Psalm 16:10
Sheol in the Hebrew Bible.
BIBLE QUESTION DOSSIER
What does the Bible mean by “hell”?
Short answer
English “hell” can translate several different Hebrew and Greek terms. Sheol, Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus are not interchangeable words, and the New Testament also uses images such as fire, destruction, exclusion, judgment and “the second death.”
This dossier separates the biblical vocabulary before addressing the major Christian views of final judgment. A reader should not assume that every occurrence of “hell” in an English Bible represents the same ancient word or image.
1. What do the English translations actually say?
The five translations below are stored locally on Born Again Daily, so you can see the wording before anyone tells you what to think about it.
Matthew 10:28
Jesus uses Gehenna in a warning about judgment.
KJV
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.
BSB
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
WEB
Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
ASV
And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
YLT
‘And be not afraid of those killing the body, and are not able to kill the soul, but fear rather Him who is able both soul and body to destroy in gehenna.
Luke 16:23
Hades appears in the rich man and Lazarus account.
KJV
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
BSB
In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
WEB
In Hades, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom.
ASV
And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
YLT
and in the hades having lifted up his eyes, being in torments, he doth see Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom,
Matthew 25:46
A key text in debates over eternal punishment.
KJV
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
BSB
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
WEB
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
ASV
And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.
YLT
And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during.’
Revelation 20:14-15
Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire, called the second death.
KJV
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
BSB
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
WEB
14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
ASV
14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. 15 And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
YLT
14 and the death and the hades were cast to the lake of the fire—this is the second death; 15 and if any one was not found written in the scroll of the life, he was cast to the lake of the fire.
2. What do the Hebrew and Greek words say?
Important: a lexicon gives a word’s possible senses and usage; it does not magically choose the correct sense without context. “The true meaning” of a biblical word is the meaning it carries in its actual sentence and historical usage.
שְׁאוֹל (sheol)
Hebrew term for the realm/grave of the dead; its range is broader than many modern uses of “hell.”
H7585 • שְׁאוֹלshe.ol — hell: Sheol
Sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit 1a) the underworld 1b) Sheol-the OT designation for the abode of the dead 1b1) place of no return 1b2) without praise of God 1b3) wicked sent there for punishment 1b4) righteous not abandoned to it 1b5) of the place of exile (fig) 1b6) of extreme degradation in sin
ᾍδης (Hadēs)
Greek underworld/realm-of-the-dead term, often corresponding to Sheol.
G86 • ᾍδηςHadēs — hell: Hades
ᾅδης, -ου, ὁ [in LXX ehiefly for שְׁאוֹל, also for דּוּמָה, מָוֶת, etc. ;] 1. in Hom., Hades (Pluto), the god of the underworld. 2. the abode of Hades, the underivorld; in NT, the abode of departed spirits, Hades: ἐν τ. ᾅ., Luk.16:23; εἰς ᾅ., Act.2:27,31; πύλαι ᾅδου, Mat.16:18; κλεῖς τοῦ ᾅ., Rev.1:18; metaphorically, ἕως ᾅ., Mat.11:23, Luk.10:15; personified, Rev.6:8 20:13,14 (Cremer, 67, 610; MM, VGT, see word). † (AS)
γέεννα (geenna)
Gehenna, derived from the Valley of Hinnom, used by Jesus in judgment sayings.
G1067 • γέενναgeenna — hell: Gehenna
γέεννα (γέενα, Mrk.9:45, Rec.), -ης, ἡ (perh. through Aram. גֵּיהִנָּם, from Heb. גֵּי הִנֹּם, Neh.11:30; גֵּי בֶּן־הִנֹּם, Jhn.18:16; גֵּי בּנֵי־הִנֹּם, 4Ki.23:10; valley of (the son, sons of) lamentation); [in LXX the nearest approach to γ. is γαίεννα, Jos.18:16 (Γαὶ Ὀννόμ, A), elsewhere φάραγξ Ὀνόμ (Jos.15:8, al.), V. Swete on Mrk.9:43 ;] Gehenna, a valley W. and S. of Jerusalem, which as the site of fire-worship from the time of Ahaz, was desecrated by Josiah and became a dumping-place for the offal of the city. Later, the name was used as a symbol of the place of future punishment, as in NT: Mat.5:29, ; 10:28, Mrk.9:43, 45 47, Luk.12:5, Jas.3:6; γ. τ. πυρός, Mat.5:22 18:19, prob. with ref. to fires of Moloch (DB, ii, 119b); υἱὸς γεέννης, Mat.23:15; κρίσις γεέννης, 23:33.† (AS)
ταρταρόω (tartaroō)
A verb used once in 2 Peter 2:4 for casting rebellious angels into Tartarus.
G5020 • ταρταρόωtartaroō — hell: Tartarus
ταρταρόω, -ῶ (Τάρταρος, a Greek name for the underworld, esp. the abode of the damned), to cast into hell: 2Pe.2:4 (see Mayor, in l).† (AS)
αἰώνιος (aiōnios)
“Eternal/age-related”; central to Matthew 25:46 and debates over duration.
G166 • αἰώνιοςaiōnios — eternal
αἰώνιος, -ον (as usual in Attic), also -α, -ον. 2Th.2:16, Heb.9:12; (αἰών), [in LXX chiefly for עוֹלָם ;] age-long, eternal, (a) of that which is without either beginning or end: Rom.16:26, Heb.9:14; (b) of that which is without beginning: Rom.16:25, 2Ti.1:9, Tit.1:2; (with) of that which is without end (MM, VGT, see word): σκηναί, Luk.16:9 οἰκία, 2Co.5:1; διαθήκη, Heb.13:20; εὐαγγέλιον, Rev.14:6; παράκλησις, 2Th.2:16; λύτρωσις, Heb.9:12; κληρονομία, ib. 15; κόλασις, Mat.25:46; κρίμα, Heb.6:2; κρίσις, Mrk.3:29; ὄλεθρον, 2Th.1:9; πῦρ, Mat.18:8; frequently with ζωή, which see SYN.: ἀΐδιος, which see (AS)
3. Where interpretation begins
Eternal conscious punishment
The dominant historic view in much of Western Christianity reads the judgment texts as teaching irreversible, conscious punishment without end.
Conditional immortality / annihilationism
Some Christians understand final judgment as destruction or death rather than endless conscious suffering, emphasizing language such as perish, destruction and second death.
Universal reconciliation
A minority Christian tradition argues that divine judgment is ultimately restorative and that God finally reconciles all people; critics dispute whether this fits the strongest judgment texts.
4. A careful conclusion
The Bible uses several distinct words and metaphors for death and final judgment. Any responsible conclusion should identify which term a passage uses before importing a complete doctrine of “hell” into it. The duration and nature of final punishment remain major interpretive questions among Christians.