Conspiracy Theory – Christianity Is a Fiction

 

Adversaries of Christianity sometimes argue against the reality of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, even that he is not a real historical figure, by claiming Christianity itself is a fictional story. One conspiracy theory claims Christianity and thus Jesus are the result of various groups colluding to invent a morphed deity image of a messiah:[1]

“…Christianity and the story of Jesus Christ were created by members of various secret societies, mystery schools and religions in order to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion.  …this multinational cabal drew upon a multitude of myths and rituals that existed long before the Christian era, and reworked them for centuries into the religion passed down to us today.” – Acharya S.

Challenges to create a fictional messiah figure would have been enormous at the beginning of the millennium, especially in an era without any means of electronic communication, media, even the printed word. Just the opposite occurred. Christianity rose so rapidly, Jewish leaders tried to snuff it out quickly and Rome tried to quell it by killing people who professed it.

Creating a Christian religion with a Jewish messiah ups the ante to the highest degree. Probably the most scorned, if not hated, ethnic group in the Roman Empire were Jews, yet at least one conspiracy theory ironically maintains the created fictitious messiah image was himself a Jew. Consider that Judaism, too, views Christianity as blasphemous for its belief that Jesus is the Messiah.

Espousing the theory that an alleged Christianity conspiracy theory began “centuries” earlier, “long before the Christian era,” but history provides a different reality. Centuries earlier in Biblical history, Jews themselves were warring against each other before being taken captive in Babylon. After being freed by the Persian overthrow, enemies still wanted to subvert the Jew’s efforts.[2]

During the four centuries before the Roman Empire, cabals from three Empires – Babylonians, Persians and Greeks – with authority over Judea had to be complicit in the conspiracy.[3] It then has to be accepted there was a long-term strategy “to unify the Roman Empire under one state religion” even though the concept of a Roman Empire was yet unknown.

Pilate had Jesus crucified and to refute that fact means declaring renowned Roman historians Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus others as well as the religion of Judaism were wrong. The theory proposes that Jewish leadership was supporting Rome when, in fact, Rome was crucifying Jews by the thousands and eventually destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD.[4]

For the invention of a fictional Jewish messiah, the image would call for a flawless ancestral background of pure Jewish lineage, not to mention an ancestral history free of unsavory or illegal activities. Alleged collaborators would then have to weave this complex lineage into a 2000 year timeline to create a messiah narrative.

Genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth was anything but pure and flawless. A perfect lineage of a made-up messiah was simply not possible as demonstrated time and again by Scriptural history.

Disgraceful accounts pulled straight from the Old Testament, the Tenakh, include deceptions, lies, a prostitute, Gentile intermarriages, voyeurism, adultery, murder, greed, lascivious pleasures, etc. The background lineage of Jesus involved the most ignoble examples of disobedience to God, turning lemons into lemonade where each involved blessings from God.

Grandson of Abraham, Jacob swindled his older twin brother’s inheritance blessing from his father, Isaac. Jacob was later renamed by God and became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.[5]

Jacob’s own conniving sons sold their younger brother, Joseph, into slavery and lied to their father saying he had been killed by a wild animal. Joseph went on to become the second most powerful ruler in Egypt under Pharaoh and eventually saved his same Hebrew family from a famine.[6]

Rahab, a Gentile prostitute spared from the destruction of Jericho, married a Hebrew named Salmon and their son was named Boaz who became a wealthy resident of Bethlehem.[7] Boaz married the Gentile Ruth, daughter-in-law of his Jewish relative Naomi, allowing Naomi to redeem her otherwise lost inheritance.[8]

Jewish sage Rabbi Rashi professed his distaste of having a Gentile in the prophetic lineage of the Messiah. His disgust appears in his commentary on the Bethlehem prophecy of Micah 5:2:[9]

“you should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah: [Rashi] You should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah because of the stigma of Ruth the Moabitess in you.” – The Complete Jewish Bible

Son of Boaz and Ruth was Jesse whose son, David, became the King of Israel.[10] David committed some dastardly deeds that would be scandalous in any century.

