In biblical terminology, the term "asleep" is often used metaphorically to describe the state of death, particularly for believers. This euphemism reflects the Christian hope in the resurrection and eternal life, suggesting that death is not the end but a temporary state before awakening to new life in Christ.

Old Testament Usage

The concept of being "asleep" as a metaphor for death is not as prevalent in the Old Testament as in the New Testament, but it is present. For instance, in 1 Kings 2:10, it is said, "Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David." The phrase "rested with his fathers" implies a peaceful sleep, indicating death.

New Testament Usage

The New Testament frequently uses the term "asleep" to describe those who have died, particularly believers. This usage underscores the hope of resurrection. In John 11:11, Jesus refers to Lazarus, who had died, saying, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." Here, Jesus uses the term to indicate that death is not final, as He would soon raise Lazarus from the dead.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, Paul writes, "Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him." This passage highlights the Christian belief in the resurrection and the assurance that those who have died in Christ will be raised to eternal life.

Theological Implications

The use of "asleep" to describe death carries significant theological implications. It reflects the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, as articulated in 1 Corinthians 15:20, where Paul declares, "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." This indicates that Christ's resurrection is the guarantee of the future resurrection of believers.

Furthermore, the metaphor of sleep suggests a state of rest and peace, contrasting with the fear and finality often associated with death. It implies that death is not a permanent state but a temporary pause before the believer is awakened to eternal life with Christ.

Pastoral Considerations

The metaphor of sleep provides comfort and hope to believers facing the death of loved ones or contemplating their mortality. It reassures them of the continuity of life beyond death and the promise of reunion with Christ and fellow believers. This understanding encourages Christians to live in the light of eternity, with the assurance that death is not the end but a transition to a more glorious existence.

In summary, the biblical use of "asleep" to describe death is a profound expression of the Christian hope in the resurrection and eternal life. It serves as a reminder of the temporary nature of death and the promise of awakening to everlasting life with Christ.1. (a. & adv.) In a state of sleep; in sleep; dormant.

2. (a. & adv.) In the sleep of the grave; dead.

3. (a. & adv.) Numbed, and, usually, tingling.

ASLEEP

a-slep' (yashen, "sleeping," radham, "deep sleep"; katheudo, "to fall asleep," aphupnoo, "to fall asleep"): A state of repose in sleep, Nature's release from weariness of body and mind, as of Jonah on shipboard (Jonah 1:5); of Christ in the tempest-tossed boat (Matthew 8:24); of the exhausted disciples in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:43 the King James Version).

Used with beautiful and comforting significance of death (koimaomai, "to put to sleep").

Sleep implies a subsequent waking, and as a symbol of death implies continued and conscious life beyond the grave. In the presence of death no truth has been so sustaining to Christian faith as this. It is the distinct product of Christ's resurrection. Paul speaks of departed believers as having "fallen asleep in Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:6, 18); as proof of the soul's immortality he terms the risen Christ "the first-fruits of them that are asleep." Lazarus and Stephen, at death, are said to have "fallen asleep" (John 11:11 Acts 7:60); so of David and the ancient patriarchs (Acts 13:36 2 Peter 3:4). The most beautiful description of death in human language and literature is Paul's characterization of the dead as "them also which sleep in Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 4:14 the King James Version). This blessed hope has wrought itself permanently into the life and creed and hymnology of the Christian church, as in the hymn often used with such comforting effect at the burial service of believers: "Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep!"

