Sheol
Encyclopedia
Sheol is the "grave", "pit", or "abyss
" in Hebrew. She'ol is the earliest conception of the afterlife
in the Jewish scriptures. It is a place of darkness to which all dead go, regardless of the moral choices made in life, and where they are "removed from the light of God" (see the Book of Job
). In the Tanakh
sheol is the common destination of both the righteous and the unrighteous flesh, as recounted in Ecclesiastes
and Job
.
When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek
in ancient Alexandria
around 200 BCE the word "hades
" (underworld) was substituted for "sheol". (see Hellenistic Judaism
).
The New Testament
(written in Greek) also uses "hades" to refer to the abode of the dead. (Revelation 20:13) The belief that those in sheol awaited the resurrection either in comfort (in the bosom of Abraham
) or in torment may be reflected in the story of the New Testament of Lazarus and Dives
. English translations of the Hebrew scriptures have variously rendered the word sheol as "Hell
" or "the grave".
She'ol is a concept that predates the Christian
and Muslim
ideas of judgement after death and also predates, and is different from, Heaven
and Hell
. It is unclear whether sheol was to be considered a real place or a way of describing the unknown status of a person's conscious being.
Biblical scholar William Foxwell Albright suggested that the Hebrew root for SHE'OL is SHA'AL, which means "to ask, to interrogate, to question."
As regards the origin not of the term but of the concept, the Jewish Encyclopedia
considers more probable the view that it originated in animistic
conceits: "With the body in the grave remains connected the soul (as in dreams): the dead buried in family graves continue to have communion (comp. Jer. xxxi. 15). Sheol is practically a family grave on a large scale. Graves were protected by gates and bolts; therefore Sheol was likewise similarly guarded. The separate compartments are devised for the separate clans, sects, and families, national and blood distinctions continuing in effect after death. That Sheol is described as subterranean is but an application of the custom of hewing out of the rocks passages, leading downward, for burial purposes."
, the Tanach (The Tanach includes all 3 "books" of Judaism
, the Torah
/ תּוֹרָה, the Kotvim / Ketuvim
(writings), and the Nevi'im / Neviim (Prophets)), the word "sheol" occurs more than 60 times. It is used most frequently in the Psalms
, wisdom literature and prophetic books.
Jacob
, distraught at the reported death of Joseph, exclaims: "I shall go down to my son a mourner unto Sheol" (Genesis 37:35).
Other examples of its usage:
It is also important to note that people escaped death and were taken to be with God in Old Testament writings. Examples include the following:
(Genesis 5:24) – "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."
(2 Kings 2:11) – "Then it came about as they were going along and talking, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven."
the view of She'ol is much the same as Ecclesiastes
: "Who will sing praises to the Most High in Hades, as do those who are alive and give thanks? From the dead, as from one who does not exist, thanksgiving has ceased; he who is alive and well sings the Lord's praises. (Sirach 17:27–28)
community on She'ol, and whether their texts reflect any consistent view.
(ca. 160 BCE) purportedly records Enoch's
vision of the cosmos. The author describes She'ol as divided into four sections: one where the faithful saints blissfully await Judgment Day (see Bosom of Abraham
), one where the moderately good await their reward, one where the wicked are punished and await their Judgment at the resurrection (see Gehenna
), and the last where the wicked who do not even warrant resurrection are tormented.
The Apocalypse of Zephaniah
(ca.100 BCE – 70 CE) represents Sheol/Hades approximately as divided into two sides equivalent to the picture given in the parable of the Bosom of Abraham
. A significant difference is the presence of an angelic ferryman, whereas in Luke 16 the chasm cannot be crossed. “Triumph, prevail because thou hast prevailed and hast triumphed over the accuser, and thou hast come up from Hades and the abyss. Thou wilt now cross over the crossing place.” (Apoc. Zeph. 7:9)
largely follows models of the Hebrew Bible. The "Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades" found in the edition of the Complete Works by William Whiston
is actually a 3rd century commentary on Luke 16 by Hippolytus.
follows the Septuagint in translating sheol as hades
(compare Acts 2:27, 31 and Psalm 16:10). The New Testament thus seems to draw a distinction between Sheol and "Gehinnom" or Gehenna
(Jahannam
in Islam
). The former is regarded as a place where the dead go temporarily to await the Resurrection of the dead
, while the latter is the place of eternal punishment for the damned (i.e. perdition
). Accordingly, in the book of Saint John's Revelation
, hades is associated with death (Revelation 1:18, 6:8), and in the final judgment the dead are brought out of hades and the wicked are cast into the lake of fire
, which represents the fire of Gehenna; hades itself is also finally thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation
20:11–15).
