Sheol: A study of the Afterlife in the Hebrew TaNaK

Since Sheol is unique to the Hebrew Bible, its etymology is  debated. I am going to propose two possibilities, though scholars have proposed more. 

1. Sheol is a weakened form of the root שֹׁעַל, from which derive the words for a hollow hand (Is. 40:12) and a hollow way (between vineyards, Nu. 22:24). In post-biblical Hebrew שֹׁעַל means the ‘deep’ of the sea. If this view is correct, Sheol would be “the deep place.” I reject this view as the Hebrew is spelled with an Aleph and not with an Ayin. 
2. My view is that Sheol is derived from the root שָׁאַל meaning ‘to ask’. Sheol was the place of asking where oracles could be obtained.  For example, Deuteronomy 18:11-12 states that there shall not be a sorcerer among you. The Hebrew for a sorcerer is וְשֹׁאֵ֥ל אוֹב֙.  Translated literally this means “and an asker of a spirit of the dead.”  Please see 1Chr 10:13, which states “And Shaul (whose name means ‘asked’) died because of the treachery that he had committed against YHVH, concerning the word of YHVH that he did not keep, and also because he had ASKED of the dead spirit.”  The Hebrew is literally “and also he asked with a spirit (of the dead) for seeking.”  וְגַם־לִשְׁא֥וֹל בָּא֖וֹב לִדְרֽוֹשׁ.  Until I did this study, I always felt that the first king of Judah (united kingdom) was Shaul, whose name means “he asked,” as the prophet Samuel mocked Israel for ASKING for a King (which was a rejection of YHVH as king), so they are given a king whose name means “he asked.”  However, the word-play here, of Shaul (Saul) ASKING a sorcerer to bring up the dead spirit of Samuel, certainly also needs to be mentioned.  Therefore, the G-d of the TaNaK certainly does not want people in “Sheol” to be disturbed, as asking the sleeping spirits is abominable.

Sheol occurs 65 times in the TaNaK. Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Jonah, Habakkuk, Amos, and Zechariah all mention Sheol. The King James Version of the “Old Testament” translates Sheol as “hell” 31 times, as “grave” 31 times, and as a “pit” three times. In the Christian new testament, Sheol is distinguished from hell (hades, tartarus, or Gehinnom), as I will show below. This blog will show that the Torah and Prophetical writers believed that going to Sheol included not only going to the grave, but also to experience a conscious afterlife either in bliss or in a state of resting.  The faith of Judah changed in the Ketuvim (Writings), showing a change in the view of an eternal afterlife in Sheol, to Sheol being a temporary place until a future resurrection.  Note, the concept of Resurrection is not in the Torah, nor is it in the Prophets (though Ezekiel does have a dry bones resurrection, but this is clearly a different kind of resurrection than the resurrection in Daniel 12:2.  Ezekiel is stating with dry bones, that G-d can bring life to Judah/Israel, despite its grim circumstances).  The writings (Ketuvim) clearly have resurrection concepts.  The Amidah (daily prayer) in Judaism, and the religious views of Second Temple Judaism developed a belief in a resurrection, a belief that was not held in Israel in the First Temple period and earlier.

