Hell(gehenna)
“The unseen place or hollow region; Gehenna from Ge-Hinnom, Valley of Hinnom”
Summary
Hell in Scripture translates three distinct terms: Sheol (Hebrew) and Hades (Greek) referring to the unseen realm of the dead, and Gehenna (Greek) referring to the place of eternal punishment for the wicked.
☩The Hebrew Sheol
Sheol occurs 65 times in the Old Testament and is variously translated 'grave,' 'hell,' and 'pit' in English versions. The word properly signifies 'the covered or invisible place'—the habitation of those who have departed from the visible world. Whether derived from a root meaning 'to demand' (referencing its insatiable appetite) or from a root meaning 'to be hollow,' Sheol denotes a vast subterranean place. The Septuagint almost uniformly renders Sheol by Hades. In some passages Sheol clearly means the grave; in others it conveys the notion of punishment.
☩The Greek Hades
Hades, derived from a privative and 'to see,' means 'the invisible' or unseen region. In the New Testament, Hades is used for the realm of departed spirits without deciding whether it is a place of misery or happiness. In this sense the creeds say of Christ, 'He descended into Hades'—meaning the state of the dead generally. Yet elsewhere Hades is used of a place of torment, as in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Christ holds 'the keys of death and of Hades,' and at the final judgment both death and Hades deliver up their dead before being cast into the lake of fire.
☩Gehenna: The Valley of Hinnom
Gehenna (Greek) derives from the Hebrew 'Ge-Hinnom,' the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem. There idolatrous kings made their children pass through the fire to Moloch in the most barbarous rites. Josiah defiled the place by strewing it with human bones, and it became Jerusalem's rubbish heap where fires continually burned to consume refuse and the bodies of criminals. The valley with its perpetual fires, gnawing worms, and abominable memories became a type of eternal punishment. Unlike Hades, Gehenna is never used for the grave or simply the unseen world, but exclusively for the place of final punishment.
☩Jesus' Teaching on Gehenna
Our Lord Jesus used Gehenna twelve times in the Gospels to warn of eternal punishment. He spoke of 'Gehenna of fire' where both body and soul are destroyed, where 'their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.' He declared it better to enter life maimed than to be cast whole into Gehenna. Jesus warned the scribes and Pharisees: 'How can ye escape the judgment of Gehenna?' The language is figurative but represents corresponding realities never yet experienced, therefore conveyed only through figures. It is solemnly significant that He who is Love incarnate most plainly warned men of hell.
☩The Lake of Fire
The lake of fire is the final destiny of the beast, the false prophet, the devil, and all whose names are not found in the Book of Life. It is described as 'the second death' from which there is no return. The phrase 'forever and ever' occurs twenty times in the New Testament—sixteen times of God, once of saints' blessedness, and three times of the punishment of the wicked; it strains credulity that seventeen uses are of absolute eternity while three are of limited duration. Jesus prepared hell originally for the devil and his angels, but the wicked will also be cast there.
Related Verses89 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Hell," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Hell," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.George Morrish, "Hell," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Hell," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 5.James Hastings (ed.), "Hell," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).