Biblical Resources · Web viewBalthasar, Hans Urs von. Mysterium Paschale - the Mystery of Easter. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1990. Barker, Margaret. The Risen Lord. The Jesus of History

Resurrection Narratives 2012

READING THE RESURRECTION NARRATIVES THEN AND NOWKieran J. O’Mahony OSAPG 115 Milltown 2012

Beginning with the background in late Second Temple Judaism, the course will look first of all at the evidence in Paul (with special emphasis on 1 Corinthians 15), before going on to look at teach of the Gospel accounts of the empty tomb proclamation stories (Mark, Matthew, Luke and John) and the resurrection appearance narratives (Matthew, Luke and John). The methodology will combine the classical historical critical method with narrative and more theological approaches. Assignments will be given each week as part of continuous assessment.

Selected Bibliography on the Resurrection and Related Topics

Aulén, Gustav. Christus Victor. An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of the Atonement. London: SPCK, 1970.

Avis, Paul (ed.). The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1983.

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Mysterium Paschale - the Mystery of Easter. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1990.

Barker, Margaret. The Risen Lord. The Jesus of History and the Christ of Faith. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1996.

Borg, Marcus J., and Crossan, John Dominic. The Last Week. What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem. New York: HarperOne, 2006.

Catchpole, David. Resurrection People. Studies in the Resurrection Narratives of the Gospels. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2001.

*Cavallin, Hans Clemens Caesarius. Life After Death. Paul’s Argument for the Resurrection of the Dead in 1 Cor 15. Part I. An Enquiry into the Jewish Background. Lund: CWK Gleerup, 1974.

*Charlesworth et al, James H. (ed). Resurrection. The Origin and Future of a Biblical Doctrine. New York, London: T&T Clark, 2006.

D’Costa, Gavin (ed). Resurrection Reconsidered. Oxford: One World, 1996.David, Stephen T. Risen Indeed. Making Sense of the Resurrection. London: SPCK,

1993.Dunn, James. A New Perspective on Jesus. What the Quest for the Historical Jesus

Missed. London: SPCK, 2005.Durrwell, F.X. The Resurrection. London and Sydney: Sheed and Ward, 1969.Eberhart, Christian A. The Sacrifice of Jesus. Understanding Atonement Biblically.

Minneapolis: Fortressd, 2011.*Elledge, C.D. Life After Death in Early Judaism. The Evidence of Joseph. Tübingen:

Mohr Siebeck, 2006.Evens,, Craig (ed). Eschatology, Messianism and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Grand Rapids,

MN: Eerdmans, 1997.Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The One Who Is to Come. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007.Frey, Jörg (ed), and Jens (ed) Schröter. Deutungen Des Todes Jesu Im Neuen Testament.

Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007.Gallagher, Paul. The Disturbing Freshness of Christ. Dublin: Veritas, 2008.Haight, Roger. Jesus Symbol of God. New York: Orbis Books, 1999.Hendrickx, Herman. Resurrection Narratives. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1978.Johnson, Luke Timothy. Religious Experience in Earliest Christianity. Minneapolis:

Fortress, 1998.———. The Real Jesus. The Misguided Quest for the Historical Jesus and the Truth of

the Traditional Gospels. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.*Levenson, Jon D. Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel. The Ultimate Victory of

the God of Life. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006.———. The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son. The Transformatin of Child

Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1983.

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Mainville, Odette. Les Christophanies Du Nouveau Testament. Montreal: Mediaspaul, 2008.

Martelet, Gustave. The Risen Christ and the Eucharistic World. London: Collins, 1976.Marxsen, Willi. The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. London: SCM, 1970.Matera, Frank. New Testament Christology. Louisville/London: Westminster John Knox

Press, 1999.McKnight, Scot. Jesus and His Death. Historiography, the Historical Jesus and

Atonement Theology. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2005.*Nickelsburg, George W.E.j. Resurrection Immortality, and Eternal Life in

Intertestamental Judaism and Early Christianity. Expanded ed. Harvard: Harvard Theological Studies, 2006.

