Death and Afterlife in Ancient Israel

Chronology

Exodus ca 1300BCE

Leadership of Moses

-The Covenant between Israel and Yahweh, the God of the Tabernacle

Journey through the Sinai

-Law of Moses includes prohibitions of “necromancy” and “necrolatry”

Relationship between god and the people

Ancient Israel Other Ancient religions

-Yahweh -Gods

-Covenant -Nature

-Land

-Blood lineage

Israel served them People served them

The Mosaic Prohibition of death cult

“If any turns to mediums and wizards, prostituting themselves to them, I will set my face against them and will cut them off from the people. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:6-7)

Cont’d

No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or a soothsayer, or an auger, or a sorcerer, one who casts spells or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whosoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord; it is because of abhorrent practices that the Lord your god is driving them out before you

(Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

The oldest Israelite understanding of death and afterlife

o “She’ol”

Land of no return (“hades” everyone goes there when they die(Mesopotamian idea)ghosts)

o “Raphaim”

The ghost like shade

o Nephesh

Hebrew notion of the soul, very different from the Greek concept of “Psyche” (it is not consciousness, person may speak to their own, it has feelings(another being))

o Metz Mitzvah

Body must be buried above all else,

Settlement in Canaan

o Invasion of Canaan

Attack on Jericho under the leadership of Joshua

“walls came tumbling down”

Settlement in the land of Canaan

o Period of Amphictyony

-Ca 1200-1000BCE

-Amphictyony: the tribal confederacy of the twelve tribes of Israel with its ritual center is Shechem, the site where the Ark of the Covenant was installed

Activities if the “Judges”: populist type charismatic leadership

Major Judges: Othniel, Ehud…

The beginning of Kingship

o King Saul, ca1020-1000?

Episode of the “witch of Endor”( ghost of Samuel and necromancy)

Defeated by the Philistine at Mount Gilboa

Exposure of the corpses of King Saul and his sons including Jonathan at Bet Shean (humility)

o The United Kingdom

King David

David and Goliath, marries a married woman and gives birth to Solomon

King Solomon

Solomon temple, Ark of the Covenant

The Breakup of the Kingdom

o (921BCE)

The north “Israel” Ten northern tribes

The south “Judah” Two southern tribes

The Northern Kingdom of Israel

o The Assyrians invade (722 BCE): the fall of the empire, “lost tribes” they disappeared

o It covered the largest territory north of Jerusalem with its power center in Samariah

Jeroboam’s Dynasty (king)

Omri Dynasty

King Ahab

Prophet Elijah

Jehu Dynasty

Jeroboam II

Prophets: Amos, Hosea

The Southern Kingdom of Judah

o Lasted longer but was eventually conquered.

o Centered around Jerusalem

o Babylonian Empire of Nabuchadnezzar

Takes southern kingdom of Judah

Babylonian exile of the Jews (586 BC)

o Prophet Ezekiel and the vision of “The valley of the dry bones” (suggests collective resurrection

The idea of corporate resurrection (resurrection of the nation)

o Persian king Cyrus takes Babylon (539 BC) and liberates the Jews. Jews allowed to go to homeland

Post Exile History of Judaism

o Ezra’s Mission (458 BC)

o Nehemiah’s governorship (445 BC)

Alexander the Great

(336-326 BC)

Ptolemy Dynasty

o Egyt

o Rules Palestine

Seleucid Dynasty

o Syria

o Takes over Palestine (200 BC)

o Jews under Seleucid

Antiochus IV, Epiphanes and his Hellenization of Palestine (175-163 BC)

Maccabean Rovolt

o Profanation of the temple (163 BC)

o Judas Maccabeus and the “Hassidim”

o Rededicationn of the Temple(165 BC)

Hannukka

o Martyrdom of “the mother and her seven sons”

o Idea of individual resurrection

o Idea of creation ex nihilo

Apocalyticism

o Messiah will come ushering in the end of the world and the final judgment. Then the resurrection will take place and the new Era will begin

o Religious Situation in the Palestinian Jewish community at the beginning of the common Era

