In the Old Testament, there is no Hell, only Sheol, which is where EVERYONE who dies goes, not just righteous people. In the New Testament you have Hell. Apparently the ancient Jews were influenced by the Greek view of the afterlife during the Hellenistic Age. The Greeks had a realm for the good (the Elysian fields) and a realm for the bad (Tartarus) unlike the ancient Jews.
So...for a while this has been a big problem for me. It seems like a flaw in the internal consistency of the Bible. How do you explain it?
In the beginning, there was just Sheol: the ground, where dead bodies went. Once Jewish prophets began to envision a final resurrection, they started considering the possibility of an intermediate state, and Sheol extended from the place where dead bodies go to the place where a people's shade/spirit/breath/soul goes. The person's shade, however, was in merely a dreamlike state, and not really conscious.
So:
Sheol 1.0 = the dirt, where the dead literally go
Sheol 2.0 = general realm of the dead, where people's shades exist in a dreamlike semi-conscious state
After this development came the Jewish encounter with Hellenism in the wake of Alexander's conquests in the 320s BCE. The Greeks believed in Hades, which was pretty much exactly like Sheol 2.0 (a realm of the dead with a semi-conscious dreamlike existence).
Hades = Sheol 2.0
And, importantly, the New Testament uses Hades to
translate the Hebrew term Sheol. Hades, in turn, typically gets translated "hell" in the New Testament.
However, the Greeks also believed that within Hades there were more conscious states, especially at the end of the spectrum: the Elysian Fields, where the very just and pious dead, and very heroic dead, are conscious in order to receive their reward, and Tartarus, where the very unjust and impious dead, as well as the very cowardly and notorious traitors, are conscious in order to be punished. Strands of Judaism picked up on this and it's to that model that Jesus is referring in the parable of Lazarus and Dives.
So:
Elysian Fields/Abraham's bosom = that part of Hades/Sheol where the very righteous are awake in order to enjoy their reward
Tartarus/Gehenna = the part of Hades/Sheol where the very wicked are awake in order to receive punishment
Then, early Christianity (beginning with Paul?) developed the idea that there isn't
one realm of the dead with spheres or modes (conscious in Tartarus, generalized dreaming dead, and conscious in Elysium), but
two: just heaven and hell, with everyone awake to enjoy or suffer in the intermediate period between death and resurrection.
---------------------------------------------------------
Now, in order to make sense of this historical development of apocalyptic eschatology, early Christian theologians essentially affirmed that the threefold model of a common afterlife, with soul sleep for most, was the case before crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ. Then,
after the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Christ took up his role as judge and priest in the heavens and so raised the moderately righteous from soul sleep and had them join the consciously righteous in Abraham's Bosom in heaven to participate in the heavenly worship in God's throne room; meanwhile, the moderately wicked were also awakened and sent to join their fellow evildoers in Tartarus. In essence, all of Sheol/Hades then became "hell," hence our translations.
Hope that helps.
