Book of Life
In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Book of Life (
In the Hebrew Bible
In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Life records those people considered righteous before God.[3] To be blotted out of this book signifies death.[4] To be in this book ensures one of life on the day of judgment.[5] Even before birth, those who will be born are written in this book.[6]
A related concept appears in Ezekiel 9:4, where an angel marks the righteous on their foreheads for life, while the remaining inhabitants of Jerusalem are doomed.
In apocrypha
The
In the New Testament
The text of the Book of Revelation (one of the books of the New Testament, attributed to John of Patmos) refers to the Book of Life seven times (3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 20:15, 21:27, 22:19). As described, only those whose names are written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, and have not been blotted out by the Lamb, are saved at the Last Judgment; all others are doomed. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15 - King James Version). "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Revelation 20:12 - King James Version).
The Book of Life is also mentioned in Paul's
- Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.[8]
The eschatological or annual roll-call
While the prevailing tendency among apocryphal writers of the
The origin of the
In Daniel xii. 1, however, those who are found written in the book and who escape the
Fundraising
A book of life motif is frequently found in Jewish houses of worship. It is both a decorative feature and fundraiser. Some synagogues have raised money by inscribing congregation member's names in a "book of life" as a tribute to their financial generosity.[citation needed]
See also
Notes
- ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Malachi 3:16 - King James Version". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
- ^ "Book of Life". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
- ^ "Book of Life". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
- ^ Exodus 32:33; Psalms 69:28
- ^ Isaiah 4:3
- ^ Psalms 139:16
- ^ xxx. 20-22.
- ^ Philippians 4:3
- ^ a b c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Book of Life". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- ^ See Creation Tab. iv. 121, and the Zu legend, ii. 7, quoted in Harper's "Babylonische Legenden," in Beitr. z. Assyriologie by Delitzsch and Haupt, 1892, ii. 2, p. 412.
- ^ Compare Micah vii. 19 and the art. Tashlik.
- ^ Ps. lxix.29.
- ^ Ezek. xiii. 9; Jer. xxii. 30; and Ex. xxxii. 30-34, accordingly assigned by Holzinger to a late stratum; see his commentary.
References
- Charles, Book of Enoch, pp. 131–133
- Gustaf Dalman, Worte Jesu, p. 171.
- JAL, "The Book of Life."