Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity January 8, 2013 Samuel L. Adams
Teaching for Prince Merikare Be not confident in length of years, For they (the gods) regard lifetime as but an hour. A man will survive after his death, His deeds will be set beside him as (his) reward, And existence in the beyond is for eternity. A fool is he who does what offends them; But he who reaches them having done no wrong, He will exist there like a god, Walking proud like the Lords of eternity. (54-57)
Book of the Dead Spell 125 I have not done that which the gods abominate. I have not defamed a slave to his superior I have not made anyone sick. I have not made anyone weep. I have not killed. I have given no order to a killer. I have not caused anyone suffering. I have not cut down on the food-income in the temples, I have not damaged the bread of the gods. I have not taken the loaves of the blessed (dead ones). I have not had sexual relations with a boy. I have not defiled myself.
Epic Of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh, where do you roam? You will not find the eternal life you seek. When the gods created mankind They appointed death for mankind, Kept eternal life in their own hands. So Gilgamesh, let your stomach be full, Day and night enjoy yourself in every way, Every day arrange for pleasures. Day and night, dance and play, Wear fresh clothes. Keep your head washed, bathe in water, Appreciate the child who holds your hand, Let your wife enjoy herself in your lap. This is the work (of the living).
Genesis 2:7 7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being (Hebrew nefesh). Psalm 104:29-30 29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground. Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 Remember your creator in the days of your youth... Before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken... and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it.
Sheol in the Old Testament Isaiah 38:18-19 For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you; those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living, they thank you, as I do this day; fathers make known to chidlren your faithfulness. Job 10:20-22 Are not the days of my life few? Let me alone, that I may find a little comfort before I go, never to return, to the land of gloom and deep darkness, the land of gloom and chaos, where light is like darkness. Sirach 17:27-28 Who will sing praises to the Most High in Hades in place of the living who give thanks? From the dead, as from one who does not exist, thanksgiving has ceased; those who are alive and well sing God s praises.
Jonah 2:4-10 4 Then I said, 'I am driven away from your sight; how shall I look again upon your holy temple? 5 The waters closed in over me; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head 6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the Pit, O LORD my God. 7 As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8 Those who worship vain idols forsake their true loyalty. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the LORD! 10 Then the LORD spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.
Qoheleth on the Finality of Death Ecclesiastes 3:19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knows whether the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?
Ends of Elijah and Enoch 2 Kings 2:11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Genesis 5:24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.