Gehenna

Gehenna, gehinnam, or gehinnom (Hebrew: גהנום, גהנם, Greek γεεννα) are words used in Jewish and Christian writings for the place where evil people go in the afterlife (see Hell). The name is derived from a geographical site in Jerusalem known as the Valley of Hinnom, one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City. Initially the site where idolatrous Jews sacrificed their children to the god Molech (2 Chr. 28:3, 33:6; Jer. 7:31, 19:2-6), the valley later became the common wasteyard for all the refuse of Jerusalem. Here the dead bodies of animals and of criminals, and rubbish, were cast and consumed by a constant fire. In time it became the image of the place of everlasting destruction in Jewish tradition. However, Jewish tradition suggests the valley had a 'gate' which led down to a molten lake of fire. (Possibly 'The furnace of Yahweh' in Zion to which Isaiah refers 31:9, 30:33). It is unknown whether this 'gate' was an actual geophysical feature within the valley that provided the focus for cultic activity (2 Kings 23:10) or simply a metaphorical identification with the entrance to the underworld that had come to be associated with the valley.

Gehenna is cited in the New Testament and in early Christian writing to represent the final place where the wicked will be punished or destroyed after resurrection. The name given to Hell in Islam, Jahannam, directly correlates with Gehenna as well. In both Rabbinical Jewish and Christian writing, Gehenna as a destination of the wicked is different from Sheol or Hades, the abode of the dead.

Etymology

"Gehenna" is the Christian rendering of "Ge Hinnom," literally "Valley of Hinnom," known in the Old Testament as Gai Ben-Hinnom, literally the "Valley of the son of Hinnom", and in the Talmud as Gehinnam (גהנם) or Gehinnom. In the Qur'an, gehenna (Gehennem, Jahannam, جهنم) is a place of torment for sinners or the Islamic equivalent of hell.
In the Hebrew Bible, Gai Ben-Hinnom does not refer to hell but rather to a real valley in Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8, Joshua 18:16, 2nd Kings 23:10, 2 Chronicles 28:3, 2nd Chronicles 33:6,Nehemiah 11:30, Jeremiah 7:31~32, Jeremiah 19:2, Jeremiah 19:6, Jeremiah 32:35). Garbage from the walled city was burned there.

Geography

The Valley of Hinnom is located below the southern wall of ancient Jerusalem. It stretches from the foot of Mount Zion eastward past the Tyropoeon to the Kidron Valley. In the King James Version of the Bible, the term appears 13 times in 11 different verses as "valley of Hinnom," "valley of the son of Hinnom" or "valley of the children of Hinnom."

History

The southwestern gate of Jerusalem, overlooking the valley, came to be known as "The Gate of the Valley" (Hebrew :שער הגיא). The Book of Jeremiah (2:23) speaks of residents worshipping Moloch and committing abominations, foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem. It is not described as a spiritual hell but as a literal valley in Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8, Joshua 18:16, 2nd Kings 23:10, 2 Chronicles 28:3, 2nd Chronicles 33:6, Nehemiah 11:30, Jeremiah 7:31~32, Jeremiah 19:2, Jeremiah 19:6, Jeremiah 32:35).

In ancient times, it is believed that children were sacrificed to the pagan god Molech in Gehenna, a practice that was outlawed by King Josiah (2 Kings, 23:10). Biblical commentator Rashi explains that priests would bang on drums (Hebrew: tof, tupim) (Hebrew :תופים) so fathers would not hear the groans of children being sacrificed. Hence the name Topheth. Fires were kept burning and the valley became the garbage dump of the city. The dead bodies of criminals, and the carcasses of animals were also thrown there.

Christian New Testament references

In the synoptic gospels Jesus uses the word Gehenna 11 times to describe the opposite to life in the promised, coming Kingdom (Mark 9:43-8). It is a place where both soul and body could be destroyed (Matthew 10:28) in "unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:43).

In Matthew 23:33, Jesus observes, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of gehenna?" ("οφεις γεννηματα εχιδνων πως φυγητε απο της κρισεως της γεεννης"). The word gehenna is also found in the epistle of James, where it is said to set the tongue on fire. Many Christians understand gehenna to be a place of eternal punishment called hell. On the other hand, annihilationists understand gehenna to be a place where sinners are utterly destroyed, not tormented forever. Christian Universalists, who believe that God will eventually save all souls, interpret the New Testament references to Gehenna in the context of the Old Testament and conclude that it always refers to the imminent divine judgment of Israel and not to eternal torment for the unsaved.

The New Testament refers to Hades as a destination of the dead. Hades is portrayed as a different place from gehenna. Yet, even so, the Book of Revelation describes Hades being cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14), which many Christians today interpret as meaning the same thing as gehenna.

The Valley of Hinnom is also the traditional location of the Potter's Field bought by priests after Judas' suicide with the "blood money" with which Judas was paid for betraying Jesus.

Literary references

John Milton, "Paradise Lost", Book I

[Moloch] made his Grove
The pleasant Vally of HINNOM, TOPHET thence
And black GEHENNA call'd, the Type of Hell.

Edgar Alan Poe, "Morella"

And thus, joy suddenly faded into horror, and the most beautiful became the most hideous, as Hinnom becameGehenna.

Translation

The word "Gehenna" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Finnish, Swedish.

Translation(s) in other languages: German: Gehinnom, Greek: Γέεννα, Spanish: Gehena, Esperanto: Geheno, French: Géhenne, Italian: Geenna, Hebrew: גיא בן הינום, Japanese: ゲヘナ, Norwegian (Bokmål): Gehenna (Dal utenfor Jerusalem), Portuguese: Geena, Romanian: Gheenă, Ukrainian: Геєнна.