Not many mentions of the afterlife in the OT

So I’m re-reading the OT right now, about to finish Deuteronomy. So far I haven’t come across many references to the afterlife. I know about Sheol and Abraham and others being “gathered to their ancestors” or “joining their fathers in death” (paraphrasing).

Why are there not more mentions of the afterlife? Or are there? Again I’m only in Deuteronomy at the moment so perhaps there are more coming before I get to the New Testament.

Thanks for your input.

Mostly because revelation is progressive -- God reveals things slowly over time and some things are not revealed until later. The afterlife -- judgment, heaven, resurrection, etc. -- is one area that really doesn't start getting revealed until about the time of the Babylonian Exile and Daniel.

there are hardly any . I’ve always thought it’s because the the ot regards the first creation where and our natural lives of sin in the flesh.

Moses law ends at death

“Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7:1, 4‬ ‭

When you sinned under the law of Moses you were put to death or excommunicated and then the law has no more to say to the dead guy it’s fulfilled on him he sinned and died. It says nothing to even suggest a person lives at all after death because it’s carnal it only lasts until the flesh dies then it has nothing else to say.

Jesus word is about eternal Life beyond the death of the flesh

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
‭‭John‬ ‭11:25-26‬ ‭KJV‬‬

have you ever noticed how impossible this was in the ot ?

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27:52-53‬ ‭

Christ and the gospel is where all the real life is given it’s the only source of life after death in scripture the only way to escape death for sin is to turn to Christ

Christs word is so much greater than anyone else’s


“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:24-25, 28-29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

you will find in the ot references about what he would do later in Christ like this

“And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭28:18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭13:14‬ ‭KJV‬‬


Notice in the ot the things he’s foretelling “ I will do this “ “ this shall be “ but he’s speaking forward of things not accomplished yet

Christ is the fulfillment of those things

I think it depends on what you’re willing to accept as a mention of the afterlife in the OT.

The afterlife in the OT is plain and simple. The righteous live forever and the wicked are destroyed.

Psalm 23:6
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 92:7
7When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:

It is because the saints were preserved in sleep, they did not come alive until Christ was crucified.

We are told about it in Matthew 27: 51-53. "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people. "

Amen a lot of things in scripture were waiting for Jesus to come forth and bring the light of life !!

There are mentions but not very many and they are all Pointing to what your saying there . The day when the messiah would come preaching the everlasting gospel

I remember that but never made the connection. Interesting.

The book of Job discusses the afterlife, and since you know about Sheol, it is mentioned throughout the OT.

Job is considered the oldest book in the Bible, right?

So I still have the question, and some of you have answered I think, but why is it mentioned so infrequently? Would love to hear more thoughts on that.

That is my understanding.

it was hidden behind the veil of the law so as to exalt Christ the life. We see shapes and glimpses only but Christ manifest it in the open so it’s prevalent after he came forth who is the life

Right. Written from around the time of Abraham (c 2000 BC). Here's a good example from Job chapter 3.
11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?
12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?
13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,
14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;
15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:
16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.
17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.
18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul;
21 Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
22 Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave?

why does the New Testament say so much more about it ? And why is it so much plainer than the ot ? “anyone who believes shall have eternal life and shall never die “ v a far away hope spoken of prophetically ?

Good question

We know that Enoch prophesied that the Lord would come with myriads of His saints to execute judgment. This was a reference to coming with people who were with Him.

There were references to Hell and even a warning that heaven was above for those to seek and escape the hell beneath. A warning that the rich mans five brothers could find if they believed Moses and the Prophets.

The references are vague but they are there and Jesus said that I Am the God of Jacob is meant to prove that God is the God of the Living.
Jacob talking about descending to Sheol if Benjamin died in addition to Joseph is more than a reference to the grave, as there was a common understanding by then that Sheol was the place for the wicked dead and he was assuming that he was going there since his sons deaths would indicate that he had done something wrong and was being judged.

It was common knowledge that there was a hell beneath and a heaven above and the Pharisees and Saducees argued over it even as people do today.

They weren't clear on the details.

But neither are we. We know in part. We have been given more revelation by Jesus Christ and also from what Paul taught. But we still don't have enough information to teach as though we have it all figured out.

Heaven, is a word used in many different contexts. Hell as well.

Seeking a city not made with hands whose builder and maker is God, eternal in the heavens, was what was revealed to Abraham and passed down, and you know what? It is still all that we have isn't it? That is as much detail as we still have.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

Ok let's start with this.....😕😕

yes I thought that’s what you were asking wasn’t sure he had understood

That's a good one, PC- I actually had this in mind yesterday, but I wasn't sure how to explain it- his blood cries out- and the life is in the blood! So in some manner of speaking, the life of Abel was still in action. Right off the bat, with the first human death, the first murder victim, we have a very subtle explanation that the power of death is limited.