2. Th^ conception of the mdiindual, and his grow- ing claims. — The doctrine of individual retribution was evolved in OT.* It is the direct antithesis of the earlier view of the solidarity of the family, tribe, or nation. The latter doctrme, which identi- fied the responsibilities of the individual with his family or nation, naturally led to strange con- sequences. Ezekiel (esp. in ch. 18) was tne first to attack this doctrine in its entirety, and to replace it by an equally exaggerated and false individualism. As the consequences of sin were still confined to this life, the difficulties of this conception soon came to light. According to it every misfortune is a divine punishment, and every piece of prosperity a special instance of God s favour. The antinomies arising from such a view are discussed in Job and Ecclesiastes, and its untenableness demonstrated no less certainly than that of the doctrine it was intended to supersede. As long as the consequences of man's action were regarded as limited to this life, tliese antinomies were incapable of solution, and God's dealings with His righteous servants incapable of justification. But notwithstanding the bank- ruptcy of both these theories, or rather in con- sequence of it, the faith and religious thought of Israel were set free to attempt a truer and pro- founder solution of the problem. On the one hand, t\\e faithful servant of j" in due time came to be assured that neither here nor hereafter could he be separated from the love and presence of God ; and that for liim the ancient Sheol would stretch out its arms in vain. On the other, the religious thinker of Israel was equally assured that since God's righteousness did not attain to its full consequences here, it must do so elsewhere ; and thus the doctrine of retribution was carried into the after-life, and a personal blessed existence, whether of limited or endless duration, whether as a member of the Messianic kingdom or a direct participant in a blessed immortality, became a postulate of religious thought. In due course the moralization of the old conception of Sheol was eff(x:ted, not indeed in OT times, but in the sub-
• Ct. On I8»->», Ex 32ffl, .\u 1622, Dt 710 24H etc.
sequent centuries, as we find in Apocalj'ftic literature.
3. The growing transcendence of the Mesnanic expectations. — In OT the hopes of Israel were in the main confined to this world and to the well-being of the nation. Thus they looked for the destruction of their national foes, for the purification of their people, and the establishment of an earthly king- dom of limited or endless duration. The scene of this kingdom was to be the earth purged from all violence and sin. But in the later period the gulf between the present and future begins to widen, and this process goes on till the last resemblances vanish, and the present appears a moral chaos under the rule of Satan and his angels, and the future is conceived as an unending kingdom of blessedness under the immediate sway of God or the Messiah.
III. The Historical Development of Jewish ESCHATOLOGY.— (^ ) 2nd cent. B.C.
Sirach. — The eschatology of tliis book belongs to the OT. Hades is the place of the shades and the region of death (9" 14"- '« 21" i\* 48°). There is no delight there (14"), no praise of God (IV'""^), man is plunged in an eternal sleep (46" 22" 30" 38=»). Retribution does not follow a man into the after- life (41*), but his sins are visited through the evil remembrance of his name, and in the misfortunes of his children after him (11=« 23«-« 40«> 41»-«). As regards the future of the nation, the WTiter looks forward to the Messianic kingdom of which Elijah is to be the forerunner (48'"), when Israel will be delivered from evU (50°'- **), the scattered tribes restored (SS'*", AV 36"), the heathen nations duly punished (32--", AV 35"- '"). He expects also the eternal duration of Israel (37^), and likewise of David's line (47").
Ethiopic Enoch* 1-36. — This fragmentary wTiting represents the earliest, and at all events the most primitive, view of the ' last things' in the literature of the 2nd cent. B.C. According to this WTiter, retribution inevitably dogs the heels of sin. Thus pimishment has already befallen sinful angels and men (la"-'"-") in the first world-judgment (lO'"'). But tlie final judgment is yet to come. Meanwhile all wlio die enter one of the four diWsions of Sheol, where they have a foretaste of their ultimate bliss or woe (22). In due course the final judgment comes, ushered in by the resurrection of the righteous and the wic"ked (with the exception of one class of the latter, 22"- "). The resurrection seems to be limited to Israel and its progenitors. The fallen angels, demons, and men tnen receive their final award (10" 16' 1"). The former are plunged into an abyss of fire ( = Tartarus, 10"- '■'), while the wickedamongst men are cast into Gehenna, and their punishment is a spectacle for the righteous (27"- '). Then the eternal Messianic kingdom is established, with Jerusalem and Palestine for its centre (25°). God makes His abode with man (25') — there is no Messiah. All the Gentiles become righteous and worship God (lO^'). Tlie righteous eat of the tree of life, and enjoy patriarchal lives (5' 25") and every material blessing (5' 10"*- " U»), begetting each 1000 children (10"). There is no hint as to what becomes of the righteous after the second death.