Valley of Hinnom

Old Testament

And he hath defiled Topheth [A place in the SE end of the valley of the son of Hinnom south of Jerusalem – BDB Hebrew definition], that [is] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, so that no man doth cause his son and his daughter to pass over through fire to Molech.
~2 Kings 23:10 (YLT)

A son of twenty years [is] Ahaz in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and he hath not done that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, as David his father, and walketh in the ways of the kings of Israel, and also, molten images hath made for Baalim, and himself hath made perfume in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burneth his sons with fire according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel, and sacrificeth and maketh perfume in high places, and on the heights, and under every green tree.
~2 Chronicles 28:1-3 (YLT)

And he hath caused his sons to pass over through fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and observed clouds and used enchantments and witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and a wizard; he hath multiplied to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
~2 Chronicles 33:6 (YLT)

For, arranged from former time is Tophet, Even it for the king is prepared, He hath made deep, He hath made large, Its pile [is] fire and much wood, The breath of Jehovah, As a stream of brim stone, is burning in it!
~Isaiah 30:33 (YLT)

And they have gone forth, And looked on the carcases of the men Who are transgressing against me, For their worm dieth not, And their fire is not quenched, And they have been an abhorrence to all flesh!
~Isaiah 66:24 (YLT)

And have built the high places of Tophet, That [are] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters with fire, Which I did not command, Nor did it come up on My heart.
~Jeremiah 7:31 (YLT)

Thus said Jehovah, ‘Go, and thou hast got a potter’s earthen vessel, and of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests, and thou hast gone forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, that [is] at the opening of the gate of the pottery, and hast proclaimed there the words that I speak unto thee, and hast said, Hear a word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: “Lo, I am bringing in evil on this place, at which the ears of every one who is hearing it do tingle, because that they have forsaken Me, and make known this place, and make perfume in it to other gods, that they knew not, they and their fathers, and the kings of Judah, and they have filled this place [with] innocent blood, and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons with fire, burnt-offerings to Baal, that I commanded not, nor spake of, nor did it come up on My heart. Therefore, lo, days are coming — an affirmation of Jehovah — and this place is not called any more, Tophet, and Valley of the son of Hinnom, but, Valley of slaughter.”‘
~Jeremiah 19:1-6 (YLT)

And thou hast broken the bottle before the eyes of the men who are going with thee, and hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Thus do I break this people and this city, as one breaketh the potter’s vessel, that is not able to be repaired again, and in Tophet they bury — without place to bury; so I do to this place — an affirmation of Jehovah — and to its inhabitants, so as to make this city as Tophet; and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, have been — as the place of Tophet — defiled, even all the houses on whose roofs they have made perfume to all the host of the heavens, so as to pour out oblations to other gods.’ And Jeremiah cometh in from Tophet, whither Jehovah had sent him to prophesy, and he standeth in the court of the house of Jehovah, and he saith unto all the people: ‘Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am bringing in unto this city, and on all its cities, all the evil that I have spoken against it, for they have hardened their neck — not to hear My words!’
~Jeremiah 19:10-15 (YLT)

And they build the high places of Baal, that [are] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come up on my heart to do this abomination, so as to cause Judah to sin.
~Jeremiah 32:35 (YLT)

New Testament

Matthew 5:22: “….whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into Gehenna.”
Matthew 5:29: “….it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into Gehenna.”
Matthew 5:30: “….better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into Gehenna.”
Matthew 10:28: “….rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul [Greek: ψυχή] and body in Gehenna.”
Matthew 18:9: “It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than with two eyes to be thrown into the Gehenna….”
Matthew 23:15: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you… make one proselyte…twice as much a child of Gehenna as yourselves.”
Matthew 23:33, to the Pharisees: “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you to escape the sentence of Gehenna?”
Mark 9:43: “It is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into Gehenna into the unquenchable fire.”
Mark 9:45: “It is better for you to enter life lame, than having your two feet, to be cast into Gehenna.”
Mark 9:47: “It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into Gehenna.”
Luke 12:5: “….fear the One who, after He has killed has authority to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, fear Him.”
James 3:6: “And the tongue is a fire,…and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by Gehenna.”

The Outer Darkness

And Jesus having heard, did wonder, and said to those following, ‘Verily I say to you, not even in Israel so great faith have I found; and I say to you, that many from east and west shall come and recline (at meat) with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the reign of the heavens, but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness — there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.’
~Matthew 8:10-12 (YLT)

Then said the king to the ministrants, Having bound his feet and hands, take him up and cast forth to the outer darkness, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth; for many are called, and few chosen.
~Matthew 22:13-14 (YLT)

[A]nd the unprofitable servant cast ye forth to the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.
~Matthew 25:30 (YLT)

