Journey to Heaven: Exploring Jewish Views of the Afterlife
206
Journey to Heaven: Exploring Jewish Views of the Afterlife
206eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9789655241006 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Urim Publications |
| Publication date: | 02/17/2015 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 206 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Journey to Heaven
Exploring Jewish Viewsof the Afterlife
By Leila Leah Bronner
Urim Publications
Copyright © 2015 Leila Leah BronnerAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-965-524-100-6
CHAPTER 1
The Hebrew Bible: Glimpses of Immortality
Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God took him. (Genesis 5:24)
What did the people of ancient Israel believe about the hereafter? Did they entertain a hope for a continued existence beyond the grave and what, if anything, did they imagine that to be? When Enoch "walked with God, then was no more," where did God take him?
From the beginning of civilization, people have made great efforts to pierce the veil of death and discover what lies beyond this life, yet until quite recently many biblical scholars maintained that the Hebrew Bible contains no substantial evidence of any interest or belief in life beyond death.1 Since references to life after death in the Hebrew Bible are few, they assumed that life after death was not an important concept to ancient Israelites compared to tenets such as monotheism and the mandate to love one's neighbor as oneself. Numerous passages in the Bible suggest that the circle of life is closed by death and that there is no life beyond the grave. These verses seem to indicate that when the life of the body is over, nothing else remains:
We must all die; we are like water that is poured out on the ground and cannot be gathered up. (2 Samuel 14:14)
As a cloud fades away, so whoever goes down to Sheol does not come up. He returns no more to his home; his place does not know him. (Job 7:9 — 10)
Since the living know they will die, but the dead know nothing: they have no more recompense, for even the memory of them has died. ... (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
To contend, however, that the Bible contains no substantial evidence of a belief in life beyond death is to miss the subtle references in various biblical texts that propose an alternative belief, one that does not accept the finality of death but postulates some kind of continuity beyond the grave. Even those scholars who deny that ancient Israelites believed in life after death agree that the book of Daniel takes an unambiguous stand on the subject:
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence. And the wise will be radiant like the bright expanse of sky, and those who lead the many to righteousness [will shine] like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:2 — 3)
While this passage by no means gives a full description of resurrection, it clearly affirms that a divine power will bring the dead back to life at some future time. Only the righteous, it says, will rise to eternal life, while the wicked will descend to eternal damnation. Furthermore, two types of people qualify as candidates for everlasting life — those who are wise and those who teach righteousness to many.
The book of Daniel is of relatively late origin. Still, it seems strange that the idea of life after death would suddenly spring forth, fully formed, with no precedents. Did these verses from Daniel occur in isolation, or can we find traces of this belief in earlier parts of the Bible?
First, let us note that most cultures surrounding ancient Israel believed in some continuity of existence after death. The people of ancient Israel could not help but be aware of these beliefs, whether they were influenced by these cultures or not.
Archaeological and other evidence displays for us the power of the ancient Egyptians' belief in total continuity between life and death. Theirs was a culture that was greatly preoccupied with the subject. This explains their practice of embalming, since the body was presumed to be still necessary for use once its owner had died. Rulers and potentates were buried in pyramids along with their servants (or statues of their servants) as well as food to sustain them on their after-death journeys.
Mesopotamian and Ugaritic literatures also record stories of heroes who journey beyond the grave. On a practical level, family graves were tended by relatives who provided the deceased with sustenance. At Ras Shamra, where the Ugaritic texts were found, excavations show pipes leading down into the graves so that the dead could receive water.
The impact of these surrounding cultures on ancient Israelite practice is evident in some of the finds in excavations at Megiddo and Hazor. Artifacts such as storage jars found at ancient burial sites indicate that the living continued to worry about the dead and made efforts to provide them with sustenance. The phenomenon of tomb openings found at several sites further suggests that people performed rituals connected with the dead. If this is so, it must be at least arguable that some sort of belief in the afterlife did exist. With that in mind, let's turn back to the text of the Bible itself.
The Hebrew Bible does contain elements and allusions that indicate the presence of such a belief. The allusions are quite subtle and spread over a large number of texts spanning a wide expanse of time. Nonetheless, taken together, they do show a belief in an afterlife existence.
Sheol, the Biblical Underworld
The Bible frequently alludes to a place of the dead called Sheol, commonly translated as "the underworld." Supposedly, upon death, one descended to an underworld abode in the depths of the earth where the dead were gathered with their kin. Sheol is referred to more than sixty-five times in the Hebrew Bible, and the multiplicity of other metaphoric names for Sheol indicates its role in the popular imagination. For example, it is also described as "the Pit" and "the hidden place."
