Why was "Gehenna" changed to "Hell"?

[Robert Gwin]

They party like it's 1999?

Made me giggle for sure Pat

 

[Robert Gwin]

My belief and understanding is that the Lake of Fire is a tool for change, perhaps even a punitive tool but also for the purpose of refinement and restoration, not endless torture.

No sir, like I said it is defined. How did God define the lake of fire? A key to understanding is found by reading Rev 20:14, do you see now what it means?

 

[Robert Gwin]

Faithful believers are saved from the Lake of Fire. ALL are saved from eternal death.

Faithful believers are saved from the Lake of Fire.

That is correct Pat

ALL are saved from eternal death.

What do you mean all sir?

 

[Robert Gwin]

Are you sure?

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” (Revelation 20:13)

But the Lord Jesus Christ said:

“…whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:26)

Boy, the word of God is amazing!

Are you sure?

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” (Revelation 20:13)

Yes sir, as you showed by your passage, it will be emptied through the resurrection, and then reading the next verse since inherited death is gone, no more need for hell, so they are cast into the lake of fire, gone forever, history, past tense, yesterday's news.

But the Lord Jesus Christ said:

“…whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:26)

Of course timing is the key here, no doubt you don't believe Jesus was wrong, so then what did he mean since every individual he said that to is dead. He either meant that none of them there believed in him, or there would be a time when those who believed in him would be given eternal life. That is why the Bible has to be taken as a whole sir.

Boy, the word of God is amazing!

Amen to that Michiah, fer sher.

 

[DoctrineOfGabriel]

Jesus/Y'shuah did NOT describe what it was like in sheol. He was using an allegory to teach resurrection.

Sheol is a term used in the Tanakh to describe the place of darkness following death. Google it.

Y'shuah WOULD NOT and DID NOT EVER depart from the Tanakh (OT) when He taught ideas based upon scripture. True, He did use allegory and hypotheticals framed within the context of a debate, but those methods were common tools employed by rabbinical disciplines of which Jesus was one. It's a teaching tool still used today. (Not in American schools, obviously. American students are NOT taught to actually think. In fact, quite the opposite.)

Consider this - if sheol is a place of darkness and 'sleep', how can discussions and debates occur there? They cannot. Therefore Y'shuah was using an allegory to teach resurrection - LIFE AMONG THE LIVING.

Following Y'shuah's death upon the cross, scripture says He entered sheol and MADE PROCLAMATION (1 Peter 3:19). We do not know what Y'shuah said during His brief sojourn there. There's no reference to an actual visit other than the very short one quoted above. The Apostle's Creed, recited by many church congregations, also mentions Y'shuah's trip to the sub-basement of reality. The creed doesn't say anything about social activities in sheol either.

EXACTLY what happens in sheol is not known nor is it referred to in scripture other than as a place where nothing happens, nothing is seen and nothing is normally heard. As an aside it should also be noted that several hundred people ALSO rose from the dead on the day Y'shuah resurrected. (Matthew 27:53) This particular event is not generally known or preached about. What did Y'shuah 'proclaim' in sheol? Did it have something to do with several hundred dead who also shared in His resurrection on the day Y'shuah escaped His tomb? To be honest, we do not know.

Inventing a major doctrine out of an off-hand reference to a non-existent discussion in sheol, a place where the Bible says NOTHING HAPPENS, is not a valid justification for eternal torment.

Hope this helps.

that's me, hollering from the choir loft...

Nicely said, thanks for sharing.

 

[DoctrineOfGabriel]

Back in the day I called this Essay “The fate of the Hebrew scriptures”

At the close of the Hebrew texts the Jews find themselves under, more or less the friendly rule of the Persians after they had conquered the Babylonians.

At this point the Hebrew texts are in the process of being modified by the Jews. (500 BC +-) So the changes in the Hebrew texts in their journey to become the Christian Old Testament is not entirely under the influence of Christianity.

Now nailing down to who it was that decided to modify the Hebrew texts is impossible and that goes for all of the changes to the Hebrew texts. So the phrase, “For various, really unknown reasons, someone decided to make massive changes to the Hebrew texts.”….that is about the most accurate way of putting it.

