| Gehenna | |
|---|---|
| Gehinnom Valley of Hinnom | |
 | |
  Gehenna Location in Jerusalem, south ofMount Zion | |
| Naming | |
| Native name | גיא בן הינום (Hebrew) |
| Geography | |
| Population center | Jerusalem |
| Coordinates | 31°46′11″N35°13′36″E / 31.76972°N 35.22667°E /31.76972; 35.22667 |
| Rivers | Gey Ben Hinnom Stream |
Gehenna (/ɡəˈhɛnə/ghi-HEN-ə;Ancient Greek:Γέεννα,romanized: Géenna) orGehinnom (Hebrew:גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם,romanized: Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm orגֵי־הִנֹּם,Gē-Hīnnōm,'Valley of Hinnom') is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, inJewish eschatology.
The place is first mentioned in theHebrew Bible as part of the border between the tribes ofJudah andBenjamin (Joshua 15:8). During the lateFirst Temple period, it was the site of theTophet, where some of the kings ofJudah hadsacrificed their children by fire (Jeremiah 7:31).[1] Thereafter, it was cursed by the biblical prophetJeremiah (Jeremiah 19:2–6).[2]
In laterrabbinic literature, "Gehinnom" became associated with divine punishment as the destination of the wicked for theatonement of their sins.[3][4] The term is different from the more neutral termSheol, theabode of the dead. TheKing James Version of theBible translates both with theAnglo-Saxon wordhell.
TheHebrew Bible refers to the valley as the "Valley of the son of Hinnom" (Hebrew:גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם),[5][6] or "Valley of Hinnom" (גֵי־הִנֹּם).[7] InMishnaic Hebrew andJudeo-Aramaic languages, the name was contracted intoGēhīnnōm (גֵיהִינֹּם) orGēhīnnām (גֵיהִינָּם) meaning "hell".
The English name "Gehenna" derives from theKoine Greek transliteration (Γέεννα) found in theNew Testament.[8]
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The exact location of the Valley of Hinnom is disputed.George Adam Smith wrote in 1907 that there are three possible locations considered by historical writers:[9]
Child sacrifice at other Tophets contemporary with the Bible accounts (700–600 BC) of the reigns ofAhaz andManasseh has been established, such as the bones of children sacrificed at the Tophet to the goddessTanit in PhoenicianCarthage,[14] and also child sacrifice in ancient Syria-Palestine.[15] Scholars such as Mosca (1975) have concluded that the sacrifice recorded in the Hebrew Bible, such as Jeremiah's comment that the worshippers ofBaal had "filled this place with the blood of innocents", is literal.[16][17] Yet, the biblical words in the Book of Jeremiah describe events taking place in the seventh century in the place of Ben-Hinnom: "Because they [the Israelites] have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind; therefore, behold, days are coming", declares the Lord, "when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter".[18] J. Day, Heider, and Mosca believe that theMolochcult took place in the valley of Hinnom at the Topheth.[19]
No archaeological evidence such as mass children's graves has been found; however, it has been suggested that such a find may be compromised by the heavy population history of the Jerusalem area compared to the Tophet found in Tunisia.[20] The site would also have been disrupted by the actions of Josiah "And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech." (2 Kings 23). A minority of scholars have attempted to argue that the Bible does not portray actual child sacrifice, but only dedication to the god by fire; however, they are judged to have been "convincingly disproved" (Hay, 2011).[21]
There is evidence however that the southwest shoulder of this valley (Ketef Hinnom) was a burial location with numerous burial chambers that were reused by generations of families from as early as the seventh until the fifth century BC. The use of this area for tombs continued into the first centuries BC and AD. By 70 AD, the area was not only a burial site but also a place forcremation of the dead with the arrival of theTenth Roman Legion, who were the only group known to practice cremation in this region.[22]
The oldest historical reference to “the Valley of the Son of Hinnom” is found in theBook of Joshua (15:8 and18:16) which describe tribal boundaries.[1] The following reference to the valley is at the time of KingAhaz of Judah, who, according to2 Chronicles 28:3, “burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire”.[1] Later, in33:6, it is said that Ahaz's grandson, kingManasseh of Judah, also “caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom”. Debate remains as to whether the phrase "cause his children to pass through the fire" referred to a religious ceremony in which the Moloch priest would walk the child between two lanes of fire, or to literalchild sacrifice wherein the child is thrown into the fire.
TheBook of Isaiah does not mention Gehenna by name, but the "burning place" (30:33) in which the Assyrian army is to be destroyed, may be read in Hebrew as "Topheth". Similarly,Isaiah 66:24 describes the bodies of sinners burning near Jerusalem.
During the reign ofJosiah,Jeremiah condemned the Topheth worship which was conducted in the Hinnom valley (7:31–32,32:35).Josiah destroyed the shrine ofMoloch on Topheth to prevent anyone sacrificing children there (2 Kings 23:10). Despite Josiah's ending of the practice, Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem itself would be made like Gehenna and Topheth (19:2–6,19:11–14).
A purely geographical reference appears inNehemiah 11:30: the exiles returning from Babylon encamped fromBeersheba to Hinnom.
