The question of death is central to all of humanity's religious and philosophical systems. Egyptologist Jan Assmann rightly remarks: "Der Tod oder, besser, das Wissen um unsere Sterblichkeit ist ein Kultur-Generator ersten Ranges [1]" (Death, or better, knowledge of our mortality is a first-rate generator of culture).
In ancient Israel, as in the AOP, death is first and foremost man's inescapable destiny: "You shall eat bread by the sweat of your face, until you return to the earth, from which you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3:19). A similar concept is found in Ps 90, where man's mortality is linked to God's wrath or judgment. Here we find interesting information about the maximum age of men, 70 to 80 years, which in the Psalmist's day was certainly a very respectable and exceptional age.
In ancient Israel, as in neighboring countries, death was seen as the end of human existence. Although some texts describe the difficulties of age, a death at the end of a full life was understood as a sign of divine grace, as attested by the expression "to die old and full of days" (Gn 25:8). A premature death is understood as an extreme misfortune, or even as divine sanction, as in the story of Job, who is confronted with the death of all his children (Qo 7:17).
