The Book of Daniel was produced after the contact with Zoroastrianism, and as you know is full of symbols and visions.
While resurrection had become a popular concept in times of Jesus, the fact that Saducees firmly oppose it shows that the concept was not unequivocally rooted in the Tanakh, as many other concepts in which there was no debate.
If you take out the reference in Daniel, which is highly symbolic, and Ezekiel, in which the allegory is explained right on the spot, where are the roots of a physical resurrection in the Hebrew Scriptures?
This is rather weak
@Pancho Frijoles, no offense.
The Book of Job:
In Job 19:25-26, Job expresses a profound hope in a future vindication:
"For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth;
and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh, I shall see God."
This passage is significant as it not only reflects Job's personal faith amidst suffering but also suggests an expectation of bodily resurrection, indicating that hope in life after death predates explicit references in later texts.
2. Isaiah 26:19:
Isaiah presents a more direct reference to resurrection:
"Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!"
This passage, often linked to the theme of national restoration, may also imply a physical resurrection of the faithful. The juxtaposition of the dead rising with the call to rejoice indicates a transformative event with eschatological implications.
3. Psalm 16:10:
Psalm 16:10 states,
"For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption."
While this psalm is traditionally interpreted as a plea for divine protection, it is also understood in a messianic context in the New Testament (Acts 2:27-31). This reference points to the belief that the faithful will not experience eternal death, thus implying a continuity of life beyond physical demise.
Genesis 22:1-14: Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac, a typological foreshadowing of resurrection.
Genesis 50:24-25: Joseph's prophetic statement regarding the Israelites' return to the Promised Land, hinting at hope beyond death.
1 Kings 17:17-24: Elijah raises the widow's son.
2 Kings 4:32-37: Elisha raises the Shunammite woman's son.
2 Kings 13:20-21: A man is revived when his body touches Elisha's bones.
Ezekiel 37:1-14: The vision of dry bones coming to life, symbolizing the restoration of Israel.
Daniel 12:2: A prophecy of resurrection for many who sleep in the dust.
4. Ezekiel 37:1-14:
While Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37) is often seen as symbolic, it is vital to note that it also serves as a powerful metaphor for the restoration of Israel. The imagery of bones coming to life and being covered with flesh illustrates God's power to revive a seemingly dead nation. Although primarily about national revival, it has been interpreted by some as a precursor to individual resurrection concepts.
Bible passages that reflect resurrection in the Old Testament
1. 1 Kings 17:17–24Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
2. 2 Kings 4:18–20Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), 32–37Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
When the [Shunammite woman’s] child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. And he said to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. . . .
When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord. Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
3. Job 19:25–27 (NIV)Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
4. Psalm 16:8–11Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol [realm of the dead] or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
5. Psalm 49:13–15Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.
6. Psalm 71:20Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
7. Isaiah 26:19–20Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. and the earth will give birth to the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.
8. Isaiah 53:10–11Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see [light] and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
9. Ezekiel 37:7–10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
10. Daniel 12:2–3Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
11. Hosea 6:1–2Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.
12. Jonah 1:17–2:2Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), 6–7Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), 10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)
And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. . . . Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, saying, “I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. . . . 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. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.” . . . And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
“Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” (Isaiah 26:19)
Some have argued that the doctrine of a bodily resurrection was unknown to the Israelites of the Old Testament. In fact, this denial was a cardinal doctrine of the sect of the Sadducees at the time of Christ (Matthew 22:23).
Our text, however, makes it clear that this promise has always been known to the people of God. Long before Isaiah’s time, Job had said: “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And...in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25-26). After the time of Isaiah, the promise was still known. “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).
Such promises were not referring to some vague “immortality of the soul,” as taught in pagan religions, but to resurrection of the body!
First, however, the Creator must become man, die for the sins of the world, and defeat death by His own bodily resurrection. In our text, in fact, Christ is saying that Old Testament believers would be raised “together with my dead body.” This was literally fulfilled when “the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matthew 27:52-53). Then, when Jesus first ascended to heaven (John 20:17), He led the souls of those who had been in “captivity” in the grave with Him into heaven (Ephesians 4:8). All who have trusted Christ in the Christian era will likewise be raised from the dead when He comes again. He has defeated death and has promised, “because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). HMM
Just gave you references outside Daniel and Ezekiel-question is, are you going to deny this with ANOTHER question?
J.
