FINDING A NEW LAND: FROM CANAAN TO THE RESURRECTION by Stephen J. Bedard, B.B.A., M.Div., M.Th. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of McMaster Divinity College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree ofMaster of Arts (Christian Studies) McMaster Divinity College Hamilton, Ontario 2007 M.A. in Christian Studies McMASTER DIVINITY COLLEGE Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Finding a New Land: From Canaan to the Resurrection AUTHOR: Stephen 1. Bedard SUPERVISOR: Dr. Stanley E. Porter NUMBER OF PAGES: 174 11 McMASTER DIVINITY COLLE GE Upon the recommendation of an oral examination committee, this thesis-project by Steven Bedard is hereby accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Christian Studies First Rea er and Advisor ~a~r 1k.f~ Dean Date: ~01 ~l 1 02..007 111 ABSTRACT Finding a New Land: From Canaan to the Resurrection Stephen J. Bedard McMaster Divinity College Master of Arts (Christian Studies) 2007 An examination of sources of hope within the Old and New Testaments reveals that the OT focuses on land and the NT focuses on resurrection. This study traces out the development of both land and resurrection within biblical texts and important non­ biblical Jewish texts. The idyllic traditions of the OT demonstrate the pivotaI role of the Promised Land of Canaan. Texts that describe events before the exile have very little emphasis on resurrection. As Israel faced and experienced exile, they were forced to reflect on how that fit with beliefs in a Promised Land, including themes of judgment and restoration. It was during this exilic period that ideas about the afterlife began to increase. As Judaism developed in the so-called "intertestamental period," the land began to decrease in importance. It was during this formative stage of Judaism that resurrection beliefs began to thrive. By the time of the NT, the role of the land as a source of hope had decreased significantly, becoming an image for a spiritual inheritance. While land as hope had faded in the New Testament, the resurrection had risen in its place. By examining the OT, early Jewish literature, and the NT, a clear trajectory can be traced. As uncertainty in the secure possession of the land increased, a greater emphasis on the resurrection developed in Judaism, setting the stage for the land-Iess and resurrection-focused Christianity. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS l would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Stanley Porter for his guidance during this study. Our meetings and discussions about the resurrection and the land were very productive. l would also like to thank Dr. Mark Boda for bringing a valuable Old Testament perspective to this study, as weIl as insightful comments to keep me on track. l would like to thank Dr. Michael Knowles for his direction of the discussion during my oral defense. Thanks also go to the churches l pastor: W oodford Baptist Church and First Baptist Church, Meaford. They allowed me the time to research and l hope that the knowledge gained will have a positive influence on my preaching and teaching. Finally, l would like to thank my family. l am grateful to my wife, Amanda who has now supported me through this process twice, and my children Logan, Abby and Justus who always bringjoy to my life. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abbreviations V111 Introduction 1 Chapter One: Land in the Idyllic Traditions 5 Garden of Eden Abraham Moses Joshua David and Solomon Chapter Two: Afterlife in the Pre-Exilic Traditions 34 Cultural Context Afterlife Beliefs in the Pre-Exilic Traditions Chapter Three: The Land and the Exilic Era Prophets 46 Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Chapter Four: Exile and the Dawn of Resurrection 72 Isaiah Ezekiei Daniel Chapter Five: The Role of the Land in Early Judaism 82 Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha Dead Sea Scrolls Chapter Six: Resurrection in Early JudaÎsm 97 Cultural Context Afterlife in Early Judaism Chapter Seven: The Land in the New Testament 117 Synoptic Gospels John Acts Paul Hebrews Revelation Chapter Eight: Resurrection in the New Testament 144 Synoptic Gospels John VI Acts Paul Revelation Conclusion 163 Bibliography 168 VIl ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary AJSL American Journal ofSemitic Languages JBL Journal ofBiblical Literature BAR Biblical Archaeology Review Bib Biblica BNTC Black's New Testament Commentary BO Berit Olam EBC Expositor 's Bible Commentary HeythropJ Heythrop Journal ICC International Critical Commentary JHS Journal ofHebrew Scriptures JSOT Journal for the Study ofthe Old Testament JSP Journalfor the Study ofthe Pseudepigrapha JTS Journal ofTheological Studies NIB New Interpreter's Bible NIBC New International Bible Commentary NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary NovT Novum Testamentum NTS New Testament Studies OTP Old Testament Pseudepigrapha