1:13 Death & Afterlife in the Old Testament

In the earliest traditions of the OT, it very much appears that the Hebrew people believed that death was the end.  Nowhere in the book of Genesis or the Law of Moses do we see any specific indications that there is life after death. As we read through the wisdom and poetic literature, in some places there are hints that there may be life after death, but in other places the authors seem to clearly affirm that death is the end. It's not until the era after the Babylonian exile, what is known as ‘2nd Temple Judaism', that very clear notions of resurrection, final judgment, and eternal reward or punishment start to appear in the text. Our aim is to better understand how belief in the afterlife developed among the people of Israel, and how this shaped their identity.