Gehenna, The “Hell” Jesus Preached
In general, over the past few hundred years, “hell” has been most commonly used to talk about the final fate of the wicked. Interestingly enough, out of the four words that hell is translated from in the Bible, only one is linked to the final fate of the wicked. Like many topics of the Bible, to understand what “hell” is, you must first go back to the Bible’s original languages. This is true, because unfortunately most translations just don’t translate accurately when it comes to the word “hell”. Once you look at the original languages, you’ll find that there are four words translated to hell in English translations(primarily the King James Version). The four words are: the Hebrew word Sheol, and Greek words Gehenna, Hades, and Tartarus.
And while the word hell is translated from these 4 different words, we often mash the meanings all together along with the lake of fire(or the second death), creating confusion. Ultimately, I believe we have gotten very confused about the fate of the wicked because of this one word, “hell’.
The four words have 3 different meanings/locations.
I could go into much detail for each word; however, because this post is about Gehenna, I will only give a brief summary of Hades, Sheol, and Tartarus.
Hades/Sheol
Hades is the Greek word commonly translated in the septuagint for the Hebrew word, Sheol. Hades is also found in the New Testament, commonly translated to the English word, Hell. Hades and Sheol in the Bible are synonymous. Sheol was a place known in the old testament to be the place of the dead, where the righteous and the unrighteous go when they die. This is partly why Sheol is often also translated as “the grave”.
The word Hades appears in the New Testament 10 times. Most modern translations now accurately use the word “Hades”, but the King James Version still translates the word to “hell” every time.
Sheol appears in the Old Testament 65 times in total. Like Hades, in modern translations, Sheol is more commonly represented as “Sheol” than it was in older translations. The King James Version translates the word to “hell” a total of 31 times, “grave” a total of 31 times, and “pit” a total of 3 times.
Tartarus
Tartarus(or tartaroo) is a Greek word used in Greek Mythology as the deep abyss, an afterlife place that holds the wicked where they are depicted to be in continual torment and suffering. It is also the place where the Titans are held imprisoned.
This word is used only one time in the New Testament, in 2 Peter 2:4. In this passage, Peter says that God casted the sinful angels to Tartarus, committing them to chains of gloomy darkness to be held until judgment day.
Most translations still translate this word to “hell”.
Gehenna
Gehenna or Geenna, is a transliteration of the Hebrew term Gehinnom. Gehenna is a physical location on Earth and is a valley on the Southwest side of Jerusalem.
Why the focus on Gehenna?
You have probably heard something along the lines of, “Jesus preached about hell more than anyone, so that is why I preach about it so much”, to justify the fire and brimstone, eternal damnation, eternal conscious torment, preaching style. While it is true that Jesus does talk about the fate of the wicked often, he never talks about “hell”. He does, however, talk about Gehenna, the eternal fire, eternal punishment, lake of fire, etc. Again, as I have pointed out, hell is a word translated from 4 different words that have 3 different meanings.
Gehenna is found in the New Testament 12 times: 11 of the times it is a quote from Jesus(Seven times by Matthew, Three times by Mark, and one time by Luke), and the one other time is in James.
The Gospel of Matthew was primarily written to Jews. Matthew is believed to quote the Old Testament 62 times. This adds up with him using Gehenna the most, because his jewish audience would not only know where the valley is, but the Old Testament significance would be at the forefront of their minds when reading “Gehenna” in context.
What Gehenna is Not
Many preachers, teachers, theologians, and even many study bibles teach that Gehenna was a trash dump for Jerusalem in Jesus’s day. This is even taught in seminary. As the myth goes, when Jesus mentioned Gehenna, the people would think about the trash dump where a fire was always burning, consuming trash 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The problem with this myth is that there is no proof that Gehenna was ever a trash dump. There has never been any archeological evidence supporting this idea. In fact, the ancient garbage dumps that have been found were located on the southeast side of the city near the Kidron Valley. The valley of Gehenna is located southwest of Jerusalem.
The second problem with this myth is that the earliest reference that has been found of Gehenna being a garbage dump was around 1200 AD in a commentary on Psalm 27 by a Jewish Rabi, David Kimchi. Somehow this idea caught on and is being preached and taught by many to this day.
What is the Old Testament Significance of Gehenna?
The valley of Gehenna is synonymous with The Valley of Hinnom, The Valley of Ben Hinnom, The Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and The Valley of Slaughter. Tophet or Topheth is also located in this valley. When you read about any of these places in the old testament, this is the same place Jesus is referring to.
