What is Gehenna? What is Hell?

Question

It has been pointed out there is a difference between the Jewish place called Gehenna and the Christian place called Hell. What's the difference? My interest is piqued!!!!

Answer 1

A hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. Hells are almost always depicted as underground. In Christianity and Islam, hell is fiery. Hells from other traditions, however, are sometimes cold and gloomy. Some hells are described in graphic and gruesome detail (for example, Hindu Naraka). Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell as endless (for example, see Hell in Christian beliefs). Religions with a cyclic history often depict hell as an intermediary period between incarnations (for example, see Chinese Di Yu). Punishment in hell typically corresponds to sins committed in life. Sometimes these distinctions are specific, with damned souls suffering for each wrong committed (see for example Plato's myth of Er), and sometimes they are general, with sinners being relegated to one or more chamber of hell or level of suffering (for example, Augustine of Hippo asserting that unbaptized infants suffer less in hell than unbaptized adults). In Islam and Christianity, however, faith and repentance play a larger role than actions in determining a soul's afterlife destinty.

Gehenna (or Gehenom or Gehinom), in Jewish eschatology, is a fiery place where the wicked are punished after they die or on Judgment Day. Gehenna also appears in the New Testament and early Christian writing, and appears in Islam as Jahannam.

The word traces to Greek, ultimately from Hebrew: גי(א)-הינום‎ Gêhinnôm (also Guy ben-Hinnom (Hebrew: גיא בן הינום‎) meaning the Valley of Hinnom's son.[1] The valley forms the southern border of ancient Jerusalem and stretches from the foot of Mt. Zion, eastward, to the Kidron Valley. It is first mentioned in Joshua 15:8.[1] Originally it referred to a garbage dump in a deep narrow valley right outside the walls of Jerusalem (in modern-day Israel) where fires were kept burning to consume the refuse and keep down the stench. It is also the location where bodies of executed criminals, or individuals denied a proper burial, would be dumped. In addition, this valley was frequently not controlled by the Jewish authority within the city walls; it is traditionally held that this valley was used as a place of religious child-sacrifice to Moloch by the Canaanites outside the city.

Like Sheol, Gehenna is sometimes translated as Hell.

Answer 2

First of all, the Torah doesn't mention "Hell", nor is that word in the the rest of the Christian bible's Old Testament. Not in the original.

It's Gehenna or Sheol, not "Hell".

The word Gehenna traces to Greek, and before that from Hebrew: גי(א)-הינום Gêhinnôm (also Guy ben-Hinnom (Hebrew: גיא בן הינום)) meaning the Valley of Hinnom. The valley forms the southern border of ancient Jerusalem and stretches from the foot of Mt. Zion, eastward, to the Kidron Valley. It is first mentioned in Joshua 15:8. Originally it referred to a garbage dump in a deep narrow valley right outside the walls of Jerusalem (in modern-day Israel) where fires were kept burning to consume the refuse and keep down the stench. It is also the location where bodies of executed criminals, or individuals denied a proper burial, would be dumped.

Like Sheol, Gehenna is sometimes translated as "Hell", which is fine...but the IDEA of Gehenna, in the process of translation and interpretation took on an UNintended meaning, a wrong meaning..


Why would a garbage dump be considered a place of torment? Well, the only immortality that people have (in Jewish tradition) is in being remembered by others. The traditional Yahrzeit (the ceremony to mark the annual anniversary of the death of a person) is one way in which the memory of a deceased Jew is kept alive. The yahrzeit is observed by lighting a twenty-four hour candle the evening before the day of the yahrzeit, and most people recite the Kaddish and take a few moments of introspection and thought. Most congregations recite the name of the deceased whose yahrzeit is being observed during the Shabbat services closest to the date.

Naming one's children after a deceased relative is another way to keep alive the memory of the dead.