O’Collins, Gerald. Jesus Risen. The Resurrection - What Actually Happened and What Does It Mean? London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1987.

———. The Easter Jesus. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1973.———. What Are They Saying About the Resurrection? New York: Paulist Press, 1978.O’Mahony, Kieran J. The Pauline Writings. Vols. 1 and 2. Theology for Today 20.

Dublin: The Priory Institute, 2009.O’Mahony, Kieran J. Do We Still Need St Paul? Revised and Expanded. Dublin:

Veritas, 2011.Osborne, Kenan B. The Resurrection of Jesus. New Considerations for Its Theological

Interpretation. New York: Paulist Press, 1977.Perrin, Norman. The Resurrection Narratives: A New Approach. London: SCM, 1977.Porter, Stanley E. (ed). The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments. Grand Rapids,

MN: Eerdmans, 2007.Richards, H.J. The First Easter: What Really Happened? Glasgow: Collins, 1976.Sanders, E.P. The Historical Figure of Jesus. London: Penguin, 1993.Schlier, Heinrich. On the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Roma: 30Days, 2008.Schweitzer, Don. Contemporary Christologies. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2010.Selby, Peter. Look for the Living. The Corporate Nature of Resurrection Faith. London:

SCM, 1976.Smith, Daniel A. Revisiting the Empty Tomb. The Early History of Easter. Minneapolis:

Fortress, 2010.Stanton, Graham N. The Gospels and Jesus. Oxford: OUP, 1990.Wansbrough, Henry. Risen from the Dead. Middlegreen: St Paul Publications, 1978.Weren, Wim (ed), Huub (ed) van de Sandt, and Joseph (ed) Verheyden. Life Beyond

Death in Matthew’s Gospel: Religious Metaphor or Bodily Reality? Leuven: Peeters, 2011.

Williams, Rowan. Resurrection. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1982.Wright, N.T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. London: SPCK, 2003.

Dictionaries

Search under: Sheol, life after death, resurrection, immortality, heaven, apocalyptic, eschatology.

Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (6 vols.)Dictionary of Biblical ImageryDictionary of Early JudaismDictionary of New Testament BackgroundEerdmans Dictionary of the BibleEncyclopaedia JudaicaExegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (3 vols.)HarperCollins Bible DictionaryNew Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols.)Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (10 vols.)

Internet Resources

http://www.ancienttexts.org/http://www.sacred-texts.com/

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http://www.ancienttexts.org/


http://otgateway.com/http://aggreen.net/bible/noncanon.html#OT Apocryphahttp://www.gnosis.org/library.htmlhttp://www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/intro.htmlhttp://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/scrolls_deadsea/deadseascrolls_english/contents.htm

Course Outline

1. The Jewish faith in resurrection and life after death2. Jesus’ own teaching on the Resurrection 3. Paul’s encounter with the Risen LORD4. 1 Corinthians 155. The Empty Tomb Proclamation Stories6. Matthew and the Resurrection7. Luke and the Resurrection (i)8. Luke and the Resurrection (ii)9. John and the Resurrection (i)10. John and the Resurrection (ii)

Style of presentation: Seminar with set reading and assignments.NB: there will be some calendar problems.

Task for the next day: evidence for Jesus’ own belief about the resurrection of the dead.

SESSION 1: 11 September 2012

1. Biblical cosmology and the “abode” of the “dead”

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http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/scrolls_deadsea/deadseascrolls_english/contents.htm

http://www.gnosis.org/library.html

http://otgateway.com/


(a) Death as normal

Josh. 23:14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed.

1Kings 2:2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous, 3 and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.”

Gen 48:1 After this Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” he summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, …7 For when I came from Paddan, Rachel, alas, died in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

Deut. 33:1 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before his death.

