Recente visies op het leven na de dood in het Oude Testament

Abstract

Usually it is assumed that the Israelites had a negative view of the afterlife in the Old Testament, with some exceptions in the later texts. In several recent publications, in the last twenty years, changes are made. In this article these new visions are described and to some extent evaluated. Important questions are: What does the word sheol mean and is it the destination of believers? How can we interpret the many gifts for the deceased found in burial places in Israel? Related to the view on life after death, is the view of the nature of man. What is the meaning of nefesh (soul) and ruaḥ (spirit)? And how do we have to view God’s judgment: only in this life or also after death? This article gives an overview of recent approaches, without going into detailed exegesis. The goal is to stimulate further research on this subject, that is also related to the study of the New Testament, Anthropology and Judaism.