In 2 Chronicles 28:3, King Ahaz “made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel”. In 2 Chronicles 33:6, King Manasseh burned his sons in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. Later, in 2 Kings 23:10, during King Josiah’s reformation, he defiled Topheth so “that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech”, like his father, grandfather, and others had done.
In Isaiah 30, Isaiah prophesies about the day of slaughter(verse 25), and in verse 33 it says “Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.”
The book of Isiah also closes out, with a line about The Valley of Slaughter but a prophesy of Judgment Day and after. This is after there are new heavens and a new earth, Chapter 66 verse 24 says “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” Jesus quotes this exact verse in Mark 9:48 when he is talking about Gehenna.
In Jeremiah 7, the Lord gives Jeremiah a message for Judah. While going on about all the evil of the people of Judah, verse 31 says “They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire - something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.”. Then he goes on to explain that there is a coming time that the valley will no longer be called The Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. Verse 32b says “for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room”.
In Jeremiah 19, he is prophesying to the kings of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, about a time that is coming that the Lord will bring a disaster upon them because of their evil. In verse 6, he says again that there will come a time “when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter”. Verse 11b says “They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.”
Israel took this Valley and built altars to strange gods in it. Kings sacrificed their children to Molech at Tophet, in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. For this reason, God took this valley and said that there will soon be a day when this Valley will be called the Valley of Slaughter, because he will judge the people of Jerusalem for their wickedness. In Jeremiah 19:7, Jeremiah prophesies that God will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem and He will make them fall by the sword before their enemies. This being one prophecy of Israel being taken over by King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.
You can read about the fall of Israel in 2 Kings 25 and 2 Chronicles 36:15-23. Specifically in 2 Chronicles 36:17 You read that God brought against Israel the king of the Babylonians who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and handed them all over to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Piecing Together the Old and New Testaments
The Valley of Slaughter was a place known to be where the wicked will lie dead, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves, lying out, exposed. Where the carcasses would be given as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. Where those who rebelled against God will lie dead.
In the New Testament, when Jesus mentions Gehenna, he is referring to the ultimate fate of the wicked, but he isn’t talking about some new place called “hell”. Jesus is using a place that is full of imagery for the Jews. Different imagery that all depicts one thing.. death.
The valley of Gehenna is the place where the wicked will lie dead, destroyed, and their flesh left for food for worms, birds of the air, and beasts of the earth. Topheth has been prepared, a fire pit made deep and wide with an abundance of fire and wood, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning sulfur, that sets it ablaze(Isaiah 30:33). I would say the connections between The Valley of Slaughter of the Old Testament and Gehenna of the New, are clear. The connections between The pit of fire at Topheth and The Lake of Fire/Lake of Burning Sulphur/Fiery Furnace/Eternal Fire are a little harder to connect, but still parallel.
When you piece together the Valley of Slaughter, Gehenna, The Pit of Fire at Topheth, and The Lake of Fire, it becomes a much clearer picture. Is Jesus talking about the fate of the wicked when he says “Gehenna”? Yes, I absolutely believe he is. Is he talking about a place where people are currently burning and will be for all of eternity? I don’t believe so.
The Eternal Fire or Lake of Fire, I believe to be in the Valley of Gehenna, is a place described to be one of the two judgment locations after the second coming of the Lord, on Judgment day. This is the place where the unrighteous will be cast into, when Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, the righteous from the unrighteous, not a place where anyone is currently. Gehenna is contrasted with life 3 times in Mark 9:42-48, too often for it to be a depiction of anything but death. And remember, in Mark 9:48, Jesus says Gehenna is “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched”, which is a quote from Isaiah 66, talking about dead bodies. A depiction of death. Gehenna is a place where God will destroy both the soul and body(Matthew 10:23-28 and Luke 12:4-5).
Concussion
Using the word “hell” when referring to a Christian concept of the fate of the wicked, does an injustice to God’s word. It was an injustice to use the word “hell” for four different words with 3 different meanings. Gehenna is the only of the four words that actually has a connection to the fate of the wicked. Gehenna, when you look into the full biblical history, has a clear depiction of an unconscious death for those who rebel against God. I believe that it would do Chrisitans and non-christians justice to phase the word “hell” out of our vocabulary. If we used each of the four terms with their correct context, it would cause less confusion when it comes to the subject of the fate of the wicked and what happens after death.