Abstract
- ἀνίστημι and ἐγείρω, when used to describe resurrection, imply a physical movement upward.
.- In ancient Judaism (from the second century BCE on), the existing evidence demonstrates that individuals viewed resurrection as physical (i.e. bodily). Clearly some ancient Jews believed in other versions of the afterlife such as the immortality of the soul or the future exaltation of the spirit.
.- In ancient paganism, texts from classical Greece, the Roman Republic and the Empire all envisioned cases of resurrection as physical.
.- Given the semantics of ἀνίστημι and ἐγείρω and this ‘cultural encyclopaedia’ of resurrection, one can conclude that Paul and his readers, Jewish or pagan, would have assumed that a tradition about the burial of Christ and his resurrection on the third day presupposed an empty tomb.
1. Some Methodological Reflections
By ‘physical resurrection’ I mean a resurrection in which the body of a dead individual returns to life in some sense (e.g. a return to mortal life or immortal life). ‘Physical’ or ‘bodily resurrection’ is consistent with a transformation of the earthly body (e.g. into a σῶμα πνευματικόν) ... one can discern patterns in the pagan narratives of resurrections that are clearly analogous to resurrection in ancient Judaism and early Christianity ...
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals ... 7ECF899313 (the whole article is available!)
3. Resurrection in Ancient Judaism
From the second century BCE onward clear traces of resurrection can be found in some Jewish texts. Claudia Setzer summarises the ambivalent views of ancient Judaism admirably:
Ironically, the sinners taunt the righteous with the concept of the resurrection of the body in 1 Enoch 102.8: ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀναστήτωσαν καὶ σωθήτωσαν (‘Henceforth let them arise and be saved’) – and then they proceed to deny its reality. Daniel 12 should be added to the list, despite the reservations of some. The Greek translations clearly indicate physical resurrection (Dan 12.2 LXX: ἀναστήσονται; Theod.: ἐξεγερθήσονται). John J. Collins classifies the view of afterlife in Jub. 23.26–31 as ‘resurrection, or exaltation, of the spirit’ to heaven. Jub. 23.30, however, only asserts that the Lord's servants ‘will rise (yetnaššʾu) and see great peace’, and the phrase is a reference to the ‘prosperity of the living not the resurrection of the dead’. ‘Exaltation of the spirit’ is acceptable in certain cases, but ‘resurrection of the spirit’ is a category mistake, not appropriate for Jewish or pagan texts, as a close analysis of the verbs for resurrection (such as ἀνίστημι and ἐγείρω) indicates. Spirits do not rise from the dead in ancient Judaism, people do.… Jewish materials from the second century BCE through the first century CE exhibit a range of understandings of the afterlife. Fairly explicit claims of bodily resurrection appear in texts like 1 Enoch (51), 2 Maccabees, 4Q521, and Sibylline Oracle 4. A mix of concepts of resurrection of the body and immortality of the soul appear in 1 Enoch (91, 103), 1QH, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch and Pseudo-Phocylides. Ambiguity prevails in works that nevertheless imply resurrection, such as ‘the Book of the Watchers’ [1–36] in 1 Enoch, The Testament of Judah, Psalms of Solomon, and CD 2:7–12.
Setzer, C. Resurrection of the Body in Early Judaism and Early Christianity: Doctrine, Community, and Self-definition (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004); 21–52, https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en ... &q&f=false
Statistics: Posted by MrMacSon — Wed Apr 17, 2024 7:05 pm