Jewish eschatology: the world to come, resurrection of the dead

Jewish eschatology — the doctrine of "last things" — developed gradually, from the Second Temple period onward, around several sometimes distinct notions: the advent of the messianic era (yémot ha-Mashiah), the resurrection of the dead (tehiyat ha-metim), the Judgment, and the "world to come" (olam ha-ba). These beliefs, little developed in the written Torah, took shape in apocalyptic literature, the Mishna, and the Talmud, where faith in the resurrection became a central principle, to the point of being enshrined in Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Faith. Medieval thinkers diverged in their interpretation: Maimonides emphasized the immortality of the intellective soul and conceived of the messianic era in naturalistic terms, while other authorities insisted on a bodily resurrection. Kabbalah added the doctrine of the transmigration of souls (guilgoul). These representations, varying according to different currents, offer a theological counterpart to messianism and continue to inform contemporary Jewish religious thought.

Sources & resources

• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan
• Sefaria ↗