The Sadducees (didn’t care about resurrection they already had it good, but disappeared in 2nd century)

The Pharisees (believed it)

The Essenes (such as Qumran Community) celibate, did not value the body (Greek influenced)

The Zealots (such as Sicari group-Masada) had conquered Roman fortress at Masada, but when the Romans went to take it back the people killed each other (suicide is not condoned in Judaism)

Rabbinical Eschatology

o Rabbinical Concept of Heaven (Gan Eden)

o Sinners Damned to Hell

He who says there is no resurrection of the dead

He who says the Torah is not from God

He who pronounces God’s name by supplying vowels

Ten Lost tribes

Those who have been

Jesus' Apocalypticism

o Kingdom of God- God centered life

o Resurrection

Debate with the Sadducees (Matt 22)

o Eternal Life- infinite value of person hood

Parable of lost sheep (Matt 18)

o Love- Parable of Good Samaritan (Lk 10:30)

o Eternal life and love of ones neighbor and love of one enemy

Matt 22

The sadducees asked jesus if a woman was to marry all the brothers of her husband when they die, who will she be the wife of

Jesus replied that in the afterlife there is no marriage nor are they given in marriage, but instead are like angels in heaven

(Parable of the wedding basket)- King has a wedding banquet for his son, but the ones invited killed his slaves, the king sent his troops and killed the murderers, then the king sends his slaves to invite anyone that they can find to fill the hall (good and bad people)

He then noticed a man not wearing a wedding robe and he kicked him out, (main idea is that you are invited to “heaven” but God will choose if you stay)

Matt 18

Every sheep matters, if a shepard has 100 sheep and one is lost he leaves 99 in the mountains to find the one that went astray, and he will rejoice more.

Lk 10:30

The Samaritan(non-jew) story, purpose is to help those around you.

Jesus of Nazareth (during Roman rule)

◦ His ministry in Galilee (Capernaum)

◦ The twelve disciples (refers to the twelve tribes of israel)

◦ His challenges to the religious establishment of the time

◦ His crucifixion and resurrection

◦ The dispersion of his disciples

◦ Pentecost event and the beginning of the church

Focal Points of Jesus' teachings

◦ Father(Mother) hood of God

◦ Brother/Sisterhood of all mankind

◦ Infinite Value of Human Personhood

The Ministry of Paul (Saul)

◦ Earliest writing of the New Testament

◦ A former Pharisee, a passionate defender of the Jewish tradition. “On the way to Damascus” Pauline Interpretation of the death of Jesus (the Christ) on the cross. Paul’s understanding of “Resurrection” and the “End Times” - Paul’s Apocalytpticism

◦ He believes that Jesus's resurrection was the beginning of the apocalypse, but nothing looks different. Then he readjusts so that when Jesus comes back the second time it will be the end. Sin created death, we were immortal before Adam's sin.

▪ 1000 years of Christian rule and Satan is bound, then a battle, the a second resurrection with everyone coming back and a judgment will take place with a new Heaven and

The Conversion of Saul-Damascus Road

He was on his way with Jesus's followers and when he is close to Damascus he is blinded by a light that tells him to go to Damascus, he is blind and does not eat for three days. He then converted and was baptised.

The de-eschatologization of the christian movement after the initial period of the christian movement

◦ Tatian, a second century Christian father

▪ “eternal life” does not mean living endlessly but with god

Augustine(354-430) Bishop of hippo

◦ His notion of the first and second resurrections (baptism & after death)

◦ His notion of the first and second deaths

Thomas Aquinas

◦ If heaven is perfect what is the reason for living, there is nothing to gain. Instead he defined it as Gods blissful vision.

Death and afterlife in medieval Christianity

◦ The purgatory

▪ officially adopted by the catholic church only thru councils of Lyon(1274) and Florence (1439)

▪ Attendant concepts

The treasury of merits- like coins the more you have the less time you have to spend in purgatory

Indulgence

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

Background of Protestant Reformation