
An apostate asked the sage Ammi: The Jewish sages claim that the dead will be resurrected in the future, but the flesh of the dead which is buried in the ground turns to dust, and how can dust become alive? The sage answered him: A drop of semen is nothing but a fluid yet becomes a person, and how much more easily can dust become a person. The same sage brought proof of the natural, actual reality of life being formed from dust and water — one who walks in the valley can see a mouse which is half flesh and half dirt and after a while becomes all flesh, meaning that dirt can become flesh. The sage further strengthened his argument and stated that one who goes out to the mountain before the rains will not see snails, but after the rains, without delay, the mountain will be covered with snails, showing that the snails are made from rainwater and dirt. This reality teaches, said the sage to the apostate, that the dead will be resurrected instantaneously and not over a long period of time, following the example of the mouse which was dirt and only some time later became fully alive.
(Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 91a)