Salvation Examines the biblical concept of salvation as it develops from the sense of physical rescue in the present life (e.g., deliverance from danger or crisis) to the idea of spiritual rescue often associated with the afterlife (e.g., forgiveness from sins, eternal life). This development in the concept of salvation corresponds with changes in beliefs regarding life after death: As views about the afterlife became more optimistic, the understanding of salvation expanded beyond the present world to include hopes for divine deliverance and even resurrection in the world to come.

In the Bible, salvation usually comes from God, Jesus, or an agent of God. Terms for salvation include:

• יָשַׁע (yasha') and יְשׁוּעָה (yeshu'ah)—Hebrew words most often translated as “save” and “salvation”;

• נָצַל (natsal)—also Hebrew, usually translated as “rescue”; and

• σῴζω (sōzō) and σωτηρία (sōtēria)—Greek words meaning “save” and “salvation.”