- This was the place of the dead (aka the netherworld, the underworld) in biblical times. It was called “Hades” in the New Testament (from the Greek) and “Sheol” in the Old Testament (from the Hebrew). Until the time of Jesus, everyone who died went below (a form of sleep); it was Jesus who re-routed death so that it leads above to heaven; for a full explanation of how Jesus re-wired death so that it led up instead of down, see the book The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven. As for when this happened, see the book The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact.
- The word “Sheol” appears 65 times in the Old Testament; and it appears another 10 times in the New Testament as the Greek word “Hades.”
- “Hell” is something entirely different.
- “Abaddon” is a related but more obscure term.
A Word Study on the Hebrew Word “Sheol”
The Hebrew word “SHEOL” occurs 65 times in the Hebrew Bible (Masoretic Text), across 17 books. The first of these occurrences is found in Genesis 37:35. If you look up this verse on the BibleGateway website, you will find that, of the 58 English translations of the Bible that it catalogs, only 26 transliterate the word as “Sheol.” The 32 other English translations render the following results:
- grave – 21
- die / until I die – 6
- hell – 2
- world of the dead – 1
- next world – 1
- netherworld – 1
- Total – 32
Assuming that similar results are found for all 65 occurrences of “Sheol,” this would mean that readers of less than half of English translations of the Bible are being made aware of the Hebrew concept of Sheol, which was considered the realm or abode of the dead. No wonder there is so much ignorance about where we go when we die. (For an explanation, read the book The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven.)
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