Sheol is derived from the verb Vara, to ash, expressing the sense of our English proverb, that the " grave crieth give, give." It is used in the Old Testament to signify, in a vague and general sense, the state of the departed, both the good and bad, interme- diate between death and the resurrection of the righteous, (Hosea xiii., 14,) generally invested with gloomy associations, and indefi- nitely referred to the lower parts of the earth, Deut. xxxii., 22 : Amos ix., 2. Thus it is used for grave as the receptacle of the body after death, (Gen. xxxvii., 35 ; Job xiv., 13,) but principally to designate the receptacle of departed spirits, without explicit reference to any division between the stations allotted to the righteous and the wicked. That they were active and conscious in this state appears to be indicated by what is revealed of Sam- uel, 1 Sam. xxviii., 7-20 ; Is. xiv., 15-17. With regard to the good, however, the residence in Sheol was looked upon only as intermediate between death and a happy resurrection, Ps. xlix., 15. In their treatment of this whole subject, the Old Testament
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434 STATE OF THE SOUL AFTER DEATH.
Scriptures rather take the continued existence of the soul for granted, than explicitly assert it. — Fairbairn's Herm. Manual ; Josephus' Ant., XVIII., 1.
12. What is the purport of our Saviour's argument on this subject against the Sadducees f
Luke xx., 37, 38. Long after the death of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jehovah designated himself to Moses as their God, Ex. iii., 6. But, argues Christ against the Sadducee who denied the resurrection of the dead, " he is the God, not of the dead, but of the living/' This more immediately proves the immortality of their souls, but as God is the covenant God of persons, and as the persons of these patriarchs included alike body and soul, this argument likewise establishes the ultimate immortality of the body also, *. e., of the entire person.
13. What passages of the Old Testament assert or imply the hope of a state of blessedness after death ?
Num. xxiii, 10 ; Job xix., 26, 27 ; Ps. xvi., 9-11 ; xvii., 15 ; xlix., 14, 15 ; lxxiii., 24-26 ; Is. xxv., 8 ; xxvi., 19 ; Hosea xiii., 14 ; Dan. xii., 2, 3, 13.
14. What other evidence does the Old Testament afford of the continued existence of the soul ?
1st. The translations of Enoch and Elijah, and the temporary reappearance of Samuel, Gen. v., 24 ; Heb. xi., 5 ; 2 Kings ii., 11 ; 1 Sam. xxviii., 7-20.
2d. The command to abstain from the arts of necromancy implies the prevalent existence of a belief that the dead still continue in being in another state, Deut. xviii., 11, 12.
3d. In their symbolical system Canaan represents the perma- nent inheritance of Christ's people, and the entire purpose of the whole Old Testament revelation, as apprehended by Old Testa- ment believers, had respect to a future existence and inheritance after death. This is directly asserted in the New Testament, Acts xxvi., 6-8 ; Heb. xi., 10-16 ; Eph. i., 14.
15. What does the New Testament teach of the state of the soul immediately after death ?
STATE OF THE SOUL AFTER DEATH. 435
"The souls of the righteous, being made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies/' Luke xxiii., 43 ; 2 Cor. v., 6, 8 ; Phil, i., 23, 24. " And the souls of unbelievers are cast into hell, where they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the last day," Luke xvi., 23, 24 ; Jude v., 6, 7
16. What is the signification and usage of the word atdrjg, Hades, in Scripture ?
"Atdrjg, from a primitive, and Idsiv, designates generally the in- visible world inhabited by the spirits of dead men. Among the ancient classical heathen, this invisible world was regarded as con- sisting of two contrasted regions, the one called Elysium, the abode of the blessed good, and the other Tartarus, the abode of the vicious and miserable.
It was used by the authors of the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word Sheol, compare Acts ii., 27, and Ps. xvi., 10. In the New Testament this word occurs only eleven times, Matt, xi., 23 ; xvi., 18 ; Luke x., 15 ; xvi., 23 ; Acts, ii., 27, 31 ; 1 Cor. xv., 55 ; Rev. i., 18 ; vi., 8 ; xx., 13, 14. In every case, except 1 Cor. xv., 55, where the more critical editions of the original substitute the word Odvare in the place of adr), hades is trans- lated hell, and certainly always represents the invisible world as under the dominion of Satan, as opposed to the kingdom of Christ, and as finally subdued under his victorious power. See Fair- bairn's Herm. Manuel.
17. What is the signification and usage of the words -nagd- dsLoog and yhvva ?