Hell (Easton)

DIC dictionary-entry · status:draft · license:PD

Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times. This word sheol is derived from a root-word meaning "to ask," "demand;" hence insatiableness ( Proverbs 30:15,16 ). It is rendered "grave" thirty-one times ( Genesis 37:35 ; 42:38 ; 44:29,31 ; 1 Samuel 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" ( Proverbs 21:16 ). It is (a) the abode of the wicked ( Numbers 16:33 ; Job 24:19 ; Psalm 9:17 ; 31:17 , etc.); (b) of the good ( Psalm 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 ( Numbers 16:30,33 ; Ezekiel 31:15,16,17 ). 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 Peter 3:19 ), with gates and bars and locks ( Matthew 16:18 ; Revelation 1:18 ), and it is downward ( Matthew 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 ). Gehenna, in most of its occurrences in the Greek New Testament, designates the place of the lost ( Matthew 23:33 ). The fearful nature of their condition there is described in various figurative expressions ( Matthew 8:12 ; 13:42 ; 22:13 ; 25:30 ; Luke 16:24 , etc.). (See HINNOM .)

Source

• part_of source-manifest/easton — Easton's Bible Dictionary (PD)