The removal of God’s name from the scriptures
To start with the Israelites / Jews had several names for Yahweh….the one proper name for God that was written in the Hebrew texts was the Tetragrammaton YHWH which probably was the phonic spelling of how His name sounded. There were other names for Yahweh but this was considered the proper name for God.

Supposedly the Jews eventually came to believe that the commandment to not use the Lord's name in vain, meant that God did not want His name ever uttered on earth. Even today when the Jews write God it is G-d. I do not buy this explanation but that is what happened. By the time the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek (the Septuagint) God’s proper name had been entirely removed from the scriptures. Which means they had to remove YHWH 6807 times and replace it with either word LORD or God or both. This constituted a massive modification to the Hebrew texts.

The process of the Septuagint
Of course the Septuagint was the translation from Hebrew to Greek. How many errors that were made in this translational process is a matter of debate, but it is well covered in college and there are books written on it. The Septuagint gives us a hint to Jewish beliefs that had formed while the Jews were under Persian rule. The Jews of the Hebrew texts did not believe in Hell or a devil, but the Jews in the New Testament knew what Christ was talking about when He referenced a fiery eternal punishment and Satan as the Devil and also as a serpent or dragon. So those beliefs were reflected in the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into the Greek.

What caused these Jewish beliefs….some say that it was because of Zoroastrianism, which the Jews were exposed to in Persia, which included beliefs of a place of fiery punishment and a Devil as well as angels and resurrections. And so words that could be translated to serpent or dragon were translated that way in the Septuagint. Since the Jews of the Hebrew Bible did not believe in a devil there was no scriptural connection between the serpent in Eden and Satan. In fact the word Satan as an individual does not appear very often in the Hebrew texts….mostly in Job.

So in the Septuagint the word Satan appears 15 times and the word devil appears 4 times. But by the time of the New Testament this belief is fully in play. Satan and Hell and Satan as a serpent or dragon was believed by most Jews, including the Apostles. So this is not due to a Christian influence it was already a belief in the Gospel era. But either way after the biblical era the Jews rejected the beliefs concerning Hell and the Devil.

The Hebrew texts become the Christian Old Testament
The Hebrew texts remain the same through the New Testament period and any time the New Testament mentions scriptures they are referring to the Hebrew texts. There seems to be little changes made to the Hebrew texts until the Middle Ages. Then after the Hebrew texts are translated to English the J slam hits and massive changes occur in the Old and New Testaments. The names of any person, place, or thing that started with a Y are changed to a J. You can look this up yourself and you will find that Job is actually Yob and etc etc Jacob is actually Yacob…etc. If you ever travel to Jerusalem ask them to pronounce the name of their city in Hebrew. At this point the transformation of the Hebrew texts to the Christian Old Testament is complete. But there are still questions.

The Apostles used the Greek word Iēsous Ἰησοῦς as the name for Christ. This is a Greek word…not a name….it means healer or noble. Greeks are not named this because it is a word. Christ’s name is known to be a common name in the Hebrew texts…. It is Yeshua or then Jeshua or Joshua in the Christianized Old Testament. There is nothing that is translated to the name Jesus or can be translated to Jesus. No one knows where the name Jesus came from. The Tyndale and Geneva Bibles used the word Iēsous and the first print of the KJV used the word Iēsous. The big picture, the names of God the Father and God the Son are not in our Bibles. Who would want that? There is an effort to put their names back in the scriptures …These Bibles are called Sacred Name Bibles.

Jews don't use the name of G-od because they fear it would be in vain... Because they assume they are sinners and are not in the right mindset to speak his holy name.


Names are symbols, when I say the word tree it will associate different ideas to different people.

In the case of the name of God, Jews only use it if they are confident in their own understanding and the understanding of other people around them...

Most people do not know the deeper meanings of the name Elohim or Yehova (hebrew pronounce)

Jewish people do read the name of God as it is written when they read full verses in the bible. They simply avoid mentioning it in more 'casual' conversations.

 

[Grailhunter]

Jewish people do read the name of God as it is written when they read full verses in the bible.

They cannot see it or read it anymore because it is not there anymore.

 

[DoctrineOfGabriel]

They cannot see it or read it anymore because it is not there anymore.

Oh? All the names are there in the aramaic and hebrew version of the bible.

 

[Grailhunter]

Oh? All the names are there in the aramaic and hebrew version of the bible.

