Dictionaries :: Hell

Hell:

derived from the Saxon helan, to cover; hence the covered or the invisible place. In Scripture there are three words so rendered:

(1.) Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times. This word sheol is derived from a root-word meaning "to ask," "demand;" hence insatiableness (Pro 30:15,16). It is rendered "grave" thirty-one times (Gen 37:35; 42:38; 44:29,31; 1Sa 2:6, etc.). The Revisers have retained this rendering in the historical books with the original word in the margin, while in the poetical books they have reversed this rule.

In thirty-one cases in the Authorized Version this word is rendered "hell," the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of sheol are "the congregation of the dead" (Pro 21:16). It is (a) the abode of the wicked (Num 16:33; Job 24:19; Psa 9:17; 31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Psa 16:10; 30:3; 49:15; 86:13, etc.).

Sheol is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (10:21,22), with bars (17:16). The dead "go down" to it (Num 16:30,33; Eze 31:15,16,17).

(2.) The Greek word hades of the New Testament has the same scope of signification as sheol of the Old Testament. It is a prison (1Pe 3:19), with gates and bars and locks (Mat 16:18; Rev 1:18), and it is downward (Mat 11:23; Luk 10:15).

The righteous and the wicked are separated. The blessed dead are in that part of hades called paradise (Luk 23:43). They are also said to be in Abraham's bosom (Luk 16:22).

(3.) Gehenna, in most of its occurrences in the Greek New Testament, designates the place of the lost (Mat 23:33). The fearful nature of their condition there is described in various figurative expressions (Mat 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 25:30; Luk 16:24, etc.). (See HINNOM.)

Hell:

hel (see SHEOL; HADES; GEHENNA):

1. The Word in the King James Version:

The English word, from a Teutonic root meaning "to hide" or "cover," had originally the significance of the world of the dead generally, and in this sense is used by Chaucer, Spenser, etc., and in the Creed ("He descended into hell"); compare the English Revised Version Preface. Now the word has come to mean almost exclusively the place of punishment of the lost or finally impenitent; the place of torment of the wicked. In the King James Version of the Scriptures, it is the rendering adopted in many places in the Old Testament for the Hebrew word she'ol (in 31 out of 65 occurrences of that word it is so translated), and in all places, save one (1Co 15:55) in the New Testament, for the Greek word Hades (this word occurs 11 times; in 10 of these it is translated "hell"; 1Co 15:55 reads "grave," with "hell" in the margin). In these cases the word has its older general meaning, though in Lu 16:23 (parable of Rich Man and Lazarus) it is specially connected with a place of "torment," in contrast with the "Abraham's bosom" to which Lazarus is taken (16:22).

2. The Word in the Revised Version:

In the above cases the Revised Version (British and American) has introduced changes, replacing "hell" by "Sheol" in the passages in the Old Testament (the English Revised Version retains "hell" in Isa 14:9,15; the American Standard Revised Version makes no exception), and by "Hades" in the passages in the New Testament (see under these words).

3. Gehenna:

Besides the above uses, and more in accordance with the modern meaning, the word "hell" is used in the New Testament in the King James Version as the equivalent of Gehenna (12 t; Mt 5:22,29; 10:28, etc.). the Revised Version (British and American) in these cases puts "Gehenna" in the margin. Originally the Valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, Gehenna became among the Jews the synonym for the place of torment in the future life (the "Gehenna of fire," Mt 5:22, etc.; see GEHENNA).

4. Tartarus:

In yet one other passage in the New Testament (2Pe 2:4), "to cast down to hell" is used (the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American)) to represent the Greek tartaroo, ("to send into Tartarus"). Here it stands for the place of punishment of the fallen angels: "spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits (or chains) of darkness" (compare Jude 1:6; but also Mt 25:41). Similar ideas are found in certain of the Jewish apocalyptic books (Book of Enoch, Book of Jubilees, Apocrypha Baruch, with apparent reference to Ge 6:1-4; compare ESCHATOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT).

On theological aspect, see PUNISHMENT, EVERLASTING. For literature, see references in above-named arts., and compare article "Hell" by Dr. D. S. Salmond in HDB.

Written by James Orr

Hell: The Valley of Hinnom.

