Did the Jews Believe in the Immortality of the Soul?

        While the belief is nowhere directly stated in the early Jewish writings there are many passages which appear to indicate that it was general. The laws in the Pentateuch against holding communication with the dead imply a prevalent belief that the soul lived on after the death of the body. Saul's application to the witch of Endor (I Sam. 28) shows that he believed in the continued existence of the soul. In Heb. 11: 16 the statement is made that the patriarchs expected to enter a heavenly country. Christ also referred to the belief as existing in the days of Moses (see Luke 20:37).