So you have Bible with YHWH in it?
This was generally removed before the Septuagint.
Send one to me. LOL

 

[DoctrineOfGabriel]

So you have Bible with YHWH in it?
This was generally removed before the Septuagint.
Send one to me. LOL

Sure, any standard hebrew bible has it.
וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה."

Secon word from the right.

 

[Johann]

Gehenna is an actual place in or by Jerusalem, right? So why was the proper name abandoned and replaced with "Hell"? Or am I misunderstanding - again? View attachment 32094

HELL (γέεννα, geenna). The Greek word is often translated in English versions of the New Testament as “hell.” It is a noun derived from the Hebrew phrase גיא הנום (gy' hnwm), which means “Valley of Hinnom.” The Valley of Hinnom was a ravine along the southern slope of Jerusalem (Josh 15:18; 18:16). In Old Testament times, it was a place used for offering sacrifices to foreign gods. Eventually, the site was used to burn refuse. When the Jews discussed punishment in the afterlife, they employed the image of this smoldering waste dump.
The Afterlife in the Old Testament
Sheol

Sheol generally refers to the dwelling place of a person after death. In a few texts, Sheol is represented as the place where everyone goes—though, this is likely hyperbole (Psa 89:48; Eccl 9:10). Other texts indicate it is the dwelling place for the good or righteous (e.g., Gen 37:35; Pss 88:3; 89:48; Isa 38:10). Still other passages indicate it is the final abode of the wicked (e.g., Num 16:30, 33; 1 Kgs 2:6, 9; Job 21:13; 24:19; Pss 9:17; 31:17; Isa 5:14).

According to the descriptions in the Old Testament, Sheol is located in the “Underworld.” In order to get there, one must descend (Num 16:30, 33; Job 17:16; 21:13; Prov 5:5; 9:18) and one must dig towards it (Amos 9:2). In order to get out, a person would need to ascend (Psa 30:3). Sheol is located opposite of heaven (Psa 139:8; Amos 9:2). It is infested with worms and maggots (Isa 14:11). This language could be figurative.

Valley of Hinnom
In the Valley of Hinnom, King Ahaz and King Manasseh offered their sons as sacrifices to the gods of Baal and Molech (2 Chr 28:3; 33:6; 2 Kgs 16:3).
In condemning the valley as a place of idol worship, the prophet Jeremiah anticipated that it would become a “Valley of Slaughter,” a place of judgment for worshipers of foreign gods (Jer 7:30–34; 19:1–13; 32:34–35).
Isaiah predicted that Israel’s enemy Assyria would be destroyed with fire at Hinnom (Isa 30:29–33). Hinnom became closely associated with death, corpses, and punishment—it became a fitting image of God judging the wicked.


The Concept of the Afterlife in Second Temple Period Literature
In the second temple period (16 bc—ad 70), Jewish writers’ views on hell were likely shaped by foreign ideas about the afterlife. Persian and Hellenistic ideas of retribution after death may have encouraged a Jewish belief in different fates for the righteous and the godless. For example, in 1 En. 22:8–13 the author describes a divided dwelling for the dead—a sphere for sinners and another sphere for the righteous.

The author of the book of 1 Enoch does not seem to distinguish between Sheol and gehenna—the terms are used interchangeably (1 En. 51:1–3).

Sheol also began to be viewed as an intermediate holding place for the dead, prior to resurrection. In Iranian thought, the dead had to pass over the Chinvat Bridge in order to reach paradise; demons lurked below the bridge and caused sinners to fall into a pit of torment (Russell, The Devil, 255). The book of 2 Esdras discusses these dual destinies (2 Esd. 7:36). The righteous alone will experience resurrection, according to 1 Enoch (1 En. 22:12–13; 51:1–3). Since resurrection from the dead was only for the righteous, Sheol began to be considered a place of fiery punishment solely for the wicked.

New Testament
The New Testament often distinguishes between ᾅδης (hadēs) and γέεννα (geenna). For instance, a few passages simply use ᾅδης (hadēs) as a synonym for the death or the grave. For example, Acts 2:27 and 2:31 state that Jesus was not left in ᾅδης (hadēs) or “the grave.”

