Oddcast episode

June 7, 2025

Coming Back for More, Part IV: Reincarnation in Antique Judaism

In this episode we try to come to grips with the evidence for afterlife-belief among the ancient Jews. The really ancient Jews just didn’t believe in a meaningful afterlife in the first place, but then, with the rise of second-temple apocalyptic, we start to see evidence of belief in a final judgement and resurrection. No reincarnation to see here, folks, move along, please.

Then we look at Philo and Josephus, and we see a whole lot of possible belief in reincarnation.

We finish with a bonus section on the second great ingredient in the Abrahamic/Hellenic reincarnationist synthesis: the Returning Prophet.

Works Cited in this Episode:

Primary:

Homer, Od. 11.489–492. Akhilleus tells Odysseus how he feels about being dead: ‘μὴ δή μοι θάνατόν γε παραύδα, φαίδιμ᾽ Ὀδυσσεῦ. / βουλοίμην κ᾽ ἐπάρουρος ἐὼν θητευέμεν ἄλλῳ, / ἀνδρὶ παρ᾽ ἀκλήρῳ, ᾧ μὴ βίοτος πολὺς εἴη, / ἢ πᾶσιν νεκύεσσι καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσειν.

Josephus, Jewish War on the three Jewish ‘philosophies’, II.119 (2): Τρία γὰρ παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις εἴδη φιλοσοφεῖται, καὶ τοῦ μὲν αἱρετισταὶ Φαρισαῖοι, τοῦ δὲ Σαδδουκαῖοι, τρίτον δέ, ὃ δὴ καὶ δοκεῖ σεμνότητα ἀσκεῖν, Ἐσσηνοὶ καλοῦνται, Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν γένος ὄντες, φιλάλληλοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πλέον.

Secondary:

Charles A. Gieschen. Angelomorphic Christology: Antecedents and Early Evidence. Number 42 in Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judenthums und des Urchristentums. Brill, Leiden/Boston, MA/Köln, 1998, we cite p. 208.

Sami Yli-Karjanmaa. Reincarnation in Philo of Alexandria. Society for Biblical Literature, Atlanta, GA, 2015.

Recommended Reading:

SHWEP Episode Recommended Reading

Themes

Apocalyptic, Enochic Tradition, Esoteric Hermeneutics, Ghosts, Jewish Kabbala, Jewish-Christianity, Josephus, Judaism, Metempsychosis, Necromancy, Paul of Tarsus, Pseudo-Clementine Literature, Qumran Scrolls, Sefer ha-Bahir