The Gospel authors have Jesus using the word Gehenna eleven times and it is a word that is invariably translated as ‘hell’. So it is a word that we have to take seriously. In subsequent posts I will look in more detail as to how Jesus used the word and in what context, though it is worth noting that in not one of these verses is there a clear indication that Jesus had eternal punishment in mind.

But more of that later. Today I want to sketch a little on the use of the word Gehenna before Jesus’ usage because it will help us in our interpretation of its use by him. The word has its roots in the Old Testament. There it was clearly an historical, geographical place that could be plotted on a map and could be found in an actual location. The ‘valley of the son of Hinnom’ (Hebrew – ge ben hinnom) was to be found to the south of Jerusalem. It became notorious when two kings – Ahaz and Manasseh – sacrificed their own children to the god Molech there. The great reformer, King Josiah, defiled the place making it unusable for such idolatry again and it was identified as a place where God would judge Israel for her sin.

In all of these OT references the valley did not take on any sense of eschatological judgement. It did, however, become Jerusalem’s rubbish tip and a fire was kept going to burn up the refuse thrown there. It must surely be important that we keep this picture in mind as we read the references to the fire of hell in the New Testament.

In the inter-testamental period Gehenna did develop into being a metaphor for ‘hell’. It would appear that much of the literature from the period identifies it with a place of God’s final judgement and that some (e.g. the historian Josephus) saw it as a place of eternal punishment.

Rabbinic literature develops the idea of Gehenna as hell and according to this writing it was one of seven things created before the creation of the world. Many will be able to escape being there including those who fear God and those who have been obedient to the law and have done good deeds. But some will find themselves there and they include those who have been guilty of idolatry, arrogance, a ‘lack of compassion on the poor’, or who have been ‘listening too much to women’. Generally ‘its fiery torments are believed to be limited in duration’ – though those who have been especially wicked were not thought to be able to escape from there. (All quotes and references from the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.)

The above sketch leaves us with rather a mixed picture. It also suggests that the concept of Gehenna as hell had been developing over many centuries and it may be fair to say that there was no fixed theology within Judaism that was common to all adherents of the faith. While the word Gehenna became a metaphor for God’s place of judgement it was itself an actual place. This is the context within which Jesus used the word.

The previous post on the topic of hell can be found here.