Dwight M. Pratt

2837. koimao from NG2749 -- sleep, fall asleep, die
... sleep, fall asleep, die. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: koimao from NG2749
Phonetic Spelling: (koy-mah'-o) Short Definition: I fall asleep, am asleep ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2837.htm - 7k

879. aphupnoo -- to fall asleep
... to fall asleep. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: aphupnoo Phonetic Spelling:
(af-oop-no'-o) Short Definition: I fall asleep Definition: I fall asleep. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/879.htm - 5k

879a. aphupnoo -- to fall asleep
... to fall asleep. Transliteration: aphupnoo Short Definition: asleep. Word Origin
from apo and hupnos Definition to fall asleep NASB Word Usage fell asleep (1). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/879a.htm - 5k

3573. nustazo -- to nod in sleep, to fall asleep
... to nod in sleep, to fall asleep. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: nustazo Phonetic
Spelling: (noos-tad'-zo) Short Definition: I nod in sleep, am drowsy ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3573.htm - 6k

2518. katheudo -- to sleep
... Word Origin from kata and heudo (to sleep) Definition to sleep NASB Word Usage asleep
(8), do their sleeping (1), goes to bed (1), sleep (3), sleep do (1 ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2518.htm - 7k

69. agrupneo -- to be sleepless, wakeful
... wakeful. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: agrupneo Phonetic Spelling:
(ag-roop-neh'-o) Short Definition: I am awake Definition: I am not asleep, am awake ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/69.htm - 7k

1798. enupnion -- a dream
... vision. 1798 (from 1722 , " the sphere of" and 5258 , "sleep") -- properly,
in sleep; a while asleep (used only in Ac 2:17). 1798 ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1798.htm - 7k

2659. katanuxis -- stupefaction
... From katanusso; a prickling (sensation, as of the limbs asleep), ie (by implication,
(perhaps by some confusion with neuo or even with nux)) stupor (lethargy ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2659.htm - 7k

1797. enupniazomai -- to dream
... Cognate: 1797 (from 1798 , "dream") -- to dream while asleep; (figuratively) a
"-dream" in which the believer contemplates (meditates). See 1798 (). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1797.htm - 7k

3463. yashen -- sleeping
... 3462, 3463. yashen. 3464 . sleeping. Transliteration: yashen Phonetic Spelling:
(yaw-shane') Short Definition: asleep. ... asleep, one out of sleep. ...
/hebrew/3463.htm - 6k

7290a. radam -- to be in or fall into heavy sleep
... root Definition to be in or fall into heavy sleep NASB Word Usage cast into a dead
sleep (1), dead sleep (1), deep sleep (2), fallen sound asleep (1), fell ...
/hebrew/7290a.htm - 5k

3462. yashen -- to sleep
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to sleep NASB Word Usage chronic (1), fell asleep
(1), remained long (1), sleep (10), sleeps (1), slept (5), supply (1). ...
/hebrew/3462.htm - 6k

7290. radam -- to be in or fall into heavy sleep
... 7289, 7290. radam. 7290a . to be in or fall into heavy sleep. Transliteration:
radam Phonetic Spelling: (raw-dam') Short Definition: asleep. ...
/hebrew/7290.htm - 5k

8142. shenah -- sleep
... Definition: sleep. Word Origin from yashen Definition sleep NASB Word Usage
asleep (1), sleep (22), sleep* (1). sleep. Or shena (Psa. 127 ...
/hebrew/8142.htm - 6k

3241. Yanim -- a city in Judah
... Janum. From nuwm; asleep; Janim, a place in Palestine -- Janum (from the margin).
see HEBREW nuwm. 3240, 3241. Yanim or Yanum. 3242 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/3241.htm - 6k

Remaining and Falling Asleep
... CORINTHIANS (To II Corinthians, Chap. V) REMAINING AND FALLING ASLEEP.
'After that He was seen of above five hundred brethren at ...
/.../romans corinthians to ii corinthians chap v/remaining and falling asleep.htm

Zion Asleep.
... THE CHURCH. XLIV. ZION ASLEEP. O na bai fy mhen yn ddyfroedd ... To see Zion in the desert,.
On her journey gone asleep. In its sin the wide world lying,. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/morris/favourite welsh hymns/xliv zion asleep.htm

