Resurrection in the Old Testament
The notion of a resurrection is not foreign to the Old Testament, but it is rarely attested, appearing just four times: Isaiah 26, Ezekiel 37, Daniel 12, and Hosea 6. Another passage that is often assumed to contain a reference to the resurrection is Job 19:25–26.The NIV renders these verses as follows:
Ezekiel 37 and Hosea 6:2 both speak of resurrection, but only figuratively, in the sense that the nation would be restored after its figurative death of the exile.
The only examples of bodily resurrection in the Old Testament, then, are found in Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2. However, it’s important to recognize that even in these verses resurrection or the after-life is not seen as being imminent, but only will take place “in that day,” a prophetic reference to the Day of the Lord, the day when God finally and ultimately accomplishes his purposes.
On that day, Isaiah says, God will defeat “Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent,” “the dragon that is in the sea” (Isa 27:1). Isaiah employs language that is strikingly similar to the Baal Epic, representing Yahweh’s adversary as the sea serpent who wreaks havoc on Yahweh’s plans. In THAT day, Isaiah says, God “will swallow up death forever” (Isa 25:8). For Isaiah and for the ancient Israelites, death’s defeat was a future hope, not a present reality.
They clung to the hope that the horrors of imperialistic oppression would one day end, but they lived in a world where oppression was part of daily existence. But in THAT day, Leviathan would be struck down by God’s great and strong sword. In THAT day, death would die forever. In THAT day, the dead shall live, corpses shall rise, and those who sleep in the dust will wake up and sing for joy (Isa 26:19).
But that day had not yet come. For Isaiah and Daniel, for Job, for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, death was the end. Death was still an enemy yet to be defeated.
The notion of a resurrection is not foreign to the Old Testament, but it is rarely attested, appearing just four times: Isaiah 26, Ezekiel 37, Daniel 12, and Hosea 6. Another passage that is often assumed to contain a reference to the resurrection is Job 19:25–26.The NIV renders these verses as follows:
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.There is much to investigate here, and it would be worth an entire [blog post] to commit to these verses alone. But, let’s cut to the chase by putting these verses in the context of the book of Job. Throughout the book, Job has had one primary objective: to maintain his innocence before God and his friends. Both he and his friends believed that people got what they deserved. If they sinned against God or humans, they should suffer. If they have been upright (as the narrator tells us Job has been), they should prosper and be healthy. Since Job was suffering, the only conclusion Job’s friends could draw was that Job had sinned. Job declared his innocence before his friends and wanted the opportunity to declare his innocence before God himself. Job’s declaration in Job 19 is not for some future after-life experience, but the recognition that the only one who can vindicate him before his friends is God himself. Nearly every modern translation of these verses misses this point, and too quickly assumes a New Testament perspective to understand them. My own translation of these verses is this:
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God”
“As for me, I know that my vindicator is alive. At last, he will rise above the dust. After my skin had been destroyed like this, from my flesh I will see God.”Job had faith that God had not abandoned him. Job’s flesh was falling off; it was scabbed and peeling, but even in his deteriorated flesh he had hope that he would see his Vindicator.
Ezekiel 37 and Hosea 6:2 both speak of resurrection, but only figuratively, in the sense that the nation would be restored after its figurative death of the exile.
[Ezekiel's Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones,
Dore's English Bible, (c) WikiCommons]
The only examples of bodily resurrection in the Old Testament, then, are found in Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2. However, it’s important to recognize that even in these verses resurrection or the after-life is not seen as being imminent, but only will take place “in that day,” a prophetic reference to the Day of the Lord, the day when God finally and ultimately accomplishes his purposes.
On that day, Isaiah says, God will defeat “Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent,” “the dragon that is in the sea” (Isa 27:1). Isaiah employs language that is strikingly similar to the Baal Epic, representing Yahweh’s adversary as the sea serpent who wreaks havoc on Yahweh’s plans. In THAT day, Isaiah says, God “will swallow up death forever” (Isa 25:8). For Isaiah and for the ancient Israelites, death’s defeat was a future hope, not a present reality.
They clung to the hope that the horrors of imperialistic oppression would one day end, but they lived in a world where oppression was part of daily existence. But in THAT day, Leviathan would be struck down by God’s great and strong sword. In THAT day, death would die forever. In THAT day, the dead shall live, corpses shall rise, and those who sleep in the dust will wake up and sing for joy (Isa 26:19).
But that day had not yet come. For Isaiah and Daniel, for Job, for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, death was the end. Death was still an enemy yet to be defeated.
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