(i) the normal life span

Gen. 6:3 Then the LORD said, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.”

Psa. 90:10 The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

Is. 38:10 I said: In the noontide of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.

(ii) the deceased must leave children to perpetuate his name

2Sam. 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance”; he called the pillar by his own name. It is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

(iii) the dead person must be buried in a sepulchre.

(b) Rituals surrounding death

Gen. 49:29 Then he charged them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors—in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Deut. 34:5 Then Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, at the LORD’S command. 6 He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day.

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1Kings 2:10 Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David.

Deut. 26:14 I have not eaten of it while in mourning; I have not removed any of it while I was unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God, doing just as you commanded me.

Is. 65:2 I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people,

who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;

3 a people who provoke me to my face continually,

sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks;

4 who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places;

who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels;

(c) What happened when you die?

Is. 38:10 I said: In the noontide of my days I must depart;

I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years.

11 I said, I shall not see the LORDin the land of the living;

I shall look upon mortals no more among the inhabitants of the world.

12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent;

like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom;

from day to night you bring me to an end;

18 For Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you;

those who go down to the Pit cannot hope for your faithfulness.

19 The living, the living, they thank you, as I do this day;

fathers make known to children your faithfulness.

Num. 16:30 But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.”

Job 26:7 He stretches out Zaphon over the void, and hangs the earth upon nothing.

Jonah 2:6 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.

Job 16:22 For when a few years have come, I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

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1Sam. 28:13 The king said to her, “Have no fear; what do you see?” The woman said to Saul, “I see a divine being coming up out of the ground.”

The language for this place is interesting:

*tjv: the ditch, cf. Ps 16:10*rwb: the pit, cf. Ps 28:1*twm: the (realm of) death: cf. Ps 6:5*Xra: the earth: Ps 71:2*ˆNwdba: perdition, cf. Ps 88:11*lwav: “Sheol” Ps 9:17 (16 occurrences together).

The Etymology of Sheol

(1) s¥}l “to ask, require” i.e. linked with necromancy, cf. Saul.(2) Akkadian etymologies have also been attempted

“ghost-word” s¥u}aœlu, s¥§}o®l from s¥u}aœra, the name of Tammuz’s dwelling in the

underworld.(3) E. Dévaud (Sphinx 13 [1910]: 120f.) assumes an Eg. derivation.(4) s¥§}o®l from s¥}h “to be desolate, be devastated.” s¥§}o®l would belong to a richly developed family of words.

I “to be desolate,” II “to roar (rage),” III “to be gazing at (consider)”

The cohesive link seems to lie in the concept of disorder and disorganization manifest acoustically as “noise” and visually as “ruin,” i.e., degenerate, uninhabitable space.

Regarding the theological value of s¥§}o®l in the OT, the most significant theological factor for those dwelling in s¥§}o®l is exclusion from Yahweh’s cult and historical acts.

According to OT understanding, prior to physical death s¥§}o®l already intrudes into life in illness, distress, imprisonment, etc. Both the lament and the praise of the deliverer in the Psa should be understood against this background (2 Sam 22:6 = Psa 18:6; Jonah 2:3; Psa 88:4; 116:3, etc.; further, 1 Sam 2:6; Psa 16:10; 30:4; 49:16; 86:13, etc).

(d) What is death then?

Psa. 88:4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help,

5 like those forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.

6 You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep.

Psa. 115:17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any that go down into silence.

(e) In the face of all this what can one do?

i) Turn to God: Ps 88:2:13 [see the whole Psalm]

Psa. 88:2 let my prayer come before you;

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incline your ear to my cry. Psa. 88:13 But I, O LORD, cry out to you;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

ii) Awareness that God is everywhere, even in the realm of death.

Psa. 139:8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

Deut. 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god beside me. I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and no one can deliver from my hand.

Psa. 49:13 Such is the fate of the foolhardy, the end of those who are pleased with their lot.