*Not all Jews during the Second Temple Period accepted a belief in resurrection.  The Zadokim only accepted the Torah as scripture, and not the Prophets nor the Writings. (Interestingly, when Jesu, or Jesus, argues with the Saduccess/Zadokim in the Christian gospels, he only quotes the Torah of Moses to them.  Jesu was a Pharisee and a Rabbi with Talmudim (disciples) in the gospels, and Christians clearly accepted Pharisaic ideas of the resurrection. [Origen (c.184-c.253 CE) said that “Although the Samaritans and Sadducees, who receive the books of Moses alone, would say that there were contained in them predictions regarding Christ, yet certainly not in Jerusalem, which is not even mentioned in the times of Moses, was the prophecy uttered.]  I have however, seen scholarly arguments that the Sadducees had to accept the Prophets, as their name (Zadok) comes from David’s High Priest, the high priest in David’s time mentioned in the book of Samuel.  The new testament says in several places that the Zadokim denied the resurrection, and so do many other writers like Hippolytus.  Hippolytus wrote in chapter 9 of “The Refutation of All Heresies” (circa 220 CE) that “And they (the Sadducees) deny that there is a resurrection not only of flesh, but also they suppose that the soul does not continue after death. The soul they consider nothing but mere vitality, and that it is on account of this that man has been created. However, (they maintain) that the notion of resurrection has been fully realized by the single circumstance, that we close our days after having left children upon earth. But (they still insist) that after death one expects to suffer nothing, either bad or good; for that there will be a dissolution both of soul and body, and that man passes into non-existence, similarly also with the material of the animal creation.” As per the new testament saying the Sadducees deny the resurrection, this is in the gospels and the book of Acts.  I will list only one of these passages, as we need to move on to the topic of Sheol.  In Mark 12:18, we see the following: “Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him (Jesu) with a question.”  PS- I do not accept any new testament writings from a religious basis.  These writings do not mention Sheol.  However, the new testament is a historical writing with literary evidence of Second Temple Jewish points of view.  However, I do understand that many Jews would not want to use this as a historical source for defining Second Temple Jewish practices nor beliefs, especially gentile Christian belief.  My personal translation of the Greek new testament into Hebrew has proven to me, that gentiles wrote the new testament, gentiles who were unfamiliar with the Torah of Moshe, as the mistakes in the new testament are ones only gentiles not familiar with the Torah of Moshe would make.  Therefore, this blog will NOT delve into the Christian concept of Heaven and Hell, though, the writings of the Ketuvim are more Pharisaical/Rabbinical in outlook, and lend more weight to Christian resurrection views than the Torah and Nevi'im do.

Before we look at every passage on Sheol in the TaNaK, I wish to look at some more passages to give a definition of Sheol.  Specifically 3 key concepts: 1. We join our Ancestors in Sheol.  2. Sheol is more than a grave, but a place “below.”  3. Sheol has different regions.

1. Sheol is the place where we meet our Ancestors after death.

The Torah states that our Ancestors will be in Sheol and that after death, we are re-united with our Ancestors in Sheol. After Jacob died, he went down to Sheol and was “gathered to his people” (Genesis 49:33). El Shaddai assured Abraham that after he died, “you will be gathered to your forefathers in peace, you will be buried at a good old age. “ (Genesis 15:15). Some Bible scholars contend that this refers to the fact that bones of family members were often buried together. However, the more likely implication is that there would be a reunion of some kind after death. Asaph, the author of many psalms, wrote “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 72:23-3). Asaph expected to see God in Sheol after his death. (Please note, in these three passages, two in Genesis, and one in Psalm 72, the word Sheol is not mentioned.  I am making a rightful assumption that the place of reunion is Sheol, especially for Abraham and Jacob.  I tend to think scholars debate whether or not Psalm 72 being tied in any way to a concept of Sheol.

2. Sheol is more than just a grave, but a place “below.”

There is a clear distinction between the body resting in the grave and Sheol, where the sprits of the dead gather and engage in activity. Sheol may be located down under or somewhere in the hollow part of the earth. Isaiah wrote, “Sheol from beheath quakes for you, at your coming, it aroused for you the Refa’im (giants/healing ones), all the chiefs of the earth, all the kings of the gentiles, rising from their thrones. All of them answer and say to you, ‘Are you also too sick like us? Have you become like us?’ Your pride has been lowered to Sheol, the death of your instruments, maggots spread under you, and the worm covers you.”  (Isaiah 14:9-11). This passage can be taken literally or figuratively.  Figuratively, Sheol can just be the grave, and this passage is like saying “Hell is excited for your coming.”  But it can be taken literally that Sheol was a place of activity according to Judean society when the scroll of Isaiah was written.  In this passage, gentiles are also in Sheol. It appears, all descendants of Adam (humanity) share this fate (Sheol), and therefore, there seems to be in Isaiah for example no Christian concept of good people go to Heaven and bad people go to Hell. (I will discuss regions in Sheol below, as it does appear there are regions for the good and regions for the bad).

