Different Greek words for "hell"

[tonychanyt]

There are three Greek words that were translated into "hell".

Matthew 10:

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in **hell**.​

hell
γεέννῃ (geennē)
Strong's 1067: Of Hebrew origin; valley of Hinnom; ge-henna, a valley of Jerusalem, used as a name for the place of everlasting punishment.

At Biblehub, 41 versions translated G1068 as "hell"; 9 used "Gehenna".

Another word that is sometimes translated as "hell" is in (ESV) Matthew 16:

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.​

hell
ᾅδου (hadou)
Strong's 86: Hades, the unseen world. Properly, unseen, i.e. 'Hades' or the place of departed souls.

2 Peter 2:

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;​

cast [them] into hell,
ταρταρώσας (tartarōsas)
Strong's 5020: To thrust down to Tartarus or Gehenna. From Tartaros; to incarcerate in eternal torment.

At Biblehub, 36 versions translated G5020 as "hell"; 12 used "Tartarus".

The modern concept of hell may be closer to the concept of lake of fire in Revelation 20:

14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.​

There is no single Greek word in the Bible that correspond exactly to our modern concept of hell.

 

[Der Alte]

Long before and during the time of Jesus there was a significant belief in a place of fiery eternal punishment which the Jews called both sheol and Ge hinnom written in the 225 BC LXX and the N.T. as hades and Gehenna. see the linked 4 page article from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. Ge Hinnom and sheol are referrred to as "hell" 22 times in the linked article.

GEHENNA - JewishEncyclopedia.com

Complete contents the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia.

jewishencyclopedia.com

 

[Paul4JC]

Sometimes there are mistranslations. That's why it's good to check versions and root words in Hebrew and Greek. Hell is not Hades but is inside of Hades, (a compartment) as is Tartarus, and the Abyss. Hades and Sheol are the same.

 

[tonychanyt]

Hell is not Hades but is inside of Hades,

reference?

 

[Paul4JC]

[Luk 16:26 NIV] And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

 

[tonychanyt]

[Luk 16:26 NIV] And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

See Is the story of Lazarus and the rich man literal/physical? and follow up there.

 

[Ain't Zwinglian]

our modern concept of hell.

What is our modern concept of hell? Can you cite a source?

 

[tonychanyt]

What is our modern concept of hell? Can you cite a source?

Oxford dictionary:

(in some religions) the place believed to be the home of devils and where bad people go after death

 

[RDKirk]

There are three Greek words that were translated into "hell".

Matthew 10:

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in **hell**.​

hell
γεέννῃ (geennē)
Strong's 1067: Of Hebrew origin; valley of Hinnom; ge-henna, a valley of Jerusalem, used as a name for the place of everlasting punishment.

At Biblehub, 41 versions translated G1068 as "hell"; 9 used "Gehenna".

Another word that is sometimes translated as "hell" is in (ESV) Matthew 16:

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.​

hell
ᾅδου (hadou)
Strong's 86: Hades, the unseen world. Properly, unseen, i.e. 'Hades' or the place of departed souls.

2 Peter 2:

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;​

cast [them] into hell,
ταρταρώσας (tartarōsas)
Strong's 5020: To thrust down to Tartarus or Gehenna. From Tartaros; to incarcerate in eternal torment.

At Biblehub, 36 versions translated G5020 as "hell"; 12 used "Tartarus".

The modern concept of hell may be closer to the concept of lake of fire in Revelation 20:

14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.​

There is no single Greek word in the Bible that correspond exactly to our modern concept of hell.

It's useful to render those three terms into each of their various contexts.

When speaking of the grave, the temporary existence between this life and the general resurrection of the dead, scripture uses Hades.

When speaking of eternal condemnation or destruction--which occurs for unbelievers after the resurrection of the dead--scripture uses Gehenna.

Tartarus is not merely "incarcerate in eternal torment." Tartarus in Greek mythology is specifically the place that gods are incarcerated, and in scriptural use, the place that Satan and demons will be incarcerated for eternity.