Explores various Jewish conceptions of an afterlife: immortality of the soul; resurrection; reincarnation; and the legacy concept—that immortality consists in one’s impact on the future. Working through a wide range of reasons for and against each position, the chapter notes the variety that exists in the kinds of reasons advanced. It then discusses whether an afterlife has value and why there is death.

The Old Testament book of Daniel will be the focus of our attention in this chapter, and thus we will consider the literary genre of apocalyptic writing. In general, there are two subcategories of apocalyptic writing: historical and otherworldly. The latter is characterized by the transcendence of space and a celestial setting.

We have many apocalyptic compositions dating from the mid second century bcethrough the second century ce. As we examine the style and characteristics of this unique form of communication, we will observe that the concept of apocalyptic writing manifests a marked distinction between the spiritual and the physical worlds. Reading such literature appropriately, we will observe its primary purpose of encouraging the reader in faithful endurance and patience, assured that God will ultimately triumph and care for his righteous followers. Although monotheism is not explicitly stated in Daniel’s apocalypse, we will note that his God is the sole deity of the universe.

Darius I overcame rebellions and seized the throne of Babylon, but cuneiform scholarship continued and developed; religious practices did not change, nor did the great buildings on the citadel. The zodiac scheme came into use. The Achaemenid king took Babylonian royal titles and promoted the worship of Marduk for local purposes. Xerxes broke the continuity. Following an uprising, a purge led to the ending of many archives. The province of Babylon was divided in two. Subsequent Achaemenid kings continued to treat Babylon with reverence. Alexander the Great defeated Darius III, entered Babylon, retained the Persian satrap, and moved treasure from Susa and Ecbatana to Babylon. He was recognized as a god. Lack of sons at his premature death precipitated a civil war from which Alexander’s commander Seleucus emerged to take the throne jointly with his son Antiochus. The derelict ziggurat was demolished, but temples and rituals, chronicles and astronomical diaries, continued as before. Aramaic was widely used, and fewer texts were inscribed in cuneiform. Interest in the fall of Assyria and of the Babylonian empire is apparent in Greek literature. Famous scholars include Berossus and named astronomers. Parthians invaded and eventually ended the dynasty.