Did Hebrews believe in heaven and hell?

Answer 1

The Torah does not discuss the afterlife much. The main goal of Judaism is to be a good person, not personal salvation. Judaism does not have a Christian Hell of fire and pain. The Jewish afterlife is very complex because so little is known. When one dies, he or she goes to a place where the person feels guilt for their sins. After about a year, the person ascends to heaven. Many traditions believe there to be 7 levels of heaven. The exact levels are argued over, but at the 7th level one is said to be as close to God as he or she can come. Since there is no uniform afterlife beliefs, the beliefs are pretty much up to the individual. The Torah often talks of a gloomy afterworld, but it may actually be refering to death, not the life after death. The ancient Jews believed in an afterlife with a heaven. Some others believed in an afterlife without a heaven.

Answer 2

"Did" is not the correct term. Hebrews/Jewish people still exist. Yes they do, the only thing that is different from Christianity is Jews believe Christ will not come down to save us.

Jewish answer

Yes. One of the central beliefs of Judaism, as stated in the Talmud (Mishna, Sanhedrin 11:1) and codified by Maimonides (1135-1204), is that the soul continues to exist and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he or she was alive. This applies to all people, whatever their religion.
The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) doesn't dwell at length on the afterlife; and nor does Judaism spend a lot of time speculating on its details. However, that is not meant to diminish its importance. Rather, the Torah implies that we are to use the bulk of our energies in keeping God's ways in this world, with our feet firmly planted on Earth, while nonetheless not losing awareness of our beliefs.
Our ancient sages stated the importance of being aware of the next world: "This world is a mere entrance-hall before the afterlife" (Mishna, Avot ch.4).
All outstanding accounts are settled after this life. Some cases illustrate this point, since this entire world wouldn't be enough to reward a Moses or punish a Hitler. And while we're alive, knowledge of the future world serves as one of the motivations to keeping God's will.
The Tanakh does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous because religions could compete with more and more poetic promises. Also because belief in the afterlife was shared by all ancient societies and needed little reiteration. Besides, it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth.
It is, however, referred to briefly in Torah verses such as Genesis 15:15, which states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good old age." Coming to his fathers does not mean simply to be buried with them, since Abraham was not buried with his ancestors. Such verses are stated many times.
The prophets are more explicit with such references (see Isaiah 26:19 and 66:24, Daniel 12:13, Zechariah 3:7, 1 Kings 8:30, 2 Kings ch.2, Ecclesiastes 12:7). The afterlife is spoken of at length in the Talmud. More than 20 pages of Talmud (Sanhedrin 90-110, Rosh Hashanah 16-18, and other passages) are given to this subject.

Answer 3

It isn't known if they did or not, because there is no mention of life after death in the Hebrew Bible.

Answer:No ancient society ever existed that didn't believe in life after death. This is attested to even by secular archaeologists.

The Hebrews were no exception to this. Life after death is one of the fundamental beliefs and traditions of Judaism and is codified as such by Maimonides.

Life after death is mentioned not only in our Oral Torah (a full 20 pages of Talmud [Sanhedrin 90-110] are given to this subject), but also in Bible verses, such as Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:13.

Genesis 15:15 states that "You (Abraham) will come to your fathers in peace and will be buried in good (ripe; full) old age." This does not mean merely to be buried with one's forefathers, since Abraham was not buried with them. Such verses are stated many times.

And one more point: it stands to reason (and morality) that, for example, a Hitler would not be able to escape God by swallowing a poison.

Answer 4

Yes. One of the central beliefs of Judaism is that the soul continues to exist and is treated in accordance with the person's actions while he or she was alive. This applies to all people. All outstanding accounts are settled after this life. Some cases illustrate this point, since this entire world wouldn't be enough to reward a Moses or punish a Hitler. And while we're alive, knowledge of the future world serves as one of the motivations to keeping God's will.
Judaism does not delve into detail of the rewards of the righteous because religions could compete with more and more poetic promises. Also because belief in the afterlife was shared by all ancient societies and needed little reiteration. Besides, it would be like describing the colors of a sunrise to someone who was blind from birth.
It is, however, referred to briefly in verses such as Genesis 15:15. The prophets are more explicit (see Isaiah 26:19 and 66:24, Daniel 12:13, Zechariah 3:7, 1 Kings 8:30, 2 Kings ch.2, Ecclesiastes 12:7). The afterlife is also spoken of at length in the Talmud.

See also the Related Links.

Link: God exists

Link: The key beliefs of Judaism

Link: How do you know there are a heaven and hell?