Belief in the after-life was common to the cultures of antiquity. That these had a major influence on Judah is beyond doubt. In a thesis examining such influences we are told: “Even though the Hebrews had wanted to remain aloof from the world they could not have done so with the alien caravans and armies consistently passing through their very midst.”1 Further, wisdom literature and concepts were spread by mendicant teachers and travellers.2 Civilizations, such as Judah, were getting familiar with the outlook and culture of neighbouring countries, especially as these dominated the Levant, including the fertile crescent, over generations.

The Egyptian belief in the afterlife is complex. A human’s body died and was mummified. The spirit rested in the underworld but could rise and observe the world.3 The belief in the afterlife was also manifest in Mesopotamia.4

These creeds differ from Judah’s. With its exception, the religions of the ancient world were polytheistic. It was, thus, possible to designate a deity (or God) in charge of the underworld. Osiris and Hades come to mind. The belief in a single, all mighty, God necessitated a different approach.

Notably, belief in an underworld (or She’ol) manifested itself in the Old Testament even prior to the composition of Job. By way of illustration, Samuel was ‘raised’ by the Witch of Ein-Dor [Samuel A, 28:6-20]. Angrily, he tells Sha’ul: “Why hast though disquieted me [הרגזתני], to bring me up?” [Id.:15] By implication, the ‘underworld’ is a place of peace.

In the 8th century BCE, the prophet Amos tells us that if sinners “dig into She’ol, from there shall my hand take them” [Amos 9:2]. Obviously, God – and no other – is master of the place; and he can raise souls from there.5 At the same time, the Psalms ask: “in She’ol who shall give thee thanks?”6

Job’s concept of She’ol is in tandem with the prevailing outlook. When bemoaning his sufferings, Job tells us that, unlike in this world, “there [in She’ol] the wicked cease from troubling: and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the slaver driver. The small and the great are there; and the slave is free from his master” [3:17-18].

When a person descends to She’ol, he does not usually rise [7:9]. This point is underscored in the second round of debates. Job tells us that, “there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stock die in the ground: yet through the scent of water it will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant.”[14:7-9] He then asks, rhetorically: “If a man die, shall he live again?”7

At the same time, Job does not doubts God’s supremacy and his ability to bring the dead back to life. He says to God: “Oh that though wouldst hide me in She’ol, that thou wouldst keep me secret, until thy wrath is past, that thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me” [14:13]. And, when He does, He can raise Job from She’ol.8

Job’s three friends do not express a divergent view. Zofar tells Job: “deeper than She’ol, what canst though do?” [11:8] He does not suggest that Job’s view of She’ol, as expressed in chap. 3, is inaccurate or misguided.

Of particular interest is chapter 28. As argued, this chapter was, in all probability, not part of the original text of Job. It was, however, included in the tome due to an error made either by the redactor or by a copier. It does reflect the view taken in antiquity of She’ol. In the eulogy of wisdom [28:12-28], we are told: “The depth says, it is not in me.”9 Accordingly, She’ol is not the domain of wisdom.

A similar view is express by the Ecclesiast, who tells us: “What ever thou hand finds to do, do it with thy strength, for there is no work, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in She’ol” [9:10]. She’ol is a place of darkness. Whilst an analyses seeking to date this book is outside the scope of this paper, it is safe to assume that the MT version of Ecclesiast is not earlier than Job’s.

The conclusion is that She’ol is a place of darkness where the souls of the dead are deposited. Whilst God has the power to raise them, Job does not manifest a belief in reward or punishment after death. In other words, She’ol is not hell; and there is no mention of Eden.

  1. B.M. Hoverland, The Influence of the Egyptian and the Babylonian Wisdom Literature Upon the Hebrew Wisdom Literature, (thesis; reprinted by Forgotten Books, London, 2018), at p. 10. And see the authoritative discussion by Greenstein, article, op cit., pp. 287-320. ↩︎

  2. Note that Sha’ul of Tarsos, known as St. Paul, was a tent maker by profession. It seems clear that the making of tents, used by travellers and by caravans, was common in the first century CE. Note also that Jacob is described as one preferring living in tents to hunting: Gen. 25:27. The reference to “tents” suggest that travel was well known in the Levant. ↩︎

  3. In particular the Wisdom of Amenemope [8th century BCE], which has also impacted the Book of Proverbs. For a neat summary, see www.per-ankh.co.uk and Vicchio, op. cit., at p. 74. For an extensive treatment, see J.P. Allen, Middle Egyptian: an Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, (3rd ed., 2014), esp. pp. 118 et seq., and by the same author: The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, (Atlanta, 2005), esp. pp. 8 et seq. ↩︎

  4. The afterlife is described in the Epic of Gilgamesh. For a neat summary, see en.m.wikipedia.org (on She’ol). For a fine analysis and translation of Mesopotamian texts, see S. Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia, (OUP, 1989). ↩︎

  5. Psalms 30:4; and see Sam. A, 2:6 (Hannah’s prayer). ↩︎

  6. Psalms 6:6; and see Isai. 38:18. ↩︎

  7. Job 14:14. Cf. the LXX. Job does not indicate familiarity with Ezekiel cap. 37 (the vision of the reviving dead bones). For a succinct discussion of the belief in after-life in later second temple period in Israel, see Newsom, C.A, Daniel – A Commentary (Kentucky, 2014), pp. 366-368. ↩︎

  8. And see, Hoshea,13:14. ↩︎

  9. Job 28:14. Note that the text refers to ‘tehom’ [תהום] and not to She’ol [שאול]. The words, though, are interchangeable. The author of Job would have used “She’ol”. ↩︎