14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Sheol shall be their home.

15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah

Psa. 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.

Amos 9:2 Though they dig into Sheol,

from there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.

Biblical texts which seem to contradict this view

Hos 6:1 “Come, let us return to the LORD;for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;he has struck down, and he will bind us up.

2 After two days he will revive us;on the third day he will raise us up,that we may live before him.

3 Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD;his appearing is as sure as the dawn;

he will come to us like the showers,like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Ezek 37:1 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O LORD GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the LORD GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

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Ezek 37:7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the LORD GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Ezek 37:11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the LORD GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act,” says the LORD.

Isa 25:8 Then the LORD GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces,and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,for the LORD has spoken.

Isa 26:14 The dead do not live;shades do not rise—

because you have punished and destroyed them,and wiped out all memory of them.

15 But you have increased the nation, O LORD,you have increased the nation; you are glorified;you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

Isa 26:16 O LORD, in distress they sought you,

they poured out a prayerwhen your chastening was on them.

17 Like a woman with child,who writhes and cries out in her pangswhen she is near her time,

so were we because of you, O LORD; 18 we were with child, we writhed,

but we gave birth only to wind.We have won no victories on earth,

and no one is born to inhabit the world. 19 Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise.

O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!For your dew is a radiant dew,

and the earth will give birth to those long dead. Isa 52:13 See, my servant shall prosper;

he shall be exalted and lifted up,and shall be very high.

14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,and his form beyond that of mortals—

15 so he shall startle many nations;kings shall shut their mouths because of him;

for that which had not been told them they shall see,and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.

1 Who has believed what we have heard?And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,and like a root out of dry ground;

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he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by others;a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;

and as one from whom others hide their faceshe was despised, and we held him of no account.

Isa 53:4 Surely he has borne our infirmities

and carried our diseases;yet we accounted him stricken,

struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

and by his bruises we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have all turned to our own way,and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all. Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,so he did not open his mouth.

8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.Who could have imagined his future?

For he was cut off from the land of the living,stricken for the transgression of my people.

9 They made his grave with the wickedand his tomb with the rich,

although he had done no violence,and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Isa 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain.

When you make his life an offering for sin,he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;

through him the will of the LORD shall prosper. 11 Out of his anguish he shall see light;

he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;

because he poured out himself to death,and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,and made intercession for the transgressors.

Ps 16:10 For you do not give me up to Sheol,

or let your faithful one see the Pit. Ps 17:15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Ps 49:15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,for he will receive me. Selah

Ps 73:23 Nevertheless I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

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24 You guide me with your counsel,and afterward you will receive me with honor.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Ps 73:27 Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;

you put an end to those who are false to you. 28 But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the LORD GOD my refuge,to tell of all your works.

2. The Jewish faith in resurrection and life after death

Goal: to read and enquire into the key texts from the period.

1 EnochA collection really.

Book of the Heavenly Luminaries (1 Enoch 72-82)

Blessed is the man who dies just and good,And against whom there has been written and foundno account of wrongdoing for the day of judgment. (1Enoch 81:4)

Book of the Watchers (1 En 1-36)

(The Watchers) will be taken to the abyss of fire, to the torments and to the prison of perpetual seclusion. Anyone who is condemned and perishes from now on will be enchained together with them until the end of their generation. And at the time of judgment that I shall judge they shall perish forever. I shall cause to perish all the spirits of the depraved and the sons of the Watchers because they have committed violence against men (1 En 10:13-15).

As for the fragrant tree, no flesh has the authority to touch it until the great judgment, which will see the chastisement of all and the completion of all things. Then its fruit shall be given as food to the righteous and holy, those elected unto life. And it will be replanted in a holy place, before the house of God, the eternal king. Then they will rejoice with great joy, they shall be glad, and enter into the holy place, the perfumes of the tree will be for them alone, they shall have a very long life upon the earth, (the life) which your fathers lived. And during their days, pains and torments and plagues and scourges shall not touch them (1 En 25:4-6).