King David’s voyeurism led to an affair with his neighbor’s wife and when his plan to cover-up her illicit pregnancy failed, the King had her husband sent to the front lines of a war knowing he would be killed.[11] In spite of this, subsequent prophecies foretold the future Messiah would come from the lineage of King David.

Solomon, King David’s son, indulged in the pleasures of 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of whom were Gentiles who brought with them forbidden idolatry influences. Still, Solomon built the Temple of God and was blessed with great wealth and wisdom.[12]

A flawed genealogy would have been a huge obstacle for anyone who attempted to “rework them for centuries into the religion passed down to us today.” According to the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born into this flawed Jewish royal lineage.

Arrival of Jesus of Nazareth happened during the era when Rome was experiencing it’s height of glory. In one weekend, one morning dawn, everything changed rather than taking “centuries” to rework “the religion passed down to us today.”

Unique to Christianity and the center of its core creed are the Resurrection accounts of Jesus.[13] No one, including the followers of Jesus, ever believed a resurrection could happen before Jesus was crucified. Afterwards, he actually had to prove his own followers that he was back from the dead.

Witness accounts about Jesus rang true with people, many believed and were labeled as “Christians.” Adversaries of the Resurrection accounts refuted, ridiculed, imprisoned and even killed witnesses – they were willing to die for what they believed.

Would anyone die to defend a false legend?

Updated October 31, 2023.

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REFERENCES:

[1] Acharya S. (Murdock, D.M.)  The Christ Conspiracy. Google Books advertisement. n.d. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Christ_Conspiracy.html?id=KnIYRi3upbEC> Stitcher. image. 2018. <https://megaphone-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/4b9e4b82-9bf9-11e8-ad4e-23b6913e004d/image/aa316e8eb017eeb2d66bd3ab5ef8270c329c2cdb5347f0e589403a20369416bc4a7f9ac6d6f18a9a13fd4eb5c6d622a7e506238a1124dbd66019deba3532d1ee.jpeg
[2] I Kings 11:26-12:24; Ezra 4;4, 5:6-17.
[3] Ezra 1:2-4, 6:7-12; 7:11-28. Spiro, Ken.  “History Crash Course #27: The Greek Empire.” Aish.com. 2001. <http://www.aish.com/jl/h/cc/48939587.html>  Hooker, Richard. “Hellenistic Greece: Alexander the Great.” Washington State University. 1999. <http://web.archive.org/web/20110104072822/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ALEX.HTM>
[4] Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus or C. Tranquillus Suetonius). The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Ed. Maximilian Ihm, trans. J. C. Rolfe. University of Chicago|Bill Thayer. n.d. “The Life of Titus.” 109 AD. <https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Titus*.html> “Siege of Jerusalem.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2020. <https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Jerusalem-70> Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews. Book II, Chapter XIV, Book V, Chapter XI.. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>
[5] Genesis 25; 27-28.
[6] Genesis 37; 41-46.
[7] Joshua 2, 6, Ruth 4; I Chronicles 2:1-17.
[8] Ruth 2-4.
[9] The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi’s Commentary. Micah 5:2 Rashi commentary.
[10] Ruth 4; I Chronicles 2.
[11] 2 Samuel 11-12.
[12] 2 Chronicles 7, 9; I Kings 7-8, 10.
[13] I Corinthians 15:3-4.

 Jeconiah’s Curse, Amazing Promise & Impossible Challenge

 

Jeconiah’s so-called curse is cited in agnostic and atheist theories as evidence against the legitimacy of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. Ironically, the evidence is based on Biblical prophecies foretelling the Messiah must be born in the royal House of David which is then used to claim the prophecy cannot be fulfilled because of Jeconiah’s curse.[1]

Adversaries can sometimes make for strange bedfellows. Judaism has no choice but to side with Christianity on this allegation because, if true, prophecies foretelling the Messiah would come from the House of David – Jesus nor anyone else whom Judaism teaches is the Messiah – can never be.

