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Death

Definition: Death

Death

Noun

1. The event of dying or departure from life: "her death came as a terrible shock"; "upon your decease the capital will pass to your grandchildren".

2. The permanent end of all life functions in an organism or part of an organism; "the animal died a painful death".

3. The end of life; continuing until dead; "he bled to death"; "a struggle to the last".

4. The personification of death; "Death walked the streets of the plague-bound city".

5. The absence of life or state of being dead; "he seemed more content in death than he had ever been in life".

6. The time when something ends; "it was the death of all his plans"; "a dying of old hopes".

7. The act of killing; "he had two deaths on his conscience".

8. A final state; "he came to a bad end"; "the so-called glorious experiment came to an inglorious end".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "death" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Death

DomainDefinition

Bible

Death may be simply defined as the termination of life. It is represented under a variety of aspects in Scripture: (1.) "The dust shall return to the earth as it was" (Eccl. 12:7). (2.) "Thou takest away their breath, they die" (Ps. 104:29). (3.) It is the dissolution of "our earthly house of this tabernacle" (2 Cor. 5:1); the "putting off this tabernacle" (2 Pet. 1:13, 14). (4.) Being "unclothed" (2 Cor. 5:3, 4). (5.) "Falling on sleep" (Ps. 76:5; Jer. 51:39; Acts 13:36; 2 Pet. 3:9. (6.) "I go whence I shall not return" (Job 10:21); "Make me to know mine end" (Ps. 39:4); "to depart" (Phil. 1:23). The grave is represented as "the gates of death" (Job 38:17; Ps. 9:13; 107:18). The gloomy silence of the grave is spoken of under the figure of the "shadow of death" (Jer. 2:6). Death is the effect of sin (Heb. 2:14), and not a "debt of nature." It is but once (9:27), universal (Gen. 3:19), necessary (Luke 2:28-30). Jesus has by his own death taken away its sting for all his followers (1 Cor. 15:55-57). There is a spiritual death in trespasses and sins, i.e., the death of the soul under the power of sin (Rom. 8:6; Eph. 2:1, 3; Col. 2:13). The "second death" (Rev. 2:11) is the everlasting perdition of the wicked (Rev. 21:8), and "second" in respect to natural or temporal death. THE DEATH OF CHRIST is the procuring cause incidentally of all the blessings men enjoy on earth. But specially it is the procuring cause of the actual salvation of all his people, together with all the means that lead thereto. It does not make their salvation merely possible, but certain (Matt. 18:11; Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 3:13; Eph. 1:7; 2:16; Rom. 8:32-35). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.

Biographical Satire

DEATH, a hideous man who called at least once during a lifetime, usually toward the close. Patron of insurance companies. Nothing is known of his childhood. Historians claim he never had any. Possessed an ugly face; wore a sheet over his head, and always carried a scythe in his hands. Never brought happiness, although his visits frequently gave money to some one. Never could be bribed to pass a house he wished to enter. Many doctors and scientists have endeavored to kill him, but he continues to be a safe bet at 100 to 1. Heir: None. Ambition: A happy home and prosperous graveyards. Recreation: Sharpening scythes. Address: Always hung out a black cloth wherever he resided. Source: Who was Who: 5000BC - 1914.

Dream Interpretation

To dream of seeing any of your people dead, warns you of coming dissolution or sorrow. Disappointments always follow dreams of this nature.
To hear of any friend or relative being dead, you will soon have bad news from some of them.
Dreams relating to death or dying, unless they are due to spiritual causes, are misleading and very confusing to the novice in dream lore when he attempts to interpret them. A man who thinks intensely fills his aura with thought or subjective images active with the passions that gave them birth; by thinking and acting on other lines, he may supplant these images with others possessed of a different form and nature. In his dreams he may see these images dying, dead or their burial, and mistake them for friends or enemies. In this way he may, while asleep, see himself or a relative die, when in reality he has been warned that some good thought or deed is to be supplanted by an evil one. To illustrate; If it is a dear friend or relative whom he sees in the agony of death, he is warned against immoral or other improper thought and action, but if it is an enemy or some repulsive object dismantled in death, he may overcome his evil ways and thus give himself or friends cause for joy. Often the end or beginning of suspense or trials are foretold by dreams of this nature. They also frequently occur when the dreamer is controlled by imaginary states of evil or good. A man in that state is not himself, but is what the dominating influences make him. He may be warned of approaching conditions or his extrication from the same. In our dreams we are closer to our real self than in waking life. The hideous or pleasing incidents seen and heard about us in our dreams are all of our own making, they reflect the true state of our soul and body, and we cannot flee from them unless we drive them out of our being by the use of good thoughts and deeds, by the power of the spirit within us. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....