The English
word "hell
" comes from Germanic mythology
, and is now used in the Judeo-Christian
sense to translate the Hebrew word Gehenna
– a term which originally referred to a valley outside Jerusalem used for burning refuse, but came to designate the place of punishment for sin
ners. Although older translations (such as the King James Version) also translated Hades
as "hell", modern English translations tend to preserve the distinction between the two concepts by transliterating the word hades and reserving "hell fire" for gehenna fire.
, sheol is a place of "nothingness" that has its roots in the Hebrew Bible.
Harris shares similar remarks in his Understanding the Bible: "The concept of eternal punishment does not occur in the Hebrew Bible, which uses the term Sheol to designate a bleak subterranean region where the dead, good and bad alike, subsist only as impotent shadows. When Hellenistic Jewish
scribes rendered the Bible into Greek, they used the word Hades to translate Sheol, bringing a whole new mythological association to the idea of posthumous existence. In ancient Greek myth, Hades, named after the gloomy deity who ruled over it, was originally similar to the Hebrew Sheol, a dark underground realm in which all the dead, regardless of individual merit, were indiscriminately housed." Many hold that the Bible contains one doctrine of Hell with the adumbrations of the Old Testament becoming clearer in the light of the New; others, such as Harris and historical-critical Bible scholars, see variation and evolution in the doctrine throughout the Bible.
The dead in Sheol were called rephaim and conceptualised as empty shades, or ghosts, who could (according to Isa 29:4) only communicate in hushed squeaks. The only way to contact them was through necromancy
, as seen in 1 Sam 28:8–19, where the Witch of Endor
summons the ghost of the deceased prophet Samuel at the behest of King Saul.
However, a Spiritual Deliverance from Sheol was contemplated in the Old Testament, and carried forward in the New Testament by Jewish Scholars, although of a divided opinion. Psalm 16:10 says, "For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit." In the New Testament, this is reflected in the speech of the Apostle Peter to the people of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when he says, "Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 'He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.'" The Apostle Paul quotes the same scripture in Acts 13:35, when speaking to the Jews in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch in modern day Turkey, Paul quoted Psalm 16:10, saying, "you will not allow your Holy One to see decay", as to illustrate how God would raise the Messiah after death, or the resurrection. Later, Paul caused a great rift in the Jewish leaders when he was having to defend his proclamation of the resurrection, by stating, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead". When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. (See Acts 23: 6-8). Thus, Jewish scholars were divided on the resurrection from Sheol. To the Sadducees, Jesus replied that as God was "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" as both Sadducees and Pharisees prayed, he was not the God of the dead, but the God of the living, and that with the resurrection people were similar to the angels.
Abyss (religion)
Abyss refers to a bottomless pit, to the underworld, to the deepest ocean floor, or to hell.The English word "abyss" derives from the late Latin abyssimus through French abisme , hence the poetic form "abysm", with examples dating to 1616 and earlier to rhyme with "time"...
" in Hebrew. She'ol is the earliest conception of the afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
in the Jewish scriptures. It is a place of darkness to which all dead go, regardless of the moral choices made in life, and where they are "removed from the light of God" (see the Book of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
). In the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
sheol is the common destination of both the righteous and the unrighteous flesh, as recounted in Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
and Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
.
When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
in ancient Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
around 200 BCE the word "hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
" (underworld) was substituted for "sheol". (see Hellenistic Judaism
Hellenistic Judaism
Hellenistic Judaism was a movement which existed in the Jewish diaspora that sought to establish a Hebraic-Jewish religious tradition within the culture and language of Hellenism...
).
The New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
(written in Greek) also uses "hades" to refer to the abode of the dead. (Revelation 20:13) The belief that those in sheol awaited the resurrection either in comfort (in the bosom of Abraham
Bosom of Abraham
"Bosom of Abraham" refers to the place of comfort in sheol where the Jews said the righteous dead awaited Judgment Day.-Origin of the phrase:The word found in the Greek text for "bosom" is , meaning "lap" "bay"...
