Editing Heaven (section)

=== Second Temple Judaism ===
During the period of the [[Second Temple]] ({{circa}} 515 BC – 70 AD), the Hebrew people lived under the rule of first the Persian [[Achaemenid Empire]], then the Greek kingdoms of the [[Diadochi]], and finally the [[Roman Empire]].{{sfn|Wright|2000|pages=98–138}} Their culture was profoundly influenced by those of the peoples who ruled them.{{sfn|Wright|2000|pages=98–138}} Consequently, their views on existence after death were profoundly shaped by the ideas of the Persians, Greeks, and Romans.{{sfn|Wright|2000|pages=115–117}}{{sfn|Sanders|1993|page=170}} The idea of the [[immortality of the soul]] is derived from Greek philosophy{{sfn|Sanders|1993|page=170}} and the idea of the [[resurrection of the dead]] is thought to be derived from Persian cosmology,{{sfn|Sanders|1993|page=170}} although the later claim has been recently questioned.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-5011-3675-7 |pages=104–105 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SaOeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |quote=More recently scholars have questioned a Persian derivation for the Jewish doctrine because of certain problems of dating. Some experts have undercut the entire thesis by pointing out that we actually do not have any Zoroastrian texts that support the idea of resurrection prior to its appearance in early Jewish writings. It is not clear who influenced whom. Even more significant, the timing does not make sense: Judah emerged from Persian rule in the fourth century BCE, when Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE) swept through the eastern Mediterranean and defeated the Persian Empire. But the idea of bodily resurrection does not appear in Jewish texts for well over a century after that.}}</ref> By the early first century AD, these two seemingly incompatible ideas were often conflated by Hebrew thinkers.{{sfn|Sanders|1993|page=170}} The Hebrews also inherited from the Persians, Greeks, and Romans the idea that the human soul originates in the divine realm and seeks to return there.{{sfn|Wright|2000|pages=98–138}} The idea that a human soul belongs in Heaven and that Earth is merely a temporary abode in which the soul is tested to prove its worthiness became increasingly popular during the [[Hellenistic period]] (323–31 BC).{{sfn|Hundley|2015|page=455}} Gradually, some Hebrews began to adopt the idea of Heaven as the eternal home of the righteous dead.{{sfn|Hundley|2015|page=455}}