Literature

Death according to Milton, is twin-keeper with Sin, of Hell-gate.
"The other shape
(if shape it might be called that shape had none
Distinguishable in member, joint, or limb;
Or substance might be called that shadow
Seemed;) ...
The likeness of a kingly crown had on."
Milton: Paradise Lost, ii. 666 - 673.
Death. (See Black Death.)
Death stands, like Mercuries, in every way. (See Mercury.)
Till death us do part. (See Depart.)
Angel of Death. (See Abou-Jahia, Azrael.)
At death's door. On the point of death; very dangerously ill.
In at the death. Present when the fox was caught and killed. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.

Medicine

The final cessation of life. Source: European Union. (references)
 The final cession of life. Source: European Union. (references)

Public Administration

Cessation of life; Not living; Dead; Cardiac death:irreversible cardiac arrest; Clinical death:cessation of spontaneous breathing movements and total circulatory arrest; An early period of death which may yet be reversed by energetic resuscitation; Cerebral death:the destruction of a part(cortex)of the brain; Also called cortical death; Brain death:total cessation of all brain functions; Medicolegally now death is defined mainly as brain death; Social death:state of irreversible brain damage and unconsciousness but in which the electroencephalogram is not totally silent. Source: European Union. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Capital punishment

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Capital punishment, also referred to as the Death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offence or a capital crime. In those jurisdictions that practice capital punishment, its use is usually restricted to a small number of criminal offences, principally, treason and murder, that is, the deliberate premeditated killing of another person. Prisoners who have been sentenced to death are usually kept segregated from other prisoners in a special part of the prison, pending their execution. In some places this segregated area is known as Death Row.

Methods of execution

Methods of execution have varied over time, and include:

Capital punishment around the world

Amnesty International publishes a annual report on official judicial execution. In 2001 there were 3,048 reported cases in 31 countries. 90% of the deaths occurred in four countries. The People's Republic of China carried out 2,468 executions. Iran killed 139 people, Saudi Arabia 79 and the United States 66. In 2000 there had been 1,457 executions. The PRC has executed 20,000 between 1990 and 2001 with 1,781 people executed between April and July 2001 in a "Strike Hard" crime crackdown.

The highest per capita use of the death penalty is Singapore, with a population of about four million.

In most countries that have capital punishment, it is used to punish only murder and/or for war-related crimes. In some countries, like the People's Republic of China, even non-violent crimes, like drug and business related crimes, are punished with capital punishment.

Most democratic countries today have abolished the death penalty, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, almost all of Europe and much of Latin America. Together 111 countries either do not have or do not use the death penalty. Many other states retain it, especially in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean and the United States.

The most comprehensive source lists less than 15,000 people executed in United States or its predecessors between 1608 and 1991.[1] More accurate statistics list 4661 executions in the U.S. in the period 1930-2002 with about 2/3 of the executions occurring in the first twenty years.[1] Additionally the U.S. Army executed 160 soldiers between 1930 and 1967. The last U.S. Navy execution was in 1849.

Only seven countries practice the death penalty for juveniles, that is criminals aged under 18 at the time of their crime. Nearly all actual executions for juvenile crime take place in the USA, although, due to the slow process of appeals, no one under age 19 has been executed since at least 1964. [1] Although the People's Republic of China accounts for the vast majority of executions in the world, it does not allow for the executions of those under 18. [1] Execution of those aged under age 18 has also occurred in the Congo, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Iran since 1990. [1]

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids capital punishment for juveniles, has been signed by all countries except the USA and Somalia, so it is likely that legally executing children (as defined by the Convention), will continue to be restricted to the USA.

Electric chair as used for electrocutions. The electric chair was developed in the late 1880s with support from Thomas Edison and is still in use today.
Image in the public domain, courtesy of PDImages.com.

There are a number of international conventions prohibiting the death penalty, most notably the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Sixth Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. However, such conventions only bind those that are party to them; customary international law permits the death penalty.

