The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b) (c. 3rd century C.E.): “The Messiah​—what is his name? . . . The Rabbis say, The leprous one [; those] of the house of Rabbi [say, The sick one], as it is said, ‘Surely he hath borne our sicknesses.’”​—Compare Isaiah 53:4.²⁴

Nevertheless, the issue of when the long-awaited Messiah is to arrive has remained unresolved in Jewish thought. The Talmud says: “When thou seest a generation overwhelmed by many troubles as by a river, await [the Messiah].” (Sanhedrin 98a)²⁰