The Epistle of Enoch and the Apocalypse of Weeks (1 En 91-105)

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4 In those days the angels shall descend into the secret placesAnd gather together into one place all those who brought down sinAnd the Most High will arise on that day of judgementTo execute great judgement amongst sinners.

5 And over all the righteous and holy He will appoint guardians from amongst the holy angelsTo guard them as the apple of an eye,Until He makes an end of all wickedness and all sin,And though the righteous sleep a long sleep, they have nought to fear.

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6 And (then) the children of the earth shall see the wise in security,And shall understand all the words of this book,And recognize that their riches shall not be able to save themIn the overthrow of their sins.

7 Woe to you, Sinners, on the day of strong anguish,Ye who afflict the righteous and burn them with fire:Ye shall be requited according to your works.

8 Woe to you, ye obstinate of heart,Who watch in order to devise wickedness:Therefore shall fear come upon youAnd there shall be none to help you.

9 Woe to you, ye sinners, on account of the words of your mouth,And on account of the deeds of your hands which your godlessness as wrought,In blazing flames burning worse than fire shall ye burn.

103

3 That all goodness and joy and glory are prepared for them,And written down for the spirits of those who have died in righteousness,And that manifold good shall be given to you in recompense for your labours,And that your lot is abundantly beyond the lot of the living.

4 And the spirits of you who have died in righteousness shall live and rejoice,And their spirits shall not perish, nor their memorial from before the face of the Great One Unto all the generations of the world: wherefore no longer fear their contumely.

Theodicy is especially important

102

1 In those days when He hath brought a grievous fire upon you,Whither will ye flee, and where will ye find deliverance ?And when He launches forth His Word against you Will you not be affrighted and fear ?

2 And all the luminaries shall be affrighted with great fear,And all the earth shall be affrighted and tremble and be alarmed.

3 And all the angels shall execute their commandstAnd shall seek to hide themselves from the presence of the Great Glory,And the children of earth shall tremble and quake;And ye sinners shall be cursed for ever,And ye shall have no peace.

4 Fear ye not, ye souls of the righteous,And be hopeful ye that have died in righteousness.

5 And grieve not if your soul into Sheol has descended in grief,And that in your life your body fared not according to your goodness,But wait for the day of the judgement of sinnersAnd for the day of cursing and chastisement.

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6 And yet when ye die the sinners speak over you:" As we die, so die the righteous,And what benefit do they reap for their deeds ?

7 Behold, even as we, so do they die in grief and darkness,And what have they more than we ?From henceforth we are equal.

8 And what will they receive and what will they see for ever ?Behold, they too have died,And henceforth for ever shall they see no light."

9 I tell you, ye sinners, ye are content to eat and drink, and rob and sin, and strip men naked, and10 acquire wealth and see good days. Have ye seen the righteous how their end falls out, that no manner11 of violence is found in them till their death ? " Nevertheless they perished and became as though they had not been, and their spirits descended into Sheol in tribulation."

The similitudes of Enoch (1En 37-71)

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1 And in those days shall the earth also give back that which has been entrusted to it,And Sheol also shall give back that which it has received,And hell shall give back that which it owes.

For in those days the Elect One shall arise,2 And he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them:For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved.

Chapter 58

1 And I began to speak the third Parable concerning the righteous and elect.

2 Blessed are ye, ye righteous and elect,For glorious shall be your lot.

3 And the righteous shall be in the light of the sun.And the elect in the light of eternal life:The days of their life shall be unending,And the days of the holy without number.

Daniel

Dan 12:1 “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase.”