TheTargums (ancient Jewish paraphrase-translations of the Hebrew Bible) frequently supply the term "Gehinnom" to verses touching upon resurrection, judgment, and the fate of the wicked.[23] For example,Targum Jonathan toIsaiah 66:24 interprets the Biblical phrase "they [the corpses of sinners] shall be an abhorrence to all flesh" as "the evildoers shall be judged in Gehenna until the righteous say of them: We have seen enough".[24]
Gehinnom[25] became a figurative name for the place of spiritual purification for the wicked dead in Judaism.[26] According to most Jewish sources, the period of purification or punishment is limited to only 12 months and everySabbath day is excluded from punishment, while the fires of Gehinnom are banked and its tortures are suspended. For the duration of Shabbat, the spirits who are serving time there are released to roam the earth. AtMotza'ei Shabbat, the angel Dumah, who has charge over the souls of the wicked, herds them back for another week of torment.[4] After this the soul will move on toOlam Ha-Ba (the world to come), be destroyed, or continue to exist in a state of consciousness of remorse.[27]
In classicrabbinic sources, Gehinnom occasionally occurs as a place of punishment or destruction of the wicked.[28] RabbiJoshua ben Levi is said to have wandered through Gehenna, likeDante, under the guidance of the angel Duma. Joshua describes seven chambers of Gehenna, each one presided over by a famous sinner from Jewish history, and populated by deceased sinners suffering brutal punishments.[29] According to another rabbinic story, the ancient Israelite leaderJair once threatened to burn alive those individuals who refused to worship Baal. In response, God sent the angel Nathaniel, who rescued the individuals and declared to Jair that "you will die, and die by fire, a fire in which you will abide forever."[30]
Rabbinic texts contain various answers to the questions of who suffers in Gehenna and for how long. According to theTosefta, normal sinners are punished in Gehenna for 12 months, after which their souls leave Gehenna and turn into dust; while heretics, those who abandon the community (porshim midarkhei tzibur), and those who cause the masses to sin, suffer in Gehenna eternally.[31] TheTalmud states that all who enter Gehenna eventually leave it, except for adulterers, those who humiliate others in public, and those who call others by derogatory names.[32]
The traditional explanation that a burning rubbish heap in the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem gave rise to the idea of a fiery Gehenna of judgment is attributed to RabbiDavid Kimhi (c. 1200 CE). He maintained that historically, in this valley fires were kept burning perpetually to consume the filth and cadavers thrown into it; therefore, the judgment of the evil after death was metaphorically named after the valley.[33] While this claim is logically plausible,[34] there is no direct archaeological nor literary evidence for it.[35]
Maimonides declares, inhis 13 principles of faith, that the descriptions of Gehinnom as a place of punishment in rabbinic literature, were pedagogically motivated inventions to encourage respect of theTorah commandments by mankind, which had been regarded as immature.[36] Instead of being sent to Gehenna, the souls of the wicked would actually get annihilated.[37]
Frequent references to "Gehenna" are also made in the books ofMeqabyan, which are consideredcanonical in theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[38]
In the King James Version of the Bible, the term appears 13 times in 11 different verses asValley of Hinnom,Valley of the son of Hinnom orValley of the children of Hinnom.
In thesynoptic Gospels the various authors describeJesus, who was Jewish, as using the wordGehenna to describe the opposite to life in theKingdom (Mark 9:43–48). The term is used 11 times in these writings.[39] In certain usage, the Christian Bible refers to it as a place where bothsoul (Greek: ψυχή, psyche) and body could be destroyed (Matthew 10:28) in "unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:43).[40]
Christian usage of Gehenna often serves to admonish adherents of the religion to live righteous lives. Examples of Gehenna in the Christian New Testament include:
Another book to use the wordGehenna in the New Testament is James:[41]
The New Testament also refers toHades as a place distinct from Gehenna.[citation needed] Unlike Gehenna, Hades typically conveys neither fire nor punishment but forgetfulness. TheBook of Revelation describes Hades being cast into thelake of fire (Revelation 20:14). The King James Version is the only English translation in modern use to translate Sheol, Hades,Tartarus (Greek ταρταρώσας; lemma: ταρταρόωtartaroō), and Gehenna as Hell. In the New Testament, theNew International Version, New Living Translation, New American Standard Bible (among others) all reserve the term "hell" for the translation of Gehenna or Tartarus (see above), transliterating Hades as a term directly from the equivalent Greek term.[42]
Treatment of Gehenna in Christianity is significantly affected by whether the distinction in Hebrew and Greek between Gehenna and Hades was maintained:
Translations with a distinction:
Translations without a distinction:
Some Christians consider Gehenna to be a place of eternal conscious punishment.[46] Some other Christians, however, imagine Gehenna to be a place where sinners are tormented for a limited amount of time until they are eventually destroyed, soul and body. Some other Christians believe that Gehenna is a metaphor for the complete destruction of soul and body, and that those who are "cast" into it will not experience any torment; they will just cease to exist. Some Christian scholars, however, have suggested that Gehenna may be a different type of metaphor, aprophetic one for the horrible fate that awaited the many civilians killed in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.[47][48]
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The name given to Hell in Islam,Jahannam, directly derives from Gehenna.[49] TheQuran contains 77 references to the Islamic interpretation of Gehenna (جهنم), but does not mention the wordSheol / Hades(the "abode of the dead"). But there is similar concept ofBarzakh (برزخ) in Islamic belief, which refers to the unseen, intermediate realm or barrier between death and the Day of Resurrection, where souls experience a foretaste of their final destination, either bliss or torment, depending on their deeds in life, lasting until the final judgment.
Gehinnom is the Hebrew name; Gehenna is Yiddish.
The place of spiritual punishment and/or purification for the wicked dead in Judaism is not referred to as Hell, but as Gehinnom or She'ol.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Hyvernat, Henry; Kohler, Kaufmann (1901–1906)."ABSALOM ("The Father of Peace")". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
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