Aligned sentence by sentence
. . , , , , , .
Section 6. I will now speak of the term of life. I say: their Creator has set a defined period for their being together — as He said: 'I will fill the number of your days' (Exod 23:26); and He said to the master of creation: 'Behold your days draw near to death' (Deut 31:14); and He said to one of the righteous: 'When your days are complete and you lie with your fathers' (2 Sam 7:12).
, , ,
I further say that this period may be extended or shortened. And in my view, this period is not something God knew the soul would remain in the body — for His knowledge does not change the true nature of things.
, ,
Rather, in my view this period — which admits extension and reduction — is the duration of the powers given to the body to sustain itself. For from the very first moment of creation, there is no doubt that God built the body on some amount of power, greater or lesser.
, ,
The duration of that power's subsistence is what is called the 'term' — and God can increase it so that it lasts thirty additional years beyond seventy; and He can weaken and loosen it
Aligned sentence by sentence
, .
— so that it perishes at forty. On this explanation we understand extension and reduction.
,
What the servant actually receives of lifespan after extension or reduction is what his Creator truly knows he will live.
.
This means He knows that He built the body's original power to last seventy, and that He will add thirty to it or subtract thirty from it.
, ,
And from where do extension and reduction come? From His word: 'Fear of the Lord adds days, while the years of the wicked are shortened' (Prov 10:27).
, ,
He said of one of the righteous: 'I have added fifteen years to your days' (Isa 38:5); and He said in many reward-statements: 'so that your days may be lengthened' — and the like.
, , . , .
And He said of some of the wicked: 'The Lord struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt' (Exod 12:29), 'those who died in the plague' — and the like. Had they died at the natural term of their power, there would be no plague on account of their sins, and nothing would have been lifted by Phinehas's act.
.
The prophet has already distinguished plague from the natural term — saying: 'But if the Lord strikes him, or his day comes and he dies, or if he goes down into battle and perishes' (1 Sam 26:10).
, , ,
But I say that not every righteous person receives an extension of lifespan, nor is every wicked person shortened — rather, it depends on the Creator's choice and on what is beneficial.
, , .
One among the righteous who is not extended — the reward of the world to come awaits him; and one among the wicked who is not cut off — the punishment of the world to come awaits him, as He said: 'For there is a time for every purpose and for every work' (Qoh 8:6).