Biblical School of Theology

Graduate/Faculty Seminar, ~1971

 

Immortality in Joband Elsewhere in the OT

Robert C. Newman

 

I. Introduction

 

In regard to immortality, as with a number of othersubjects, liberal and conservative OT scholars take a different approach.  Both see development of ideas in thecourse of time, but the former take an evolutionary approach and the latterthat of progressive revelation.

 

In the evolutionary view, development is from lower tohigher, from more primitive to more modern, from less accurate to moreaccurate.  The whole development isthe result of human reflection and speculation.

 

In the progressive revelation view, development is fromhints to statements, from lesser to greater detail, and the whole is the resultof GodÕs gradual unfolding of his plan to mankind.

 

So here, liberals see in the concept of immortalityevolution and contradiction, but Bible believers see gradual growth in detail.

 

II. Continued Existence of the Individual Beyond Death

 

A. In the Book of Job

 

Job  3:13-19 (NASU) [Job speaking] "Fornow I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I wouldhave been at rest, 14 With kings and [with] counselors of the earth, Whorebuilt ruins for themselves; 15 Or with princes who had gold, Who were fillingtheir houses [with] silver. 16 Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, Iwould not be, As infants that never saw light. 17 There the wicked cease fromraging, And there the weary are at rest. 18 The prisoners are at ease together;They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. 19 The small and the great arethere, And the slave is free from his master. "   Note 3:16 andcompare with 7:18, 21.

 

Job  14:7-15 (NASU) [Job again] "Forthere is hope for a tree, When it is cut down, that it will sprout again, Andits shoots will not fail. 8 Though its roots grow old in the ground And itsstump dies in the dry soil, 9 At the scent of water it will flourish And putforth sprigs like a plant. 10 But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, andwhere is he? 11 [As] water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parchedand dried up,

12So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, He willnot awake nor be aroused out of his sleep. 13 Oh that You would hide me inSheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns [to You], That Youwould set a limit for me and remember me! 14 If a man dies, will he live[again]? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my change comes. 15 Youwill call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands. "  Noteespecially verses 13-15.  

 

B. Elsewhere in the Old Testament

 

2 Sam12:23 (NASU) [David regarding his dead son] "But now he has died; whyshould I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will notreturn to me."

 

Ezek32:31 (NASU) [speaking of dead Pharaoh] "These Pharaoh will see, and hewill be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword, [even] Pharaoh and allhis army," declares the Lord God.

 

Eccl12:6-8 (NASU) [Remember Him] before the silver cord is broken and the goldenbowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at thecistern is crushed; 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and thespirit will return to God who gave it. 8 "Vanity of vanities," saysthe Preacher, "all is vanity!"

 

Psa23:1-6 (NASU) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me liedown in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul;He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Even though Iwalk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You arewith me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table beforeme in the presence of my enemies;

Youhave anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness andlovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in thehouse of the Lord forever.  Note change in speech figure atnightfall, from shepherd/sheep to host/guest.

 

III.Sheol, the Place of the Dead

 

A. Introduction

 

            1.Liberal view (from Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 1:146ff, article by Joachim Jeremias on hades)

In the LXX hades isalmost always a rendering of sheol.  In the OT this signifies the dark (Job10:21f) Òrealm of the deadÓ which is set beneath the ocean (26:5) and whichconsigns all men indiscriminately (Ps 89:49) behind its portals to an eternal(Job 7:9f; 16:22: Qoh 12:5) shadowy existence (Is 14:9), cf. 38:10; Job38:17.  This OT sheol idea is in essential agreement with the conceptionof the future world found in popular Babylonian belief.

 

            2.Word study of sheol

                        Theword occurs 65x in the Masoretic Text.

                        TheLXX translates this by hades 61x,elsewhere by thanatos.

                        Thevulgate always uses infernum or inferi.

 

B. Job and elsewhere in the OT compared re/ the nature of sheol

 

            1.Location

                        Down: 7:9; 11:8                                  Gen37:5

                        Hidden:14:13 (but 26:6)                     Dig:Amos 9:2 (but John 2:2)

 

            2.Inhabitants

                        Wicked:24:9                                       Ps9:17

                        Righteous:14:13                                 Jacob:Gen 42:38

                                                                                    Hezekiah:Isa 38:10

                        All:30:23                                            Ps89:48

 

            3.Conditions

                        Suddenentry: 21:13; 27:19-21            Swallowedup alive:

                                                                                                Num16:30,33; Ps 55:15;

                                                                                                Pr1:12

                        Noactivity: 3:13-19                            Ps6:5; 31:17; Eccl 9:10

                        Destruction:17:13; 24:19                    Ps16:10; 49:14; Pr 15:11; Is 14:11

                        Noescape: 7:9-10                               Ps89:48

                                    (butdeliverance?)

