Sheol (
/ˈʃiːoʊl/ shee-ohl or /ˈʃiːəl/ shee-əl; Hebrew שְׁאוֹל Šʾôl), translated as "grave", "pit", or "abode of the dead", is the Old Testament/Hebrew bible's underworld, a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life, a place of stillness and darkness cut off from God.[1]
The inhabitants of Sheol were the "shades" (rephaim), entities without personality or strength, cut off from God.[2] Under some circumstances they could be contacted by the living, as the Witch of Endor contacts the shade of Samuel for Saul, but such practices are discouraged (Deuteronomy 18:10).[3] While the Old Testament writings describe Sheol as the permanent place of the dead, in the Second Temple period (roughly 500 BCE-70 CE) a more diverse set of ideas evolved: in some texts, Sheol is the home of both the righteous and the wicked, separated into respective compartments; in others, it was a place of punishment, meant for the wicked dead alone.[4] When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek in ancient Alexandria around 200 BC the word "Hades" (underworld) was substituted for Sheol, and this is reflected in the New Testament where Hades is both the underworld of the dead and the personification of the evil it represents.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Aune, David E. (2003). "Cosmology". Westminster Dictionary of the New Testament and Early Christian Literature. Westminster John Knox Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=nhhdJ-fkywYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Dictionary+New+Testament&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3Mn2TpmZBtKbiQeE4I2jAQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=cosmology&f=false.
- Bernstein, Alan E. (1996). The Formation of Hell: Death and Retribution in the Ancient and Early Christian Worlds. Cornell University Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=y8wAdna_YY0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+formation+of+Hell&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RhEET_6HH6TImQWp3th9&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=The%20formation%20of%20Hell&f=false.
- Hess, Richard S. (2007). Israelite Religions: An Archeological and Biblical Survey. Baker Academic Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2jNoqNRDYDUC&pg=PA161&dq=Zion+Zaphon&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0r72Tqm8DYihmQW8__WuAg&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=Zion%20Zaphon&f=false.
- Kelly, Henry A. (2010). "Hell with Purgatory and two Limbos". In Moreira, Isabel; Toscano, Margaret. Hell and Its Afterlife: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Ashgate Publishing. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=H04CJvW58agC&pg=PA121&dq=Hell+with+Purgatory+and+two+Limbos&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1hIET7mbIK-HmQWVm4CzAg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Hell%20with%20Purgatory%20and%20two%20Limbos&f=false.
- Knobel, Peter (2011). "Death". In Berlin, Adele; Grossman, Maxine. The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. Oxford University Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=hKAaJXvUaUoC&pg=PA189&dq=Bible+Cosmology&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jvHuTu_wDcStiQeFz62dBw&ved=0CGcQ6AEwCTgo#v=onepage&q=Bible%20Cosmology&f=false.
- Longenecker, Richard N. (2003). "Cosmology". In Gowan, Donald E.. The Westminster theological wordbook of the Bible. Westminster John Knox Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=obj6XCWIX1AC&pg=PA188&dq=Sheol+hebrew+bible&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ouAdT9SiMIGQiQeLvsT-DQ&ved=0CE4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Sheol%20hebrew%20bible&f=false.
- Mabie, F.J (2008). "Chaos and Death". In Longman, Tremper; Enns, Peter. Dictionary of the Old Testament. InterVarsity Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=kE2k36XAkv4C&pg=PA48&dq=chaos&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yhL9TsWmGOyXiAfmqIDIAQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=chaos%2C%20society%20and%20kingship%20the%20motif&f=false.
- O'Dowd, R. (2008). "Creation imagery". In Longman, Tremper; Enns, Peter. Dictionary of the Old Testament. InterVarsity Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=kE2k36XAkv4C&pg=PA48&dq=chaos&hl=en&sa=X&ei=yhL9TsWmGOyXiAfmqIDIAQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=chaos%2C%20society%20and%20kingship%20the%20motif&f=false.
- Rainwater, Robert (1990). "Sheol". In Watson E. Mills (General Editor). Mercer Dictionary of the Bible. Mercer University Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&pg=PA819&dq=Sheol+Robert+Rainwater&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ti4dT8fkDMuViQfPnMGOAw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Sheol%20Robert%20Rainwater&f=false.
- Reike, Bo (2001). "Hell". In Metzger, Bruce Manning; Coogan, Michael David. The Oxford guide to ideas & issues of the Bible. Oxford University Press. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=aml3tEWoOVEC&pg=PA197&dq=cosmology+sheol+hades&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UxT9To7lJaTSmAWqp9yfAg&ved=0CFgQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=cosmology%20sheol%20hades&f=false.
[edit] External links
- Sheol entry in Jewish Encyclopedia
/ˈʃiːoʊl/ shee-ohl or /ˈʃiːəl/ shee-əl; Hebrew שְׁאוֹל Šʾôl), translated as "grave", "pit", or "abode of the dead", is the Old Testament/Hebrew bible's underworld, a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life, a place of stillness and darkness cut off from God.[1]