Several international organizations have made the abolition of the death penalty a requirement of membership, most notably the European Union and the Council of Europe. The European Union requires outright abolition of the death penalty by states wishing to join; the Council of Europe also requires this, but is willing to accept a moratorium as an interim measure. Thus, while Russia is a member of the Council of Europe, and practices the death penalty in law, it has not made use of it since becoming a member of the Council.

The same was also true of Turkey, but in August 2002, as a move towards EU membership, the death penalty was removed from law as well as practice. As a result of this, Europe is a continent free of the death penalty in practice, with the sole exception of Belarus, which is not a member of the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has also been lobbying for the Council of Europe observer states who practice the death penalty (namely the United States and Japan) to be told to abolish it also or lose their observer status.

Arguments for and against the death penalty

Support for the death penalty varies widely from nation to nation, and it can be a highly contentious political issue, particularly in democracies that use it. A majority of adults in the United States appear to support its continuance (though like most political issues, the numbers vary widely depending on the exact question asked), but a highly vocal, organised minority of people in that country do not, and non-governmental organisations like Amnesty lobby against it globally. In Taiwan, the death penalty appears to have large amounts of public support, and there is little public movement to abolish it. By contrast, in most of Western Europe, public opinion overwhelming regards capital punishment as barbaric and there is little public support for its reinstatement. In countries where it has been abolished, debate is sometimes revived by particularly brutal murders, though few countries have brought it back after abolition.

Some of the major arguments used by those opposed to the death penalty include:

Different groups of death penalty opponents favour different arguments. Core death-penalty opponents are perhaps more likely to primarily base their opposition on "the death penalty is murder" arguments, and advance the issues of wrong convictions and ethnic bias to convince waverers.

Key arguments for supporters of the death penalty include:

There is ongoing debate whether capital punishment reduces crime rates, because potential murderers (or other criminals) would be too scared of punishment to commit crime, or it doesn't at all affect crime rate, because potential criminals think they won't be caught, so they don't care about punishment until it's too late. There are even studies that have concluded that the death penalty appears to encourage murder. However, like many questions in the social sciences, actual research data on this question can be (and is) interpreted very differently by people with differing predispositions towards capital punishment. In any event, the actual effectiveness or otherwise of it is largely irrelevant to many who feel strongly about the debate, as their views are based on other factors.

Religious views of the death penalty

Death penalty in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament)

The Tanakh prescribes the death penalty for a great many violations of law. Most historians no longer accept the view that the laws of the Bible, as written, were ever actually followed as a legal code. Instead, they hold that the laws in the Bible were developed in a living society and culture, and that the oral law of this society was not identical to what one would posit from a literal reading of the Biblical text alone. Rabbinic Jews have always held this view; they go further and teach that a specific oral law (later redacted in the Talmud) explains the meaning and context of these Biblical laws. In this view the death penalty was rarely used, and exceedingly difficult to carry out.

Jewish view of the death penalty

The Jewish view of all laws in the Bible, not just the death penalty, is based on the reading of the Bible as seen through Judaism's corpus of oral law. These laws were first redacted around 200 CE in the Mishnah and later around 550 CE in the Talmud.

These laws make it clear that the death penalty was only used in extremely rare cases. Rabbinic law developed a detailed system of checks and balances to make sure that the penalty could only be carried out if there were two witnesses to the crime, if the witnesses then verbally warned the person that they were liable for the death penalty, and that the person then had to acknowledge that he/she was warned, but then went ahead and committed the sin regardless. Further, an individual was not allowed to testify against themselves. As such, the death penalty was effectively legislated out of existence.

Christian view of the death penalty

Jesus Christ underwent the death penalty by crucifixion. His trial was affected by popular opinion. His death is frequently depicted in religious art, and the cross, either with or without his body on it, is the primary symbol of Christianity.

For many Christians, this is enough to condemn capital punishment. Nonetheless, Christians are divided about the issue. Those in favor of capital punishment most often build their views on a New Testament verse in which Christ allegedly advocates capital punishment for crimes against children.

Muslim view of the death penalty

A Muslim may be sentenced to death under Shariah, Islamic law, for the murder of a Muslim, adultery, apostasy (deserting Islam), a third conviction for drinking alcohol and a fifth conviction for theft. A dhimmi (zimmi, non-Muslim living in an Islamic state) can be executed for sex with a Muslim woman, and "persecution" of Islam, for example blasphemy against Allah or Prophet Muhammad, or attempting to proselytise, i.e. convert a Muslim from his religion.

