Biblical cosmology: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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====Sheol and the Old Testament====

Beneath the earth is [[Sheol]], the abode of the ''[[rephaim]]'' (shades),<ref>{{harvnb|Bernstein|1996|pp=141–42}}</ref> although it is not entirely clear whether all who died became shades, or only the "mighty dead" (compare Psalm 88:10 with Isaiah 14:9 and 26:14).<ref>{{harvnb|Habel|1975|p=136}}</ref> Some biblical passages are interpreted by some as saying that God has no presence in the underworld: "In death there is no remembrance of Thee, in Sheol who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psalm 6).<ref>{{harvnb|Bernstein|1996|p=143}}</ref> Others imply that the dead themselves are in some sense semi-divine, like the shade of the prophet [[Samuel]], who is called an ''elohim'', the same word used for God and gods.<ref>{{harvnb|Bernstein|1996|pp=138–39}}</ref> Still other passages state God's power over Sheol as over the rest of his creation: "Tho they (the wicked) dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them..." (Amos 9:2).<ref>{{harvnb|Bernstein|1996|p=144}}</ref>

====Intertestamental period====