2 Maccabees

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2 Macc 6:12 Now I urge those who read this book not to be depressed by such calamities, but to recognize that these punishments were designed not to destroy but to discipline our people. 13 In fact, it is a sign of great kindness not to let the impious alone for long, but to punish them immediately. 14 For in the case of the other nations the LORD waits patiently to punish them until they have reached the full measure of their sins; but he does not deal in this way with us, 15 in order that he may not take vengeance on us afterward when our sins have reached their height. 16 Therefore he never withdraws his mercy from us. Although he disciplines us with calamities, he does not forsake his own people. 17 Let what we have said serve as a reminder; we must go on briefly with the story.

2 Macc 7:1 It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and thongs, to partake of unlawful swine’s flesh. 2 One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, “What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”

2 Macc 7:3 The king fell into a rage, and gave orders to have pans and caldrons heated. 4 These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and the mother looked on. 5 When he was utterly helpless, the king ordered them to take him to the fire, still breathing, and to fry him in a pan. The smoke from the pan spread widely, but the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, saying, 6 “The LORD God is watching over us and in truth has compassion on us, as Moses declared in his song that bore witness against the people to their faces, when he said, ‘And he will have compassion on his servants.’”

2 Macc 7:7 After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward the second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and asked him, “Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by limb?” 8 He replied in the language of his ancestors and said to them, “No.” Therefore he in turn underwent tortures as the first brother had done. 9 And when he was at his last breath, he said, “You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.”

2 Macc 7:10 After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands, 11 and said nobly, “I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again.” 12 As a result the king himself and those with him were astonished at the young man’s spirit, for he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

2 Macc 7:13 After he too had died, they maltreated and tortured the fourth in the same way. 14 When he was near death, he said, “One cannot but choose to die at the hands of mortals and to cherish the hope God gives of being raised again by him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!”

2 Macc 7:15 Next they brought forward the fifth and maltreated him. 16 But he looked at the king, and said, “Because you have authority among mortals, though you also are mortal, you do what you please. But do not think that God has forsaken our people. 17 Keep on, and see how his mighty power will torture you and your descendants!”

2 Macc 7:18 After him they brought forward the sixth. And when he was about to die, he said, “Do not deceive yourself in vain. For we are suffering these things on our own account, because of our sins against our own God. Therefore astounding things have happened. 19 But do not think that you will go unpunished for having tried to fight against God!”

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2 Macc 7:20 The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Although she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the LORD. 21 She encouraged each of them in the language of their ancestors. Filled with a noble spirit, she reinforced her woman’s reasoning with a man’s courage, and said to them, 22 “I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. 23 Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of humankind and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.”

2 Macc 7:24 Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his ancestors, and that he would take him for his Friend and entrust him with public affairs. 25 Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the mother to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself. 26 After much urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son. 27 But, leaning close to him, she spoke in their native language as follows, deriding the cruel tyrant: “My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in your life, and have taken care of you. 28 I beg you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. And in the same way the human race came into being. 29 Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again along with your brothers.”

2 Macc 7:30 While she was still speaking, the young man said, “What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king’s command, but I obey the command of the law that was given to our ancestors through Moses. 31 But you, who have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the hands of God. 32 For we are suffering because of our own sins. 33 And if our living LORD is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will again be reconciled with his own servants. 34 But you, unholy wretch, you most defiled of all mortals, do not be elated in vain and puffed up by uncertain hopes, when you raise your hand against the children of heaven. 35 You have not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty, all-seeing God. 36 For our brothers after enduring a brief suffering have drunk of ever-flowing life, under God’s covenant; but you, by the judgment of God, will receive just punishment for your arrogance. 37 I, like my brothers, give up body and life for the laws of our ancestors, appealing to God to show mercy soon to our nation and by trials and plagues to make you confess that he alone is God, 38 and through me and my brothers to bring to an end the wrath of the Almighty that has justly fallen on our whole nation.”

2 Macc 7:39 The king fell into a rage, and handled him worse than the others, being exasperated at his scorn. 40 So he died in his integrity, putting his whole trust in the LORD.

