A: There are two strains or types of prophecies about Messiah. One describes a figure known in Jewish literature as Mashiach Ben-Yosef, and the other is Mashiach ben-David. Ben-Yosef (son of Joseph) is the sad Messiah, rejected and tortured. The other, the son of David, is the victorious Messiah who brings peace and redemption. The popular imagination tends to focus on the second and forget about the former. Nevertheless they are all in the Tanakh. How can we make sense of it? Either there are two Messiahs (or kinds of Messiahs) or one Messiah must somehow fulfill them all. If one Messiah must fulfill them all, either he is victorious first and comes to a tragic end, or returns victorious from rejection (even death) to bring world peace at a later time. The latter answer is certainly the more desirable scenario, and fits will with the story of the Brit Ha-Hadashah (New Testament). The rejection and suffering of Messiah are past, and we now await his return and the restoration of Israel. (See Acts 1:6,7)