Unlike Egyptians who spent lots of energy dealing with elaborate preparations for the afterlife, Israelites were not as preoccupied with such things. If an individual was participating in the covenant community, his life was given meaning and he should not fear death from sinning. In the testament, it is clear that man is a mortal being; there is nothing in him that is immortal. Therefore, the Israelites view was to enjoy martial bliss and find satisfaction in work, for all too soon one must go to the Sheol. According to the bible, man does not know his time, it rather “falls” upon him. Nevertheless, there was still some interest regarding what will happened after one passes on.
Life After Death
The Israelites, like most ancient civilizations, did wonder about their fate and what might exist after death. When a person died, they did not cease to exist. The Sheol, described as a pit was where a “double” or shadow of a once living person existed after they died. The body and soul are considered separate, but at the same time together, in that, for example if someone were to die violently they would still carry those physical marks into Sheol. However, before a “shadow” descended to Sheol, the physical body was buried, as it was considered the customary and right way of disposing of the dead. According to the Hebrew Bible, so long as the body exists, the soul exists.
Israelites had a sense of some kind of afterlife that lacked the higher goods or values of a quality life, such as feelings, knowledge, memory and they could not give praise or thanks to God there.
Divine Mission of Death
Those living a life without God and the covenant brought doom upon them, in the same way Israelites expected God would punish them for their transgressions. Death was not restricted to punishment from God to those who sinned. The Lord also brought defeat and death for other reasons. In Numbers 16:29-30 it states, “If these people die a natural death or if a natural fate comes on them, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know…”. This excerpt shows how God uses death to prove Moses’ undertaking.
Interpreting Passages
Unlike other religions of ancient times, the Israelites did not have a “handbook” to death. Everything that they knew about death, its beliefs and customs had to be pulled from throughout the bible. The underlying message was that God created man and in the end, he was the only thing about death that should be feared. Though death and the all mighty power of God is predominate throughout the Hebrew Bible, it seems that ancient Israelites chose to focus on what happened in between birth and the end instead.
Sources
Wensing, Michael. Death and Destiny in the Bible. (Collegeville: Liturgical Press) 1993.
Anderson, Bernhard. Understanding the Old Testament. (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall) 1966.
 |
