Job 19:26—Does this verse indicate that the resurrection body will be a body of flesh?

Problem: Satan had afflicted Job’s body, and his flesh was rotting away. However, Job expressed his faith in God by saying, “in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:26). Does this mean that the resurrection body will be a body of flesh?

Solution: Yes. Although the preposition “from” (min) may be translated “without,” it is a characteristic of this preposition that when it is used with the verb “to see,” it has the meaning “from the vantage point of.” This idea is strengthened by the use of contrasting parallelism employed in this verse. Hebrew poetry often employs two parallel lines of poetic expression which sometimes express contrasting words or ideas (called antithetic parallelism). Here the loosing of Job’s flesh is contrasted by his trust in God to restore the body that is decaying before his eyes, and that in his very flesh, he would see God. This is a most sublime expression of Job’s faith in a literal, physical resurrection (see also Dan. 12:2; Luke 24:39; John 5:28–29; Acts 2:31–32).

This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Click here to purchase this book.