16 Hell
HELL, NAMES AND HISTORY
O.T. Names and Translations
The word Hell in the O.T. is always a translation of the Hebrew word Sheol, which occurs 64 times, and is rendered “hell” 32 times, “grave” 29 times, and “pit” 3 times in the King James Version.
The radical and primary meaning is, “Covering” or “Grave”
(Gen. 37:35; Job 14:13; Ps. 6:5, 139:8)
Reference is made to righteous men going to 'sheol' i.e. "hell" - "the grave".
Gen. 37:35: Jacob went to sheol
Job. 14:13; 17:13: Job went to sheol
Ps. 49:15; 88:3: David went to sheol
Isa. 38:10: King Hezekiah went to sheol.
Ps. 16:10: Jesus went to sheol.
All five of these righteous men went to sheol - hell. They did not go to a place of
fiery torment miles beneath the surface of the earth. They simply went to the grave.
The wicked join the righteous in sheol at death. All go to the same place.
Num. 16:30, 33 Korah and his rebels were plunged into a "pit" (sheol).
1Ki. 2:6 Joab, a merciless man of blood ended up in sheol.
1Ki. 2:9 Shimei, who cursed David with a grievous curse went to sheol.
Job 21:13; 24:19 says that all the wicked who reject God go to sheol.
Ps. 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into sheol.
Ps. 31:17 Let the wicked be ashamed and let them be silent in sheol.
Isa. 14:9,11,15 The ungodly king of Babylon went to sheol.
N.T. Names and Translations -
There are three words translated “Hell” in the N.T., Hades and Tartarus, which are Greek, and Gehenna, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew words Gee and Hinnom, meaning “the valley of Hinnom.”
Hades occurs eleven times and is rendered “grave” once, and “hell” ten times.
Hades first or primary meaning is, grave or state of the dead. Hades is also used in a figurative sense to represent a state of degradation, calamity, or suffering. Hades is also a name of a Greek mythological god of the underworld.
Tartarus occurs only once. (2 Pet. 2:4 no time duration noted)
Gehenna (Greek Geenna; Hebrew Ge Hinnom), Valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem. Because some of the Israelites are supposed to have sacrificed their children to Moloch there (see 2 Ki. 23:10), the valley came to be regarded as a place of abomination. In a later period it was made a refuse dump, and perpetual fires were maintained there to prevent pestilence. Thus, in the New Testament, Gehenna became synonymous with hell. (Today it is a nice green park in Israel.)
(Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15; 23:33; Mk. 9:43, 45, 47; Lk. 12:5; Ja. 3:6)
Eternal Fire – the fire that utterly consumes, and destroys.
(see Conditional Salvation section)
Ps. 37:20 But the wicked perish, they vanish - like smoke they vanish away.
Matt. 3:10 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down thrown in the fire .
History of Hell -
Many sources conclude that the doctrine of “eternal torments and punishments” for the wicked originated from Hindu, Persian, Egyptian, and Grecian religions.
