Hell: What the Bible REALLY Teaches
 

II.

WHAT IS SHEOL?

In the Old Testament, it is often said of those who have breathed their last and died, that they have been "gathered" to their fathers, or to their people. The word "gathered" used in such expressions is from the Hebrew ASAPH, which means, among other things, to gather together or to gather up.(1) Such phrases occur many times in Scripture. For example:

Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, AND WAS GATHERED UNTO HIS PEOPLE. (Gen. 25:8, NKJV)

Does this mean that Abraham was gathered up into heaven? Was that where his "fathers" or "people" were to be found? Again,

And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, AND WAS GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE. (Gen. 49:33, NKJV)

Jacob also was gathered to his people. Did he believe he would go to heaven to be with Abraham when he died? Let's see.

When Jacob thought that his son Joseph had been killed by wild beasts,

... all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him.; but he refused to be comforted, and he said: 'FOR I SHALL GO DOWN INTO THE GRAVE [SHEOL] TO MY SON in mourning. (Gen. 37:35, NKJV)

Jacob obviously did not believe his son was up in heaven, nor did he believe that he himself would ascend there at death. Rather, Jacob believed he would go DOWN into SHEOL! Where then are "the people" or "the fathers" to whom the righteous patriarchs believed they would be gathered after having breathed their last and died? THEY ARE ALL DOWN IN SHEOL!

According to Young's Analytical Concordance the Hebrew word SHEOL occurs 65 times in the Old Testament. The translators of the King James Version rendered it "hell" 31 times, "grave" 31 times and "pit" 3 times. Needless to say, this has caused quite a bit of confusion!

Back in 1611 "hell" was a good translation of SHEOL. Webster's 1828 American Dictionary reveals that our English word "hell" was derived from the Old Saxon "helan," which simply meant "to cover." In old England, the covering over of a roof with thatch was called "heling" it. To cover up potatoes in a root cellar was called "heling" them. Today, however, the word "hell" evokes images of throngs of helpless people mercilessly tormented in an endless flame while being poked and prodded by demons with pitchforks!

How different the Biblical teaching regarding the condition of both the saved and unsaved dead:

There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. (Job 3:17-18, KJV).(2)

The KJV renders SHEOL as "grave" 31 times. This is a fairly good rendering, but it is still a bit confusing. For we tend to think of a grave in an individual or singular sense --- much like a tomb. But in Hebrew the word QEBER covers this range of meanings. In the KJV QEBER is rendered "grave" 35 times, "sepulchre" 26 times and burying place 6 times. Finally, the KJV renders SHEOL as "pit" 3 times. The problem here is that they also render 11 other Hebrew words as "pit." Therefore, several modern translations --- such as the RSV and the NASV --- leave SHEOL untranslated in order to avoid confusion. But this brings us right back to our original question. Just what is SHEOL? What does the word actually mean?

The etymology of SHEOL is uncertain. Some scholars derive it from SHAAL,(3) which means to ask or to inquire,---as if to say of the dead: "Which way did they go?" Other scholars suggest the Hebrew stem SHILAH which means to be quiet or to be at ease.(4) As we shall see, this latter suggestion matches up well with the many Scriptural depictions of the state of the dead in SHEOL. Nevertheless, for a serviceable English definition of SHEOL, I have found none more Scriptural or lucid than that given by Johannes Pedersen in his book Israel: It's Life and Culture:

Sheol is the entirety into which all graves are merged; ... Where there is grave, there is sheol, and where there is sheol, there is grave. (Vol. 1, p.462)

In other words, in contrast to the Hebrew word QEBER, which denotes an individual grave or tomb, SHEOL SIGNIFIES THE COMMON GRAVE OF MANKIND, OR "GRAVEDOM."


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