"Asleep in Christ. "
... LIFE, DEATH AND FUTURITY. 549. " "Asleep in Christ.". 549. LM Mrs. Mackay.
"Asleep in Christ.". 1 Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep! ...
/.../adams/hymns for christian devotion/549 asleep in christ.htm

Jesus Asleep on a Pillow"And He was in the Hinder Part of the Ship ...
... JESUS ASLEEP ON A PILLOW"And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a
pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/till he come/jesus asleep on a pillowand.htm

Asleep in Jesus! Blessed Sleep
... III. SACRAMENTS AND RITES Burial of the Dead 413. Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep. ...
Walter Henry Hall, 1918. Margaret Mackay, 1832. Asleep in Jesus! blessed sleep! ...
/.../burial of the dead 413.htm

That Diamond had Fallen Fast Asleep is Very Evident from the ...
... Chapter 8 That Diamond had fallen fast asleep is very evident from the
strange things he now? That Diamond had fallen fast asleep ...
/.../macdonald/at the back of the north wind/chapter 8 that diamond had.htm

The Book of John Concerning the Falling Asleep of Mary.
... The Book of John Concerning the Falling Asleep of Mary. The Account of St. John
the Theologian [2615] of the Falling Asleep of the Holy Mother of God. ...
/.../unknown/revelation of john/the book of john concerning.htm

Concerning Things Performed Over those Fallen Asleep.
... ECCLESIASTICAL HIERARCHY. CAPUT VII. I. Concerning things performed over
those fallen asleep. Section I. These things having been ...
/.../dionysius/ecclesiastical hierarchy/caput vii i concerning things.htm

Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on ...
... John Chrysostom, archbishop of constantinople, on the epistle to the hebrews Published
after his Falling Asleep, from Notes by Constantine, Presbyter of Antioch ...
/.../homilies of st john chrysostom.htm

Hippolytus on the Twelve Apostles:
... by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos, in which also he wrote his Gospel and
saw the apocalyptic vision; and in Trajan's time he fell asleep at Ephesus ...
/.../hippolytus on the twelve apostles .htm

Asleep (50 Occurrences)
... 2. (a. & adv.) In the sleep of the grave; dead. 3. (a. & adv.) Numbed, and,
usually, tingling. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ASLEEP. ...
/a/asleep.htm - 23k

Wake (34 Occurrences)
... Mark 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they
awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? ...
/w/wake.htm - 17k

Single (65 Occurrences)
... Matthew 26:40 Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and He said to
Peter, "Alas, none of you could keep awake with me for even a single hour! ...
/s/single.htm - 28k

Awake (83 Occurrences)
... Matthew 26:40 Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and He said to
Peter, "Alas, none of you could keep awake with me for even a single hour! ...
/a/awake.htm - 33k

Sleep (136 Occurrences)
... See DREAM. SLEEP, DEEP. (tardemah, verb radham, from a root meaning "to be deaf"):
The verb radham has no further meaning than "to be fast asleep" (Judges 4:21 ...
/s/sleep.htm - 38k

Fallen (233 Occurrences)
... (DBY YLT). Matthew 27:52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints
who had fallen asleep were raised; (WEB ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV). ...
/f/fallen.htm - 38k

Jael (6 Occurrences)
... Some critics suggest that Sisera was not asleep when murdered, and thus
try to convert Jael's treachery into strategy. But to kill ...
/j/jael.htm - 14k

Wailing (44 Occurrences)
... Mark 5:39 When he had entered in, he said to them, "Why do you make an uproar
and weep? The child is not dead, but is asleep." (See NIV). ...
/w/wailing.htm - 19k

Tired (51 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Tired (51 Occurrences). Matthew 26:43 He came and
again found them asleep, for they were very tired. (WEY BBE). ...
/t/tired.htm - 21k

During (182 Occurrences)
... (WEY). Matthew 28:13 telling them to say, "His disciples came during the
night and stole his body while we were asleep." (WEY NIV). ...
/d/during.htm - 35k

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