Setting the scene, Jehoiakim, king of Judah, drew the wrath of God for his evil ways as well as his son, Jeconiah (aka Coniah or Jehoiachin), for following in his footsteps.[2] God sent the prophet Jeremiah with a message of judgment to the kingdom – death for Jehoaikim (aka Josiah), but for Jeconiah…

Jer. 22:30 This is what the LORD says: “Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule any more in Judah.”(NIV)

Jeconiah was condemned by God to be a man as if he had no sons, nor would of his descendants ever sit on the Throne of David. He served as King for all of 3 months before being taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar and spent the remainder of his days in Babylonian captivity.[3] Jeconiah was the last of the sitting kings in the royal succession of David.

Eventually Jeconiah fathered sons during his Babylonian captivity, the first son being Salathiel.[4] His name bears witness to Jeconiah’s fate where, according to the Talmud, he was called by a name meaning to be conceived in prison while standing up.[5] Jeconiah was imprisoned 37 years – his sons grew up without him…as if he had no sons.[6]

Jewish Rabbis and the Talmud teach that God pardoned Jeconiah and Biblical history provides corroborating evidence.[7] They point to the fact that Jeconiah was released from prison by Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, Evil-Merodach, who gave Jeconiah a seat of honor and dined with him daily.[8]

After Jerusalem had been crushed by Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah as his puppet king of Israel. As brother of Jeconiah, he had learned nothing from the judgments of his father and brother spending the next decade ignoring and offending both God and Nebuchadnezzar.[9] Zedekiah even confined the prophet Jeremiah in an outdoor prison courtyard for prophesying doom at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.[10]

Much more than just bad news, the condemnation judgement by God sets up His amazing promise. It is the strongest of the evidence that Jeconiah’s curse was forgiven by God.

Prophecies issued by Jeremiah demonstrated that the judgement had a limited shelf life. Just five verses after God’s judgement of Jeconiah, Jeremiah’s next prophecy makes clear David’s royal lineage had not ended. God explicitly promised that another King would arise from the Branch of David:

Jer 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.”(NASB)

During his outdoor imprisonment, Jeremiah prophesied again that Israel and Judah would be restored. The prophet issued his second of the Branch of David prophecies saying the throne of David would never end:

Jer. 33:14-15 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfil the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.’”

v.17 “For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, …”(NIV)

Emphasizing the trustworthiness of His incredible promise to Israel and Judah that He would raise up a Branch from the House of David, God issued an impossible challenge based on the steadfastness of astronomy:

Jer. 33:20-21 “”Thus says the LORD, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne…”(NASB)

Scrolling forward two generations, Zerubbabel, “The son of Salathiel, of the posterity of David,” is called out by Jewish historian Josephus as a Hebrew leader of great prominence who served as a body guard for Persian King Cyrus.[11] Zerubbabel solicited Cyrus to allow the rebuilding of the Temple and return of its vessels from Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest. Astonishingly, the Temple vessels had survived both the Babylonian captivity and the Persian invasion.

Cyrus not only granted the request by decree, he appointed Zerubbabel as the governor to lead the Hebrews out of captivity back to Jerusalem, rebuild the city, and join the High Priest in rebuilding the Temple.[12] Through the prophet Haggai, God blessed Zerubbabel for his leadership.[13]

Zerubbabel of the royal lineage of David, grandson of King Jeconiah, is mentioned 11 times in four books of the Old Testament, one of the few Hebrew figures to receive such recognition. He is also named in both genealogies of the Gospels Matthew and Luke.[14]

King Hezekiah signet ring impression 13th century BC.

Interestingly, Jeconiah’s judgement and the blessing of Zerubbabel each use a signet ring metaphor.  A ruler typically wore a unique gold signet ring bearing his name that was used to seal documents such as decrees – the seal was considered more authentic than a signature.[15]

Jer. 22:24 “”As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.”(NIV)

Hag. 2:23 “‘On that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”(NIV)

Was the royal lineage David ended by “Jeconiah’s curse” disqualifying Jesus as the “Righteous Branch.”