The term γέεννα (geenna) occurs ten times in the Gospels (Matt 5:22, 29; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5) and also in Jas 3:6. The word ᾅδης (hadēs) occurs ten times in the New Testament (Matt 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27, 31; Rev 1:18, 6:8; 20:13, 14).

Jesus’ Teaching on Hell
Jesus teaches that, after their death, people either enter the kingdom of God or are cast into γέεννα (geenna) (Matt 10:28; Luke 13:28). In addition, Jesus discusses three aspects of hell in his teaching: its inhabitants, its features and the extent of its punishment.

Hell’s Inhabitants
Jesus frequently describes those who are destined for ᾅδης (hadēs). Jesus tells the inhabitants of Capernaum that their unbelief will lead them to ᾅδης (hadēs) (Matt 11:20–24). Jesus also warns of several sins that might condemn one to ᾅδης (hadēs), including calling a spiritual brother or sister a fool (Matt 5:22) and giving into sinful tendencies (Matt 5:29–30). For Jesus, a person is either a child of ᾅδης (hadēs) or a child of Abraham (Matt 23:15; Luke 19:9). Jesus questions the scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites about how they expect to escape the condemnation of ᾅδης (hadēs) if they are committing the sins of their ancestors (Matt 23:31–33). In His preaching, Jesus promises the gates of ᾅδης (hadēs) shall not prevail against the church (Matt 16:18).

Descriptions of Hell
Jesus describes hell as an eternal fire where the devil and his angels are destined (Matt 25:41). He also calls it the abyss (Luke 8:31). It is a place of darkness, where a person experiences weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 8:8–12). The weeping suggests suffering and pain while the gnashing of teeth suggests despair and anger.

Beyond these images, Jesus also portrays hell (or ᾅδης, hadēs) in Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). In this passage, ᾅδης (hadēs) is depicted as a permanent abode and a place of torment. Further, it seems it accommodates some individuals, but not others. The rich man went there after dying, and Lazarus did not. Instead, Lazarus is in Abraham’s bosom, a traditional designation for the place of the dead who were righteous in life. This parable also teaches about the irreversible nature of punishment in the afterlife.

The Duration of Hell’s Punishment
There are two primary perspectives on the extent of hell’s punishment. One view contends that the wicked experience eternal conscious suffering (Walvoord, “The Literal”). The other view argues that the wicked eventually are consumed by hell’s fire, thereby forfeiting their existence (Fudge, “The Final End“).
Matthew 10:28 might imply that hell destroys both the body and the soul, making punishment only temporary. However, other texts support the eternal duration of hell’s punishment. For example, Jesus, drawing on Isa 66:24, speaks of hell as the place where the worm never dies and the fire is never extinguished (Mark 9:48). In Matthew 25:46, it seems that the punishment is forever rather than for a while. Jesus claims that upon death some people will go to eternal punishment while others will enter into eternal life.

David Seal, “Hell,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

 

[Johann]

Sure, any standard hebrew bible has it.
וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה."

Secon word from the right.

7And the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and He breathed into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living soul.

זוַיִּ֩יצֶר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה:

 

[DoctrineOfGabriel]

7And the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and He breathed into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living soul.

זוַיִּ֩יצֶר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה:

Wrong translation, it is "and created yehova (yhawe) elohim the man, dirt from the land.... Literal translation...

 

[Johann]

Wrong translation, it is "and created yehova (yhawe) elohim the man, dirt from the land.... Literal translation...

You want to split hairs over the translation?

And Hashem Elohim formed the adam of the aphar min haadamah, and breathed into his nostrils the nishmat chayyim; and the adam became a nefesh chayyah.

וַיִּיצֶר֩ vai·yi·Tzer formed יְהוָ֨ה Yah·weh And the LORD אֱלֹהִ֜ים E·lo·Him God אֶת־ 'et- הָֽאָדָ֗ם ha·'a·Dam, man עָפָר֙ 'a·Far [of] the dust מִן־ min- of הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה ha·'a·da·Mah, the ground וַיִּפַּ֥ח vai·yip·Pach and breathed בְּאַפָּ֖יו be·'ap·Pav into his nostrils נִשְׁמַ֣ת nish·Mat the breath חַיִּ֑ים chai·Yim; of life וַֽיְהִ֥י vay·Hi became הָֽאָדָ֖ם ha·'a·Dam and man לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ le·Ne·fesh soul חַיָּֽה׃ chai·Yah. became a living

From a glance I know you are not familiar with Hebrew, not being facetious.
Johann.

