Texts in Conversation
Isaiah describes the righteous entering a time of peace and resting after death, language echoed in the Wisdom of Solomon which affirms that the death of the righteous is not destruction but rest.
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Isaiah 57:2
Hebrew Bible
1 The godly perish, but no one cares. Honest people disappear, when no one minds that the godly disappear because of evil. 2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds. 3 “But approach, you sons of omen readers, you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes! 4 At whom are you laughing? At whom are you opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue? You are the children of rebels, the offspring of liars,
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Wisdom of Solomon 3:3
Deuterocanon
1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. 2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, 3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. 4 For though in the sight of others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. 5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
Date: 100-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Compare with Isaiah 57:2; 32:17, LXX; Parable of Jeremiah 5:32: 'I bless you, God of heaven and earth, the Rest (he anapausis; compare with Wisdom of Solomon 4:7) of the souls of the righteous in every place'; BR 9.5, Th. Alb. 7: 'Why was death decreed for the righteous? Since as long as they are alive, they are at war with their evil impulse, but when they die, they are given respite, and this is the meaning of the verse, 'and there the weary are at rest' (Job 3:19).' The usual custom in Palestine when mentioning a departed righteous person was to say (Jerusalem Erubin 3, Pesachim 4.1, 30d) 'whose soul is at rest,' as is clearly stated by Resh Lakish: 'Some are mentioned and blessed (with the word noach), others are mentioned and cursed' ..."
Winston, David
The Wisdom of Solomon: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(p. 126) Doubleday, 1979
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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