 

IV. Resurrection

 

A. In Job

 

See Job 14:12-15, above (under IIA)

 

Job  19:25-27 (NASU) [Job sepaking] "Asfor me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His standon the earth. 26 "Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh Ishall see God; 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and notanother. My heart faints within me!

 

B.Elsewhere in the Old Testament

 

1 Sam2:6 (NASU) The Lord kills and makes alive;

Hebrings down to Sheol and raises up.

 

Psa17:13-15 (NASU) Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low; Deliver my soulfrom the wicked with Your sword, 14 From men with Your hand, O Lord, From menof the world, whose portion is in [this] life, And whose belly You fill withYour treasure;

Theyare satisfied with children, And leave their abundance to their babes. 15 Asfor me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied withYour likeness when I awake.  Note how verse 15 contrasts with 13-14: Òthis lifeÓvs Òwhen I awakeÓ

 

Psa49:14-15 (NASU) As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be theirshepherd; And the upright shall rule over them in the morning, And their formshall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no habitation. 15 But God willredeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me.

 

Hos13:14 (NASU) Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeemthem from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting?Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

 

Isa26:19 (NASU) Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie inthe dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew [is as] the dew of the dawn,And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

 

Isa25:6-8 (NASU) The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for allpeoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,[And] refined, aged wine.

7And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. 8 He will swallow up deathfor all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, And He willremove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.

 

Dan12:1-2 (NASU) Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands [guard]over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distresssuch as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at thattime your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these toeverlasting life, but the others to disgrace [and] everlasting contempt.

 

V.Judgment Beyond This Life

 

A. InJob

 

Not amajor feature, but seems to arise twice:

            1.with respect to JobÕs vindication;

            2.later, in solving the problem of the prosperity of the wicked.

 

Job  19:23-29 (NASU) [Job speaking] "Ohthat my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24"That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever!25 "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will takeHis stand on the earth. 26 "Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from myflesh I shall see God; 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will seeand not another.

Myheart faints within me! 28 "If you say, `How shall we persecute him?' And`What pretext for a case against him can we find?' 29 "[Then] be afraid ofthe sword for yourselves, For wrath [brings] the punishment of the sword, Sothat you may know there is judgment."   Note especially how verses 23-24and verses 28-29 fit the passage between them into this context.

 

Job21, whole chapter, as Job seeks to deal with the prospeerity of the wicked.

 

B.Elsewhere in the Old Testament

 

Psa1:4-6 (NASU) The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the winddrives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinnersin the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,But the way of the wicked will perish.  Note how verses 5 and 6 work, in thecontext of verse 4.

 

Psalm73 doesnÕt make sense in a model of judgment only here and now:

 

Psa73:15-19 (NASU) If I had said, "I will speak thus," Behold, Iwould have betrayed the generation of Your children. 16 When I pondered tounderstand this, It was troublesome in my sight 17 Until I came into thesanctuary of God; [Then] I perceived their end. 18 Surely You set them inslippery places; You cast them down to destruction.

19How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by suddenterrors!

 

Itlooks like the Psalmist in Psalm 73 understands when he sees the animals beingsacrificed (verse 17-19), realizing that this is a picture of the divinejudgment we deserve.

 

Prov14:32 (NASU) The wicked is thrust down by his wrongdoing,

Butthe righteous has a refuge when he dies.

 

Eccl8:8 (NASU) No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, orauthority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war,and evil will not deliver those who practice it. 9 All this I have seen andapplied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a manhas exercised authority over [another] man to his hurt. 10 So then, I have seenthe wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, andthey are [soon] forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too isfutility. 11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly,therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred [times] and may lengthen his [life],still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.13 But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his dayslike a shadow, because he does not fear God.

14There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous mento whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand,there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous.I say that this too is futility.

15So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sunexcept to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in histoils [throughout] the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.16 When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been doneon the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night), 17 and I sawevery work of God, [I concluded] that man cannot discover the work which hasbeen done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will notdiscover; and though the wise man should say, "I know," he cannotdiscover.   Note the play on the phrase Òlengthen his daysÓ in verses12-13, and especially the idea of lengthening oneÕs days Òlike a shadowÓ(presumably near sunset, when the length of the shadow becomes arbitrarilylong).

 

Dan12:1-3 (NASU) Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands [guard]over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distresssuch as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at thattime your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these toeverlasting life, but the others to disgrace [and] everlasting contempt. 3Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanseof heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars foreverand ever.

 

VI.Conclusions

 

Isuggest we see in these passages examples of the growing awareness of survivalafter death, of the intermediate state between death and resurrection, of theresurrection, and the last judgement. It is not as clear as it comes to be in the centuries following thecompletion of the Old Testament, but neither is the earlier informationdiscarded as mistaken.