First-Century Judaism and Polyphasic Culture: The Resurrection of Jesus.

This article examines the claim that the resurrection of Jesus was understood by first-century Palestinian Jews—who lived in a polyphasic culture, meaning one that integrates multiple phases of consciousness such as visions and dreams—as merely culturally approved visionary experiences rather than a physical event. It defines polyphasic culture and analyzes first-century Judaism within this framework, highlighting that Jews of that time distinguished between different types of extraordinary experiences and exercised skepticism, especially regarding the resurrection. The article argues that the biblical accounts reflect that Jesus' followers initially doubted but ultimately accepted the resurrection as a real, physical event based on collective, tangible evidence, such as the empty tomb and Jesus' interactions involving touch and eating. It concludes that while visionary experiences were part of the cultural context, the early Jewish Christians rationally differentiated these from physical appearances, challenging interpretations that reduce the resurrection to solely visionary phenomena.