*Please note, Orthodox Jews, like ChaBaD.org translate Sheol in Isaiah as “Gehinnom.” This most likely is due to the valley of Rafaim mentioned in Joshua 15:8, (see Isaiah 14’s passage above mentioning Refaim, giants, healing ones). Gehinnom in Hebrew means “Valley of the son of Hinnom” (גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם).  The Valley of Hinnom is on the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:8). Joshua 15 is the first mention of Gehinnom in the TaNaK.  The Valley of Hinnom at the time of the late First Temple period, was the site of the Tophteh, where some of the kings of Judah had sacrificed their children by fire (Jeremiah 7:31). In later rabbinic literature, "Gehinnom" became associated with divine punishment as the destination of the wicked for the atonement of their sins. [Talmud: Soṭah 4b, 41b; Ta'an. 5a; B. B. 10b, 78b; 'Ab. Zarah 18b; Ned. 22a ]. The term is different from the more neutral term Sheol, the abode of the dead.  In the new testament, written in Greek, Jesu (Jesus) used the term ‘Gehinnom’ in all four gospels, with Jesu never using the term “Sheol”. 2 Chronicles 28:3 states, “(King Ahaz) burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire”. 2 Chronicles 33:6 states that Manasseh king of Judah “caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom.”  Nonetheless, the Ketuvim and the new testament show a later idea that the Valley of Hinnom was similar to a place of torment.  I believe these additional non-Torah ideas blossomed in the Writings, which gave birth to “heaven and hell” in the new testament.  Let me finish this small note by going back to Isaiah and the Valley of the son of Hinnom.  One could argue these later Ketuvim and Christian concepts began with Isaiah in the Nevi’im.  Isaiah 30:33 states “For Tophteh is ordained of old; for the king it is prepared; he has made it deep and large: the pile there is fire and much wood; the breath of YHVH, like a stream of brimstone, kindles it.”  This Tophteh reference must be linked to the Valley of Hinnom, as well as Trito Isaiah’s final verse in Isaiah 66:24 stating, “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have sinned against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”  Therefore, the first book of the TaNaK that gives discussion on places of fire and torment, is the book of Isaiah in the prophets.  However, Isaiah is not using the later term Gehinnom, which is now the preferred term in the Talmud and the christian new testament, always translating the Greek term “Gehinnom” in English bibles as “hell.”  In the Torah, and in the books of Joshua through Kings (specifically the book of Samuel), that the original concept of Sheol was the only concept in Genesis through Kings of an afterlife or place of death.  But with Isaiah, we have a break to places of resurrection and hell (Gehinnom). The real question at hand, is how much time elapsed after the writing of Kings and Proto and Trito Isaiah (or just the book of Isaiah, pending your authorship and date view)?

Sheol is referred to as a shadowy place of darkness that is not part of this world/earth. The prophet Ezekiel predicted that Tyre would be “[brought] down with those who go down to the pit (Hebrew bor, not sheol), to the people of old, and I shall make you remain in the lower parts (Hebrew bor) of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit (Hebrew sheol), so that you will not be inhabited; but I will put glory in the land of the living” (Ezekiel 26:20). In addition, Job described that those in Sheol were trembling. “The departed spirits (Hebrew Refaim) are made to tremble under the waters and their inhabitants. Sheol is naked before Him, and Abaddon (place of destruction or realm of the dead) has no covering” (Job 26:5-6). Therefore, there is an unpleasant part of Sheol. (PS- I am unsure why I chose to follow ChaBaD’s translation of the word “Abaddon.”  The Hebrew for Abaddon I think should be translated as “for those who perished.” (לָֽאֲבַדּֽוֹן)

