John Hobbins has bits and snippets from Collins’ forthcoming Yale Magazine essay on the ‘Messiah Stone / Gabriel’s Vision’ thing.  For instance

The controversy surrounding [the Vision of Gabriel stone] was stimulated by an article by an Israeli scholar, Israel Knohl, in the Journal of Religion, early in 2008 [go here]. He argues that the text describes a messianic figure before Jesus, who was expected to die and be raised from the dead after three days. Later Jewish tradition knows of a dying messiah (the messiah of Ephraim, son of Joseph), but these traditions are usually dated at least a century after the time of Jesus.  … This is not the first time that Knohl has tried to find a “messiah before Jesus” in a Jewish text. Seven years before the Gabriel text came to light, he published a book with that title, claiming that a fragmentary text in the Dead Sea Scrolls referred to a suffering messiah, who would rise and be taken up to heaven. That book was not well received by scholars. Knohl now claims to be vindicated by the new evidence. But his reading of the Vision of Gabriel is highly conjectural and goes far beyond the evidence.  … The text simply does not say what Knohl claims it says. It is too fragmentary. It is not clear that the Ephraim mentioned in the text is a messiah. Even if Knohl is correct in reading the word after “three days” as “live,” it does not follow that it means “rise from the dead.” A reference to a chariot does not necessarily mean that someone is taken up to heaven. This is not to say that Knohl’s interpretation is impossible. But there is not much reason to think that it is right.

So- there you have it.  If you’re keeping score it’s Knohl and Yardeni against, well, everyone else.  To be sure, truth isn’t determined by majority vote.  But arguments that persuade more folk familiar with the issues to one side or the other usually have truth on their side.  To continue the wrestling metaphor hinted at in the post title- it looks like Knohl is out by a 3rd round pile driver delivered by Collins himself.