) or in torment may be reflected in the story of the New Testament of Lazarus and Dives
Lazarus and Dives
The Parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a well known parable of Jesus which appears in one of the Four Gospels of the New Testament....
. English translations of the Hebrew scriptures have variously rendered the word sheol as "Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
" or "the grave".
She'ol is a concept that predates the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
ideas of judgement after death and also predates, and is different from, Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. It is unclear whether sheol was to be considered a real place or a way of describing the unknown status of a person's conscious being.
Etymology
The origin of the term sheol is obscure. One theory is that Sheol is connected to ša'al, the root of which means "to burrow" and is thus related to šu'al "fox" or "burrower".Biblical scholar William Foxwell Albright suggested that the Hebrew root for SHE'OL is SHA'AL, which means "to ask, to interrogate, to question."
As regards the origin not of the term but of the concept, the Jewish Encyclopedia
Jewish Encyclopedia
The Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
considers more probable the view that it originated in animistic
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
conceits: "With the body in the grave remains connected the soul (as in dreams): the dead buried in family graves continue to have communion (comp. Jer. xxxi. 15). Sheol is practically a family grave on a large scale. Graves were protected by gates and bolts; therefore Sheol was likewise similarly guarded. The separate compartments are devised for the separate clans, sects, and families, national and blood distinctions continuing in effect after death. That Sheol is described as subterranean is but an application of the custom of hewing out of the rocks passages, leading downward, for burial purposes."
Sheol in the Hebrew Bible
In the Hebrew BibleHebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, the Tanach (The Tanach includes all 3 "books" of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
/ תּוֹרָה, the Kotvim / Ketuvim
Ketuvim
Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm in actual Biblical Hebrew is the third and final section of the Tanak , after Torah and Nevi'im . In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa"...
(writings), and the Nevi'im / Neviim (Prophets)), the word "sheol" occurs more than 60 times. It is used most frequently in the Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, wisdom literature and prophetic books.
Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, distraught at the reported death of Joseph, exclaims: "I shall go down to my son a mourner unto Sheol" (Genesis 37:35).
Other examples of its usage:
- JobBook of JobThe Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
7:9 "Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who go down to Sheol will not come back." - Psalm 6:4–5 "Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?"
- Psalm 18:5–7 "The breakers of death surged round about me; the menacing floods terrified me. The cords of Sheol tightened; the snares of death lay in wait for me. In my distress I called out: LORD! I cried out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry to him reached his ears.
- Psalm 86:13: "Your love for me is great; you have rescued me from the depths of Sheol."
- Psalm 139:8: "If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there."
- JonahBook of JonahThe Book of Jonah is a book in the Hebrew Bible. It tells the story of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah ben Amittai who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission...
2:2: "...Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice." - ProverbsBook of ProverbsThe Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
30:16:"Sheol is never satiated..."
It is also important to note that people escaped death and were taken to be with God in Old Testament writings. Examples include the following:
(Genesis 5:24) – "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."
(2 Kings 2:11) – "Then it came about as they were going along and talking, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven."
Deuterocanonical books
In the Wisdom of SirachSirach
The Book of the All-Virtuous Wisdom of Jesus ben Sira , commonly called the Wisdom of Sirach or simply Sirach, and also known as Ecclesiasticus or Siracides , is a work from the early 2nd century B.C. written by the Jewish scribe Jesus ben Sirach of Jerusalem...
the view of She'ol is much the same as Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
: "Who will sing praises to the Most High in Hades, as do those who are alive and give thanks? From the dead, as from one who does not exist, thanksgiving has ceased; he who is alive and well sings the Lord's praises. (Sirach 17:27–28)
Dead Sea Scrolls
There is still debate surrounding the views of the QumranQumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
community on She'ol, and whether their texts reflect any consistent view.
Pseudepigrapha
Visits to Hades are a common feature of several pseudepigrapha. The Book of EnochBook of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
(ca. 160 BCE) purportedly records Enoch's
Enoch (ancestor of Noah)
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson , the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah...
vision of the cosmos. The author describes She'ol as divided into four sections: one where the faithful saints blissfully await Judgment Day (see Bosom of Abraham
Bosom of Abraham
"Bosom of Abraham" refers to the place of comfort in sheol where the Jews said the righteous dead awaited Judgment Day.-Origin of the phrase:The word found in the Greek text for "bosom" is , meaning "lap" "bay"...