The origin or etymology of Sheol is obscure. Most scholars think it comes from the Hebrew root sh-'-l, meaning "to ask." Curiously, this would lend weight to the prohibition against conjuring up the dead to ask for their counsel in the book of Leviticus: "Do not turn to ghosts and do not inquire of familiar spirits" (19:31) and likewise, the prohibition in Deuteronomy: "Let no one be found among you who is a soothsayer, a diviner ... or one who inquires of the dead" (18:11). From these prohibitions it follows that there must have been some kind of practice of consulting with the dead, though it is unclear how common it was in ancient Israel. An extraordinary example of such a consultation takes place in 1 Samuel 28, when King Saul visits the Witch of En-dor on the eve of battle against the Philistines and persuades her to bring the prophet Samuel back from the dead.
What was Sheol like? First, it is clear that Sheol is the realm of those who are no longer living. This is shown in the dramatic confrontation between Moses and Korah (Numbers 16:30), in which God determines that Moses and Aaron are the true leaders of the Israelites. Korah, who heads the evil rebellion, goes down alive into Sheol together with his clan, meaning that they were forcefully taken from the land of the living. Sheol is also regarded as being the deepest, darkest place in the world. Job describes it as "the land of deepest gloom / A land whose light is darkness / All gloom and disarray, whose light is like darkness" (Job 10:21 — 22). Numerous psalms use Sheol or the Pit as a metaphor for being in a place of extreme darkness, as in Ps. 88:7: "You have put me at the bottom of the Pit / In the darkest places, in the depths." In addition, the prophet Samuel, summoned from Sheol at King Saul's request, is said to have been "brought up," which would reinforce the idea of his having been in some kind of nether place.
In Sheol, most of the differences that existed in life disappear: workers rest, and prisoners do not hear the taskmaster's voice. Small and great are there alike (Job 3:17). Yet it appears that the inhabitants of Sheol have some kind of nebulous existence. The dead who inhabit Sheol are sometimes called refa'im, "ghosts." Although the Hebrew root r-f-' usually connotes healing, here it suggests weakness, as if the dead are mere shadows of the people they once were. The various occurrences of the term in the Bible are not enough to tell us very much about the refa'im, but we do know that they "chirp" (Isaiah 29:4) and sometimes they maintain their earthly status. Thus, in Isaiah 14, we find that when a king goes down to Sheol, he is greeted by other kings who have been enthroned there:
Sheol below you astir to greet your coming, rousing for you the shades of all earth's chieftains, raising from their thrones all the kings of the nations. (Isaiah 14:9)
It would seem, then, that although differences among ordinary people are erased in Sheol, kings remain kings even after death!
The psalms mention Sheol in several contexts. It is notable, first of all, that it is a place where the dead are powerless to praise or access God's goodness:
There is no praise of you among the dead. In Sheol, who can acclaim you? (Psalms 6:6)
The dead cannot praise the Lord, Nor any who go down into silence. (Psalms 115:17)
God, however, apparently can reach Sheol:
Where can I escape from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there, If I descend to Sheol, you are there too. (Psalm 139:8)
Finally, references to Sheol suggest the belief that after death, one joined the previously deceased members of one's family, as is shown by Abraham's purchase of the Cave of Machpelah as a family tomb (Genesis 23). Consequently, it was critical to be buried with one's ancestors. In this context, it is revealing to consider the common terminology describing the deaths of the patriarchs and matriarchs as being "gathered to one's people." This idiom is used to describe the deaths, or incipient deaths, of Abraham (Genesis 25:8), Ishmael (Genesis 25:17), Isaac (Genesis 35:29), Jacob (Genesis 49:33), Aaron (Numbers 20:29), and Moses (Numbers 27:13). David is described as "sleeping with his fathers" (1 Kings 2:5). The importance placed on being buried with kin suggests that there must have been a basic belief in some kind of existence after death.
Hints of Resurrection
All the texts on Sheol suggest some nebulous form of existence after death, but is there any notion of deliverance from the shady realm of Sheol itself? Resurrection, briefly defined, is the belief that in the future the dead will rise from their graves, bringing about a revival of the whole person, body and soul. The resurrection motif in the Hebrew Bible is suggested in a number of ways that we will now proceed to explore.
Death and Life
The Song of Moses, the great leader's final address to the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land, quotes God as saying:
I deal death and give life; I wound and I will heal; None can deliver from My hand. (Deut. 32:39)
The arrangement of the key words — death first, followed by life — suggests a resurrection motif. The same pattern is found in the Song of Hannah:
The Lord deals death and gives life, Casts down into Sheol and raises up. (1 Sam. 2:6)
This text seems to suggest, at least on a poetic level, that resurrection from Sheol is possible. In using this word order — to "deal death," then "give life" — rather than vice versa, this verse points to a time after the earthly life of the body when God will infuse the dead with the vitality they had when living.
The context of both of these verses is also significant. In the Song of Moses, the surrounding text recalls the loving care shown by God to his people. The author's confidence in God's power is then expressed by way of the resurrection motif and the theme of healing and repair. In the Song of Hannah, the power of God is again the central theme; the surrounding verses triumphantly portray a series of dramatic reversals of power and fortune. Death, as one element of these reversals, is clearly not viewed as a permanent state.