And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into HELL. (Matthew 5:30)

Hell: Definition Of and General Scriptures Concerning

The word used in the King James Version of the O.T.to translate the hebrew word "sheol," signifying "the unseen state", in

Deu 32:22; 2Sa 22:6; Job 11:8; 26:6; Psa 9:17; 16:10; 18:5; 55:15; 86:13; 116:3; 139:8; Pro 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:11, 24; 23:14; 27:20; Isa 5:14; 14:9, 15; 28:15, 18; 57:9; Eze 31:16, 17; 32:21, 27; Amo 9:2; Jon 2:2; Hab 2:5.

Hell: Translations

Of the Greek word "hades" in N.T. of King James Version, "the unseen world,"

Mat 11:23; 16:18; Luk 10:15; 16:23; Act 2:27, 31; Rev 1:18; 6:8; 20:13, 14;

of the Greek word "gehenna," signifying "the place of torment,"

Mat 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mar 9:43, 45, 47; Luk 12:5; Jam 3:6;

of the Greek word "tartarus," signifying "the infernal region,"

2Pe 2:4.

Hell: Other Translations

"Sheol" is also translated "grave" in the King James Version in

Gen 37:35; 42:38; 44:29,31; 1Sa 2:6; 1Ki 2:6; 9; Job 7:9; 14:13; 17:13; 21:13; 24:19; Psa 6:5; 30:3; 31:17; 49:14,15; 88:3; 89:48; 141:7; Pro 1:12; 30:16; Ecc 9:10; Sgs 8:6; Isa 14:11; 38:10, 18; Eze 31:15; Hos 13:14;

"pit,"

Num 16:30, 33; Job 17:16.

Hell: Uses Of

The English revisers insert the Hebrew word "sheol" in places where hell, grave, and pit were used in the A.V. as translations of the word "sheol," except in

Deu 32:22; Psa 55:15; 86:13;

and in the prophetical books.

The American revisers invariably use "Sheol" in the American text, where it occurs in the original.

Hell: The Future Home of the Wicked

Psa 9:17; Pro 5:5; 9:13, 15-18; 15:24; 23:13, 14; Isa 30:33; 33:14; Mat 3:12; 5:29, 30; 7:13, 14; 8:11, 12; 10:28; 13:30, 38-42, 49, 50; 16:18; 18:8, 9, 34, 35; 22:13; 25:28-30, 41, 46; Mar 9:43-48; Luk 3:17; 16:23-26, 28; Act 1:25; 2Th 1:9; 2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6-23; Rev 2:11; 9:1, 2; 11:7; 14:10, 11; 19:20; 20:10, 15; 21:8

See WICKED, PUNISHMENT OF

Hell:

• Psa 9:17; Psa 139:8
• Pro 5:5; Pro 15:24; Pro 23:13
• Mat 5:22; Mat 5:29-30; Mat 7:13; Mat 10:28; Mat 13:38-42; Mat 13:49-50; Mat 16:18; Mat 23:15; Mat 23:33; Mat 25:28-30; Mat 25:41; Mat 25:46
• Mar 9:43; Mar 9:45; Mar 9:47
• Luk 12:5; Luk 16:23-24; Luk 16:26
• 2Th 1:9
• Jam 3:6
• 2Pe 2:4
• Jud 1:6
• Rev 1:18; Rev 6:8; Rev 9:1-2; Rev 14:10-11; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10; Rev 20:13-15; Rev 21:8

Hell: The Place of Disembodied Spirits

Act 2:31

Which Christ visited

Luk 23:43; Act 2:31; 1Pe 3:19

Contains, a place of rest, Abraham's bosom

Luk 16:23

Paradise

Luk 23:43

And a place of torment

Luk 16:23

Hell: The Place of Future Punishment

Destruction from the presence of God

2Th 1:9

Hell: Described As

Everlasting punishment

Mat 25:46

Everlasting fire

Mat 25:41

Everlasting burnings

Isa 33:14

A furnace of fire

Mat 13:42,50

A lake of fire

Rev 20:15

Fire and brimstone

Rev 14:10

Unquenchable fire

Mat 3:12

Devouring fire

Isa 33:14

Hell: Prepared for the Devil, &c

Mat 25:41

Hell: Devils Are Confined In, until the Judgment Day

2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6

Hell: Punishment Of, Is Eternal

Isa 33:14; Rev 20:10

Hell: The Wicked Shall Be Turned Into

Psa 9:17

Hell: Human Power Cannot Preserve From

Eze 32:27

Hell: The Body Suffers In

Mat 5:29; 10:28

Hell: The Soul Suffers In

Mat 10:28

Hell: The Wise Avoid

Pro 15:24

Hell: Endeavour to Keep Others From

Pro 23:14; Jud 1:23

Hell: The Society of the Wicked Leads To

Pro 5:5; 9:18

Hell: The Beast, False Prophets, and the Devil Shall Be

Rev 19:20; 20:10

Hell: The Powers Of, Cannot Prevail against the Church

Mat 16:18

Hell: Illustrated

Isa 30:33

Hell:

