Delbert Roy Hillers notes that there was a great desire by the Israelites “to maintain some contact with the community even after death, through burial in one’s native land, and if possible with one’s ancestors.” This desire is perhaps voiced the strongest by Jacob (Gen 49:29) and Joseph (50:24–25), who both requested that their bodies be brought back to the promised land (Gen 50:1–14 describes the fulfillment of Jacob’s request while the fulfillment of Joseph’s request envelops the Exodus narrative which refers to Joseph’s bones in Exod 13:19 and Josh 24:32). However, the TaNaKh regards proper burial with great importance (the patriarchs and matriarchs, with the exception of Rachel, were all buried in the family tomb at Machpelah, while inappropriate or lack of burial was considered a curse ). Xella, is that of Abner in 2 Samuel 3:31–36. The only detailed description of a funeral in the Hebrew Bible, according to P. Also, the lack of obvious religious burial rites in the Hebrew Bible may further suggest a lack of interest in the afterlife among religious leaders.
Sheol, too, was the destiny of both the righteous and the wicked (Eccl 9:1–10), a place of equality (Job 3:13–19 Ezek 32:18–32). , Gen 5:24 Num 16:33 1 Sam 2:6 28:8–19 2 Kgs 2:11 Isa 26:19 Ezek 37:1–14 Prov 12:28), but the books that became a part of the TaNaKh seem to emphasize that death was merely the end of this life, not the beginning of the next.
There was certainly an interest in and concern about the topic (see, e.g. T he Hebrew Scriptures do not seem to convey a great deal regarding death and afterlife when compared to other ancient Near Eastern literature and archaeological remains. Theologische Hochschule Friedensau, Germany See also Afterlife and Resurrection Beliefs in the Apocrypha and Apocalyptic Literature, Jewish and Christian Texts (29) (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2019)Īfterlife and Resurrection Beliefs in the Pseudepigrapha, Jewish and Christian Texts (30) (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2019). While death and the afterlife are popular topics among biblical scholars and students, given the enormous undertaking such a landmark study would be, it becomes understandable why it has not been done - until now. A comprehensive list and description of every resurrection and afterlife belief in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha has been a much-lamented gap in contemporary scholarship.
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