This is a rich area of study. Here are the key Old Testament passages that are understood within the Reformed tradition as prophesying or typologically prefiguring the resurrection of the Messiah:

Explicit Messianic Resurrection Texts:

  1. Psalm 16:8–11 — "You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption." This is the most directly cited OT resurrection text in the NT — Peter quotes it at Pentecost (Acts 2:25–31) and Paul at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:35–37), both arguing David spoke prophetically of Christ since David himself did see corruption.
  2. Psalm 110:1 — "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'" Presupposes the resurrection and exaltation. Peter ties it directly to the resurrection in Acts 2:34–35, and it is the most frequently cited OT text in the NT.
  3. Psalm 2:7 — "You are my Son; today I have begotten you." Paul applies "today I have begotten you" to the resurrection in Acts 13:33, interpreting the "begetting" as God raising Jesus from the dead — the public, vindicated declaration of divine sonship.
  4. Isaiah 53:10–12 — "When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days." After the Servant's death and burial (vv. 8–9), he sees his offspring and prolongs his days — implying life after death. The Servant is also given a "portion with the great" as a victor, which presupposes vindication beyond the grave.
  5. Psalm 22:22–31 — The psalm moves from the agony of crucifixion (vv. 1–21) to a dramatic shift: "I will tell of your name to my brothers" (v. 22), followed by universal worship extending to "all the families of the nations" (v. 27). The sufferer who was near death now lives to proclaim God's deliverance — a narrative arc that requires resurrection. Hebrews 2:12 attributes verse 22 to the risen Christ.

Typological and Prophetic Prefigurations:

  1. Jonah 1:17–2:10 — Jonah three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. Jesus himself identifies this as the definitive sign pointing to his resurrection (Matt 12:39–40): "so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
  2. Genesis 22:1–14 (The Binding of Isaac) — Abraham receives Isaac back "as from the dead" (Heb 11:19). The ram substituted; the beloved son restored. The Reformed tradition from Calvin onward treats this as the premier typological prefiguration of death and resurrection.
  3. Hosea 6:2 — "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." While the immediate referent is national Israel, the early church and many Reformed commentators see a prophetic pattern of third-day resurrection that finds its fulfillment in Christ. Paul's phrase "raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Cor 15:4) may have this passage in view.
  4. Isaiah 25:7–8 — "He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces." The eschatological defeat of death presupposes the resurrection, and Paul cites this text in connection with the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:54.
  5. Psalm 49:15 — "But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me." A wisdom psalm expressing confidence that God will redeem the righteous from the grave — a principle fulfilled supremely in the Messiah's resurrection.
  6. Psalm 30:3 — "O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those going down to the pit." Davidic language of deliverance from death, read typologically as anticipating Christ.
  7. Daniel 12:2 — "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." The clearest OT statement of bodily resurrection. While not exclusively messianic, it establishes the eschatological framework within which Messiah's resurrection is the "firstfruits" (1 Cor 15:20).
  8. Job 19:25–27 — "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God." An ancient confession of hope in bodily resurrection through a living Redeemer.
  9. Ezekiel 37:1–14 (The Valley of Dry Bones) — A national restoration vision, but the imagery of dead bones raised to life by the Spirit becomes a type of resurrection power. The NT consistently connects the Spirit who raised Christ with the eschatological renewal of God's people (Rom 8:11).
  10. Isaiah 26:19 — "Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!" An eschatological promise of resurrection within Isaiah's "little apocalypse" (chs. 24–27).

Additional Texts Sometimes Cited:

  1. Psalm 118:17–24 — "I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD… The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." Jesus applies the rejected-stone imagery to himself (Matt 21:42), and Peter connects it explicitly to the resurrection in Acts 4:10–11. The movement from near-death to vindication fits the resurrection pattern.