The name "Menahem" meant "Comforter".

Concerning the name Menahem, Bauckham writes that "it is impossible to avoid the

conclusion that it was understood as carrying messianic or eschatological

significance. The verb "comfort" was closely associated with the hope of Isael's

restoration, especially through its reiteration as the first two words of Isaiah 40 and

recurrence throughout the following prophecies (Isa 49:13; 51:3, 12; 52:9; 61:13;

cf.Jer 31:13; Zech 1:17), and so it is probable that the popularity of Menahem

expressed, like the Hasmonean names and Joshua, the Jewish hope of God's

intervention and deliverance of his people from pagan domination. It can hardly be

accidental that the most famous Menahem of this period was the messianic

pretender, son of Judas the Galilean, who in 66 CE, early in the Jewish revolt,

marched into Jerusalem like a king with an army of sicarii (Josephus, War

2.433-34). Could it have been his name that inspired him and his followers to think

he was the Messiah?".(1)

Bauckham also mentions a passage in the Jerusalem Talmud, which discusses the

messiah and reads:

' R. Joshua b. Levi said, "Semah is his name."

R. Yudan son of R. Aybo said, "Menaham is his name."

Said Hananiah son of R. Abahu, "They do not disagree. The numerical value of the

letters of one name equals the numerical value of the other Semah [=138] is equal

to Menahm [=138]."

And this [following story] supports the view of R. Yudan son of R. Aybo.

Once a Jew was plowing and his ox snorted once before him. An Arab who was

passing and heard the sound said to him, "Jew, Jew. Lossen your ox, and loosen

your plow [and stop plowing]. For today your Temple was destroyed."

The ox snorted again. He [the Arab] said to him, "Jew, Jew. Bind your ox, and bind

your plow. For today the Messiah-king was born."

He said to him, "What is his name?"

[The Arab replied,] "Menahem."

He said to hi, "And what is his father's name?"

He [the Arab] said to him, "Hezekiah."

He said to him, "Where is he from?"

He said to him, "From the royal capital of Bethlehem in Judea."'

(Yerushalmi Berakhot 2:3. "The Talmud of the Land of Israel" translated by Tzvee Zahavy)

Clearly, then, the possession of the name "Menahem" was an asset to anyone with

messianic pretensions.

In John 4:15 Jesus says, "And I will ask the father and he will give you another

Paraclete". The word "Paraclete" probably means "comforter" and me well translate

the Hebrew "Menahem". Since Jesus here says "another Paraclete", it is clear that

(according to John) he saw himself as a Paraclete. This is further evidence that

messiah and comforter were closely related concepts.

Bauckham counts 42 cases of the name Menahem in Palestine between 330BCE

and 200CE. However, of these I count only about 11 or 12 who were born before the

destruction of the temple in 70CE. Perhaps the name became more popular after

this time because parents felt the the nation was in need of 'comforters'. The

Talmud passage above may hint at this phenomenon. Therefore, in the period before

the destruction of the temple, the name seems to have been a name of medium

popularity, held by less than 1% of the male population. Among these

approximately 11 or 12 Menahems, we have no less than three or four prophets:

1. Menahem (Josephus, Antiquities 15.10.5), a prophet who foretold that Herod

would become king.

2. Menahem (m. Hag. 2.2), who went out from the service of the king with 80 pairs of

disciples.(2)

3. Manaen (Acts 13:1), one of the "prophets and teachers" of Antioch.

4. Menahem (Josephus B.J. 2.12.8-10), a messianic claimant at the time of the war

against the Romans.

The first and second Menahems may have been the same person. Kohl ("The

Messiah Before Jesus") argues that they were the same person and that he was a

messiah figure. In any case, the data suggests that the name was particularly

popular among prophets or messiahs.

It is therefore likely that Menahem was not the birth name of these three or four

prophets and messiahs, but rather was given to them after they took their prophetic

role.

(1) R. Bauckham, "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses" p77.

(2) m. Hag. 2.2 http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/t03/hgg03.htm

Back to index page