Shariah is not in force in many Muslim countries with a Muslim majority, especially those which still have laws on their statute books which date from their colonial past. One of the aims of Islamic fundamentalists is to re-introduce Shariat and that is one reason why HRAIC opposes fundamentalism.

Hindu view of the death penalty

(to be added)

Related articles

Literature

Stuart Banner: The Death Penalty: An American History. Harvard University Press, 2002. ISBN 0674007514.

David R. Dow, Mark Dow (Eds.): Machinery of Death. The Reality of America's Death Penalty Regime. Routledge, New York, 2002. ISBN 0415932661 (cloth), ISBN 041593267X (paper).

This book provides critical perspectives on the death penalty. It contains a foreword by Christopher Hitchens.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Capital punishment."

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Death

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

simple:death

Death can refer to an event or a state. Death as a state is the opposite of life; death as an event is the opposite of birth. The event of death is the termination of life in a living system, or in part thereof, while the state is that which follows.

Biologically, death can occur to wholes, to parts of wholes, or to both. For example, it is possible for individual cellss and even organss to die, and yet for the organism as a whole to continue to live; many individual cells can live for only a short time, and so most of an organism's cells are continually dying and being replaced by new ones.

Conversely it is also possible for the organism to die and for cells and organs to live and to be used for transplantation. In the latter case, though, the still-living tissues must be removed and transplanted quickly or they too will soon die without the support of their host.

Irreversibility is often cited as a key feature of death and, indeed, scientists have not been able to watch a living organism die and later bring it back to life. Nonetheless, many people do not seem convinced that death is always and necessarily irreversible; thus some have a literal belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, while others have high hopes for the eventual prospects of Cryonics.

The biological function of death is primarily to permit the operation of evolution.

Human Death: Definitions and Significance

By far the most important sort of death to human beings is human death. Thinking about human death raises a number of questions.

First, how can we identify the exact moment at which death has occurred? This seems important, because identifying that moment would allow us to put the correct time on death certificates, make sure that the deceased's will is enacted only after the deceased is truly deceased, and in general guide us regarding when to act as one should act toward a living person and when to act as one should toward a dead person. In particular, identifying the moment of death is important in cases of organ transplant, as organs must be harvested as quickly as possible after death.

Historically, attempts to define the exact moment of death have been problematic. Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat and breathing, for example, but the development of CPR and early defibrillation posed a challenge: either the definition of death was incorrect, or techniques had been discovered that really allowed one to reverse death (because, in some cases, breathing and heartbeat can be restarted). Generally, the first option was chosen. (Today this definition of death is known as "clinical death".)

Today, where a definition of the moment of death is required, we usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death": people are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases. It is presumed that a stoppage of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness. Those that view that only the neo-cortex of the brain is necessary for consciousness, however, sometimes argue that only electrical activity there should be considered when defining death. In most places the more conservative definition of death (cessation of electrical activity in the whole brain, as opposed to just in the neo-cortex) has been adopted (for example the Uniform Definition of Death Act in the United States).

Even in these cases, the determination of death can be difficult. EEGs can detect spurious electrical impulses when none exists, while there have been cases in which electrical activity in a living brain has been too low for EEGs to detect. Because of this, hospitals often have elaborate protocols for determining death involving EEGs at widely separated intervals.

It might also be worthwhile to entertain the possibility that death does not occur at a particular moment, but unfolds as a process over a period of time. Perhaps, in the end, it is not terribly meaningful to speak of "the exact moment of death".

What happens to humans after death?

Second, and more interesting to many, what, if anything, happens to the human spirit, consciousness or soul when they die? Is there perhaps an afterlife? Can we expect reincarnation? These questions are of long standing. For many, believe in an afterlife is a consolation in connection with death of a beloved one or the prospect of one's own death. On the other hand, fear of hell etc. may make death worse. Human contemplation about death is an important motivation for the development of organized religion.

Many anthropologists feel that the careful burials among Neanderthals, where ornamented bodies were laid in carefully dug, flower-strewn graves, is evidence of early belief in an afterlife.

Physiological consequences of human death

For the human body, the physiological consequences of death include rigor mortis, algor mortis, livor mortis (dependent lividity) and decomposition (decay).

