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This doctoral dissertation explores the origin of the belief in the resurrection of the dead in II Temple Judaism by means of the analysis of the fundamental conceptions of apocalypticism. it consists of an examination of the historic and sociological context in which the apocalyptic movement emerged, together with the imprint of biblical theology, Hellenism, and the surrounding religions, and of how its representations of the world, of mankind, and of history shaped its eschatological believes. Following a classification ot the main positions in current research, there appears a systematic consideration of apocalyptic theology, and a study of the main biblical and intertestamental texts referring to this notion. The thesis addresses the main levels of signification adopted by the idea of resurrection in apocalyptic theology, paying special attention to the response to the problem of theodicy and to its critical and emancipatory potential from the present reality. The main conclusion concerns the influences of the cosmopolitan, universalist picture of history encouraged be Hellenism in giving birth to a less ethnocentric perspective, which would have favoured the assumption of an eschatological projection of the divine action to the end of times, highlighting the common fate of humanity rather than the destiny of the nation (collective restoration). The emphasis on the membership in the nation of Israel becomes substituted by the vision of a common, universal judgment which shall affect all human beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]