3. Sheol has different regions.

The TaNaK (and even the Torah) contains hints that Sheol has different regions. Both wicked and righteous people go to Sheol. Jacob, went into Sheol, but so did the rebellious people, such as Korah and Dathan (led a rebellion against Moses in Numbers 16:1-49). Sheol has a “lower region.” “For a fire has flared in My anger, and it burns to the lowest part of Sheol, and devours the earth with its yield, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains” (Deuteronomy 32:22). Therefore, one can argue that the text is implying that those who rebel against El Shaddai go to the lowest part of Sheol, which is not where you will find Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.   “This is the way of those who are foolish … Like sheep they sink down to Sheol; death will be their shepherd; and the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form shall be for Sheol to consume, so that they have no lofty home. But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; for He will receive me” (Psalm 49:13-15). Other Writings (Ketuvim) also contrast the different regions of Sheol (Job 24:19; Psalm 9:17, 16:10, 31:17, 55:15). One of the clearest expressions of immortality within Sheol in the Writings (Ketuvim) is from Daniel. “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2). I would argue that this is a later development.  The leaving of Sheol to an eternal resurrection (on earth?) vs. remaining in Sheol as an eternal home.  The Genesis passages above are clearly different: Jacob is “gathered to his people” (Genesis 49:33). El Shaddai assured Abraham that after he died, “you will be gathered to your forefathers in peace, you will be buried at a good old age.” (Genesis 15:15). Notice El Shaddai did not say to Abraham “You will be gathered to your forefathers in peace, you will be buried at an old age, and one day, you will be resurrected with your offspring that numbers as many as the stars in the sky.”  Many will say “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence," but it is very clear, that in Genesis, the concept of Sheol never is accompanied with “temporary” statements, nor followed with resurrection statements.

So, back to the Writings and Daniel’s quote: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2).  Is Daniel referring in this passage to two regions of Sheol, one region where there is everlasting contempt and disgrace, and the other to everlasting life?  I think most interpreters and readers of Daniel will be far more likely to accept Daniel stating that out of the place of death (Sheol???), there will be a resurrection, and like Christian belief, some get everlasting life, others everlasting shame. (At least Daniel doesn’t call everlasting shame some fiery eternal tortured existence, I assume at least. It does seem to imply an eternal punishment of disgrace however.)  Nonetheless, in my mind, whether I am right or wrong, I see a development of a belief in an eternal Sheol that has everlasting spiritual existence vs. being temporarily buried and resurrected to everlasting life or everlasting shame.

Genesis 37:35
וַיָּקֻ֩מוּ֩ כָל־בָּנָ֨יו וְכָל־בְּנֹתָ֜יו לְנַֽחֲמ֗וֹ וַיְמָאֵן֙ לְהִתְנַחֵ֔ם וַיֹּ֕אמֶר כִּֽי־אֵרֵ֧ד אֶל־בְּנִ֛י אָבֵ֖ל שְׁאֹ֑לָה וַיֵּ֥בְךְּ אֹת֖וֹ אָבִֽיו

“And all his sons and all his daughters rose to comfort him, and he said “For I will go down to my son mourning to Sheol. And his father wept for him.””

Genesis 42:38 

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לֹֽא־יֵרֵ֥ד בְּנִ֖י עִמָּכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־אָחִ֨יו מֵ֜ת וְה֧וּא לְבַדּ֣וֹ נִשְׁאָ֗ר וּקְרָאָ֤הוּ אָסוֹן֙ בַּדֶּ֨רֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֵּֽלְכוּ־בָ֔הּ וְהֽוֹרַדְתֶּ֧ם אֶת־שֵֽׂיבָתִ֛י בְּיָג֖וֹן שְׁאֽוֹלָה
“But he (Jacob) said, "My son shall not go down with you, because his brother is dead, and he alone is left, and if misfortune befalls him on the way you are going, you will bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol."”

Genesis 44:29 

וּלְקַחְתֶּ֧ם גַּם־אֶת־זֶ֛ה מֵעִ֥ם פָּנַ֖י וְקָרָ֣הוּ אָס֑וֹן וְהֽוֹרַדְתֶּ֧ם אֶת־שֵֽׂיבָתִ֛י בְּרָעָ֖ה שְׁאֹֽלָה
“Now if you take this one too away from me, and misfortune befalls him, you will bring down my hoary head in misery to Sheol.'”

Genesis 44:31 

וְהָיָ֗ה כִּרְאוֹת֛וֹ כִּי־אֵ֥ין הַנַּ֖עַר וָמֵ֑ת וְהוֹרִ֨ידוּ עֲבָדֶ֜יךָ אֶת־שֵׂיבַ֨ת עַבְדְּךָ֥ אָבִ֛ינוּ בְּיָג֖וֹן שְׁאֹֽלָה
“it will come to pass, when he sees that the boy is gone, he will die, and your servants will have brought down the hoary head of your servant, our father, in grief to Sheol.”

