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 (Prov. 30:15, 16). It is rendered “grave” thirty-one times (Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Sam. 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” (Prov. 21:16). It is (a) the abode of the wicked (Num. 16:33; Job 24:19; Ps. 9:17; 31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Ps. 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; Ezek. 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 (1 Pet. 3:19), with gates and bars and locks (Matt. 16:18; Rev. 1:18), and it is downward (Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15). The righteous and the wicked are separated. The blessed dead are in that part of hades called paradise (Luke 23:43). They are also said to be in Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16:22). (3.) Gehenna, in most of its occurrences in the Greek New Testament, designates the place of the lost (Matt. 23:33). The fearful nature of their condition there is described in various figurative expressions (Matt. 8:12; 13:42; 22:13; 25:30; Luke 16:24, etc.). (See HINNOM.)

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]

HELL. The Old Testament.— The Hebrew word for hell is Sheol, which corresponds to the Greek Hades, and means the under-world or the realm of the dead. It is derived by some from the root "to demand" (hence the "grasping" or "insatiable"), by others from the root "to make hollow" (comp. the German Holle with Huble), so as to mean the vast subterranean receptacle and resting-place of the dead. Sheol is variously translated in our English Bible by the terms "hell," "pit," and "grave." In many places it is rightly translated "grave." 1 Sam 2:6; Job 14:13, etc. Sheol is represented as in the depths of the earth, Job 11:8; Prov 9:18, dark, Isa 38:10, all-devouring, Prov 1:12, destitute of God's presence, Ps 88:10-12, a state of forgetfulness, Ps 6:5, insatiable, Isa 5:14, remorseless, Cant. Isa 8:6, and a place of silence, Eccl 9:10. The Hebrew notions about it were vague and indefinite. It was regarded as the place where worldly occupations, good or bad, did not enter. Eccl 9:10; Job 3:13-20. It can by no means be made out that the term refers exclusively or definitely to infernal anguish. But it no less certainly represented terror and repulsiveness to the Hebrew mind. The New Testament. — The two words translated "hell" are Hades and Gehenna. Hades occurs eleven times, and is once rendered "grave," 1 Cor 15:55; in all other places "hell." It evidently does not refer to the ultimate abode of the impenitent and the final state of exclusion from God, but to the disembodied state between death and the final judgment of the Son of man, when he shall come in his glory, Matt 16:27. After the crucifixion, our Lord descended into hades, Acts 2:27, and this is an article of the Apostles' Creed, where, however, we use wrongly the word "hell." It was in this realm that our Lord "preached to the spirits in prison," 1 Pet 3:19. See Hades. The term Gehenna, which occurs twelve times, more nearly corresponds to our word "hell." It signified primarily the valley of Hinnom or the deep, narrow valley south of Jerusalem which had been the seat of the worship of Moloch. Jer 7:31; 2 Chr 33:6; 2 Kgs 23:10. It afterward was turned into a place for the deposit of the filth and dead animals of the city. Hence this term was applied to the final state and abode of lost souls. Matt 5:29; Ezr 10:28; Matt 23:15; Jas 3:6, etc. It is here that "their worm dieth not" and the "fire is not quenched," Matt 17:9. Into this realm the rebellious angels were cast, 2 Pet 2:4 (where the word is a derivative from "Tartarus"). At the great day of judgment the cursed shall go away into this abode and receive the everlasting punishment. Matt 25:46.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. The place of the dead, or of souls after death; the grave; -- called in Hebrew sheol, and by the Greeks hades. He descended into hell. Book of Common Prayer. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. Ps. xvi. 10.

2. The place or state of punishment for the wicked after death; the abode of evil spirits. Hence, any mental torment; anguish. "Within him hell." Milton. It is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell. Shak.

3. A place where outcast persons or things are gathered; as:

4. A dungeon or prison; also, in certain running games, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.

5. A gambling house. "A convenient little gambling hell for those who had grown reckless." W. Black.

6. A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his broken type. Hudibras. Gates of hell. (Script.) See Gate, n., 4.

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To overwhelm. [Obs.] Spenser.