Sheol and resurrection in the Hebrew Bible

Thesis

In the Hebrew Bible, the two most salient concepts relating to the hereafter or existence beyond death are a) the underworld, or realm of the dead known as ‘Sheol’, and b) the eschatological resurrection of the dead. In so far as both Sheol and resurrection concern the fate or future of the dead, it might seem natural to expect a close association between the two concepts in the biblical text linguistically or thematically. However, there are ostensibly fundamental differences that have led interpreters to draw a distinction between the two. One such difference is the understanding that essentially there is no return from Sheol, whereas resurrection is the return of the dead to bodily existence. Furthermore, Sheol is often viewed as the benchmark of pre-exilic Israelite post-mortem expectations, whereas resurrection is viewed as a post-exilic development with possible foreign origins. The extent to which the above is accurate, in terms of how we understand both the term Sheol and biblical resurrection, as well as the relationship or distinctiveness of the two concepts, is the topic of this thesis. In this study, I analyse each of the sixty-six biblical occurrences of Sheol, as well as the key passages relating to biblical resurrection, and provide an exegesis for each passage. In the course of this analysis, I address contextual, lexical and hermeneutical issues, and where it is pertinent, the texts are compared with their reception in the Septuagint and other ancient versions. Ultimately, where it was previously thought that there existed a bifurcation between the ideas of Sheol and resurrection, this study finds evidence for the converse. The biblical portrayal of both concepts displays a theological and thematic overlap, which is shown to be evident in the language and phraseology of the biblical passages analysed.

Authors: Cole, S

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-nbdqnggmr
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English