2 Macc 7:41 Last of all, the mother died, after her sons.

2 Macc 7:42 Let this be enough, then, about the eating of sacrifices and the extreme tortures.

Dead Sea Scrolls

1QS 11:7 To them He has chosen all these has He given—an eternal possession. He has made them heirs in the legacy 8 of the Holy Ones; with the Angels has He united their assembly, a Yahad party. They are an assembly built up for holiness, an eternal Planting for all 9 ages to come.

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1QHa 11:19 Then the doors of the pit shut up the one who is pregnant with injustice, and the eternal bars shut up the spirits of wickedness. (vacat) 20 (vacat) I give thanks to You, O LORD, for You have redeemed my soul from the pit. From Sheol and Abaddon 21 You have raised me up to an eternal height, so that I might walk about on a limitless plain, and know that there is hope for him whom 22 You created from the dust for the eternal council. The perverse spirit You have cleansed from great transgression, that he might take his stand with 23 the host of the holy ones, and enter together (or in the Yahad) with the congregation of the sons of heaven.

1QS 4:9 The operations of the spirit of falsehood result in greed, neglect of righteous deeds, wickedness, lying, pride and haughtiness, cruel deceit and fraud, 10 massive hypocrisy, a want of self-control and abundant foolishness, a zeal for arrogance, abominable deeds fashioned by whorish desire, lechery in its filthy manifestation, 11 a reviling tongue, blind eyes, deaf ears, stiff neck, and hard heart—to the end of walking in all the ways of darkness and evil cunning. The judgment 12 of all who walk in such ways will be multiple afflictions at the hand of all the angels of perdition, everlasting damnation in the wrath of God’s furious vengeance, never-ending terror and reproach 13 for all eternity, with a shameful extinction in the fire of Hell’s outer darkness. For all their eras, generation by generation, they will know doleful sorrow, bitter evil, and dark happenstance, until 14 their utter destruction with neither remnant nor rescue.

4Q521 f2ii+4:1 [… For the hea]vens and the earth shall listen to His Messiah 2 [and all w]hich is in them shall not turn away from the commandments of the holy ones. 3 Strengthen yourselves, O you who seek the LORD, in His service. 4 Will you not find the LORD in this, all those who hope in their heart? 5 For the LORD attends to the pious and calls the righteous by name. 6 Over the humble His spirit hovers, and He renews the faithful in His strength. 7 For He will honor the pious upon the th[ro]ne of His eternal kingdom, 8 setting prisoners free, opening the eyes of the blind, raising up those who are bo[wed down. (Psalm 146:7–8)] 9 And for[ev]er I shall hold fast [to] those [who h]ope and in His faithfulness sh[all …] 10 and the frui[t of ] good [dee]ds shall not be delayed for anyone 11 and the LORD shall do glorious things which have not been done, just as He said. 12 For He shall heal the critically wounded, He shall revive the dead, He shall send good news to the afflicted (Isaiah 61:1), 13 He shall sati[sfy the poo]r, He shall guide the uprooted, He shall make the hungry rich, 14 and […] disc[erning ones …] and all of them as the ho[ly ones …] 15 and […]

4Q385 f2:1 [“For I am the LORD,] who redeems My people, giving the covenant to them.” 2 [And I said, “O LORD,] I have seen many from Israel who have loved Your name and have walked 3 in the ways [of Your heart. So,] when will [th]ese things come to pass? And how will their faithfulness be rewarded?” And the LORD said 4 to me, “I see the children of Israel, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” 5 [And He said,] “Son of man, prophesy over these bones, and say, ‘Come together, bone to its bone and joint 6 [to its joint. ’ ”And it wa]s s[o.] And He said a second time, “Prophesy, and let sinews come upon them and let skin cover 7 [them.” And it was so.] And He s[ai]d, “Again prophesy to the four winds of the heavens, and a let them blow 8 [upon the slain.”And it was so.] And a great many people [revi]ved (Ezekiel 37:4–10). And they blessed the LORD of hosts wh[o] 9 [had revived them. And] I said, “O LORD, when will [th]ese things come to pass?” And the LORD said to [me, “Until] 10 [… and after many] days a tree shall bend, and it shall stand up […”]

Wisdom of Solomon

Wis 2:23 for God created us for incorruption,and made us in the image of his own eternity,

24 but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,and those who belong to his company experience it.

