Do you know where the origin of the word "hell" came from?

Question

it was a pagan word "hel" which meant a place of calm & peace.

It was pagan before it was christians. Seems like christians "borrow" a lot of pagan words and customs.

Ok i'm off a bit. I'm not great on knowing about norse religions so apparantly it is a goddess named hel.

Thanks to those who gave a more in depth reply to this! appreciated

Answer 1

It saddens me to see so many ready to trifle with your immortal soul.

Hell

Hell is one of those subjects that makes people uncomfortable. We hear stories of hell being a place of fire, demons, and endless torment. Throughout history many authors have written about it, Dante's Inferno for example. Western culture is very familiar with the concept. Even Hollywood has made it the subject of many movies. Whatever the context, whatever the belief, hell is definitely taught in the Bible. But even the doctrine of hell is not without its controversy. Some say it is only the grave with no consciousness. Others say it is a place of correction and punishment that is not eternal. Others say it is an endless agonizing punishment in fire. Whichever it is, hell is the total absence of the favor of God.

The words associated with Hell

Gehenna
In the OT, the word for hell is 'ge-hinnom' meaning "Valley of Hinnom." It was a place to the southwest of Jerusalem. This place was once "called 'Topheth' and derived from an Aramaic word meaning 'fireplace.' It was here that some pagan kings practiced human sacrifice by fire (2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6; Jer. 7:31; 32:25)(1). This is probably why in the NT the word came to be associated with destruction by fire. The word 'gehenna' is found in the NT 12 times and every instance is spoken of by Jesus. In the NT, "gehenna" is used of a condition and never of a place.

Hades
This word only occurs in the NT, ten times, and corresponds to the OT word "sheol." Jesus uses the word four times: Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23. The other six occur in Acts 2:27,31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13,14.
It was probably the "subterranean abode of all the dead until the judgment. It was divided into two departments, paradise or Abraham's bosom for the good, and Gehenna or hell for the bad."(2) In particular, in the account of Lazarus and the Rich man of (Luke 16:19-31), it is the place of the conscious dead who are wicked.

Sheol
"The Hebrew word Sheol is probably derived from a root "to make hollow," and was seen as the common receptacle of the dead and in the great many places the word appears in the OT, it is referring to the grave.(3) It is a place and is mentioned in Gen. 37:35; Num. 16:30,33; Psalm 16:10, etc. Sheol has many meanings in scripture: the grave, the underworld, the state of the dead. It was supposed to be below the surface of the earth (Ezek. 31:15,17; Psalm 86:13).

Is Hell Eternal Conscious Torment?

There are some Christian groups and many cults that deny the idea that hell, in the general sense, means eternal, conscious punishment. Some maintain that God's eternal punishment is annihilation, or non-existence. Others say it is temporal and that eventually all will be saved out of hell. Perhaps the most common objection is that a loving God would never punish people in eternal torment. We agree that God is love (1 John 4:8), but He is also just (Neh. 9:32-33; 2 Thess. 1:6), and eternal (Psalm 90:2; 1 Tim. 1:17 ). God punishes the evil doer (Isaiah 11:13) and this punishment will be eternal. But the question remains. Is this eternal punishment conscious or not?
There are verses that can be interpreted to support the idea that the dead are not conscious after death: (Ecc. 9:5 - the dead know nothing(4) and Psalm 146:4 - their thoughts perish, are good examples.) Other verses compare the dead to sleep: Acts 13:36; 1 Cor. 15:1-6; 1 Thess. 4:13, etc. But these latter verses are merely comparing the similarity between the appearance of the dead and the appearance of someone sleeping.

The Dead are Conscious After Death

The wicked descend alive into Sheol
Num. 16:30, "But if the Lord brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the Lord . . . 33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly."

Cast to outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth
Matt. 8:12, "but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Those cast into the fire suffer consciously
Matt. 13:41-42, "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” See also Matt. 13:50.

Cast into a tormenting fire
Rev. 14:9-11, "And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, 10he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11"And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."” See also, Rev. 21:8.

Hell is a place of eternal fire and punishment

Unquenchable Fire
Matt. 3:12 "And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Fiery Hell
Matt. 5:22, "whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." See also, Matt. 5:29,30.

