He That Cometh by Sigmund Mowinckel (review)

84 BOOK REVIEWS We can conclude than an excellent theologian has written a good work that is fairly well translated. It is a work, however, for professional theologians. Assumption Seminary, Chaska, Minn. JuNIPER CuMMINGS, O.F.M.CoNV. He That Cometh. By SIGMUND MoWINCKEL. New York: Abingdon Press, 1956. Translated by G. W. Anderson. Pp. 544 with indexes. $6.50. The author of this important work is one of the world's best-known Old Testament scholars. A native of Norway, Sigmund Mowinckel studied at the University of Oslo, then at Marburg and Giessen in Germany. From 1922 until his retirement in 1954, Dr. Mowinckel was a full professor on the Faculty of Theology in the University of Oslo. The Norwegian edition of this work was published in 1951 under the title Hun som kommer. The translator, G. W. Anderson, is lecturer in Old Testament literature and theology, St. Mary's College, University of St. Andrews. His graduate studies at Lund University in Sweden gave him the opportunity to study Scandinavian languages and pursue his studies in contemporary Scandinavian biblical scholarship. We are grateful to Dr. Anderson for an excellent translation of this significant product of Norwegian biblical studies. This book is an examination of some of the central themes of biblical religion. Besides being the work of an expert, it has the further advantage of being an examination of certain theories advanced by the younger generation of Scandinavian scholars by one who is himself a Scandinavian. Mowinckel divides his work into two main parts: Part I treats of the future king in early Jewish eschatology, Part II studies the Messiah in later Judaism. In the first part, he first defines the term Messiah, determines and evaluates the traditional material in any study of Messianism, and discusses the ancient Israelite ideal of kingship. There must undoubtedly be, writes Mowinckel, a logical and historical connexion between the concept of the Messiah and the ancient Israelite idea of the king as 'Yahweh's Anointed.' (p. 21) But from the very beginning the royal ideology in ancient Israel had a tendential note: the ideal was never fully realized, there was always something to be desired. Therefore, the author considers next the future hope, the early Jewish future hope, the place of the king in the future hope: the Messiah. Part I concludes with a consideration of the Servant of Yahweh. Part II begins with a brief summary of the eschatology of later Judaism, continues with a study of the national Messiah, and concludes with a long (pp. 846-450) study of BOOK REVIEWS 85 the expression" the Son of Man." Additional notes, a list of abbreviations, a bibliography and indexes complete the work. Dr. Mowinckelleaves no doubt as to his concept of the term Messiah: the word Messiah by itself, as a title and a name, originated. in later Judaism as the designation of an eschatological figure. It is to such a figure only that it ought to be applied. (p. 8) The Messiah, or the Anointed One, was originally a political figure: in the 0. T. the primary and proper sense of the expression Yahweh's Anointed is the king, the earthly king who at any given time is reigning over the people of Yahweh. This is trJ.!e in practically every passage in the Old Testament where the expressions Yahweh's Anointed, or, the Anointed One occur. (p. 5) He repeats this many times during the course of his book. The reader meets more reason for the author's position as he peruses the work. Just before he begins to survey the traditional messianic material, the author gives what amounts to his thesis on the concept of Messianism: " the content of the Messianic idea will be unfolded in such a way as to make it still more evident that in its strict sense it is bound up with the future hope and eschatology of Israel and Judaism. An eschatology without a Messiah is conceivable, but not a Messiah apart from a future hope. All genuine Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament point forward." (p. 8) In his survey of material attention is first drawn to a number of passages " which have...