The Hebrew Afterlife
Learn Biblical Hebrew online
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Neither Heaven nor Hell
In the Hebrew Bible, there is no separate term for “heaven” and “hell.” Instead, everyone goes to the same place after they die: Sheol. A kind of underworld, Sheol is not described as a pleasant or a miserable place. It is simply below this world. Thus, in many places in the Bible, for example in the story of Jacob and his sons (Gen. 44), death is described as “going down to Sheol”.
The Hebrew Underworld
The word Sheol (שאול) comes from the root ŠAL (שאל) meaning “to ask”. In ancient Israel it was thought that the dead could be summoned up or asked up from the underworld with sorcery. For example, Saul foolishly hires a witch at Endor to summon the prophet Samuel from the dead (1 Sam. 28). This particular kind of witchcraft - called necromancy - was stringently outlawed by God in Deuteronomy 18:10-12.
Get back to the Hebrew words of Jesus
As a Hebrew speaking Jew, Jesus used the word Sheol often. He told his disciple Peter, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). The word Jesus used wasn’t the Greek Hades, but the Hebrew Sheol. Although the Gospels were first written in Greek, Jesus actually spoke Hebrew. Get back to the authentic words spoken by Jesus, by enrolling in our live online Biblical Hebrew courses today.
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