 

[DoctrineOfGabriel]

You want to split hairs over the translation?

And Hashem Elohim formed the adam of the aphar min haadamah, and breathed into his nostrils the nishmat chayyim; and the adam became a nefesh chayyah.

וַיִּיצֶר֩ vai·yi·Tzer formed יְהוָ֨ה Yah·weh And the LORD אֱלֹהִ֜ים E·lo·Him God אֶת־ 'et- הָֽאָדָ֗ם ha·'a·Dam, man עָפָר֙ 'a·Far [of] the dust מִן־ min- of הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה ha·'a·da·Mah, the ground וַיִּפַּ֥ח vai·yip·Pach and breathed בְּאַפָּ֖יו be·'ap·Pav into his nostrils נִשְׁמַ֣ת nish·Mat the breath חַיִּ֑ים chai·Yim; of life וַֽיְהִ֥י vay·Hi became הָֽאָדָ֖ם ha·'a·Dam and man לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ le·Ne·fesh soul חַיָּֽה׃ chai·Yah. became a living

From a glance I know you are not familiar with Hebrew, not being facetious.
Johann.

I was born literally in israel...
The first word is veyatzar... וייצר..
The letter ו is translated usually as and, but unlike english it is connected to the word hence veyatzar... וייצר.
ייצר can mean to creat,or form..
Anyways.. Do not be so fast to judge...
I've been studying bible in hebrew all my life... My weak point in NT, english and greek....

God bless...

 

[Johann]

I was born literally in israel...
The first word is veyatzar... וייצר..
The letter ו is translated usually as and, but unlike english it is connected to the word hence veyatzar... וייצר.
ייצר can mean to creat,or form..
Anyways.. Do not be so fast to judge...
I've been studying bible in hebrew all my life... My weak point in NT, english and greek....

God bless...

Not judging you in a derogative manner-The Vav and the Yod
You would agree the Vav-shortened-is a Yod.
Anyways-more than willing giving you a helping hand, should you wish.

Koine Greek is not difficult, and it will help you expand your English vocabulary @DoctrineOfGabriel
Shalom Achi
Yochanan/Johann

This from Rashi-

formed: [וַיִּיצֶר, with two “yuds,” hints at] two creations, a creation for this world and a creation for the [time of the] resurrection of the dead, but in connection with the animals, which do not stand in judgment, two“yuds” are not written in [the word וַיִּצֶר describing their creation. — [from Tan. Tazria 1]

וַיִּיצֶר: שְׁתֵּי יְצִירוֹת, יְצִירָה לָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וִיצִירָה לִתְחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים, אֲבָל בַּבְּהֵמָה שֶׁאֵינָהּ עוֹמֶדֶת לַדִּין לֹא נִכְתַּב בִּיצִירָתָהּ שְׁנֵי יוֹדִי"ן:
dust from the ground: He gathered dust from the entire earth, from the four directions, so that wherever he [man] would die, it [the earth] would accept him for burial (Tan. Pekudei 3). Another explanation: He took his dust from the place of which it is said (Exod. 20:21): “You shall make Me an altar of earth.” If only it would be an atonement for him, so that he might endure! (Gen. Rabbah 14:8)

עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה: צָבַר עֲפְרוֹ מִכָּל הָאֲדָמָה מֵאַרְבַּע רוּחוֹת, שֶׁכָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁיָּמוּת שָׁם תְּהֵא קוֹלַטְתּוֹ לִקְבוּרָה. דָּבָר אַחֵר נָטַל עֲפָרוֹ מִמָּקוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בּוֹ מִזְבַּח אֲדָמָה תַּעֲשֶׂה לִּי (שמות כ'), הַלְוַאי תִּהְיֶה לוֹ כַפָּרָה וְיוּכַל לַעֲמֹד:
and He breathed into his nostrils: He made him of earthly matter and of heavenly matter: the body of earthly matter the soul of heavenly matter. Because on the first day, heaven and earth were created. On the second day, He created the firmament for the heavenly beings; on the third day [He commanded], “and let the dry land appear,” for the earthly beings; on the fourth day, He created luminaries for the heavenly beings; on the fifth day, [He commanded],“Let the waters swarm,” for the earthly beings; on the sixth day, it became necessary to create for both the heavenly and the earthly beings, for if not, there would be jealousy in the Creation, for these would exceed those by the creation of one day. — [from Gen. Rabbah 12:8]

-I don't endorse Rashi's writings.

