Zohar on Messiah Son of Nathan

"Hefzibah, the wife of Nathan, etc." I do not understand this matter. For although it is true that Nathan, son of [Hod] [the manuscript reads "David"], existed, nevertheless the kingship belongs to Solomon, not to Nathan. And Hefzibah was [the wife of Hezekiah] [the manuscript reads "the wife of Hezekiah"], while Menahem son of Amiel existed, and was not the son of Nathan. It is a great difficulty to say that the Messiah is from David and not from Solomon, and therefore [it is said that he is] from Nathan, Solomon's brother. His mother was called Hefzibah, and she was descended from Nathan; and Hefzibah was [the mother of] Amiel, and her son Menahem is the Messiah. He was born at the destruction of the Second Temple, as stated in the Jerusalem Talmud and in Eikhah Rabbati [the manuscript reads "and in the Midrash"]. The high mountain is the Foundation [Yesod], and it is called the Mountain of the Abarim, through which passes the flow of all the abundance of the sefirot. There is the concealment and burial of Moses, which is the secret of Tiferet, in the secret of Da'at; and there is the ascent of Malkhut. In the physical sense, literally, the Mountain of the Abarim is holier than the holiness of the Land of Israel, for no [celestial] prince rules over it except Moses our Teacher, whose level derives from the supernal Jubilee [Yovel]. He could not be buried in the Land [of Israel], because he belongs to the Jubilee and not to the Sabbatical year [Shemittah], as explained in the Zohar, Parashat Bereshit. He was buried on the Mountain of the Abarim, which is certainly east of the Land of Israel, a place from which light shines upon Malkhut. There lies the dominion of Moses our Teacher, and not that of any other prince. For this reason, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad, who were to the south, were elevated and wished to take their portion in that land. And they said, "Ataroth and Dibon, etc.," and we translate [this into Aramaic]: "and the burial place of Moses." They also said, "The land which the Lord struck," because in the Land of Israel Joshua struck the face of the Moon, whereas in the eastern land Moses our Teacher struck the face of the Sun. The wars of Moses our Teacher proceeded from his higher level above, and there was the principal conquest of the Land of Israel. Therefore it says, "To Him who struck great kings," etc.; "and slew mighty kings," etc.; "Sihon," etc.; "and Og," etc.; "and gave their land as an inheritance," etc. These were conquered and apportioned through Moses our Teacher. However, the inheritance given to Israel - the rest of the Land of Israel - was accomplished through Joshua. This corresponds to the final He, in the five final verses of the song, which the Levites [recite], corresponding to the letter He of Malkhut. Therefore the Shekhinah withdraws there, for there is the secret of the Land of Israel. And after the place of His dwelling in the Land of Israel is delivered into the hands of the nations, [the Shekhinah] withdraws to the opening of the gateway of entry for the conquest of the land. Now, with regard to the proclamation of the redemption of the world, the Shekhinah from there announces redemption to the world.

However, because the actual manifestation will take place in the physical world, one soul among the souls will be needed to announce it; and this is Hefzibah. This is what is meant by: "And she is included in the announcer." The numerical value of Hefzibah contains the secret of the verse: "You shall no longer be called Forsaken, etc., but you shall be called Hefzibah [My Delight Is in Her], and your land Beulah [Married]." Behold, Binah is the announcer, and Hokhmah calls her "Hefzibah," that is, the supernal desire/delight. And she announces the mother of the Messiah, for the secret of the Messiah is the secret of Vav, as has been explained. And the Vav is certainly also the supernal He, namely, the "woman of Hezekiah," certainly - Hizki-Yah [Hezekiah], "the strength of Yah." And everything is in Malkhut; therefore they are the secret of the kings. Now, after Solomon was destined to be the Messiah but was rejected because of the reality that he corrupted through gold, women, and horses - that is, three aspects: the gold corresponds to Binah; the women to the lower Gevurot; and the horses to the Gevurot that spread outward - in all three cases he was commanded not to multiply them, so that he would not turn after the external forces, where the Gevurot and judgments are drawn out. But he multiplied them and erred. His brother, who was close to him, namely Nathan, the second after Solomon, would rectify this. Therefore we say "Messiah, son of David," since we cannot attribute him to Solomon. Nathan remains closed and concealed, for the proclamation comes only from Hefzibah. Nathan is the secret of the verse, "And the Lord gave wisdom," which is hidden. And he did not produce him at that time because it was not yet his proper time. Rather, they came through the secret of Ammi-El, that is, the Wisdom [Hokhmah] that is with El, the Most High, namely Keter, and [Ammi-El] begot, through Hefzibah, who is Binah, Menahem, who is Tiferet. All of this is in the secret of a soul acting in the lower worlds; and she is the one who gives the voice of the herald, namely Tiferet. Therefore the first proclamation is: "Behold, the Lord God will come with strength," which is the secret of the two Gevurot, the upper and the lower - the two He's in beḥazak ("with strength"). "He will come," and "His arm shall rule for Him" - the arm is Hesed. "His reward is with Him," etc. There are two kinds of reward. The first is called His reward, which is the reward of the soul in the upper Garden of Eden. The second is His work, which is the reward of the spirit and the soul in the lower Garden of Eden, in the dwelling-place of souls and in the lower world. Therefore it says, "His reward is with Him" literally, for it is with Him in the upper Garden of Eden, beneath the Throne of Glory. But "His work is before Him" refers to the reward of the soul and spirit before Him, that is, in the lower realms, below. This corresponds to the two He's: the upper He, which is the upper Garden of Eden; and the lower He, which is the lower Garden of Eden.

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.’ But Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.’” Luke 1:26-35

“When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,” Luke 3:23-31