A similar theme is reflected in Psalm 16:
For you will not abandon me to Sheol Or let your faithful one see the Pit. You will teach me the path of life. In your presence is perfect joy; Delights are ever in your right hand. (Psalm 16:10 —11)
Here it is stated that God is able to rescue his people from the pit of Sheol and allow them to praise him in the presence of the living. Once again, we see the "death, then life" pattern that possibly indicates an allusion to resurrection.
Prophetic Narratives
The Elijah and Elisha narratives in 1 and 2 Kings are set in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the ninth century b.c.e. While these prophetic narratives differ in linguistic structure and style from the poetry cited above, they too deal with the subject of resurrection. Both the prophet Elijah and Elisha, his successor, are credited with bringing a dead child back to life. Even though the child's revival might suggest resuscitation rather than resurrection, their prayers invoke the divine power to transform death to life.
Some scholars see in these stories the influences of neighboring cultures. The earliest Ugaritic texts attribute similar powers to the goddess Anat. She promises eternal life to the youth Aqht who mockingly expresses doubt in her ability to do this. She responds angrily by killing him, although it is suggested that she then goes on to revive him:
And the maiden Anat replied: Ask for life, O Aqht the youth, Ask for life and I will give it to you, For deathlessness and I will bestow it on thee. I'll make thee count years with Baal. With sons of El shalt thou count months. Even as Baal when he gives life, Entertains the living ... So also I will give life to Aqht the youth. (2 Aqht VI, 25 — 33)
The author of the stories of Elijah and Elisha is likely to have known of these texts as well as the belief that Baal, the chief Ugarit male god, was capable of reviving those he killed. Indeed, the stories are set against the wider background of an ideological struggle between Elijah and Elisha on the one hand and the prophets of Baal on the other. It is perhaps no accident that Elijah and Elisha are both credited with the kind of miracles that the surrounding cultures would attribute to Baal. By putting these miracles under the control of the two prophets of God, the author sends a clear polemical message about God's power and Baal's impotence.
The dramatic story presenting the physical revival of a child by the prophet Elijah is set in the context of strife and famine in the days of King Ahab (875 — 854 b.c.e.) and his consort, Queen Jezebel. Elijah, having antagonized the royal court with his moral chastisement, is forced to flee for his life, and finds refuge at the home of the poor widow of Zarephath. Meanwhile, the widow's child falls sick until there is no longer any breath/soul (neshamah) remaining in him (I Kings 17:17). After Elijah prayed fervently to God, "the child's life returned to his body, and he revived" (I Kings 17:22). The prophet then said to the woman, "See, your son is alive" (I Kings 17:23).
Elijah's disciple, Elisha, is also the divine instrument of bringing a youth back from death. Elisha prophesies that a barren Shunammite woman who had given him hospitality would bear a child. The prophecy is fulfilled and she bears a son, who subsequently dies. The distraught woman rushes to Elisha, who miraculously revives the child (2 Kings 4:34 — 37).
The death scenes of both Elijah and Elisha also portray images of resurrection. At the end of Elijah's earthly life's journey, the prophet ascends in a chariot of fire and is taken to heaven. The disciples of the prophet inform Elisha that his master Elijah will be "taken" away. The mantle of prophecy, along with the power of revival, is thereafter transferred to Elijah's disciple, Elisha.
A miraculous scene demonstrating Elisha's powers, even after his death, occurs when his body causes the revival of a dead man whose corpse is hastily thrown into the prophet's grave when a marauding band of Moabites appears. When the body of the dead man touches that of the prophet, "the (dead) man revived and stood on his feet" (2 Kings 13:20).
Nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible do we find narratives that deal so directly with the subject of resurrection. Miracle-working of this kind is not found again until the stories of the New Testament. Scholars are divided as to whether these are "true" resurrection narratives (for example, it may be argued that the children did not actually die, or were not buried, or that they were revived to live ordinary rather than everlasting lives). What is clear from these stories is that Elijah and Elisha, in the context of proving that God had greater power than Baal, were capable of reversing the normal order of life and death. The idea of resurrection must have been extant among the people for these stories to have any force.
Verbs of Resurrection
According to Bible scholar John Sawyer, there are a small number of terms in a small number of passages that refer to the resurrection of the dead. In his view these passages are "clear expressions of God's power to create out of the dust and decay of the grave a new humanity where good lives do not end in suffering and justice prevails."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Journey to Heaven by Leila Leah Bronner. Copyright © 2015 Leila Leah Bronner. Excerpted by permission of Urim Publications.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface,Introduction,
1. The Hebrew Bible: Glimpses of Immortality,
2. Early Post-Biblical Literature: Gateways to Heaven and Hell,
3. The Mishnah: Who Will Merit the World to Come?,
4. The Talmud: What Happens in the Next World?,
5. Medieval Jewish Philosophy: Faith and Reason,
6. Mysticism: Reincarnation in Kabbalah,
7. Modernity: What Do We Believe?,
8. The Messiah: The Eternal Thread of Hope,
Afterword,
Index,
About the Author,