 

[DoctrineOfGabriel]

Not judging you in a derogative manner-The Vav and the Yod
You would agree the Vav-shortened-is a Yod.
Anyways-more than willing giving you a helping hand, should you wish.

Koine Greek is not difficult, and it will help you expand your English vocabulary @DoctrineOfGabriel
Shalom Achi
Yochanan/Johann

Thank you, my brother is also named יוחנן.

 

[Johann]

Thank you, my brother is also named יוחנן.

HEBREW (יוֹחָנָן)
LANGUAGE FAMILY:
AFRO-ASIATIC > SEMITIC > CENTRAL SEMITIC > HEBREW
ORIGIN:
HEBREW
NAME ROOT:
YÔCHÂNÂN > YEHOCHANAN > IŌÁNNĒS
NATIVE NAME ROOT:
YÔCHÂNÂN (יוֹחָנָן) IŌÁNNĒS (ἸΩΆΝΝΗΣ)
MEANING:
This name derives from the Ancient Greek Iōánnēs (Ἰωάννης), which in turn is a form of the Hebrew name Yôchânân / Yehochanan which means "graced by Yahweh, God is gracious".

There are numerous forms of the name in different languages. This name is part of the largest etymological root of names made up of more than five hundred variations between male and female in different languages. The name “John” had gained popularity among Jews in Judea and Galilee by the time the area became a province of the Roman Empire in 6 A.D. John Hyrcanus was the first king of the Hasmonean Dynasty and was the nephew of Judas Maccabeus. It was the given name of Yochanan ben Zechariah, a Jewish prophet known in English as John the Baptist.

A short excerpt on the name Yochanan.

השם יברך
Johann.

 

[Johann]

Gehenna is an actual place in or by Jerusalem, right? So why was the proper name abandoned and replaced with "Hell"? Or am I misunderstanding - again? View attachment 32094

Jewish sources are conflicted about what happens after we die.

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Like other spiritual traditions, Judaism offers a range of views on the afterlife, including some parallels to the concepts of heaven and hell familiar to us from popular Western (i.e., Christian) teachings. While in traditional Jewish thought the subjects of heaven and hell were treated extensively, most modern Jewish thinkers have shied away from this topic, preferring to follow the biblical model, which focuses on life on earth.

The Bible’s Sheol: An Underground Abyss
The subject of death is treated inconsistently in the Bible, though most often it suggests that physical death is the end of life. This is the case with such central figures as Abraham, Moses, and Miriam.

There are, however, several biblical references to a place called Sheol (cf. Numbers 30, 33). It is described as a region “dark and deep,” “the Pit,” and “the Land of Forgetfulness,” where human beings descend after death. The suggestion is that in the netherworld of Sheol, the deceased, although cut off from God and humankind, live on in some shadowy state of existence.

While this vision of Sheol is rather bleak (setting precedents for later Jewish and Christian ideas of an underground hell) there is generally no concept of judgment or reward and punishment attached to it. In fact, the more pessimistic books of the Bible, such as Ecclesiastes and Job, insist that all of the dead go down to Sheol, whether good or evil, rich or poor, slave or free man (Job 3:11-19).

The Temple’s Destruction and the World to Come

The development of the concept of life after death is related to the development of eschatology (speculation about the “end of days”) in Judaism. Beginning in the period following the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem (586 BCE), several of the classical Israelite prophets (Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah) began forecasting a better future for their people.

However, with repeated military defeats and episodes of exile and dislocation culminating in the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Jewish thinkers began to lose hope in any immediate change, instead investing greater expectations in a messianic future and in life after death. This was coupled with the introduction into Judaism of Hellenistic notions of the division of the material, perishable body and the spiritual, eternal soul.

The catastrophe of 70 CE caused a theological crisis. How could it be that the God of Israel would simply allow His sanctuary to be destroyed and His people to be vanquished at the hands of the Roman Empire? While the rabbis often claimed that it was the Israelites’ sinfulness that led God to allow it to be defeated (mi–p’nei hataeinu, “because of our sins”), it was more difficult to explain why good and decent individual Jews were made to suffer.

