Since that which will “stand up” is the body it follows that the element of man that “lies down” or “sleeps” likewise is the body. Vine notes that keimai, “to lie down,” stands as an antonym to “resurrection” (anastasis - from ana, “up,” and histemi, “to cause to stand” - see: Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words under “Asleep”). The verb koimao derives from the root keimai, “to lie down.” In death, it is only the “body” that lies down (not the soul) hence, it is the body that sleeps. In view of the subsequent context, the “awakening” clearly refers to the resurrection of Lazarus’ body (vv. Jesus once said to his disciples: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep (kekoimetai - the perfect, passive of koimao) but I go that I may awake him out of sleep” (Jn. The awakening, then, is a reference to the bodily resurrection. Note that the part of man that “sleeps” is that which is deposited in the “dust of the earth.” This obviously is a reference to the physical body. The prophet Daniel affirmed that those who “sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake” (Dan. The case to the contrary may be argued briefly in the following fashion. There is no passage in the Scriptures that reflects the notion that one’s soul sleeps (i.e., is unconscious) in death. When the term “sleep” is used to depict the death of a person, the allusion is always to the disposition of the body, not the soul. & Chron, as in “he slept with his fathers” - cf. It is found in classical Greek (e.g., Homer, Illiad 11.241 Sophocles, El.509 et al.) and in the Septuagint (e.g., 36 times in 2 Kgs. This metaphorical use of “sleep,” to describe the death of a body, is ancient. 22:45), predominately (15 of the 18 times) this word is used figuratively for the “sleep” of death (see Mt. While koimaomai may refer on occasion to normal sleep (Mt. 8:55).Īnother term in the New Testament for “sleep” is koimaomai (a form of koimao). Luke says that her “spirit returned” and she rose up immediately (Lk. He then raised the twelve-year-old girl from her state of death. The Savior used the term “sleep” figuratively, in view of the fact that this death was to be a temporary heartache. That the maiden actually was dead admits of no doubt. When he arrived at the home, the Lord confidently said: “the child is not dead, but is sleeping” (v.
Christ was bidden to the place where the girl was.
The daughter of a Jewish synagogue ruler, whose name was Jairus, had died (Mk. The term is employed with reference to death in only one passage. In a literal sense it is used of “natural sleep” (Mt. The term katheudo occurs 22 times in the New Testament. There are two significant words in the Greek New Testament for the English term “sleep.” Each of these is used both literally and figuratively, that is, for natural sleep, and also as a symbol for death. “Why do some teach that the “soul” is conscious after death, when the Bible plainly teaches that the dead are ‘asleep’?"