In the O.T. there are these characters called the Rephaim. They are the “shades of the dead,” deceased heroes of old. Spoken of in other ancient near eastern cultures, as well as in the Old Testament, they are sort of like the Undead Army in the Lord of the Rings. In Ugaritic, a language similar to Hebrew, texts dating from near the time of Moses tell of the Rephaim:
“Come, O man of the funeral feast, to my house,
O Rephaim, into my house I invite you, I call you,
O divine ones, to my temple.”
After him the Rephaim surely come,
After him verily come the divine ones.”
As you can see, in Ugaritic the Rephaim were treated as though they were divine.
From a later period, roughly the 5th century B.C., Phoenician texts such as this sarcophagus—a stone, human-shaped coffin—speak of the Rephaim, warning away grave robbers. “And if you open my cover and disturb me, may you have no offspring among the living under the sun or a resting place with the Rephaim.”
With this backdrop in mind, take a look at how the bible talks about the Rephaim. Proverbs 9 says that Lady Folly “sits at the door of her house calling out to those who pass by. But the one who listens does not know that the Rephaim are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.”
Of course, God alone has the power to raise the dead, to bring to life the Rephaim and those who keep their company. As Isaiah says, “Oh, let Your dead revive! Let corpses arise! Awake and shout for joy, you who dwell in the dust! [Lord,] You make the land of the Rephaim come to life.”
“Come, O man of the funeral feast, to my house,
O Rephaim, into my house I invite you, I call you,
O divine ones, to my temple.”
After him the Rephaim surely come,
After him verily come the divine ones.”
As you can see, in Ugaritic the Rephaim were treated as though they were divine.
From a later period, roughly the 5th century B.C., Phoenician texts such as this sarcophagus—a stone, human-shaped coffin—speak of the Rephaim, warning away grave robbers. “And if you open my cover and disturb me, may you have no offspring among the living under the sun or a resting place with the Rephaim.”
With this backdrop in mind, take a look at how the bible talks about the Rephaim. Proverbs 9 says that Lady Folly “sits at the door of her house calling out to those who pass by. But the one who listens does not know that the Rephaim are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.”
Of course, God alone has the power to raise the dead, to bring to life the Rephaim and those who keep their company. As Isaiah says, “Oh, let Your dead revive! Let corpses arise! Awake and shout for joy, you who dwell in the dust! [Lord,] You make the land of the Rephaim come to life.”
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