This led to the development of another theological claim:

Rabbi Ya’akov taught: This world is compared to an ante-chamber that leads to Olam Ha–Ba, (the World-to-Come)” (PirkeiAvot4:21). That is, while a righteous person might suffer in this lifetime, he or she will certainly be rewarded in the next world, and that reward will be much greater.

In fact, in some cases, the rabbis claim that the righteous are made to suffer in this world so that their reward will be that much greater in the next (LeviticusRabbah27:1).

The World to Come and the Garden of Eden
What the next world is, however, is far from clear. The rabbis use the term Olam Ha-Ba to refer to a heaven-like afterlife as well as to the messianic era or the age of resurrection, and it is often difficult to know which one is being referred to. When the Talmud does speak of Olam Ha-Ba in connection to the afterlife, it often uses it interchangeably with the term Gan Eden (“the Garden of Eden”), referring to a heavenly realm where souls reside after physical death.

The use of the term Gan Eden to describe “heaven” suggests that the rabbis conceived of the afterlife as a return to the blissful existence of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the “fall.” It is generally believed that in Gan Eden the human soul exists in a disembodied state until the time of bodily resurrection in the days of the Messiah.

One interesting talmudic story, in which the World to Come almost certainly refers to a heavenly afterlife, tells of Rabbi Joseph, the son of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, who dies and returns back to life.

“His father asked him, ‘What did you see?’ He replied, ‘I beheld a world the reverse of this one; those who are on top here were below there, and vice versa.’ He [Joshua ben Levi] said to him, ‘My son, you have seen a corrected world.'”

In the kabbalistic (Jewish mystical) tradition, there is much discussion about the voyages of the human soul to the Garden of Eden and other heavenly realms during one’s life on earth. In the Zohar, the greatest of the medieval mystical works, there are many stories about the soul-ascents of various members of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai’s mystical brotherhood. Most often, these journeys take place at night, while the body is at rest (see, for example, Zohar I: Parashat Vayehi, 217b-218b).

Gehinnom: A Jewish Hell
Only truly righteous souls ascend directly to the Garden of Eden, say the sages. The average person descends to a place of punishment and/or purification, generally referred to as Gehinnom.

The name is taken from a valley (Gei Hinnom) just south of Jerusalem, once used for child sacrifice by the pagan nations of Canaan (II Kings 23:10). Some view Gehinnom as a place of torture and punishment, fire and brimstone. Others imagine it less harshly, as a place where one reviews the actions of his/her life and repents for past misdeeds.

The soul’s sentence in Gehinnom is usually limited to a 12-month period of purgation before it takes its place in Olam Ha-Ba (see: Mishnah Eduyot 2:10 and Shabbat 33b). This 12-month limit is reflected in the yearlong mourning cycle and the recitation of the Kaddish (the memorial prayer for the dead).

Only the utterly wicked do not ascend to the Garden of Eden at the end of this year. Sources differ on what happens to these souls at the end of their initial time of purgation. Some say that the wicked are utterly destroyed and cease to exist, while others believe in eternal damnation (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Law of Repentance, 3:5-6).

We Don’t Know, So Must Make Our Lives Count
As is clear from this brief discussion, the Jewish tradition contains a variety of opinions on the subjects of heaven and hell. And modern Jewish thinkers have generally shied away from the topic.

However, the rise of interest in mysticism in the last several decades has prompted a renewed discussion about the afterlife. Given the rich mythical descriptions of the afterlife in the classical Jewish tradition, we must ask how such imagery impacts our views of heaven and hell and the destiny of the human soul.

Are these ideas to be dismissed as the wishes of earlier, less sophisticated religious seekers? Have advances in the natural sciences made it impossible for us to believe in life after death? Or has our disillusionment with certain aspects of modernity — particularly its great reliance on rationality — reopened the possibility of belief in the afterlife in our day?

 

[Grailhunter]

Thank you, my brother is also named יוחנן.

Hey anyway welcome.....stick around
Be patient with the Christians....I grew up with Jews.
Give us some details......
What sect of Judaism and details?
And where can I get the kind of Hebrew Bible that you have?