represents the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom (the valley of Tophet) and a corresponding Aramaic word; it is found twelve times in the NT, eleven of which are in the Synoptists, in every instance as uttered by the Lord Himself. He who says to his brother, Thou fool (see under FOOL), will be in danger of "the hell of fire," Mat 5:22; it is better to pluck out (a metaphorical description of irrevocable law) an eye that causes its possessor to stumble, than that his "whole body be cast into hell," Mat 5:29; similarly with the hand, Mat 5:30; in Mat 18:8, 9, the admonitions are repeated, with an additional mention of the foot; here, too, the warning concerns the person himself (for which obviously the "body" stands in chapt. 5); in ver. 8, "the eternal fire" is mentioned as the doom, the character of the region standing for the region itself, the two being combined in the phrase "the hell of fire," ver. 9. To the passage in Matt. 18, that in Mar 9:43-47, is parallel; here to the word "hell" are applied the extended descriptions "the unquenchable fire" and "where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched."

That God, "after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell," is assigned as a reason why He should be feared with the fear that keeps from evil doing, Luk 12:5; the parallel passage to this in Mat 10:28 declares, not the casting in, but the doom which follows, namely, the destruction (not the loss of being, but of well-being) of "both soul and body."

In Matt. 23 the Lord denounces the scribes and Pharisees, who in proselytizing a person "make him two-fold more a son of hell" than themselves (Mat 23:15), the phrase here being expressive of moral characteristics, and declares the impossibility of their escaping "the judgment of hell," Mat 23:33. In Jam 3:6 "hell" is described as the source of the evil done by misuse of the tongue; here the word stands for the powers of darkness, whose characteristics and destiny are those of "hell."

For terms descriptive of "hell," see e.g., Mat 13:42; 25:46; Phl 3:19; 2Th 1:9; Hbr 10:39; 2Pe 2:17; Jud 1:13; Rev 2:11; 19:20; 20:6, 10, 14; 21:8.

Notes:

(1) For the rendering "hell" as a translation of hades, corresponding to Sheol, wrongly rendered "the grave" and "hell," see HADES.

(2) The verb tartaroo, translated "cast down to hell" in 2Pe 2:4, signifies to consign to Tartarus, which is neither Sheol nor Hades nor Hell, but the place where those angels whose special sin is referred to in that passage are confined "to be reserved unto judgment;" the region is described as "pits of darkness," RV.

Hell:

In the Old Testament this is the word generally and unfortunately used by our translators to render the Hebrew Sheol. It really means the place of the dead, the unseen world, without deciding whether it be the place of misery or of happiness. It is clear that in many passages of the Old Testament Sheol can only mean "the grave," and is rendered in the Authorized Version; see, for example Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 1 Samuel 2:6; Job 14:13. In other passages, however, it seems to Involve a notion of punishment, and is therefore rendered in the Authorized Version by the word "hell." But in many cases this translation misleads the reader. In the New Testament "hell" is the translation of two words, Hades and Gehenna. The word Hades, like Sheol sometimes means merely "the grave," (Acts 2:31; 1 Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 20:13) or in general "the unseen world." It is in this sense that the creeds say of our Lord, "He went down into hell," meaning the state of the dead in general, without any restriction of happiness or misery. Elsewhere in the New Testament Hades is used of a place of torment (Matthew 11:23; Luke 16:23; 2 Peter 2:4 etc.); consequently it has been the prevalent, almost the universal, notion that Hades is an intermediate state between death and resurrection, divided into two parts one the abode of the blest and the other of the lost. It is used eleven times in the New Testament, and only once translated "grave." (1 Corinthians 15:55). The word most frequently used (occurring twelve times) in the New Testament for the place of future punishment is Gehenna or Gehenna of fire. This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their destruction. SEE [HINNOM].