Fools cannot continue in their resplendence of material possessions therefore, the psalmist says, 'Do not be overawed when a man grows rich for he will take nothing with him when he dies' (vv. Fools are appointed to Sheol (which is used as a synonym for death or the grave) and 'their forms will decay in the grave' (v. Psalm 49 points out that all die, the 'wise' and the 'fool' alike. Therefore, reward for one's earthly actions is integral to individual resurrection and is its initial catalyst. A further affront was the prosperous nonbeliever who endured no immediate, perceivable effects of sin and selfishness.

There must be incentive to faithfulness toward God when there is no prosperity and no immediate compensation for belief. The resurrection of the just to reward and the unjust to punishment resolved the otherwise meaningless existence for those who followed Yahweh during times of persecution. Because it could easily be seen that corrupt people sometimes were not punished for every wrong and that God's people were at times unjustly treated, individual resurrection was a natural philosophical resolution to this quandary. One of the principal factors in the development of a fixed notion of an individual resurrection is in response to the problem of theodicy. Job's despairing vacillation over death and decay is answered by the radiant expectation of preservation: 'For I know my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God' ( Job 19:25-26 NRSV cf also Psalm 16:10 Isa 26:19 ). Nonetheless, in the Old Testament concern is expressed for the individual soul. Community function is central because of the 'promise' concerning the 'seed.' The extension of existence is passed through progeny ( Gen 12:1-3 15:1-6 ) and individual resurrection is not the central concern.

The patriarchal period is more concerned with the first stages of the design. Beginning with the judgment of death in Genesis 3:6, the divine plan of God unfolds in history. In the Old Testament, the idea of bodily resurrection evolves from a vague concept into a developed expectation.

Hedonism synonym