 

Updated June 16 2023.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:
[1] Willruth, Bart. “The Gospel of Matthew Debunks the Messiahship of Jesus.” Debunking Christianity. 2009. <http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/2009/06/gospel-of-matthew-debunks-messiahship.html>  Lippard, Jim. “The Fabulous Prophecies Of The Messiah.” Atheist Community of Austin. 1993. <https://atheist-community.org/resources/online-articles/145-the-fabulous-prophecies-of-the-messiah>  Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies. Book III, Chapters XXI, XXII. Ante-Nicene Fathers. Volume I.  Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 2005. <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.iv.html>
[2] Jeremiah 22.  Net.bible.org. Jeremiah 22:24 footnote #42. CR Jeremiah 24, 27-29, 52; 1 Chronicles 3; 2 Chronicles 36; Esther 2; 2 Kings 24, 25; Ezekiel 1.
[3] 2 Kings 24.
[4] I Chronicles 3.
[5] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Isidore Epstein. 1935-1948. Sanhedrin 37b-38a. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/talmud/index.html>
[6] Jeremiah 52.
[7] Isaiah 9:, 11.  Jehoiachin.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2017. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8543-jeconiah>  “The Problem of the Curse on Jeconiah in Relation to the Genealogy of Jesus.” Jews for Jesus. 2018. <https://jewsforjesus.org/answers/the-problem-of-the-curse-on-jeconiah-in-relation-to-the-genealogy-of-jesus-issues-prophecy>
[8] Jeremiah 52; 2 Kings 25. Rashi, Shlomo Yitzchaki. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary. Yirmiyahu – Jeremiah 22:24 commentary. <https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16019#showrashi=true>
[9] Jeremiah 52; Chronicles 36.
[10] II Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 27, 29, 37. Bakon, Shimon.  “Zedekiah:  The Last King of Judah”, Jewish Bible Quarterly. Vol. 36, No. 2, 2008.   <http://jbq.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/362/362_zedekiah.pdf>
[11] Haggai 1-2. Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XI, Chapters I, III-IV. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false>  “Zerubbabel.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011. “Zerubbabel.”  Jewish Virtual Library. 2014. “Zerubbabel.” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online. 2018. <http://www.internationalstandardbible.com/Z/zerubbabel.html
[12] Ezra 1, 6.
[13] Haggai 2.
[14] I Chronicles 3; Nehemiah 12; Ezra 3, 5; Haggai. 1, 2; Matthew 1; Luke 3.  “Zerubbabel.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  “Zerubbabel.” Jewish Virtual Library. Josephus. Antiquities.  Book XI, Chapter III (spelled Zorobabel).
[15] “A brief history of signet rings.” The History Press. 2018. < https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/a-brief-history-of-signet-rings > Davis, Ashley. “The History Behind … Signet Rings.” National Jeweler. 2018. < https://www.nationaljeweler.com/fashion/antique-estate-jewelry/4637-the-history-behind-signet-rings-2 > Seal of Hezekiah. UPI.com. image. 13th century BC. <https://cdnph.upi.com/sv/ph/og/i/7091449076877/2015/1/14490824662433/v1.5/Rare-mark-of-the-seal-of-biblical-era-Judean-king-found.jpg>

Rabbi Rashi and the Messiah Prophecies

 

Rabbi Rashi, considered one of Judaism’s greatest interpreters of the Talmud, emerged at a time when the Dark Ages were transitioning from rule by barbarian tribes like the Huns, Goths and Franks into the feudal era when kings, queens, knights & lords ruled Europe.[1] In the year 1040, Shlomoh Yitzha was born in Troyes, France.[2]

As a Rabbi, Rashi was renowned for his wisdom and interpretation of the Talmud in simple terms. Jewish academies widely accepted and valued his commentaries mostly captured and documented by his students.[3]

Commentaries of Rashi include some prophecies foretelling the arrival of the Messiah recognized as such by Christian authorities. One of the earliest is found in  Jacob’s blessing of his son, Judah:

Gen 49:8-10 “Judah, [as for] you, your brothers will acknowledge you. Your hand will be at the nape of your enemies, [and] your father’s sons will prostrate themselves to you.  A cub [and] a grown lion is Judah.  From the prey, my son, you withdrew. He crouched, rested like a lion, and like a lion, who will rouse him? The scepter [shebet] shall not depart from Judah, nor the student of the law from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him will be a gathering of peoples.” (The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary)

Rashi’s interpretation of Jacob’s prophecy included three prophetic aspects. Judah like a lion foreshadowed David who would become like a lion when the people made him their king.

