This book is the most comprehensive compilation of Jewish texts about the Messiah that I know of in English. When it first came out, it filled a great need for an intelligently-written book where both Jews and non-Jews could read the traditional sources on what Jews believe about the Messiah. As it turns out, those sources are much richer and far more complex that you might imagine.

Patai does not seek to present any particular doctrine as "the truth," nor does he seek to convert anybody to anything. He simply presents all the materials he could find, with some academic overviews of the basic themes. His approach is that of an academic folklorist, not a theologian -- in fact, the book is subtitled "Jewish Legends of Three Thousand Years."

The chapters cover such things as pre-existent names of the Messiah, prophecies, apocalyptic writings, birth of the Messiah, stages of the Great Redemption, Last Judgement, Resurrection, dreams and visions of the future world, etc. There are sources from the Bible, Talmud, Midrash, medieval texts, Hasidic teachings, and modern accounts. Plus there are literary references to the Messiah from such writers as Elie Wiesel, Scholom Asch, Martin Buber, Jacob Wasserman, etc. All in all, 337 pages of prime material.

Most interesting were the various people who have claimed (or were once thought to be) the Jewish Messiah, ranging from Bar Kochba to Shabbetai Zevi to -- get this -- Theodore Herzl! Yes indeed, the founder of the Zionist movement once dreamed that he was the Chosen One (see pp. 272-73) and apparently saw himself as a savior of the Jewish people -- albeit a secular one. (And I suppose if this book were to be updated now, it would also include the late Lubovitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, as well. He never made the claim, but some of his followers did.)

One rather startling piece of info is a chapter on a mythological character named "Armilus" who is a villain that will oppose the true Messiah (see pp. 156-64.) This brought me up short, because the Edgar Cayce readings say that the soul of Jesus is called "Armilius" in the next world. Prior to reading Patai's book, that was the only reference to any "Armilius" I had heard of. Did Cayce read this legend somewhere? If so, he got the story all mixed up, because the Armilus described in the Messiah texts is a pretty nasty guy and not at all like the Jesus of the Gospels.

When the true Messaih does come, according to the legends in this book, the righteous will be treated to a heavenly banquet, where they will eat the Leviathan, a huge fish-creature created especially for this purpose. Also served will be it's dry-land counterpart, Behemoth. (Which means "beast" in Hebrew. Anybody care for a nice juicy slice of Roast Beast?) Those who prefer fowl can enjoy the flesh of the Ziz, a wading bird of cosmic proportions. (Vegetarians, I suppose, will dine on the fruits from the Garden of Eden.)

All in all, this is an excellent sourcebook for teachings that range from the sublime to the utterly bizarre. If you only buy one book on Jewish Messiah texts, this is it!

The Messiah Texts is a comprehensive study of Hebrew messianic prophecy. It explores such topics as pre-existence of the messiah, the suffering messiah theme in Jewish tradition, the signs of times of the messiah. It also explores the Suffering Servant - Israel connection, conceding that the Suffering Servant is a psychological projection of Israel. The quality of research is excellent: excrepts include quotes from Zohar, Genesis Rabbah, Sefer Zerubabel and, of course, the Bible. This book does not present any religious dogma, it simply explores the subject. Anyone studying the Messianic prophecy & tradition will benefit from reading The Messiah Texts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Patai does a phenomenal job in depicting the events of the forced conversion of Islam of a small Jewsih community in Mashaad, Iran. Anyone interested in anthropology or history should read this book, becasue this community of marranos, unlike any other forced converts, all returned to their original faith after several generations. The strength of this community is apparent in their struggle to maintain their heritage and religion in secret, under the shadow of the sword.

I was very pleased to find that, like Patai's HEBREW GODDESS, this book combines thorough and excellent scholarship with translations of rare sources that are otherwise impossible to find. Patai does not claim the Jewish Patriarchs were alchemists, but in his broad chronological exploration of the topic begins with the historical development of later attributions of the Alexandrian alchemist Miriam by Arabic and other alchemists to one of the biblical Miriams of the New Testament or to Miriam, wife of Moses. The Alexandrian alchemist Mirian, like Cleopatra, was considered by Zosimos and others to be one of the great founders. As one would expect, her identity was eventually attributed to legendary times by medieval practitioners. Her Jewish name implies to Patai and other scholars that the earliest historical Jewish practice of alchemy developed in the heterodox Hermetic and Gnostic schools of Alexandria during the second to fourth centuries of the Common Era. Patai's voluminous research thoroughly explores the Jewish-Islamic stream of alchemy through early and late medieval periods. It provides, for the first time, a basis for students of the Western mystery tradition to understand the Jewish-Egyptian-Spanish esoteric stream that derived from the Pythagorean and Gnostic school of Akhmim near Nag Hammadi and Thebes in Upper Egypt, which indirectly produced such mysterious literary figures as "Abramelim the Mage." A good supplement for Patai's absolutely essential work would be Peter Kingsley's research on the survival of Neo-Pythagroean and Hermetic tradition in Akhmim, from which the Arabic Hermetic scientists, philosophers, and alchemists derived their knowledge.