), one where the moderately good await their reward, one where the wicked are punished and await their Judgment at the resurrection (see Gehenna
Gehenna
Gehenna , Gehinnom and Yiddish Gehinnam, are terms derived from a place outside ancient Jerusalem known in the Hebrew Bible as the Valley of the Son of Hinnom ; one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City.In the Hebrew Bible, the site was initially where apostate Israelites and...
), and the last where the wicked who do not even warrant resurrection are tormented.
The Apocalypse of Zephaniah
Apocalypse of Zephaniah
The Apocalypse of Zephaniah is an ancient pseudepigraphic text attributed to the Biblical Zephaniah and so associated with the Old Testament, but not regarded as scripture by Jews or any Christian group. It was rediscovered and published at the end of 19th century...
(ca.100 BCE – 70 CE) represents Sheol/Hades approximately as divided into two sides equivalent to the picture given in the parable of the Bosom of Abraham
Bosom of Abraham
"Bosom of Abraham" refers to the place of comfort in sheol where the Jews said the righteous dead awaited Judgment Day.-Origin of the phrase:The word found in the Greek text for "bosom" is , meaning "lap" "bay"...
. A significant difference is the presence of an angelic ferryman, whereas in Luke 16 the chasm cannot be crossed. “Triumph, prevail because thou hast prevailed and hast triumphed over the accuser, and thou hast come up from Hades and the abyss. Thou wilt now cross over the crossing place.” (Apoc. Zeph. 7:9)
Hellenistic Judaism
JosephusJosephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
largely follows models of the Hebrew Bible. The "Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades" found in the edition of the Complete Works by William Whiston
William Whiston
William Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
is actually a 3rd century commentary on Luke 16 by Hippolytus.
Sheol in the New Testament
The New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
follows the Septuagint in translating sheol as hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
(compare Acts 2:27, 31 and Psalm 16:10). The New Testament thus seems to draw a distinction between Sheol and "Gehinnom" or Gehenna
Gehenna (disambiguation)
Gehenna is the Jewish version of Hell, named after the Hinnom valley outside of JerusalemGehenna may also refer to:In fiction:*Gehenna , girlfriend of DC Comics character Jason Rusch, the current Firestorm...
(Jahannam
Jahannam
Jahannam is the Arabic language equivalent to Hell. The term comes from the Greek Gehenna, itself derived from the Hebrew geographical name for the Valley of Hinnom.-Jahannam in the Qur'an:...
in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
). The former is regarded as a place where the dead go temporarily to await the Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
, while the latter is the place of eternal punishment for the damned (i.e. perdition
Perdition
Perdition may refer to:*Hell in Christian beliefs*Son of perdition*Perdition , by Jim Allen*Road to Perdition , a series of fictional works by Max Allan Collins...
). Accordingly, in the book of Saint John's Revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
, hades is associated with death (Revelation 1:18, 6:8), and in the final judgment the dead are brought out of hades and the wicked are cast into the lake of fire
Lake of Fire
A lake of fire appears, in both ancient Egyptian and Christian religion, as a place of after-death punishment of the wicked. The phrase is used in four verses of the Book of Revelation. The image was also used by the Early Christian Hippolytus of Rome in about the year 200 and has continued to be...
, which represents the fire of Gehenna; hades itself is also finally thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
20:11–15).
The English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word "hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
" comes from Germanic mythology
Germanic mythology
Germanic mythology is a comprehensive term for myths associated with historical Germanic paganism, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, Continental Germanic mythology, and other versions of the mythologies of the Germanic peoples...
, and is now used in the Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
sense to translate the Hebrew word Gehenna
Gehenna (disambiguation)
Gehenna is the Jewish version of Hell, named after the Hinnom valley outside of JerusalemGehenna may also refer to:In fiction:*Gehenna , girlfriend of DC Comics character Jason Rusch, the current Firestorm...
– a term which originally referred to a valley outside Jerusalem used for burning refuse, but came to designate the place of punishment for sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
ners. Although older translations (such as the King James Version) also translated Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
as "hell", modern English translations tend to preserve the distinction between the two concepts by transliterating the word hades and reserving "hell fire" for gehenna fire.