So....in summary, the whole idea of "Hell" as a place of eternal torment is a misinterpretation of the Jewish idea that being lost to memory is the worst thing that can happen to someone. Having one's body thrown onto the trash heap rather then being buried in sanctified ground with a commemorative headstone, and not being remembered through ritual, prayer, or having one's name passed along to future generations - THAT is the original horror that has been changed into the idea of the soul in eternal torment in the flames of "Hell".

Answer 3

HELL: in the OT 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 a place of misery or happiness. It is clear that in may passages of the OT "Sheol" can only mean "Grave," and so rendered in the Authorized version; i.e. Gen 37:35; 42:38; 1Sam. 2:6 & Job 14:13. In other passages, however, it seems to involve a notion a punishment, and is therefore rendered in the Authorized Version by the word "Hell." But in many cases this translation misleads the reader. In the NT "Hell" is a translation of two words, Hades and Gehenna(Which is relate to "The Valley of Hinnom.") The word "Hades" like "Sheol" sometimes, merely means "The Grave." i.e. Acts 2:31; 1Cor. 15:55, Rev. 20:13 or in general, The Unseen World. It is in this sense that the creeds say of our Lord, "He went dwon to hell," meaning the state of the dead in general, without any restriction of happiness or misery. Elsewhere in the NT Hades is used of a place of torment, Matt. 11:23; Luke 16:23; 2 Pet. 2:4; etc. consequently it has been the prevalent, almost the universal notion that Hades is an imtermediate state between death and resurrection, divided into two parts, one the abode of the blest and the other of the lost. It is used 11 times in the NT and only once translated "grave." (1Cor.15:55) The word most frehquently used (occuring 12 times) in the NT 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.

Answer 4

There was a place called Gehenna where the Jews burned their garbage back then, but we see examples of hell all throughout the Bible. That is where the Christians get the doctrine of eternal punishment. I believe the reason why many Jews and even Christians have had a problem with hell is because they are either anti-supernatural or anti-resurrection, or that they are simply conceptualizing God into their own image saying things like "well my god would never do anything like that."

If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. -Revelation 20:15

Answer 5

Gehenna can still be seen from the wall around the Old City in Jerusalem. It has been cleaned up and is now a park. That is the place of punishment mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. A hell of fire and brimstone has never been a part of Judaism. Many Jews think of it as a short period of cleansing. None of God's children suffer eternal punishment. The Christian hell comes from either Zoroathriastrainism or Mithras -- not Judaism!

The book of Revelation is not included in the Tanach (Hebrew Bible).

Another punishment mentioned in the Hebrew Bible is sheol. The root of the Hebrew word "sheol" is "question." Therefore when condemned to sheol, one goes down to the grave, i.e. sheol or the unknown.

There is no central belief about the afterlife in Judaism because it has very little to do with the teachings of Judaism. Judaism teaches us how to live this life and admonishes us to have faith and to go forward doing what God wants of us. All of our rituals and traditions are reminders of what God wants of us -- actions, not beliefs. I may not like my neighbor, but I must treat him with love and respect. Judaism is a "community" religion vs. the salvation of the individual. We must learn to live together and respect one another regardless of our differences. We have "faith" that God will treat us justly in the afterlife -- if there is one.

Judaism has many, many questions and few answers. If it's answers you want, stick with Christianity.

http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm#Resurrection

Answer 6

Gehenna in the Quran is called "Gehennam"

at this place is the punishment of God, the one fire on earth is equal to 1/ 70parts compare to Gehennam. at this place it's a real torturing, real screaming, real fire.

at this place a person will see all kind of painful punishment, Gehannam has different level depending on how much you disbelieve and went estray. Iblish (Satan) will get one of the tough level punishment in Hell, which a punishment no eyes have seen.

Answer 7

Gehenna is what the others have said a place where dead bodies were thrown who were deemed not deserving of a burial.
There was a fire kept buring there always to dispose of garbage dead animals and dead humans. Those who would lodge on the ledges above the flames were eaten up by worms.
Isaiah 66:24 aluded to it when he said: " And they will actually go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that were transgressing against me for the very worms upon them will not die and fire itself will not be extinguished and they must become something repulsive to all flesh."
Notice it wasn't the men who did not die but the worms!
In other words the people thrown in there had no future hope of life. In Revelation it is called the lake of fire, or the second death.

