Hell: The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna)

AKA: Hades, the grave, the pit, Sheol, Gehenna,
Abaddon, Abyss, and Tartarus, Tophet,
Lake of Fire.

 

This Post will hopefully, disambiguate some of the names and conflicts surrounding the term hell.

 

Here are the various words used to describe hell or the afterlife in the Bible:
Hebrew Words (Old Testament):
  1. Sheol (שְׁאוֹל) – underworld, grave, or pit (Genesis 37:35, Psalm 6:5)
  2. Abaddon (אֲבַדּוֹן) – destruction or abyss (Job 26:6, Psalm 88:11)
  3. Gehenna (גֵּיהִנֹּם) – Valley of Hinnom, symbolizing hell (2 Kings 23:10)
  4. Tophet (תֹּפֶת) – place of burning (Isaiah 30:33)
Greek Words (New Testament):
  1. Hades (ᾍδης) – underworld, place of the dead (Matthew 11:23, Luke 10:15)
  2. Gehenna (Γέεννα) – hell, place of punishment (Matthew 5:22, Mark 9:43-47)
  3. Tartarus (Ταρτάρος) – deepest part of Hades (2 Peter 2:4)
  4. Abyss (ἄβυσσος) – bottomless pit (Luke 8:31, Revelation 9:1-2)
Other Descriptions:
  1. Outer darkness (Matthew 8:12, 22:13)
  2. Lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15)
  3. Furnace of fire (Matthew 13:42, 13:50)
  4. Eternal fire (Jude 1:7)
Concepts and Metaphors:
  1. Separation from God (Matthew 7:23, 2 Thessalonians 1:9)
  2. Punishment for sin (Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:12-15)
  3. Eternal conscious torment (Revelation 20:10)
  4. Destruction or annihilation (Matthew 10:28)
Important Notes:
  1. Sheol and Hades are not always synonymous with hell.
  2. Gehenna and Tartarus have distinct connotations.
  3. Biblical language often employs metaphors and symbolism.

 

Hell = used 55x in total.  32x = OT; 22x = NT; 

  1. Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
  1. 2 Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
  1. Ezra 10:35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,
  1. Job 11:8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
  1. Job 26:6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.
  1. Psalms 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
  1. Psalms 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
  1. Psalms 18:5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
  1. Psalms 55:15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
  1. Psalms 86:13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
  1. Psalms 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
  1. Psalms 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
  1. Proverbs 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
  1. Proverbs 7:27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
  1. Proverbs 9:18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
  1. Proverbs 15:11 Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
  1. Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
  1. Proverbs 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
  1. Proverbs 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
  1. Isaiah 5:14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
  1. Isaiah 14:9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
  1. Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
  1. Isaiah 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
  1. Isaiah 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
  1. Isaiah 57:9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
  1. Ezekiel 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
  1. Ezekiel 31:17 They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
  1. Ezekiel 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
  1. Ezekiel 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
  1. Amos 9:2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
  1. Jonah 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
  1. Habakkuk 2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
  1. Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
  1. Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, 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.
  1. Matthew 5:30 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.
  1. Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
  1. Matthew 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
  1. Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
  1. Matthew 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
  1. Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
  1. Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
  1. Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
  1. Mark 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
  1. Mark 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
  1. Luke 10:15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
  1. Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
  1. Luke 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
  1. Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
  1. Acts 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
  1. James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
  1. 2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
  1. Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
  1. Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
  1. Revelation 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
  1. Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

 

 

The concept of hell is referenced explicitly or implicitly in the four Gospels as follows:
Matthew:
  1. Explicit references: 11 times
    • Matthew 5:22 (Gehenna)
    • Matthew 5:29-30 (Gehenna)
    • Matthew 10:28 (destroy both soul and body)
    • Matthew 11:23 (Hades)
    • Matthew 13:42 (furnace of fire)
    • Matthew 13:50 (furnace of fire)
    • Matthew 18:9 (Gehenna)
    • Matthew 22:13 (outer darkness)
    • Matthew 23:15 (Gehenna)
    • Matthew 23:33 (Gehenna)
    • Matthew 25:41 (eternal fire)
    • Matthew 25:46 (eternal punishment)
  2. Implicit references: 5 times
    • Matthew 7:13-14 (narrow/wide gate)
    • Matthew 8:12 (outer darkness)
    • Matthew 12:32 (eternal sin)
    • Matthew 13:24-30 (parable of weeds)
    • Matthew 24:51 (hypocrites cast out)
Mark:
  1. Explicit references: 4 times
    • Mark 9:43-47 (Gehenna)
    • Mark 9:48 (Gehenna)
    • Mark 9:49 (salted with fire)
  2. Implicit references: 2 times
    • Mark 4:11-12 (parable of sower)
    • Mark 10:30 (eternal life)
Luke:
  1. Explicit references: 4 times
    • Luke 10:15 (Hades)
    • Luke 12:5 (Hades)
    • Luke 16:23-24 (Hades)
    • Luke 16:28 (tormented in Hades)
  2. Implicit references: 3 times
    • Luke 13:24-28 (narrow door)
    • Luke 14:13-14 (outer darkness)
    • Luke 20:47 (woe to Pharisees)
John:
  1. Explicit references: 0 times (no direct mention of hell)
  2. Implicit references: 5 times
    • John 3:36 (wrath of God)
    • John 5:29 (resurrection to life or condemnation)
    • John 10:28 (eternal life)
    • John 12:25 (hate life, gain eternal life)
    • John 17:12 (lost to perdition)
Total:
  • Explicit references: 19 times (Matthew: 11, Mark: 4, Luke: 4)
  • Implicit references: 15 times (Matthew: 5, Mark: 2, Luke: 3, John: 5)
Keep in mind:
  • Some passages may have multiple interpretations.
  • These counts focus on explicit and implicit references to hell or related concepts.