Fiery Hell
Matt. 18:8-9, "And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. 9"And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell."

Eternal Fire
Matt. 25:41, "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

Eternal Punishment
Matt. 25:46, "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The word 'eternal' in both places is "aionios" which means 1)without beginning and end, that which always has been and always will be; 2)without beginning; 3)without end, never to cease, everlasting. The word 'punishment' is the word kolasis and it means "to punish, with the implication of resulting severe suffering - 'to punish, punishment.'"(5)

Eternal Fire
Jude 7, "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire."

Lake of Fire
Rev. 20:15, "And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Luke 16:19-31, Lazarus and the Rich Man

In Luke 16:19-31 is the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Basically, Lazarus is a poor man who suffers during life. The rich man is, of course, rich. They both die. The rich man goes to Hades. Lazarus goes to Abraham's bosom, another term for paradise. In Hades, the rich man lifts up his eyes and sees Lazarus far off. He cries out to Abraham and asks for mercy because he is in agony in flame. Abraham says no. Then the rich man asks if someone from the dead were to rise and go tell his brothers not to come to this terrible place. Abraham teaches him that that will not be done either.
Some say that this is a parable. However, if it is, it is unique because no other parable actually names a person. It isn't a story. It is history. It really happened. But many who believe in no consciousness after death will say it is still a parable. The question then is, if it is? What is it teaching? If hell fire is false and if self-awareness after death is also false, then Jesus is using false doctrines to teach a truth. Parables illustrate truth. If it is a parable what does the consciousness after death symbolize? Also, what does the agony in flame symbolize? Are they not real? Of course they are.


Conclusion

Hell is a real place. It is not mere unconsciousness. It is not temporal. It is eternal torment. Perhaps that is why Jesus spoke more of hell than heaven and spent so much time warning people not to go there. After all, if people just stopped existing, why warn them? If it was temporal, they'd get out in a while. But if it were eternal and conscious, then the warning is strong.


Jesus said, "And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30"And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into hell," (Matt. 5:29-30).

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1. Achtemeier, Paul J., Th.D., Harper's Bible Dictionary, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.) 1985.
2. Unger, Merrill F., Unger's Bible Dictionary, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1966, p. 437.
3. Vine, W. E., Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell) 1981.
4. Ecclesiastes is a book that is addressed as things appear "under the sun" (Ecc. 1:3,9,14, etc.). In fact, the phrase "under the sun" occurs 29 times in Ecclesiastes, a book written from the human perspective and boldly states that all is vanity.
5. Louw, Johannes P. and Nida, Eugene A., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, (New York: United Bible Societies) 1988, 1989.


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Answer 2

Wow, so "Go to hel" would be a good thing!

WORD HISTORY Hell comes to us directly from Old English hel. Because the Roman Church prevailed in England from an early date, the Roman—that is, Mediterranean—belief that hell was hot prevailed there too; in Old English hel is a black and fiery place of eternal torment for the damned. But because the Vikings were converted to Christianity centuries after the Anglo-Saxons, the Old Norse hel, from the same source as Old English hel, retained its earlier pagan senses as both a place and a person. As a place, hel is the abode of oathbreakers, other evil persons, and those unlucky enough not to have died in battle. It contrasts sharply with Valhalla, the hall of slain heroes. Unlike the Mediterranean hell, the Old Norse hel is very cold. Hel is also the name of the goddess or giantess who presides in hel, the half blue-black, half white daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrbotha. The Indo-European root behind these Germanic words is *kel–, “to cover, conceal” (so hell is the “concealed place”); it also gives us hall, hole, hollow, and helmet.

Answer 3

I knew Lokasenna would be all over this one. I'd like to add that Hades, which is translated as "Hell" in most of the New Testament is much the same way as Hel. Not necessarily a place of torment, but more of respite. You have to be a seriously irreverent and evil person to deserve punishment in Hades, which is usually carried out at the hands of the Erinyes, or Furies. They were also referred to as the "Kindly Ones", a propitiary nickname.

Answer 4

Yes, the Norse Goddess Hel. She was the ruler of the underworld, Helheim, the realm of the dead.

