Saturday, November 11, 2017

Life After Death - Part 5, continuing on ...

(ESV)
Gen 9:28  After the flood Noah lived 350 years.
Gen 9:29  All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

... the other versions say the same thing - Noah lived to be 950 years old and died. No mention is made of an afterlife, at this point.
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(ESV)
Gen 23:1  Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
Gen 23:2  And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Gen 23:3  And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,
Gen 23:4  "I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

... the other versions say the same thing - Sarah lived to be 127years old and died. No mention is made of an afterlife, at this point.
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(ESV)
Gen 25:7  These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years.
Gen 25:8  Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
Gen 25:9  Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,
Gen 25:10  the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.

(ABP)
Gen 25:7  And these were the years of the days of the life of Abraham, as many as he lived, a hundred seventy-five years.
Gen 25:8  And failing, Abraham died in [old age a good], an old man and full of days. And he was added to his people.
Gen 25:9  And [entombed him, Isaac and Ishmael] [two sons his], in the [cave double], in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;
Gen 25:10  the field and the cave which Abraham acquired from the sons of Heth. There they entombed Abraham and Sarah his wife.

... the other versions say the same thing, essentially - I wanted to show the ABP because it's use of the phrase, "added to his people" is telling. Some folks have told me that being "added to his people" means that upon death Abraham was gathered together with rest of his dead relatives, in Heaven. The Greek doesn't say that, however.

G4369
προστίθημι
prostithēmi
pros-tith'-ay-mee

From G4314 and G5087; to place additionally, that is, lay beside, annex, repeat: - add, again, give more, increase, lay unto, proceed further, speak to any more.

The Greek word is where we get the English word: "prostrate", or, to lie down as if dead. Being added to the number of ones dead relatives is simply to be "counted" with the rest who have died, that's all. Even Brenton's Septuagint, which seemingly would indicate some Hebraic hint of an immediate afterlife does not differ from the other versions.
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[Notes/Conclusion: So far we have not seen any indication of an immediate afterlife. But, I will continue my search!]

The Observer

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