Historical outlook
According to Professors Stephen L. Harris and James TaborJames Tabor
James D. Tabor is Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he has taught since 1989. He previously held positions at Ambassador College , the University of Notre Dame , and the College of William and Mary .-Background:Tabor was born in...
, sheol is a place of "nothingness" that has its roots in the Hebrew Bible.
- "The ancient Hebrews had no idea of an immortal soul living a full and vital life beyond death, nor of any resurrection or return from death. Human beings, like the beasts of the field, are made of "dust of the earth," and at death they return to that dust (Gen. 2:7; 3:19). The Hebrew word nepheshNepheshThe Bible portrays the concept of Soul most commonly using the Hebrew word nephesh and the Greek word psyche.The Greek Septuagint mostly uses psyche to translate nephesh...
, traditionally translated "living soul" but more properly understood as "living creature," is the same word used for all breathing creatures and refers to nothing immortal...All the dead go down to Sheol, and there they lie in sleep together – whether good or evil, rich or poor, slave or free (Job 3:11–19). It is described as a region "dark and deep," "the Pit," and "the land of forgetfulness," cut off from both God and human life above (Pss. 6:5; 88:3–12). Though in some texts YHWH's power can reach down to Sheol (Ps. 139:8), the dominant idea is that the dead are abandoned forever. This idea of Sheol is negative in contrast to the world of life and light above, but there is no idea of judgment or of reward and punishment. If one faces extreme circumstances of suffering in the realm of the living above, as did Job, it can even be seen as a welcome relief from pain–see the third chapter of Job. But basically it is a kind of "nothingness," an existence that is barely existence at all, in which a "shadow" or "shade" of the former self survives (Ps. 88:10)."
Harris shares similar remarks in his Understanding the Bible: "The concept of eternal punishment does not occur in the Hebrew Bible, which uses the term Sheol to designate a bleak subterranean region where the dead, good and bad alike, subsist only as impotent shadows. When Hellenistic Jewish
Hellenistic Judaism
Hellenistic Judaism was a movement which existed in the Jewish diaspora that sought to establish a Hebraic-Jewish religious tradition within the culture and language of Hellenism...
scribes rendered the Bible into Greek, they used the word Hades to translate Sheol, bringing a whole new mythological association to the idea of posthumous existence. In ancient Greek myth, Hades, named after the gloomy deity who ruled over it, was originally similar to the Hebrew Sheol, a dark underground realm in which all the dead, regardless of individual merit, were indiscriminately housed." Many hold that the Bible contains one doctrine of Hell with the adumbrations of the Old Testament becoming clearer in the light of the New; others, such as Harris and historical-critical Bible scholars, see variation and evolution in the doctrine throughout the Bible.
The dead in Sheol were called rephaim and conceptualised as empty shades, or ghosts, who could (according to Isa 29:4) only communicate in hushed squeaks. The only way to contact them was through necromancy
Necromancy
Necromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...
, as seen in 1 Sam 28:8–19, where the Witch of Endor
Witch of Endor
The Witch of Endor, sometimes called the Medium of Endor, was a woman who called up the ghost of the recently deceased prophet Samuel, at the demand of King Saul of the Kingdom of Israel in the First Book of Samuel, chapter...
summons the ghost of the deceased prophet Samuel at the behest of King Saul.
However, a Spiritual Deliverance from Sheol was contemplated in the Old Testament, and carried forward in the New Testament by Jewish Scholars, although of a divided opinion. Psalm 16:10 says, "For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit." In the New Testament, this is reflected in the speech of the Apostle Peter to the people of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost when he says, "Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, 'He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.'" The Apostle Paul quotes the same scripture in Acts 13:35, when speaking to the Jews in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch in modern day Turkey, Paul quoted Psalm 16:10, saying, "you will not allow your Holy One to see decay", as to illustrate how God would raise the Messiah after death, or the resurrection. Later, Paul caused a great rift in the Jewish leaders when he was having to defend his proclamation of the resurrection, by stating, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead". When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. (See Acts 23: 6-8). Thus, Jewish scholars were divided on the resurrection from Sheol. To the Sadducees, Jesus replied that as God was "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" as both Sadducees and Pharisees prayed, he was not the God of the dead, but the God of the living, and that with the resurrection people were similar to the angels.
External links
- Sheol entry in Jewish Encyclopedia