In the last two decades of his life, Washington Irving produced a number of biographies intended for "the family library." In many ways, these works resemble the brief biographies currently being produced by literary figures for the Penguin Biographical Series. With a strong emphasis on the narrative events, while recounting the general literary and cultural traditions that enliven his subjects, Irving produced highly readable and intelligent works, among then studies of Christopher Columbus and George Washington. Published in 1850 after Irving returned from his tour as Minister to Spain, "Life of Mahomet and His Successors " was initially a sketch for what Irving hoped would be a longer study of the Islamic invasion of Spain and its effects on Spanish culture. At the request of a friend, Irving lengthed his intial sketch of the Prophet, revising it years later, again at the request of a friend, and adding an appendex, "Of the Islam Faith" that examines Islamic articles of faith and the daily religious practices of Moslems. Although Irving is a product of an Enlightenment education, he is by no means dismissive of the aims or beliefs of Mohammed. For instance, in discussing the various miracles attributed to Mohammed, Irving notes that Mohammed himself said that the only miracle was the Koran. Irving also notes the reactions of Christians and Jews during the foundation of Islam--that many said he was anti-Christ, that many signs and portents in Constantinople excited the religious authorities throughout the Mediterranean world. Irving's harshest criticism is reserved for the transformation of Islam during the prophet's life into a political force, often of violence and intolerance, which in Irving's opinion, distorted the spiritual truth of Mohammed's earlier visions. Despite these criticisms, Irving ultimately offers the reader the argument that the truest measure of Islam and its founder can be located in the beauty of the Koran. Read with Karen Armstrong's study of Islam, as well as NJ Dawood's translation of the Koran, this forgotten biography will extend your historical understanding of this important man and the world religious movement he founded.

Dr. Raphael Patai, a noted Hebrew scholar and anthropologist and author of the HEBREW GODDESS is also the co-author of HEBREW MYTHS with Robert Graves (THE WHITE GODDESS). Those who wish to continue reading about the goddess in ancient religions will find parts of the HEBREW GODDESS quite interesting, however, Patai's book is not as lyrical as Graves' and not as readable in some sections as others. I found passages dealing with archeology in the Holy Land and quotations from the Old-Testament more interesting, and the sections dealing with the rabbinical writing of the Talmudic period proved difficult to follow (and stay awake).

Essentially, Patai is not suggesting Judaism has reverted to polytheism or kept a goddess in the closet all this time. He says "the legitimate Jewish faith, beginning with the earliest formulations of its belief-system ...has always been built upon the axiom of One God. He says Maimonides, the greatest medieval Jewish philosopher said, "God is not a body, nor can bodily attributes be ascribed to him." Still, mere mortals have had difficulty understanding God as an abstract concept, and thus have ascribed human characteristics to "him.".

Patai says throughout it's history Judaism has stressed the moral and intellectual aspects of God and often neglected the affective and emotional dimensions. However, since the earliest times, the Jewish people have understood God through myths and these myths personify God. This personification of God has included the goddess worship Jerimiah decried, the female attributes of the Cherubim that guarded the Ark of the Covenant, the myths of Lillith, the visions of the Shekina during the Talmudic period, and the rise of the Matronite in the 15th-18th Centuries.

Kabbalism during the Middle Ages was mass movement among Jews. During this period, a popular-mythical version of the Matronite overtook and dominated the scholarly-mystical variant. The attachment among Jews to the Matronite (mother of God) had a marked resemblance to Marioloatry among Christians in the Latin countries. Kabbala mysticism was associated with the Sephardic and Hasidic elements of Judaism which also associated with the Latin countries.

Apparently, the Ashkenazi Jews were not as "irrational" and after the Jewish Enlightenment, their perspective became the dominant Orthodoxy. Still, the Sephardic practicies associated with the Sabboath, which men were instructed to keep "Holy" continued. Patai describes the rituals of Friday night which included the Seder meal and sexual consumation of the scholar and his wife as serving the purpose of reuniting God with his wife--Shekina.

Patai's original book has been expanded with new chapters covering the Shekina in greater detail. Although he stresses the importance of the theological it is not clear even yet that ordinary practicioners understand the difference between the Goddess personified and the female aspect of the One God.

This book is a very in depth, intelligent read. It draws from an intense amount of research and states things clearly for the reader to feel that they can envision the social, political and spiritual enviroment during the reign of the Goddess. I would recommend this book to anyone. In fact I think Everyone should read it. Ishtar, Innana, Shehkina, Astarte, Before Christian or Muslim, There was was the Goddess.

The Bible gives the impression that all ancient Jews shared a common belief system ... with only an occasional group straying from the fold. But the evidence paints a different picture. As Dr. Patai states, "... it would be strange if the Hebrew-Jewish religion, which flourished for centuries in a region of intensive goddess cults, had remained immune to them." Archaeologists have uncovered Hebrew settlements where the goddesses Asherah and Astarte-Anath were routinely worshipped. And in fact, we find that for about 3,000 years, the Hebrews worshipped female deities which were later eradicated only by extreme pressure of the male-dominated priesthood.

