Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep [κοιμάω]…we will not all sleep [κοιμάω] but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye… (1 Corinthians 15:20,51)
For this reason (Isaiah 26:19) says, “Awake, sleeper [καθεύδω], and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)
…about those who are asleep [κοιμάω] …God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep [κοιμάω] in Jesus…we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who have fallen asleep [κοιμάω]…the dead in Christ shall rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:13–16)
(Jesus) died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep [καθεύδω], we will live together with Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:10)
Mockers: “Where is the promise of His coming? For (ever) since the fathers fell asleep [κοιμάω], all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4)
But the most compelling example indicating sleep as the metaphor for death exists in 1 Corinthians 7:39: “A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead (κοιμάω), she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.”
In the LXX as well as the New Testament, the verb κοιμάω translates “to fall asleep, to be asleep,” but not in this verse! After all, if the literal meaning of κοιμάω did apply, imagine the pandemonium for pastors and Christian counselors (as well as sky-rocketing sales of sleep medicines) should the translation of this verse be accepted as “…but if her husband is asleep, she is free to be married to whom she wishes.”
Therefore, in the ancient Hebrew tradition, sleep has served as a metaphor for death, possibly to “take the edge” off this sad, horrible event by applying a gentle, peaceful nuance to it as do other Old Testament phrases:
…When I lie down with my fathers… (Genesis 47:29)
I am about to be gathered to my people… (Genesis 49:29)
Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers… (Deuteronomy 31:16)
Moses: “…the days of our life…(are) soon…gone and we fly away.”(Psalm 90:10)
In the pursuit of discovering what hell is in the Scriptures, I intend to graphically trace biblical revelations of the ultimate destination for every man’s soul. The linear progression of ‘continuing existence’ for the created human soul is to serve as the connecting thread for this study. The following is a graphic scheme upon which I will expand in the ensuing chapters to show what I believe are the sequential stages of existence for the created human soul. It commences with the breadth of man’s life.
Death is just the commencement of die to die:
fertilization
womb-implanted dependency
postnatal independency
maturing
aging
cessation of breath and blood flow
Instances of Moshe Greenberg’s theory along