The scepter, the Rabbi said, represents the royal lineage of “David and thereafter.” Shiloh refers specifically to “King Messiah, to whom the kingdom belongs.”[4]

Another Messiah prophecy involved Moabite King Balak who realized his army could not defeat the Hebrew’s. His strategy, instead, was to press the prophet Balaam to place a curse on the approaching Hebrew nation, but Balaam’s response was a prophecy doing just the opposite:

Num 24:17  “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter [shebet] shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.” NASB

Hebrew text translations vary slightly between Christian and Jewish Bibles where a word in Hebrew text must be deciphered by translators. Christian Bible translations typically read “I see him, but not now;” Jewish Bible translations read “I see it, but not now” although the context inferred by the remainder of the prophecy is about a king, a male.[5]

Rashi commented the opening phrase refers to the “greatness of Jacob” at a future time. Hebrew word shebet is translated in the Jewish version as “staff” whereas the same word is earlier translated as “scepter” in Jacob’s prophecy.[6] Consistently, the Rabbi’s commentary says shebet represents “a king who rules dominantly.”

Micah 5:1/2 is a prophecy making specific reference to a future ruler of Israel and Bethlehem Ephrathah, the home town of King David. Micah’s prophecy is understood by Rashi, though opposed by some Jewish authorities, to mean the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah in the royal lineage of King David.[7] His phrase-by-phrase breakdown with commentary:

Mich 5:1 (or v.2) “And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah – you should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah-from you [he] shall emerge for Me, to be a ruler over Israel; and his origin is from of old, from days of yore.” – The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary

“And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah”:  [Rashi] “whence David emanated, as it is stated (I Sam. 17:58): “The son of your bondsman, Jesse the Bethlehemite.” And Bethlehem is called Ephrath, as it is said (Gen. 48:7): “On the road to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem.”

“you should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah”: [Rashi] You should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah because of the stigma of Ruth the Moabitess in you.

“from you shall emerge for Me”: [Rashi] the Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:22): “The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone.”

“and his origin is from of old”: [Rashi] “Before the sun his name is Yinnon” (Ps. 72:17).

Commenting on “the stigma of Ruth the Moabitess,” Rashi said it is the reason Bethlehem is called “the lowest of the clans of Judah.” Expressing his distaste of Ruth, a Gentile, Rashi viewed the prophecy as defining her in the  lineage of the Messiah, unsavory to have a Gentile in a Hebrew lineage.[8]

Ruth was the Moabite daughter-in-law of the Hebrew Naomi, whose inheritance lost by the deaths of male family members, was redeemed by marriage to the Hebrew Boaz. Grandparents of Jesse, the couple were the great grandparents of King David.

Boaz himself was the son of Salmon who had married Rahab, a Gentile prostitute.[9] Rahab was the hero who hid two Hebrew spies being sought by the Jericho King’s posse, then helped them escape.[10] As a reward, Rahab was spared by the Hebrews when they destroyed Jericho.

Leaving no doubt his interpretation of Micah 5:1/2 is a Messiah prophecy, Rashi explicitly said the future ruler of Israel would be “the Messiah, Son of David” citing Psalms 118:22 as another messianic prophecy. The Messiah’s divine characteristic, “and his origin is from of old,” is called Yinnon by Rashi, a Hebrew epithet meaning “be continued.[11]

Zechariah 12:10 is a prophecy foretelling the Messiah’s manner of death, according to Rashi. Taking a side in the split view of Talmud contributors in Talmud Sukkah 52, he commented, “And our Sages expounded this in tractate Sukkah (52a) as referring to the Messiah, son of Joseph, who was slain.”[12]

Christianity’s agreement with Rashi on the Messiah prophecies of Jacob, Balaam, Micah and Zechariah, part company on another prophecy, Isaiah 7:14.[13] Isaiah’s prophecy, Rashi taught, was not about a virgin birth, rather it referred to Manoah’s wife, mother of Sampson, the Biblical strongman.[14]