And then there's the matter of the Cherubim that sat atop the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. Fashioned by Phoenician craftsmen for Solomon and Ahab, an ivory tablet shows two winged females facing each other. And one tablet shows male and female members of the Cherubim embracing in an explicitly sexual position that embarrassed later Jewish historians ... and even the pagans were shocked when they saw it for the first time.

This cult of the feminine goddess, though often repressed, remained a part of the faith of the Jewish people. Goddesses answered the need for mother, lover, queen, intercessor ... and even today, lingers cryptically in the traditional Hebrew Sabbath invocation.

The late Raphael Patai has written an interesting book on an unexpected subject - the seafaring of ancient Israelites and medieval Jews. The semi-nomadic tribes of Israel appear to have settled in the southern Levant highlands in the twelth or thirteenth century BC, while the coasts were controlled by Canaanites, Phoenicians and Philistines. The Hebrew Bible (aka Old Testament) comments only infrequently about the sea, so it is refreshing to read more about a topic only peripherally covered elsewhere (perhaps in specialist literature). Such an effort may be compared to the late Arthur Koesler's _The_Thirteenth_Tribe_ about the Kazarian Jewish converts yielding a source of eastern European Jewry after about the AD 10th century.

_The_Children_of_Noah_ integrates scripture, midrash and commentaries from ancient and medieval times to weave a continual if marginal participation of the Hebrews in the seafaring trade. One might be taken aback by the uncritical inclusion of citations from the Book of Mormon, but apparently Patai took his sources where he found them. (Not being Mormon myself, my skepticism of its veracity encourages me to overlook that portion.)

According to Patai, Jewish captains and sailors were plying the Mediterranean in significant numbers before and after the fall of Jerusalem. While the diaspora from the Babylonian and Roman conquests had scattered monotheistic Jews across landmasses in southwestern Asia, southern Europe and Egypt, revelation to the reader about how the Jews adapted both culturally and religiously to this nautical opportunity is a welcome experience in broadening one's historical perspective.

This is a must-read book -- not because it is necessarily brilliant or especially insightful, but because so many people cite it and it captures well many common conceptions of and judgements about the Arab World. I have read this twice since 9/11 along with many other books to come to understand the culture in which I now live and teach. Each time I come away more unsettled, especially as Patai seems all too often to be saying that because the rhetorical strategies and the logical patterns of Arabs may (or may not) be different from Western minds, they are inadequate. While he doesn't often say this directly, the judgementalism that undergirds his discussion screams aloud this view. In many instances, he makes sweeping generalizations about the nature of all Arabs by citing a single instance, whether in Palestine, or Morroco, or Iran, or where ever. He then uses this one instance to make a grand claim that sounds good, but which may or may not have any legs to it. The nature of Arabs is no more universal from country to country than the "West" is universal from France to the US to Germany. Some of his arguments are grounded in citations of the work of others, but it is difficult to know the value of those as, again, there is much that is done as case studies of a single village or situation but used by this author as evidence for a much wider conclusion of the nature of the Arab mind. As an American living in the Gulf, it saddens me that the richness of the people and cultures here become so caricatured in this work. Read it--but don't assume that its pronouncements are gospel.

For those struggling to understand how over 60% of the Arab world believe the the Trade Centers were destroyed by Jews in an effort to further discredit the Muslim world, this is a must read.
Dr Patai balances his keen eye to observation and analysis with what slips out occaisionally as a profound love for the Arab world, and its unique culture.
This is a serious work. In some ways, it might have better to have renamed the book, with something less than its provocative title. I suspect some "readers" who label this book as racist or inflammatory have never gotten beyond the cover. But renaming the book would have been the easy way out for Dr. Patai. And it's clear from reading this work that he never opts for the easy, politically correct road. That's why this work endures nearly 30 years after its first publication.

I daresay Raphael Patai is something of a genius. His ability to see the nuances and breadth and depth of an entire cultural personality impresses me on page after page of this book. Alex De Tocqueville is today almost a household name for his analysis of the American mind in his 1830 book DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA. I think THE ARAB MIND is possibly as important and enduring--I'm glad to see it back in print!--a book about the Arabs. Since a lot of people will buy this book, and the very reason it's back in print, is because of Sept. 11, I will point you to the section in this book titled "Hatred of the West." The reason the Arabs hate the West is that centuries ago Arabia was superior to the West in all areas of science, culture, art and warfare. Then Arabia entered their period of stagnation, during which time the West surpassed them. To have a culture they considered inferior become superior to them hurts their pride deeply. Like the big brother who hates it when his little brother one day grows taller than he. I read this book years before Sept. 11, when I considered it an extremely important book. Since Sept. 11, I consider it ABSOLUTELY indispensable.

I was so impressed with Patai's book THE ARAB MIND, that I read this one, too. But this, while interesting, is not as well organized, and is a bit bloated. I think he was learning on this one, to suceed better with THE ARAB MIND. Nonetheless, an interesting and informative book.