The deceased person is usually either cremated or deposited in a tomb, often a hole in the earth, called a grave. This happens during or after a funeral ceremony.

Graves are usually grouped together in a plot of land called a "cemetery" or a "graveyard" and are often arranged by a funeral home or undertaker.

See also:

Quote (Peter Pan): To die will be an awfully big adventure.

Death is also a popular mythological figure who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. The traditional image of Death is also a tarot card. See also: Death (personification) Death is also the name of a death metal band.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Death."

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Death (band)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Death were an influential death metal band from America , founded in 1984 by Chuck Schuldiner. They were founded in Florida and are one of the pioneers of the 'Death Metal' sound..

Bandmembers

Discography

External Links

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Death (personification)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Death, personified is an anthropomorphic figure or a fictional character who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. Because the reality of death has had a substantial influence on the human psyche and the development of civilization as a whole, the personification of Death as a living, sentient entity is a concept that has existed in all known societies since the beginnings of recorded history.


In modern-day, European-based folklore, Death is also known as the Grim Reaper. In the Septuagint version of the Bible, Death is portrayed in the apocryphal book of Tobit as Azrael, the angel of death.

Mythological portrayals of Death

Several mythologies had gods who embodied Death or aspects of Death:

Angels of Death

In the Bible, death is viewed under form of an angel sent from God, a being deprived of all voluntary power.

The "angel of the Lord" smites 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (II Kings xix. 35). "The destroyer" kills the first-born of the Egyptians (Ex. xii. 23), and the "destroying angel" ("mal'ak ha-mashḥit") rages among the people in Jerusalem (II Sam. xxiv. 15). In I Chronicle xxi. 15 the "angel of the Lord" is seen by King David standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem."

The biblical Book of Job (xxxiii. 22) uses the general term "destroyer" ("memitim"), which tradition has identified with "destroying angels" ("mal'ake Kabbalah") and Prov. xvi. 14 uses the term the "angels of death" ("mal'ake ha-mawet").

Angel of death in Judaism

The Rabbis found the angel of death mentioned in Psalms lxxxix. 45 (A. V. 48), where the Targum translates: "There is no man who lives and, seeing the angel of death, can deliver his soul from his hand". Eccl. viii. 4 is thus explained in Midrash Rabbah to the passage: "One may not escape the angel of death, nor say to him, 'Wait until I put my affairs in order,' or 'There is my son, my slave: take him in my stead.'"

Where the angel of death appears there is no remedy (Talmud, Ned. 49a; Hul. 7b). If one who has sinned has confessed his fault, the angel of death may not touch him (Midrash Tanhuma, ed. Buber, 139). God protects from the angel of death (Midrash Genesis Rabbah lxviii.).

By acts of benevolence the anger of the angel of death is overcome; when one fails to perform such acts the angel of death will make his appearance (Derek Ereẓ Zuṭa, viii.). The angel of death receives his order from God (Ber. 62b). As soon as he has received permission to destroy, however, he makes no distinction between good and bad (B. Ḳ. 60a). In the city of Luz the angel of death has no power, and when the aged inhabitants are ready to die they go outside the city (Soṭah 46b; compare Sanh. 97a). A legend to the same effect existed in Ireland in the Middle Ages ("Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 336).

Form and Functions


The angel of death was created by God on thefirst day (Tan. on Gen. xxxix. 1). His dwelling is in heaven, whence he reaches earth in eight flights, whereas pestilence reaches it in one (Ber. 4b). He has twelve wings (Pirḳe R. El. xiii). "Over all people have I surrendered thee the power," said God to the angel of death, "only not over this one which has received freedom from death through the Law" (Tan. to Ex. xxxi. 18; ed. Stettin, p. 315). It is said of the angel of death that he is full of eyes. In the hour of death he stands at the head of the departing one with a drawn sword, to which clings a drop of gall. As soon as the dying man sees the angel, he is seized with a convulsion and opens his mouth, whereupon the angel throws the drop into it. This drop causes his death; he turns putrid, and his face becomes yellow ('Ab. Zarah 20b; in detail, Jellinck, "B. H." i. 150; on putrefaction see also Pesiḳ. 54b; for the eyes compare Ezek. i. 18 and Rev. iv. 6). The expression "to taste of death" originated in the idea that death was caused by a drop of gall ("Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 327; see Death, Views of).

