Does Torah Teach Resurrection?
The resurrection of the dead techiyat hametim (תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים) has always been a belief that some embraced and some rejected. Historically, while some Jews were very optimistic about such prospects, others were doubtful of them. Pagans for the most part have not seen resurrection as possible. The skepticism among the Greeks and Romans stemmed from the fact that they had no foundational lore or evidence on which to base resurrection. Their worldview did not lead them in this direction at all, and it even seemed illogical.
Still, most ancient peoples believed in some form of afterlife. The Mediterranean nations frequently imagined the underworld, where souls simply slept and rested in endless slumber, or a place where their wealth could provide them with extended comfort. That is why the wealthy were often buried with their wealth in antiquity.
Homer (8th century BCE) writes, "There is the house of Hades, the dreadful... where the souls of the dead dwell... They are like shadows flitting about" (Homer, Odyssey 11.155–157). To the author of Gilgamesh, resurrection would be foreign: "To the house of dust... they dwell in darkness... Their food is dust, their drink is mud." (Gilgamesh Tablet 7, Enkidu's vision). Pausanias (c. 110–180 CE) explains that the goods in graves were meant to provide prolonged comfort: "They bury with the dead... gold and silver, and pour libations of honey and milk to ease their repose." (Pausanias, Descr. 6.20.2).
Among the Jews, however, skepticism about resurrection often stemmed from the lack of explicit biblical support for it. Those who believed in the possibility of an afterlife and resurrection lived mindful that their everyday actions mattered and could determine their future. Some would see She'ol (שְׁאוֹל) "pit" or "grave," a shadowy realm like Hades as the end. Yet certain Jewish sacred verses, such as Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2, suggest another path. Sadducees rejected resurrection ideas because Moses did not teach about them, while the Pharisees affirmed such ideas via the Oral Torah.
In the first century CE, Josephus wrote, "The Sadducees... deny the resurrection... saying that the soul perishes with the body and that there is no underworld" (Josephus, Jewish Wars 2.165). In the gospels the Sadducees cited Deuteronomy 25:5-6, the laws of levirate marriage, to mock the idea of resurrection (Matt 22:23-33). The writer of Acts confirms for us, "For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all" (Acts 23:8). Some Jews believed in resurrection because they strongly believed in justice, accountability, and judgment. It made sense as a fitting reward. Another first-century CE Jewish writer, Philo of Alexandria, said this: "The law says nothing of resurrection... but the wise understand the soul's immortality" (Philo, Rewards 163). In 2 Maccabees 7:14 and 7:28-29 (first century BCE texts), we read about the tortures of Jews who believed they might die but hoped they would rise again. For some resurrection was a fervent hope to be vindicated in life to come.
Pinchas Shir
