Warrior, King, Servant, Savior

“In his scholarly analysis that reads sometimes like a novel, Torleif Elgvin presents his account of the multifaceted figure of the messiah in the Bible and many early Jewish texts. He does so with the hand of a master who is expertly knowledgeable in all the texts, languages, and analytical skills.”
— Emanuel Tov
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

“Torleif Elgvin offers an impressively wide-ranging study on a variety of messianic patterns of belief and thought from the variegated evidence in the Hebrew Bible to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Bar Kokhba Revolt, and the rabbinic period. This comprehensive and yet accessible volume fills an important gap in the literature.”
— Charlotte Hempel
University of Birmingham

“One of the great strengths of Torleif Elgvin’s new book is how well contextualized it is. Instead of jumping into the messianic expectation that arose in the Maccabean and New Testament periods, he begins with the ancient antecedents of tenth-century David and the kingdom of Israel. Elgvin’s approach makes for a very satisfying engagement with the relevant texts and the tumultuous history behind them.”
— Craig A. Evans
Houston Baptist University

“Torleif Elgvin offers in this book a fresh overview of Davidic and messianic ideology. His work builds on the historical resonances of developing literary traditions, sets key observations alongside archaeological evidence, recognizes the many nuanced voices of Second Temple times and beyond, and articulates the theologies embedded in messianic thought.”
— George J. Brooke
University of Manchester

“Elgvin has written a learned, detailed survey of Jewish messianism, beginning with sources in the Hebrew Bible and continuing through later literature such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. He gives the reader a valuable bonus by adding a chapter on Jewish literature from the first to the seventh century CE, coverage rarely found in books like this.”
— James C. VanderKam
University of Notre Dame