1. Sheol in Ancient Israelite Theology (Pre-Exilic and Exilic Periods, c. 1000–587 BCE)

• Definition and Characteristics: In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), Sheol is the earliest concept of the afterlife in ancient Israelite thought. It is depicted as a shadowy, subterranean realm where all the dead—righteous and wicked alike—reside after death. Sheol is not a place of punishment or reward but a neutral, gloomy abode characterized by silence, darkness, and separation from God (e.g., Psalm 6:5, Job 3:11–19).
• Nature: Sheol is often described as a place of “shades” (rephaim), where the dead exist in a diminished, semi-conscious state without moral judgment or active divine presence (Ecclesiastes 9:10). It reflects a minimalistic view of the afterlife, with little emphasis on reward or punishment.
• Cultural Context: This concept parallels other ancient Near Eastern views, such as the Mesopotamian Kur or the Canaanite underworld, suggesting shared cultural influences. Early Israelite religion focused more on earthly life and covenantal relationship with God than on detailed afterlife speculation.
• Theological Implications: Sheol underscores the belief that life and divine favor are primarily experienced in the present world. There is no clear notion of resurrection or differentiated fates in early texts.

2. Development in Second Temple Judaism (c. 587 BCE–70 CE)

• Influence of Hellenistic and Persian Ideas: During the Babylonian Exile and later under Persian and Hellenistic rule, Jewish thought about the afterlife diversified. Exposure to Zoroastrian dualism (with its concepts of judgment and resurrection) and Greek ideas of the soul (e.g., Plato’s immortal soul) influenced Jewish eschatology.
• Emergence of Resurrection and Judgment: By the Second Temple period, texts like Daniel 12:2–3 (c. 2nd century BCE) introduce the idea of resurrection and differentiated fates: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” This marks a shift toward moral distinctions in the afterlife.
• Sheol’s Evolution: Sheol begins to take on a more nuanced role in some texts. In apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works (e.g., 1 Enoch, 2 Maccabees), Sheol is sometimes divided into compartments for the righteous and wicked, anticipating later Christian ideas of heaven and hell.
• Introduction of Gehenna: Gehenna (derived from the Hebrew Ge Hinnom, the Valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem) emerges in this period as a place of punishment. Originally a physical location associated with idolatrous practices (e.g., child sacrifice in 2 Kings 23:10), it becomes a metaphorical site of divine judgment for the wicked in texts like 1 Enoch and later rabbinic literature (c. 1st century CE). Gehenna represents a fiery place of destruction or torment for sinners, contrasting with the hope of resurrection for the righteous.

3. Hades in Early Christian Theology (1st Century CE)

• Greek Influence and the New Testament: In the New Testament, written in Greek, the term Hades (borrowed from Greek mythology) is used to translate Sheol, reflecting the Hellenistic cultural context of early Christianity. Hades is depicted as the realm of the dead, similar to Sheol, but with increasing moral differentiation (e.g., Luke 16:19–31, the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus).
• Characteristics: Hades is a temporary abode for the dead awaiting final judgment. In the parable of Lazarus, it includes torment for the wicked, suggesting a development from the neutral Sheol. However, Hades is distinct from the final state of the damned, as it is later “thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14).
• Resurrection and Eschatology: Early Christian theology emphasizes resurrection (modeled on Jesus’ resurrection) and final judgment, with Hades serving as an interim state. The righteous await paradise or heaven, while the wicked face judgment, often associated with Gehenna.

4. Gehenna in Christian Thought (1st–4th Centuries CE)

• New Testament Usage: Gehenna appears in the Gospels (e.g., Matthew 5:22, 10:28) as a place of punishment for the wicked, described with imagery of fire and destruction (e.g., “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched,” Mark 9:48, quoting Isaiah 66:24). It is distinct from Hades, representing the final destination of the damned after judgment.
• Development in Early Christianity: By the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Christian theologians like Tertullian and Origen further developed the concept of Gehenna as a place of eternal punishment, though debates persisted about whether punishment was eternal or restorative (e.g., Origen’s universalism). The imagery of Gehenna drew from Jewish traditions but was amplified with Greco-Roman concepts of eternal torment.
• Hades vs. Gehenna: In Christian theology, Hades remains the temporary abode of the dead, while Gehenna signifies the eschatological place of punishment. This distinction is evident in Revelation, where Hades is emptied at the final judgment, and the wicked are cast into the “lake of fire” (often equated with Gehenna).

5. Later Developments (4th Century CE Onward)

• Systematization in Christian Doctrine: By the time of Augustine (4th–5th century), Christian theology solidified the concepts of heaven (for the righteous) and hell (equated with Gehenna) as eternal destinations. Hades faded in prominence as an interim state, with greater emphasis on immediate judgment after death.
• Medieval and Rabbinic Judaism: In Jewish thought, Gehenna continued as a place of punishment, often temporary for most souls, with some rabbinic texts suggesting purification rather than eternal torment. Sheol became less central as resurrection and paradise gained prominence.
• Cultural Synthesis: The interplay of Jewish, Greek, and Christian ideas shaped a more vivid afterlife theology, with Gehenna as the primary image of divine judgment and punishment, contrasting with the hope of eternal life in heaven.