Exaltation/ Resurrection Imagery as Vindication — Not Literal Corporeal Revival

Exaltation/ Resurrection Imagery as Vindication — Not Literal Corporeal Revival


In Hebrew thought before later apocalyptic literalism, “to rise,” “to stand,” or “to be lifted up” often meant to be vindicated, to prevail in judgment, or to be restored to honor after humiliation or false accusation. Resurrection, in this framework, is the moment when God overturns unjust verdicts — not when He reanimates decayed bodies.


Let’s explore each passage with that perspective 



Psalms — The Language of Standing and Exaltation


Psalm 18:35


“You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; you exalt me above my enemies.”


Here, the psalmist’s “rising” is judicial: God’s hand (symbol of power and justice) exalts him over his adversaries — a courtroom victory, not bodily resurrection. The enemies are “brought low”; the psalmist “stands upright.” It’s legal vindication in divine judgment.





Psalm 20:6


“Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed... Some trust in chariots… but we trust in the name of the LORD... They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand firm.”


The verbs rise (קוּם / anistēmi) and stand (עָמַד) form a judicial idiom: to stand before God’s judgment as justified. In Ancient Near Eastern legal language, “the guilty fall” while “the innocent stand.” Thus, “we rise and stand firm” = “we are upheld in God’s judgment.”




Psalm 27:5


“He will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will exalt me on a rock.”


Being “exalted on a rock” evokes public vindication — God places the righteous beyond reproach, above the slander of enemies.  Again, not resurrection from a tomb, but restoration of honor.




Psalm 75:6–7


“For not from the east or from the west… comes lifting up; but it is God who judges: he brings one down, he exalts another.”


The psalm explicitly defines exaltation as the result of God’s judgment. “Lifting up” is not a spatial act but a judicial pronouncement — the reversal of fortunes in God’s moral economy.




Isaiah — The Cosmic Courtroom


Isaiah 2:11


“The haughty looks of man shall be brought low… the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.”


This describes the day of judgment (“that day”), when every human pride collapses.

The “exaltation” here is divine vindication — Yahweh’s righteousness is proven true before all nations. Resurrection language later borrows this down–up polarity.



Isaiah 40:31


“They who wait for the LORD… shall mount up with wings like eagles.”


“To mount up” is renewal and vindication, not flight to heaven. In Hebrew idiom, strength “rising” = being reinstated after humiliation or exile — again, covenantal vindication.





Isaiah 52:13


“Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.”



This verse, applied to the “Suffering Servant,” defines the resurrection pattern later echoed in the Gospels:


humiliation → suffering → divine vindication → exaltation.


It’s forensic and honor-based — God declares His servant righteous and publicly elevates him.




Job — The Archetype of Legal Resurrection


Job 19:25–26 (Masoretic Text)


“I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”




This passage is courtroom language.

The “Redeemer” (go’el) is Job’s legal defender, who will stand (קום / qum) — that is, arise to plead his case. Job’s hope isn’t bodily resurrection but posthumous vindication: God will eventually overturn the false verdicts against him.



This is more evident in the textual variants below with verses 19:25-28




Textual Variants



Lamsa Bible

25 For I know that my Saviour lives, and at the end he will reveal himself upon the earth; 26 Although devouring worms have covered my skin and my flesh, 27 Yet, if my eyes shall see God, then my heart also will see the light; but now my body is consumed. 28 For you will say, Why did we persecute him? For a good report will follow me and vindicate me.





Peshitta Holy Bible Translated


25 And I know that my Redeemer is living, and in the end on the Earth he shall be revealed 26 And over my skin it is I will be surrounded with these things and over my flesh 27 If my eyes will see God, my kidneys see the light. It is ending, for I am ended by my resurrection 28 For you say: ‘why do we persecute him?’ For The Good Word has found occasion against me





Brenton Septuagint Translation

25 For I know that he is eternal who is about to deliver me, 26 and to raise up upon the earth my skin that endures these sufferings: for these things have been accomplished to me of the Lord; 27 which I am conscious of in myself, which mine eye has seen, and not another, but all have been fulfilled to me in my bosom 28

But if ye shall also say, What shall we say before him, and so find the root of the matter in him?



Thus, all versions preserve the sense of rising as restoration, not resurrection biology.


Job’s “seeing God” = being vindicated before God’s tribunal, the ultimate apocalyptic hope. See Ecclesiastes 1:16 and Job 24:1, 33:26, 42:5.



Modern Translation 


“Even after I’m stripped of everything, I will finally understand God — I will perceive His justice or truth.”





Daniel — The Public Revelation of Vindication


Daniel 7:14


“And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom…”


This is not resurrection from death but legal enthronement. The “Son of Man” (symbol of faithful Israel) is exalted before the divine court after the beasts (empires) are condemned.

It’s courtroom imagery: the verdict is rendered, the righteous are crowned.





Daniel 12:3


“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky…”


The “shining” isn’t physical immortality; it’s public vindication. The wise who “turn many to righteousness” will be glorified before heaven and earth — their reputation justified, their cause upheld.


“Awakening from the dust” (v.2) uses idiomatic imagery for emerging from disgrace or persecution — identical to Job’s hope.



Other Key Texts — Vindication and Honor


Exodus 15:2


“The LORD is my strength and my song… I will exalt him.”



Here “exalt” means to publicly acknowledge God’s victory — language mirrored when God exalts His servants. Vindication is mutual: God’s people exalt Him; He exalts them.




1 Samuel 2:1–2


“My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted by the LORD.”


Hannah’s prayer interprets exaltation as social vindication: she who was shamed by barrenness is honored. No graves open — only reputations reversed.




Proverbs 3:34


“Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives grace.”


This is the principle behind all “resurrection” imagery: the reversal of status.Those humbled now are lifted later — a moral resurrection before God, not anatomical.





Synthesis


In all these texts, “to rise,” “to stand,” and “to be exalted” mean:


to be declared righteous,


to be vindicated after false accusation or oppression,


to be elevated in God’s moral order.



When later Jewish and Christian writings speak of “resurrection,” they build on this foundation — God’s courtroom verdict overturning injustice, not corpses returning from dirt.




Resurrection as a Legal Declaration


Death = condemnation, disgrace, exile, or false judgment.


Resurrection = divine reversal, restoration of honor, acquittal in God’s court.


The Last Day = the day God’s justice is publicly revealed.





Conclusion 


The ancient writers didn’t picture bodies climbing from tombs — they imagined cases reopened and verdicts reversed.

Job, Daniel, and the Psalms describe the same hope:


“God will rise to judge, and the righteous will stand with Him.”


That is the original meaning of resurrection — standing again in vindication before God.

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