I have been thinking on how the concept of life after death evolved during Old Testament time.

We find that the Sadducees had a very specific view that there is no resurrection [of the dead]. (Bearing in mind that the Sadducees and Pharisees had their origins in Babylon and evolved over the 2nd Temple period.) They even tried to catch Yeshua on this point in Matt 22:23.

(My question is not focussed on how Yeshua replied to this, but on how the concept evolved as that is the starting point.)

I understand the Sadducees' belief originated from Scripture written before the Exile. Up to that point the belief was that the soul of the dead went to a place called Sheol.

Psalm 6:5 and Psalm 115:7 confirms that the dead knows nothing. There was no concept of punishment for the wicked or a paradise. It was a place of nothingness.

Abraham wasn't promised an afterlife, but a long life and many descendants. Father could have so easily promised Paradise after death as part of the blessing, but it didn't happen.

Then after the Exile and Persian influence the belief changed to one of a moralized afterlife with heaven as reward for a good life and hell as punishment for evil.

Daniel 12:2 is the first introduction of this moralized afterlife concept. This is a very interesting book with the middle part being Aramaic, what is considered newer Hebrew parts being added to the start and end of the book and then the Septuagint adding three Greek sections (which are rejected in the Protestant Bibles).

The writing of Daniel is generally dated to around 165 BC as it contains several Persian and Greek loanwords that evolved later than the church's accepted dates for Daniel of between 605 and 530 BC. These look more to have been from toward a late-Persian or even early-Hellenistic period—around the 4th century BC. So, it would be like an author living 200 years ago using the words "internet" or "mobile phone" in a descriptive sentence. It just can't happen.

So even Daniel then is placed after the exile and therefore influenced by the Persians when writing down Daniel 12:2.

So my wondering then is, is the exile period the cause of this change of belief or did the change of belief simply coincide with the exile period? If it is the cause then we need to look at the Persian and Greek influences to understand why the writings have changed.

What are your thoughts on this and have you done any studies on life after death before that can answer this question for me?

#lifeafterdeath #hell #gehenna #sheol #hades