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!