Helheim is the lowest of the Nine Worlds besides Niflheimr resting below the World Tree. It is not at all a bad place; parts of it are an afterlife paradise while other parts are seen as dark and gloomy. Unlike the Christian purgatory, it is not entirely an abode of punishment. The majority of it is simply a resting place for the souls of the dead. It is thronged with the shivering and shadowy specters of those who have died ingloriously of disease or in old age. Helheim is also home to dishonourable people who have broken oaths. Helgardh is cold and low on the overall order of the universe.
Hel is said to be reached by the road Helvergr "the Hell way" (or "Highway to Hell" if you like), a river of blood called Gjøll, or a cave called Gnípahellir ("Overhanging cave"). Hel's gate is called Helgrind ("Hel's gate") or Nágrind ("Corpse gate") and is guarded by the giant woman Modgud ("War Frenzy") and the Hel's giant hound Garmr.

The doors of the hall are said to be set in the south, away from Asgard which lies to the north. The hall is surrounded by a river called Gjoll ("scream"), which is freezing cold and has knives flowing in it. The only way across the river is over a bridge guarded by a giantess. It is said that if a living person steps on the bridge, it rings out as if a thousand men walk across it, yet the dead pass without a sound.

Below Hel and in a northern part of it lies the mansion of the Goddess of death Hel. It is called Elviðnir "misery" and is surrounded by a wall called Fallanda Forad "falling peril." Still deeper is Kvøllheimr, a place of punishment for the wicked. Within it is Nástrønd/*Nástrand "corpse strand" a dwelling made of adders for which there may be an Anglo-Saxon term in Wyrmsele "snake hall." Here the evil dead are sent to have burning poison drip down upon them. Helheim is said to be a hall with a roof woven from the spines of serpents which drip poison down onto those who wade in the rivers of blood below. The people who dwell in the halls are given nothing but goats urine to quench their thirst.

Helheim; the underworld of darkness and dissolution, chaos and the realm of the ancestors. This realm is associated with the Collective Unconscious, and represents unity with Nature and communion with the ancestors.

Answer 5

In ancient Babylonian and Assyrian beliefs the “nether world . . . is pictured as a place full of horrors, and is presided over by gods and demons of great strength and fierceness.” (The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, Boston, 1898, Morris Jastrow, Jr., p. 581) Early evidence of the fiery aspect of Christendom’s hell is found in the religion of ancient Egypt. (The Book of the Dead, New Hyde Park, N.Y., 1960, with introduction by E. A. Wallis Budge, pp. 144, 149, 151, 153, 161) Buddhism, which dates back to the 6th century B.C.E., in time came to feature both hot and cold hells. (The Encyclopedia Americana, 1977, Vol. 14, p. 68) Depictions of hell portrayed in Catholic churches in Italy have been traced to Etruscan roots.—La civiltà etrusca (Milan, 1979), Werner Keller, p. 389.

Answer 6

who cares who used a word first? The English language is "borrowed" from so many other languages it's almost impossible to keep track. Christianity didn't begin in English, you know. And its concept of hell dates back thousands of years before Christ, hence thousands of years before the concept of Christianity because it comes out of Jewish tradition. That's what the Old Testament is.

So some things exist side by side. That's ok. If one group uses hel for one thing and one uses hell for something else, who cares? There is a finite limit to the number of sounds our language can produce. Get over it.

Answer 7

Actually Loki's wife was a giant so Hel was tricky like Loki, and beautiful like a godess because Loki was a god.
But Hel was also cruel and mean because of her mother Angrbooa. ( now where is the word anger or angry from?)

Excellent work from the Heron by the Sea again. I am impressed.
Ah, Lokasenna, of course, after all, it is your religion.

Answer 8

It came from Norse Myhtology from the God of the Underworld's name Hel. Hel was Loki's daughter.

Answer 9

The original Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible that were later translated into "hell" actually meant the common grave of mankind, to which everyone goes when they die. The teaching of a fiery place of torment was introduced by apostate Christianity, who borrowed it from earlier foreign teachings (Egyptian and Babylonian) to scare their adherents into doing whatever they said, regardless of its Biblical validity.

Answer 10

Our english word hell is translated the grave almost always in greek or hebrew.

Answer 11

I don't know for sure, but I think it has something to do with where my ex wife came from