The soul escapes through the mouth, or, as is stated in another place, through the throat; therefore the angel of death stands at the head of the patient (Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94, Midr.Teh. to Ps. xi.). When the soul forsakes the body its voice goes from one end of the world to the other, but is not heard (Gen. R. vi. 7; Ex. R. v. 9; Pirḳe R. El. xxxiv.). The drawn sword of the angel of death, mentioned by the Chronicler (I. Chron. xxi. 15; comp. Job xv. 22; Enoch lxii. 11), indicates that the angel of death was figured as a warrior who kills off the children of men. "Man, on the day of his death, falls down before the angel of death like a beast before the slaughterer" (Grünhut, "Liḳḳuṭim," v. 102a). R. Samuel's father (c. 200) said: "The angel of death said to me, 'Only for the sake of the honor of mankind do I not tear off their necks as is done to slaughtered beasts'" ('Ab. Zarah 20b). In later representations the knife sometimes replaces the sword, and reference is also made to the cord of the angel of death, which indicates death by throttling. Moses says to God: "I fear the cord of the angel of death" (Grünhut, l.c. v. 103a et seq.). Of the four Jewish methods of execution three are named in connection with the angel of death: burning (by pouring hot lead = the drop of gall), slaughtering (by beheading), and throttling. The angel of death administers the particular punishment which God has ordained for the commission of sin.

A peculiar mantle ("idra"-according to Levy, "Neuhebr. Wörterb." i. 32, a sword) belongs to the equipment of the angel of death (Eccl. R. iv. 7). The angel of death takes on the particular form which will best serve his purpose; e.g., he appears to a scholar in the form of a beggar imploring pity (M. Ḳ. 28a). "When pestilence rages in the town, walk not in the middle of the street, because the angel of death [i.e., pestilence] strides there; if peace reigns in the town, walk not on the edges of the road. When pestilence rages in the town, go not alone to the synagogue, because there the angel of death stores his tools. If the dogs howl, the angel of death has entered the city; if they make sport, the prophet Elijah has come" (B. Ḳ. 60b). The "destroyer" ("saṭan ha-mashḥit") in the daily prayer is the angel of death (Ber. 16b). Midr. Ma'ase Torah (compare Jellinek, "B. H." ii. 98) says: "There are six angels of death: Gabriel over kings; Ḳapẓiel over youths; Mashbir over animals; Mashḥit over children; Af and Ḥemah over man and beast."

Identical with Antichrist

When the Messiah comes all the dead will arise, and there will be an end to death; for the angel of death himself will be destroyed by the Messiah (Pesiḳ. R., ed. Friedmann, p. 161b). Satan, as the angel of death, is identified here with Antichrist. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Cor. xv. 26; compare Heb. ii. 14). The same idea seems to be expressed in the Book of Jubilees xxiii. 29: "And they shall fulfil all their days in peace and joy, and shall live on, since there will be no Satan and no evil to destroy them."

The angel of death, who is identified with Satan, immediately after his creation had a dispute with God as to the light of the Messiah (Pesiḳ. R. 161b). When Eve touched the tree of knowledge, she perceived the angel of death, and thought: "Now I shall die, and God will create another wife for Adam" (Pirḳe R. El. xiii., end; compare Targum Yer. to Gen. iii. 6, and Yalḳ. i. § 25). Adam also had a conversation with the angel of death (Böklen, "Die Verwandtschaft der Jüdisch-Christlichen mit der Parsischen Eschatologie," p. 12). The angel of death sits before the face of the dead (Jellinek, l.c. ii. 94). While Abraham was mourning for Sarah the angel appeared to him, which explains why "Abraham stood up from before his dead" (Gen. xxiii. 3; Gen. R. lviii. 5, misunderstood by the commentators). Samuel told Sarah that Abraham had sacrificed Isaac in spite of his wailing, and Sarah died of horror and grief (Pirḳe R. El. xxxii.). It was Moses who most often had dealings with the angel. At the rebellion of Korah, Moses saw him (Num. R. v. 7; Bacher, l.c. iii. 333; compare Sanh. 82a). It was the angel of death in the form of pestilence which snatched away 15,000 every year during the wandering in the wilderness (ib. 70). When Moses reached heaven, the angel told him something (Jellinek, l.c. i. 61).

