Resurrection Immortality And Eternal Life In Intertestamental Judaism And Early Christianity Expanded Ed

In this book, George Nickelsburg places ideas in their historical circumstances as he probes biblical and post biblical texts and challenges widely accepted scholarship.

This book begins by arguing that early Greek reflection on the afterlife and immortality insisted on the importance of the physical body whereas a wealth of Jewish texts from the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism and early (Pauline) Christianity understood post-mortem existence to be that of the soul alone. Changes begin to appear in the later New Testament where the importance of the afterlife of the physical body became essential, and such thoughts continued into the period of the early Church where the significance of the physical body in post-mortem existence became a point of theological orthodoxy. This book will assert that the influx of Greco-Romans into the early Church changed the direction of Christian thought towards one which included the body. At the same time, the ideological and polemical thrust of an eternal tortuous afterlife for the wicked became essential.

The Dictionary of Early Judaism is the first reference work devoted exclusively to Second Temple Judaism (fourth century b.c.e. through second century c.e.). The first section of this substantive and incredible work contains thirteen major essays that attempt to synthesize major aspects of Judaism in the period between Alexander and Hadrian. The second — and significantly longer — section offers 520 entries arranged alphabetically. Many of these entries have cross-references and all have select bibliographies. Equal attention is given to literary and nonliterary (i.e. archaeological and epigraphic) evidence and New Testament writings are included as evidence for Judaism in the first century c.e. Several entries also give pertinent information on the Hebrew Bible. The Dictionary of Early Judaism is intended to not only meet the needs of scholars and students — at which it succeeds admirably — but also to provide accessible information for the general reader. It is ecumenical and international in character, bringing together nearly 270 authors from as many as twenty countries and including Jews, Christians, and scholars of no religious affiliation.

The New Testament writings allow only limited access to the interpretative traditions that lie beneath the claim that Jesus' resurrection took place according to Scripture. This book investigates the underlying principles of scriptural arguments in relation to Jesus' resurrection and the unstated interpretative moves that govern the selection and combination of texts relating to it. Novakovic's working hypothesis is that the Davidic tradition supplied the primary scriptural categories for the claim that Jesus was raised from the dead according to Scripture. This tradition was appropriated through two major thematic trajectories: resurrection as the fulfillment of Davidic promises and resurrection as the messianic enthronement. We can also identify several related thematic trajectories, such as the concept of the resurrection as the beginning of the new creation, resurrection as the prophetic authentication, and resurrection as the messianic rebuilding of the temple. Each thematic block is based on a specific use of Scripture for the purpose of explaining the significance of Jesus' resurrection.

The work is a history of Jewish beliefs regarding the concept of the soul, the idea of resurrection, and the nature of the afterlife. The work describes these beliefs, accounts for the origin of these beliefs, discusses the ways in which these beliefs have evolved, and explains why the many changes in belief have occurred. Views about the soul, resurrection, and the afterlife are related to other Jewish views and to broad movements in Jewish thought; and Jewish intellectual history is placed within the context of the history of Western thought in general. That history begins with the biblical period and extends to the present time.

This volume brings together a series of innovative studies on Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic Palestine, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and ancient synagogues in honor of renowned archaeologist Jodi Magness.