Numbers 16:30 

וְאִם־בְּרִיאָ֞ה יִבְרָ֣א יְהֹוָ֗ה וּפָֽצְתָ֨ה הָֽאֲדָמָ֤ה אֶת־פִּ֨יהָ֙ וּבָֽלְעָ֤ה אֹתָם֙ וְאֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר לָהֶ֔ם וְיָֽרְד֥וּ חַיִּ֖ים שְׁאֹ֑לָה וִֽידַעְתֶּ֕ם כִּ֧י נִֽאֲצ֛וּ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה
“But if the Lord creates a creation, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, you will know that these men have provoked the Lord.”

Numbers 16:33 

וַיֵּ֨רְד֜וּ הֵ֣ם וְכָל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר לָהֶ֛ם חַיִּ֖ים שְׁאֹ֑לָה וַתְּכַ֤ס עֲלֵיהֶם֙ הָאָ֔רֶץ וַיֹּֽאבְד֖וּ מִתּ֥וֹךְ הַקָּהָֽל
“They, and all they possessed, descended alive into Sheol; the earth covered them up, and they were lost to the assembly.”

Deuteronomy 32:22 

כִּֽי־אֵשׁ֙ קָֽדְחָ֣ה בְאַפִּ֔י וַתִּיקַ֖ד עַד־שְׁא֣וֹל תַּחְתִּ֑ית וַתֹּ֤אכַל אֶ֨רֶץ֙ וִֽיבֻלָ֔הּ וַתְּלַהֵ֖ט מֽוֹסְדֵ֥י הָרִֽים
“For a fire blazed in My wrath and burned to Sheol. It consumed the land and its produce, setting aflame the foundations of mountains.”

1 Samuel 2:6 

יְהֹוָ֖ה מֵמִ֣ית וּמְחַיֶּ֑ה מוֹרִ֥יד שְׁא֖וֹל וַיָּֽעַל
[Hannah Praying to YHVH for a child] “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and brings up.”

2 Samuel 22:6 

חֶבְלֵ֥י שְׁא֖וֹל סַבֻּ֑נִי קִדְּמֻ֖נִי מֹֽקְשֵׁי־מָֽוֶת
[David Praying when YHVH delivered him from Saul] “Ropes of Sheol have surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.”

1 Kings 2:6 

וְעָשִֹ֖יתָ כְּחָכְמָתֶ֑ךָ וְלֹֽא־תוֹרֵ֧ד שֵׂיבָת֛וֹ בְּשָׁלֹ֖ם שְׁאֹֽל
[King David on his death bed giving orders to Solomon on who to kill after he dies] “And you shall do according to your wisdom, and do not let his hoary head go down to Sheol in peace.”

1 Kings 2:9 

וְעַתָּה֙ אַל־תְּנַקֵּ֔הוּ כִּ֛י אִ֥ישׁ חָכָ֖ם אָ֑תָּה וְיָֽדַעְתָּ֙ אֵ֣ת אֲשֶׁ֣ר תַּֽעֲשֶׂה־לּ֔וֹ וְהוֹרַדְתָּ֧ אֶת־שֵׂיבָת֛וֹ בְּדָ֖ם שְׁאֽוֹל
[King David on his death bed giving orders to Solomon on who to kill after he dies] “And now hold him not guiltless, for you are a wise man, and you will surely know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his hoary head down to Sheol with blood."”

These are what I call “primary passages” on Sheol.  These are the oldest passages that we have on Sheol.  One can learn from these eleven passages, that Sheol is in a sense “the grave.”  That all go down to it at death.  But the Deuteronomy passage is interesting, as if Sheol is a place where the dead gather. Deuteronomy 32 is a song of Moses sung to Israel before Israel enters the Promised Land and Moses dies.  Deuteronomy 32:22 states that YHVH’s anger burns all the way down to Sheol, as if he is still angry with the dead, who are either dead there, or more likely alive spiritually, for if they ceased to exist, how could he still be angry with them?  This of course is GUESSING on my part.  Hence, this study is trying to reconstruct the Hebrew concept of Sheol.  Nonetheless, the other ten passages above outside of Deuteronomy 32:22, all state Sheol is the place people go to at death.  This is the one sure thing we can take from the passages above, along with my guess that people spiritually live in Sheol, especially when we add the 1 Samuel chapter 28 passage, where Saul has a witch raise Samuel’s spirit up. 1 Samuel chapter 28 is a passage that believes that there is spiritual existence of the dead in Sheol, and spirits in Sheol can be ASKED questions.