As a Rabbi, Rashi obviously did not believe Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah primarily due to a particular disqualifying reason. Specifically it was the circumstances of his death, according to JewishEncyclopedia.com citing Rashi – Jesus was hanged:

“The very form of his punishment would disprove those claims in Jewish eyes. No Messiah that Jews could recognize could suffer such a death; for “He that is hanged is accursed of God” (Deut. xxi. 23), ‘an insult to God’ (Targum, Rashi).”[15]Jewish Encyclopedia

Crucifixion of Jesus as a historical fact is undisputed by Judaism nor the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem in the royal lineage of the House of David. Ultimately, the question between Christianity and Judaism remains…what are the odds Jesus of Nazareth was a fulfillment of the Messiah prophecies?

 

Updated December 21, 2023.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] “Dark Ages.” New World Encyclopedia. 2013. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Dark_Ages>  “Middle Ages,” “Feudalism,” & “Renaissance.”  Encyclopædia Britannica.  2017. <https://www.britannica.com/event/Middle-Ages> <https://www.britannica.com/topic/feudalism> <https://www.britannica.com/event/Renaissance>  “feudal system.” Vocabulary.com. n.d. <https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/feudal%20system>
[2] “Rashi (Solomon Bar Isaac).” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12585-rashi-solomon-bar-isaac>  “Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi).”  Chabad.org. 2017. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/rabbi-shlomo-yitzchaki-rashi> Segal, Eliezer.  “Rashi’s Commentary on the Talmud.”  University of Calgary.  n.d.  <http://people.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/Rashi.html>  “RASHI – רש״י.” Geni. photo. 2022. <https://www.geni.com/people/RASHI-%D7%A8%D7%A9-%D7%99/6000000006709501378
[3] “Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi).” Chabad.org.
[4] Rashi. The Compete Jewish Bible – with Rashi Commentary. Gensis 49. <http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9952#showrashi=true>  “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki).”  Jewish Virtual Library. 2017.  Mindel, Nissan. “Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi).”  Chabad.org.
[5] Net.bible.org. Hebrew text. <http://classic.net.bible.org/bible.php>
[6] Net.bible.org. Hebrew text shebet <07626>  Numbers 24:17. Rashi. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary  Commentary.
[7]  “Jesus of Bethlehem.” MessianicJewishTruth.com. n.d. Archive.org. 2013.  <http://web.archive.org/web/20131103080951/http://www.messianicjewishtruth.com/Jesusbethlehem.html>      “Who will emerge from Bethlehem.”  Teshuvas HaMinim.  2011.  Archive.org. 2012.  <http://web.archive.org/web/20120902023316/http://www.teshuvashaminim.com/michah51.html>
[8] Mendel. “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki).”
[9] Joshua 2.
[10] Joshua 6:25; I Chronicles 2:11; Matthew 1:5.
[11] Yinon (Yinnon).” eTeacherHebrew.com.  2016. <http://eteacherhebrew.com/Hebrew-Names/yinon-yinnonInterlinear Bible.  Psalms 72:17. BibleHub.com.  2014. <http://biblehub.com/interlinear>
[12] The Compete Jewish Bible – with Rashi Commentary. Zechariah 12:10  <http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/63255/jewish/The-Bible-with-Rashi.htmSoncino Babylonian Talmud. Sukkah 52a. <http://www.halakhah.com/rst/moed/16b%20-%20Succah%20-%2029b-56b.pdf>
[13] The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary.  Isaiah , Chapter 7.  “Who is the Almah’s son?” Teshuvas HaMinim. 2011.  Archive.org.  2012.  <http://web.archive.org/web/20120425022737/http://www.teshuvashaminim.com/isaiah714.html>  Robinson, B.A. “Isaiah 7:14 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive…””  Religious Tolerance. 2007. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_proi.htm>  Gill, John.  John Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible.  Isaiah 7:14.  2017. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb.html>
[14] The Compete Jewish Bible- with Rashi Commentary.  Isaiah 7:14. CR Judges Chapter 13.
[15] “Jesus of Nazareth.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.  2011.;