When the angel of death came to Moses and said, "Give me thy soul," Moses called to him: "Where I sit thou hast no right to stand." And the angel retired ashamed, and reported the occurrence to God. Again, God commanded him to bring the soul of Moses. The angel went, and, not finding him, inquired of the sea, of the mountains, and of the valleys; but they knew nothing of him (Sifre, Deut. 305). Really, Moses did not die through the angel of death, but through God's kiss ("bi-neshiḳah"); i.e., God drew his soul out of his body (B. B. 17a; compare Abraham in Apocryphal and Rabbinical Literature, and parallel references in Böklen, l.c. p. 11). Legend seizes upon the story of Moses' struggle with the angel of death, and expands it at length (Tan., ed. Stettin, pp. 624 et seq.; Deut. R. ix., xi.; Grünhut, l.c. v. 102b, 169a). As Benaiah bound Ashmedai (Jew. Encyc. ii. 218a), so Moses binds the angel of death that he may bless Israel (Pesiḳ. 199, where "lifne moto" [Deut. xxxiii. 1] is explained as meaning "before the angel of death").

Solomon once noticed that the angel of death was grieved. When questioned as to the cause of his sorrow he answered: "I am requested to take your two beautiful scribes." Solomon at once charged the demons to convey his scribes to Luz, where the angel of death could not enter. When they were near the city, however, they both died. The angel laughed on the next day, whereupon Solomon asked the cause of his mirth. "Because," answered the angel, "thou didst send the youths thither, whence I was ordered to fetch them" (Suk. 53a). In the next world God will let the angel of death fight against Pharaoh, Sisera, and Sennacherib (Yalḳ., Isa. 428).

The teaching of God shields one from the power of the angel of death. The children of Israel have accepted the Torah only in order that the angel may have no power over them ('Ab. Zarah 5a). Since death results only from sin, it can not, of course, come to those who live in accordance with the Torah. Although the sentence of mortality once pronounced could never be recalled ('Ab. Zarah 5a), yet the angel of death may not visit teachers of the Law; he is rather their friend (ib. 35b), and even imparts learning to them (Ber. 51a).

Scholars and the Angel of Death

Talmud teachers of the fourth century associate quite familiarly with him. When he appeared to one on the street, the teacher reproached him with rushing upon him as upon a beast; whereupon the angel called upon him at his house. To another he granted a respite of thirty days, that he might put his knowledge in order before entering the next world. To a third he had no access, because he could not interrupt the study of the Talmud. To a fourth he showed a rod of fire, whereby he is recognized as the angel of death (M. K. 28a). He often entered the house of Bibi and conversed with him (Ḥag. 4b). Often he resorts to strategy in order to interrupt and seize his victim (B. M. 86a; Mak. 10a).

The death of Joshua ben Levi in particular is surrounded with a web of fable. When the time came for him to die and the angel of death appeared to him, he demanded to be shown his place in paradise. When the angel had consented to this, he demanded the angel's knife, that the angel might not frighten him by the way. This request also was granted him, and Joshua sprang with the knife over the wall of paradise; the angel, who is not allowed to enter paradise, catching hold of the end of his garment. Joshua swore that he would not come out, and God declared that he should not leave paradise unless he was absolved from his oath; if not absolved, he was to remain. The angel of death then demanded back his knife, but Joshua refused. At this point a heavenly voice ("bat ḳol") rang out: "Give him back the knife, because the children of men have need of it" (Ket. 77b; Jellinek, l.c. ii. 48-51; Bacher, l.c. i. 192 et seq.).

In Arabic Literature

The angel of death is spoken of in the Qur'an (suras xxxii. 11, lxxix. 1), and is called by the Muslims Azrael - probably identical with , the angel of Gehinnom, according to "'Emeḳ ha-Melek" ("Tiḳḳune Teshubah"; quoted by Eisenmenger, "Entdecktes Judenthum," ii.333). "When Death was created by God, he, on account of his terrible power, had to be put in 70,000 chains of a thousand years' journey's length each, and behind millions of barriers. When Azrael was placed in charge of him and saw him, he called the angels to look at him, and when he, at God's command, spread his wings over him and opened all his eyes, the angels fainted away and remained unconscious for a thousand years. Azrael was given all the powers of the heavens to enable him to master Death."