Genesis 3:22 implies Adam (mankind) and Eve would live forever if they ate from the Tree of Life: “Now the Lord God said, "Behold man has become like one of us, having the ability of knowing good and evil, and now, lest he stretch forth his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever."”  Therefore, since they ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they will surely die (one day.)  Genesis chapter 3 paints a picture of why humans (Adam/man) die.

Genesis 5:24 states: “And Enoch walked with God, and he was no more, for God had taken him.”

וַיִּתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ חֲנ֖וֹךְ אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְאֵינֶ֕נּוּ כִּֽי־לָקַ֥ח אֹת֖וֹ אֱלֹהִֽים

This passage implies that there is life after death in Hebrew thought, as why else would Enoch be taken? Elijah is taken as well in a whirlwind on a chariot.

Genesis 15:15 states: “You shall go to your fathers in peace and shall be buried at a good old age.”

וְאַתָּ֛ה תָּב֥וֹא אֶל־אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם תִּקָּבֵ֖ר בְּשֵׂיבָ֥ה טוֹבָֽה

2 Sam 12:23 “But now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." This passage implies that the dead cannot leave Sheol (though Sheol is not mentioned).  The living can join the dead.  Therefore, David, after fasting for his son, once his son (with Bathsheba) died, he stopped fasting and said this.  Does this mean David would join him in the ground, or David would join him in some sort of afterlife (and the ground)?*

1 Kings 17:17 “And it was after these happenings, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; and his illness was very serious until no soul (Neshamah) was left within him.”

1 Kings 17:21-22 “And he prostrated himself on the boy three times, and he called to the Lord and said, "O Lord, my God, return please the soul of this child within him." And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Elijah and the child's soul returned within him, and he lived.” The word “soul” in these verses is “nefesh.”

1 Kings 19:4, Elijah requests his Nefesh to die.  Does Nefesh die with the body, and Neshama then leaves the body?  This to me is what these passages in 1 Kings 17 and 19 imply.

Genesis 9:4-5 “But, flesh with its soul (nefesh), its blood, you shall not eat. But your blood, of your souls (nefesh plural), I will demand; from the hand of every beast, I will demand it, and from the hand of man, from the hand of each man, his brother, I will demand the soul (nefesh) of man.”

אַךְ־בָּשָׂ֕ר בְּנַפְשׁ֥וֹ דָמ֖וֹ לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ
וְאַ֨ךְ אֶת־דִּמְכֶ֤ם לְנַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶם֙ אֶדְר֔שׁ מִיַּ֥ד כָּל־חַיָּ֖ה אֶדְרְשֶׁ֑נּוּ וּמִיַּ֣ד הָֽאָדָ֗ם מִיַּד֙ אִ֣ישׁ אָחִ֔יו אֶדְר֖שׁ אֶת־נֶ֥פֶשׁ הָֽאָדָֽם

This passage makes clear that the nefesh (soul) and the blood are connected. And your (mankind’s) blood and nefesh (soul) I will demand (account for) and seek all beasts and all men who destroy the soul/blood.  Here, when the nefesh and blood are poured out/killed, human life ends.

Genesis 9:15 “I will remember my covenant which is between me and between you, and between all soul of beasts and all flesh, not shall there again be waters to destroy all flesh.”  This passage implies that animals have souls too.

Genesis 12:5 “And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the souls (nefesh) they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan.” Here souls must mean lives/people.

Job 14:12 “So does a man lie down and not rise; until the heavens are no more, they will not awaken, nor will they be aroused from their sleep.”

What does all this mean for Yahwists today, for those trying to reconstruct the earliest Yahwistic faith in Israel?  I believe these passages imply strongly that the early Israelites believed in a spiritual existance after death in a place called "Sheol."  This was a place where neshamot of the dead went after death, forever.  Overtime, as Second Temple Judaism took on its own life, and Rabbinical Judaism was born alongside of Christianity after the destruction of the Second Temple, resurrection of the dead became the norm of religious belief for the bulk of Abrahamists.  However, this belief in resurrection was quite new, and was not the ancient Israelite belief of the Afterlife.