TDNT Theological Dictionary ofthe New Testament TNTC Tyndale New Testament Commentary VT Vetus Testamentum WBC Word Bible Commentary VIn INTRODUCTION Religious traditions play numerous roles in each culture, but one of the primary roles is the provision of hope. That hope may be in the individual fertility of a family or in the need for good weather and abundant crops, as seen in the ancient worship of the Canaanite Baal. Hinduism seeks to provide the hope for an end to the cycle of rebirth and Buddhism offers the hope of enlightenment that ends the suffering that accompanies desire. Hope is a univers al component of religion, both ancient and modem. Christianity, since it emerges out of Judaism, is unique in that it takes the Scriptures of one religion (Hebrew Bible or Old Testament) and adds its own Scripture (New Testament). When the test of hope is applied to each of these religious texts, the continuity is not immediately apparent. A survey of the Old Testament quickly reveals that there is very little emphasis on a hope for an afterlife, but abundant hope for a secure and prosperous habitation of the Promised Land. A survey of the New Testament resuIts in almost the opposite outcome. The New Testament hope has very little to do with physical land and yet offers great hope in an afterlife, described most often as a resurrection. After a simple reading ofthese texts, it could be concluded that Judaism, which is based on the Hebrew Bible, is a materialistic religion, while Christianity, which is based on the New Testament, is a spiritual religion. It also seems as if the appearance of Jesus and the teachings of the early church were a radical depat1ure from the otherwise land­ focused Judaism. This, however, is not an accurate picture. The New Testament was not written immediately after the Old Testament as a correction of its materialistic tendencies. 1 Rather, there is a trajectory that can be found within the Old Testament and that is even more pronounced in the early Jewish texts that are often called intertestamentalliterature. The nature of this development is as follows: as the hope in the land became more uncertain, the hope for the resurrection became more important. This trajectory can be seen from the Old Testament texts through to the early rabbinic writings. Therefore, the Christian hope ofresurrection was not a radical revolution against Jewish beliefs, but was rather a modified form of a movement that was already taking place within Judaism. This study will examine both the land and resurrection traditions of the Old Testament, early Jewish texts and the New Testament to trace out this trajectory. Both traditions will be seen to be related and to be moving in opposite directions as the political climate of Israel deteriorated over time. There are a number of challenges to this study, due to the mix of canonical and non-canonical texts, and even with the variety within the canonical texts. This study will focus on the development of Judeo-Christian religion rather than on the development of the texts. The texts will be examined in such a way as to demonstrate the development of the religious thought. 1 will attempt to describe the influence of political and social crises on the religious thought by examining the shifts in tradition as recorded in the texts. Issues of literary criticism will be acknowledged, although they will not be the focus of the study. With regard to Old Testament texts, they will be divided into two sections: pre-exilic and exilic. By this, it is not argued that one set of texts was fully written, collected or redacted before the exile and one after the exile. Rather one set of texts will offer a picture of foundational traditions on which the religion was built and the other records traditions that reflect on and interact with the ramifications of the exile, 2 whether anticipated or responded to. Although sorne later interpretations, such as certain early Jewish texts, will be used to demonstrate the clear connections to land and resurrection traditions, most of these biblical texts will be dealt with directly according to their self-described context in their final canonical form. There will be a shift in method in the early Jewish texts. The texts that belong to the Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha will be interpreted not in their pseudepigraphic context (e.g. time of Enoch) but will be examined in the contemporary social situation that led to their composition. What is important is not how the texts came about but what they say about the effect of political upheaval from either the Babylonian exile or Maccabean war. The greatest challenge will be in the study of Daniel, which has aspects of both canonical Old Testament texts and pseudepigraphic Jewish apocalyptic texts. Again, the focus will not be on the original composition of Daniel, but on the fact that it responds to increasing uncertainty about the land.