Azrael reaches from one end of the world to the other (Jellinek, "B. H." v. 49), and has 70,000 feet and 4,000 wings. His whole body is covered with eyes (see 'Ab. Zarah 20b) and with tongues as numerous as the living creatures on earth. When any of these latter die, the corresponding eye bulges forth. At the end of the world all these eyes excepting eight are plucked out by God--those of Israfil (Sarafel), Michael, Gabriel, Azrael, and the four "Hayyot" of the Heavenly Chariot alone remaining. The times of the death of persons is made known to the angel of death through the roll-book in his possession showing a white stripe around the name of the person doomed. Forty days before death, however, a leaf falls from the tree of life, under the throne of God, into the lap of Azrael, who is seated in the seventh heaven, thus announcing the death (compare Yer. Ber. ii. 8, 5c, and the picture of the fig-tree).

"When people lament and weep too much over the death of a person, the angel of death shall stand at the door and say: 'What cause have you for such violent complaint? I am only the messenger of God and have done His bidding, and if you rebel against Him, I shall return often to take one of your house'" (compare Midr. Yalḳ. to Deut. xiv. 1, 2; 'Er. 19b; and Böklen, l.c.).

"When a righteous person dies, the angel of death comes with a host of good angels, carrying sweet odors of paradise, and makes the soul leave the body like a drop taken out of a bucket of water. When a wicked person dies, the angel of death comes in the company of demons, who pull the soul out as with iron spits".

Death as a fictional character


The character of Death is typically depicted in the West as wearing a dark hooded cloak and wielding a scythe. Death is one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. In many icons of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, death is portrayed as an almost naked man who is bound hand and foot lying amid the bones under the earth. In Eastern Orthodox theology, death is one of humanity's three enemies; the other two are sin and the devil. This figure of Death is also known as the Grim Reaper. Death, in this guise, appears also on one of the Tarot cardss. In Mexico, death is sometimes referred upon as La Calaca, a skull like character that comes and takes away people when they die.

The allegorical figure of Death appears many times in the works of Albrecht Dürer.

Death in popular fiction

The character of Death has reoccured many times in popular fiction. He has made appearances in many stories, from serious dramatic fiction to comedy, including playing roles in science fiction and fantasy stories.

Death Takes a Holiday was a 1934 film directed by Mitchell Leisen, and written by Maxwell Anderson. Death (Fredric March as Prince Sirki) decides to take a holiday from hs usual business to see how the mortals live. Complications ensue as those who should have died don't.

In 1957, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman made The Seventh Seal, an influential (and heavily symbolic) movie depicting one of the most famous moments in the fictional portrayal of Death. In the movie, a medieval knight plays a game of chess with Death, with the knight's life depending upon the outcome of the game. The concept of playing games with Death has been used (and spoofed) many times since Bergman's movie. Woody Allen made a short film that deliberately spoofed this famous movie scene, in which a young couple challenge Death to a game of badminton. In Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, the brainless protagonists challenge Death to a series of inane games including Cluedo (Clue) and Twister.

In a number of comedy roles, the character of Death has had a Swedish foreign accent, paying homage (sometimes unintentionally) to his role in The Seventh Seal. In Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, in which he is designed by Terry Gilliam and voiced by John Cleese, he annoys the hosts and guests at a dinner party by breaking it up prematurely.

As the Grim Reaper, Death even stars in an animated series on the Cartoon Network cable channel called The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (formerly Grim and Evil). The Grim Reaper has also made several appearances on The Simpsons, South Park, and even an early Mickey Mouse cartoon.

The character of Death is also a major player in the humorous Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett, where he is perhaps paradoxically seen as an ally of humanity, since he is a part of the natural order of things and often finds himself defending humanity against threats to that order.

A different personification of Death appears in The Sandman, a series of comic books written Neil Gaiman, in which Death, one of the Endless, appears in the guise of a goth girl. See Death (Sandman).

Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series of fantasy novels features a modernised Grim Reaper, who is the central character of On a Pale Horse, the first book in the series.



INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern 		5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Images: Digital Art 		9. Sounds
10. Quotations: Familiar
11. Quotations: Historic
12. Quotations: Fiction 		13. Quotations: Non-fiction
14. Quotations: Spoken
15. Quotations: Speeches
16. Usage Frequency 		17. Names: Derived from
18. Expressions
19. Expressions: Internet
20. Translations: Modern 		21. Translations: Ancient
22. Bible Trace
23. Derivations
24. Rhymes 		25. Anagrams
26. Bibliography


  

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