From Peter Enns: Is There Resurrection from the Dead in the Old Testament?

In this post Peter Enns interacts with OT and an apocryphal passages dealing with resurrection. (I’ve already blogged previously on the beliefs of the Pharisees, which include resurrection from the dead). These passages include: Dan 12, Isa 25.7; 26.19 and 2 Macc 7.9;

9 And when he was at his last breath, he said, “You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.” (2 Macc 7.9)

But I also am inclined to think Job 19.26 and Ps 16.10-11 (cf. Acts 2.27; 13.35 implies resurrection in Jewish thought) allude to physical resurrection as well.

Here is a summary quote of the post.

The New Testament twist is that the resurrection of Jesus draws together both the national and individual dimensions while also redefining them.

Jesus’s individual physical resurrection fulfills Israel’s corporate national story by creating a new people, a new nation—a new humanity—where resurrection is a present spiritual reality and a future hope for each one who in “in Christ” (as Paul puts it).

So, we move from

  • (1) resurrection as nationalistic and metaphorical in the Old Testament, to
  • (2) a resurrection that also includes individuals physically in response to crisis by the 2nd century BCE, to
  • (3) the New Testament, where both are realized and redefined in Jesus.

Source: Brief Bible Thought: Is There Resurrection from the Dead in the Old Testament?