This article is about the concept of a savior. For the oratorio by George Frideric Handel, see Messiah (Handel) . For other uses, see Messiah (disambiguation) . In Abrahamic religions , the Messiah ( Hebrew : מָשִׁיחַ , translit. māšîaḥ ), Christ ( Greek : Χριστός , translit. Khristós ), or Mahdi ( Arabic : مهدي , ISO 233 : mahdī ) is the one chosen to lead the world and thereby save it. The concepts of Moshiach , Messianism , and Messianic Age originated in Judaism , and in the Hebrew Bible . The term comes from the Hebrew verb meaning "to apply oil to," to anoint. In the Hebrew Bible , Israel's kings were sometimes called God's "messiah" -- God's anointed one. A moshiach (messiah) could also be an anointed high priest or prophet . Messiahs were not even exclusively Jewish, as the Hebrew Bible refers ...