 

The concept of hell is referenced explicitly or implicitly in the Book of Revelation:
Explicit References:
  1. Lake of Fire (7 times):
    • Revelation 19:20
    • Revelation 20:10
    • Revelation 20:14
    • Revelation 20:15
    • Revelation 21:8
    • Revelation 21:27
  2. Hades (2 times):
    • Revelation 6:8
    • Revelation 20:13
  3. Abyss (3 times):
    • Revelation 9:1-2
    • Revelation 9:11
    • Revelation 11:7
  4. Eternal Punishment (2 times):
    • Revelation 14:9-11
    • Revelation 20:10
  5. Outer Darkness (1 time):
    • Revelation 22:15
Implicit References:
  1. Separation from God (5 times):
    • Revelation 6:16-17
    • Revelation 11:18
    • Revelation 14:7
    • Revelation 16:1
    • Revelation 20:15
  2. Destruction (4 times):
    • Revelation 11:18
    • Revelation 17:8
    • Revelation 18:9
    • Revelation 19:20
  3. Eternal Death (2 times):
    • Revelation 2:11
    • Revelation 20:6
Total References:
Explicit: 14 times
Implicit: 11 times
Total: 25 times
Key Themes:
  1. Final Judgment
  2. Eternal Consequences
  3. Separation from God
  4. Destruction of Evil
  5. New Heaven and New Earth
Symbolism and Metaphors:
  1. Lake of Fire: represents eternal punishment
  2. Hades: symbolizes temporary holding place for the wicked
  3. Abyss: represents deep chasm or void
  4. Outer Darkness: represents separation from God’s presence
Interpretative Approaches:
  1. Literalism
  2. Allegorical
  3. Symbolic
  4. Apocalyptic

 

Gehenna and Tartarus are two distinct concepts in biblical literature:
Gehenna (Γέεννα):
Connotations:
  1. Valley of Hinnom (Jerusalem’s trash dump)
  2. Place of burning, fire, and destruction
  3. Symbolized eternal punishment and judgment
  4. Associated with idolatry and child sacrifice (2 Kings 23:10)
Biblical References:
  1. Matthew 5:22, 29-30
  2. Matthew 10:28
  3. Matthew 18:9
  4. Matthew 23:15, 33
  5. Mark 9:43-47
  6. Luke 12:5
  7. James 3:6
Tartarus (Ταρτάρος):
Connotations:
  1. Deepest part of Hades (underworld)
  2. Place of confinement and torment
  3. Associated with fallen angels and wicked spirits
  4. Symbolized darkness, chaos, and rebellion
Biblical Reference:
  1. 2 Peter 2:4
Key Differences:
  1. Location: Gehenna (earthly valley) vs. Tartarus (deepest Hades)
  2. Purpose: Gehenna (punishment for humans) vs. Tartarus (confinement for fallen angels)
  3. Nature: Gehenna (fire, destruction) vs. Tartarus (darkness, chaos)
Theological Implications:
  1. Gehenna emphasizes human accountability and judgment.
  2. Tartarus highlights the consequences of angelic rebellion.
Historical Background:
  1. Gehenna’s origins: ancient Jerusalem’s valley of Hinnom.
  2. Tartarus’s roots: Greek mythology (e.g., Hesiod’s Theogony).
Interpretative Approaches:
  1. Literalism: understands Gehenna and Tartarus as physical locations.
  2. Allegorical: views them as symbolic representations of spiritual realities.

 

Outlines courtesy of: Meta.AI

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