Wis 3:1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,and no torment will ever touch them.

2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,

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and their departure was thought to be a disaster, 3 and their going from us to be their destruction;

but they are at peace. 4 For though in the sight of others they were punished,

their hope is full of immortality. 5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,

because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; 6 like gold in the furnace he tried them,

and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. 7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,

and will run like sparks through the stubble. 8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples,

and the LORD will reign over them forever. 9 Those who trust in him will understand truth,

and the faithful will abide with him in love,because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,and he watches over his elect.

10 But the ungodly will be punished as their reasoning deserves,those who disregarded the righteousand rebelled against the LORD;

11 for those who despise wisdom and instruction are miserable.Their hope is vain, their labors are unprofitable,and their works are useless.

12 Their wives are foolish, and their children evil;

13 their offspring are accursed.

Philo of Alexandria (De opificio mundi)

XLVI. (134) After this, Moses says that “God made man, having taken clay from the earth, and he breathed into his face the breath of life.” And by this expression he shows most clearly that there is a vast difference between man as generated now, and the first man who was made according to the image of God. For man as formed now is perceptible to the external senses, partaking of qualities, consisting of body and soul, man or woman, by nature mortal. But man, made according to the image of God, was an idea, or a genus, or a seal, perceptible only by the intellect, incorporeal, neither male nor female, imperishable by nature. (135) But he asserts that the formation of the individual man, perceptible by the external senses is a composition of earthy substance, and divine spirit. For that the body was created by the Creator taking a lump of clay, and fashioning the human form out of it; but that the soul proceeds from no created thing at all, but from the Father and Ruler of all things. For when he uses the expression, “he breathed into,” etc., he means nothing else than the divine spirit proceeding form that happy and blessed nature, sent to take up its habitation here on earth, for the advantage of our race, in order that, even if man is mortal according to that portion of him which is visible, he may at all events be immortal according to that portion which is invisible; and for this reason, one may properly say that man is on the boundaries of a better and an immortal nature, partaking of each as far as it is necessary for him; and that he was born at the same time, both mortal and the immortal. Mortal as to his body, but immortal as to his intellect.

Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

Judah 25:1 And after these things Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will arise to life, and I and my brothers will be leaders of the tribes in Israel: Levi first, I the second, Joseph third, Benjamin fourth, Simeon fifth, Issachar sixth, and so all the rest in order. 2 And the LORD will bless Levi; and the Angel of the presence, me; the powers of glory, Simeon; the heaven, Reuben; the earth, Issachar; the sea, Zebulon; the mountains, Joseph; the tabernacle, Benjamin; the stars, Dan; indulgence, Naphtali; the sun, Gad; the olive tree, Asher. 3 And you will be the people of the LORD, and have one language; and there

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will be no deceitful spirit of Beliar there, because he will be thrown into the fire for eternity and beyond. 4 And they who have died in grief will arise in joy, and they who were poor because of the LORD will be made rich, and the poor will be fed, and the weak will be made strong, and they who are put to death for the LORD will arise to life. 5 And the deers of Jacob will run in gladness, and the eagles of Israel will fly in joy; and the ungodly will mourn, and the sinful will weep, and all the people will glorify the LORD for eternity.

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Documents

Biblical Resources · Web viewBalthasar, Hans Urs von. Mysterium Paschale - the Mystery of Easter. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1990. Barker, Margaret. The Risen Lord. The Jesus of History