Eternal Life?, with John Walton: Psalm 49:15 and 73:24

Exegetically Speaking

Did the OT Israelites have a hope of eternal life in heaven? Ps. 49:15 is often understood to say that God will “take” the psalmist “to himself.” But the phrase “to himself” is not in the Hebrew. It is by noticing such things in that and similar passages that we are better equipped to answer the larger question as far as the original author is concerned. Dr. John Walton, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton Graduate School, is a frequent contributor to this podcast. His publications include https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Near-Eastern-Thought-Testament/dp/1540960218/ref=asc_df_1540960218/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312111868709&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1684746256623739503&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021555&hvtargid=pla-546360948687&psc=1 Click to follow link." href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FAncient-Near-Eastern-Thought-Testament%2Fdp%2F1540960218%2Fref%3Dasc_df_1540960218%2F%3Ftag%3Dhyprod-20%26linkCode%3Ddf0%26hvadid%3D312111868709%26hvpos%3D%26hvnetw%3Dg%26hvrand%3D1684746256623739503%26hvpone%3D%26hvptwo%3D%26hvqmt%3D%26hvdev%3Dc%26hvdvcmdl%3D%26hvlocint%3D%26hvlocphy%3D9021555%26hvtargid%3Dpla-546360948687%26psc%3D1&data=05%7C01%7Crebecca.a.larson%40wheaton.edu%7Caa0f9dc334454438b54d08db3f3dda3b%7Cb7098c8ac6b24e8bba4c872cf5f00a20%7C0%7C0%7C638173307105871562%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=YADu1nmGuQdjT5AFPrIoPGWGBs1Wo%2B0HJKulKejFtw8%3D&reserved=0">Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament Theology for Christians: From Ancient Context to Enduring Belief.