(John 5:28-29) 28 Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.

(Acts 24:15) 15 and I have hope toward God, which hope these [men] themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

(Revelation 20:13-15) 13 And the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Ha´des gave up those dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds. 14 And death and Ha´des were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire. 15 Furthermore, whoever was not found written in the book of life was hurled into the lake of fire.

(Matthew 10:28) 28 And do not become fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body in Ge·hen´na.
So the body can be destroyed like it was in the valley of Gehenna.
Either by being burned up or by the worms. Either way it is a symbol of what happens to bad people they are gone.
As God said to Adam: "for dust you are and to dust you will return." complete distruction.

Answer 8

the word "Gehenna" comes from the hebrew bible and is a valley west of the old city of Jerusalem wich is named "Gey-ben hinnom"
meaning the valley of Hinnom. This place was used for sacrifieces of human beings (children) and in order to overcome the cries of the victims much noise was created. Look at Jeremia, 32,35.
later "geybenhinnom" turned into "Gehinnom" or "Gehenna", and was translated into Hell.
Until today the hebrew word for Hell is "Gehinnom"

Answer 9

Gehenna (In Judaism) is a place your soul goes for purification before returning to G-d.

Hell is (In Christianity) a place of eternal torment that Jews do not believe in.

Answer 10

Hell:
What is the condition of the dead? When pronouncing sentence upon Adam, Jehovah stated: "Dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19) Where was Adam before God formed him from the dust of the ground and gave him life? Why, he simply did not exist! When he died, Adam returned to that state of complete absence of life. The condition of the dead is made clear at Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, where we read: "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." (New International Version) Scripturally, death is a state of nonexistence. The dead have no awareness, no feelings, no thoughts.

Since the dead have no conscious existence, hell cannot be a fiery place of torment where the wicked suffer after death. What, then, is hell? Examining what happened to Jesus after he died helps to answer that question. The Bible writer Luke recounts: "Neither was [Jesus] forsaken in Hades [hell, King James Version] nor did his flesh see corruption."* (Acts 2:31) Where was the hell to which even Jesus went? The apostle Paul wrote: "I handed on to you . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, yes, that he has been raised up the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4) So Jesus was in hell, the grave, but he was not abandoned there, for he was raised up, or resurrected.

Consider also the case of the righteous man Job, who suffered much. Wishing to escape his plight, he pleaded: "Who will grant me this, that thou mayest protect me in hell [Sheol], and hide me till thy wrath pass?" (Job 14:13, Douay Version) How unreasonable to think that Job desired to go to a fiery-hot place for protection! To Job, "hell" was simply the grave, where his suffering would end. The Bible hell, then, is the common grave of mankind where good people as well as bad ones go.


Gehenna:
The lake of fire has a meaning similar to that of "the fiery Gehenna [hell fire, King James Version]" that Jesus spoke of. (Matthew 5:22; Mark 9:47, 48) Gehenna occurs 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, and it refers to the valley of Hinnom, outside the walls of Jerusalem. When Jesus was on earth, this valley was used as a garbage dump, "where the dead bodies of criminals, and the carcasses of animals, and every other kind of filth was cast." (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible) The fires were kept burning by adding sulfur to burn up the refuse. Jesus used that valley as a proper symbol of everlasting destruction.

As does Gehenna, the lake of fire symbolizes eternal destruction. Death and Hades are "hurled into" it in that they will be done away with when mankind is freed from sin and the condemnation of death. Willful, unrepentant sinners will also have their "portion" in that lake. (Revelation 21:8) They too will be annihilated forever. On the other hand, those in God's memory who are in hell—the common grave of mankind—have a marvelous future.



This was taken from the article What Really is Hell?

http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2002/7/15/article_02.htm