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The Jews expecting the coming of a prophet wasn’t exclusive to the Jews of Arabia, this tradition is very old and even present in second temple Jewish literature and alluded to in the NT (thread).
1. Abdullah Ibn Salam said, “When I heard about the Messenger of God, I knew by his description, his name, and his time [i.e. when he appeared] that he was the one we were waiting for…”
2. The coming of this prophet is tied to the appearance of the messiah.
During and before the coming of Jesus Christ (pbuh) the different communities in and around Palestine (especially in Qumran) wrote on their expectations regarding the end of times.
During and before the coming of Jesus Christ (pbuh) the different communities in and around Palestine (especially in Qumran) wrote on their expectations regarding the end of times.
3. There was not one single messianology to be found in the texts from Qumran. Instead, there were several theories about the Messiah.
Several texts are considered to be written by members of the Qumran sect: the Damascus document for example, and the Messianic rule.
Several texts are considered to be written by members of the Qumran sect: the Damascus document for example, and the Messianic rule.
In these texts, we find the sect's messianology. The distinguishing characteristic is that the Qumranites expected the coming of not one, but two Messiahs.
This idea of two messiahs is based on the sect’s interpretation of the following biblical verse:
This idea of two messiahs is based on the sect’s interpretation of the following biblical verse:
4. This verse originally refers to prince Zerubbabel and the high-priest Joshua, however, it was understood in a messianic sense in the early Hasmonaean period. For example, the author of the Testaments of the twelve patriarchs expected a priestly and a kingly ruler:
5. Why is this relevant?
In the Qumran text called “Rule of the Community” it states, “They shall be judged by the first judgements in which the men of the Community began to be instructed, until the coming of the prophet and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel” (1QS 9.10–11)
In the Qumran text called “Rule of the Community” it states, “They shall be judged by the first judgements in which the men of the Community began to be instructed, until the coming of the prophet and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel” (1QS 9.10–11)
Some second Temple Jewish groups believed that there would be the arrival of a prophet like Moses who would lead a new Covenant with a more accurate interpretation of the Law.
Like many of these communities, the Qumran community expected an eschatological prophet like Moses, as the Rule of the Community 9:9–11 makes clear, the role of the Qumran community was to essentially maintain this teaching until he should arrive.
6. Keep in mind that the jews of Arabia, ended up there because of the mass migration caused by:
-the Roman conquest of Judea.
-the Jewish rebellion in 66 CE, and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 CE
-Bar Kochbah revolt in 135 CE
-the Roman conquest of Judea.
-the Jewish rebellion in 66 CE, and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 CE
-Bar Kochbah revolt in 135 CE
It is not unfathomable that these traditions about the arrival of a prophet survived among the Jews of Arabia who were descendants of Judeans who fled to the Hejaz (and Yemen) during and after the Roman conquest of Judea.
7. In the Gospel of John, priests and Levites were sent to John the Baptist to ask him about his identity. After John denied being the messiah they ask him the following:
8. John was asked if he is “the prophet” the anticipation of a unique coming prophet is a commonality between the Qumran sectarians and the Jews depicted in the Johannine literature. What differs is the expectation of the number of Messiahs.
9. While Qumran messianism expected a priestly Messiah (from the line of Aaron) and a kingly Messiah (from the line of David).The Gospel of John alludes to a single Messiah awaited by the Jews who were questioning John the Baptist (John 1:19, 24)
In addition, the synoptic gospels depict Jesus as a descendant of both David and Aaron, practically merging the two messiahs into one in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
10. This puts passages like John 16:7, 13-14 in an interesting context since the word “spirit” in the Johannine New Testament writings is used for prophets, for example:
In the Anchor Bible we find the following quote:
"The word parakletos is peculiar in the NT to the Johnannine literature. In John ii Jesus is a parakletos (not a title), serving as a heavenly intercessor with the Father...-
"The word parakletos is peculiar in the NT to the Johnannine literature. In John ii Jesus is a parakletos (not a title), serving as a heavenly intercessor with the Father...-
-Christian tradition has identified this figure (Paraclete) as the Holy Spirit, but scholars like Spitta, Delafosse, Windisch, Sasse, Bultmann, and Betz have doubted whether this identification is true to the original picture and have suggested that the Paraclete-
was once an independent salvific figure, later confused with the Holy Spirit."
11. Conclusion: the Jews of Arabia were not just some heterodox group among Jews who were waiting for a prophet that will bring a religious revival, this expectation is very old, older than rabbinic Judaism and Christianity respectively.
That some rabbis as well as common Jews in Arabia accepted Muhammad’s preaching should not be a surprise to anyone who is acquainted with the ancestral traditions of the Jews in Arabia.
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