conventions to align Jesus with the scriptures in light of the early believers’ profound convictions. But this process involved selective readings and even narrative shaping to attain supposed proofs. For adherents they no doubt helped validate radical new ideas through the authority and dignity lent by scripture. But to those without faith in prior theological judgments, they seem more the product of ancient religious reasoning than objective factual predictions fulfilled. A balanced review based on contextual history and textual analysis suggests skepticism is warranted. The messianic prophecies therefore tell us more about the creative theological development of early Christianity through creative rabbinic hermeneutics than about Jesus himself. As with all religious documents, they merit investigation not as transparent revelations but as historically situated human compositions reflecting particular interpretive lenses, creative adaptations and profound convictions. Only through such an impartial study can we hope to understand them properly in their native historical soil removed from claims of supernatural revelation or inerrant prediction.