[4] The title was interpreted in many different ways by Muslim exegetes, all of which tended to downplay the connection of the word to Jesus' central role in Christianity as the savior-God.
[6] It is in this context that the Hebrew term Māshīaḥ (Messiah, meaning "anointed") was originally used, referring to an eschatological figure who was expected to rise from the royal line of David and who would rule like a divine king, being God's 'anointed one'.
The Arabic lexicographer Fairuzabadi (1329–1414) listed no less than 49 different meanings for the title al-Masīḥ as elaborated by Quranic exegetes.
[11] Most exegetes (correctly) understood the word to be equivalent to the passive participle of the root m-s-ḥ, meaning 'wiped', 'touched', 'anointed'.
Interpretations based on this derivation included that Jesus had been 'touched' by the wing of the archangel Gabriel at birth in order to safeguard him from Satan, that he had been 'anointed' with oil (as all the prophets in Islamic tradition), or that he had been 'anointed' with the blessing (Arabic: Baraka) of God.