Most modern translations of the Bible transliterate the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades, both of which refer to the death state from which resurrection is possible. It is still, however, the general practice to translate Gehenna as “hell,” allowing readers to think that the reference is to a place of eternal torment.

Gehenna is the Greek form of the Hebrew Gai Hinnom, or “Valley of Hinnom,” and until recently the scholarly consensus was that this was originally the name of the city garbage dump of Jerusalem. Consequently, Smith’s Bible Dictionary states: “This was  originally  the  valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their destruction.” [1]

The Valley of Hinnom today (southeast of Jerusalem)

In explaining Gehenna, it was quite natural for Brother Russell to accept this explanation. Thus, in Reprint 700 (originally published in 1884) the statement is made: “Gehenna (the name of a valley outside of Jerusalem where fires were kept burning to destroy the offal of the city, and never used as a place of torture) is used in Scripture to represent in a symbolic manner the utter and hopeless destruction (not torment) of the second death, from which there is no hope of recovery.” [2]

The “garbage dump” theory lends itself to the thought that the incorrigibly wicked will be destroyed, not tormented. Understanding Gehenna to refer to the “second death” is in line with Jesus’ own teaching: “Fear him [God] who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matthew 10:28, ASV margin). That is, God can destroy both the body and also the “soul” (the prospect of future life) in Gehenna. However, not everyone has drawn this conclusion. Besides stating that Gehenna is  “a fit symbol of the wicked and their destruction,” Smith also states that this term is used “for the place of future punishment.” Sound logic, however, indicates that if Gehenna was originally a garbage dump where nothing live was cast, it must be a symbol of annihilation.

The problem is that, while the New Testament may indicate contextually that Gehenna is a symbol of the second death, we must rely on scholarship to explain the background of this term.  Brother  Russell relied on the scholarship of his own day, but now scholars are increasingly coming to realize that the “garbage dump” explanation is of a later date. It can be traced back only so far as that given by Rabbi David Kimhi [3] around the year 1200 AD. Thus, Thayer’s lexicon states that “this common explanation … is found in Rabbi David Kimchi (fl.c. 1200 AD) on Psalms 37:13.” Kimhi is quoted in R112 (originally published 1880) as follows: “It was a place in the land (valley) near to Jerusalem, and was a place contemptible where they did cast things defiled and carcasses, and there was there a continual fire to burn polluted things and bones … and therefore, the condemnation of the wicked in a parabolic way, is called Gi-hinnom.”

Because this explanation of the city garbage dump can be traced back no further than Kimhi, it is now being called into question. Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman, while himself believing that Jesus taught annihilation for the wicked, states: “As it turns out,  there is no evidence for this claim; it can be traced back to a commentary on the book of Psalms written by Rabbi David Kimhi in the early thirteenth century CE. Neither archaeology nor any ancient text supports the view.” [4]

In an article published in Biblical Archaeologist magazine, Lloyd R. Bailey [5] writes: “Kimhi’s otherwise plausible suggestion, however, finds no support in literary sources or archaeological data from the intertestamental or rabbinic periods. There is no evidence that the valley was, in fact, a garbage dump, and thus his explanation is insufficient.” [6] While others may think that Kimhi’s explanation cannot be entirely discounted,  it is wise to attempt to explain Gehenna without resorting to the garbage dump.

HISTORY OF GEHENNA

The Valley of Hinnom is first mentioned in the Bible as being part of the boundary between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. “And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the side of the Jebusite southward (the same is Jerusalem)” (Joshua 15:8, ASV). Mention of the “son of Hinnom” seems to imply that Hinnom was originally the name of a man, and inheritance of this valley went to his son.

The location became notorious in the days of Judean kings Ahaz and Manasseh. At that time, children were sacrificed to the pagan deity Molech by passing through fire. Concerning Ahaz it is written: “Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel” (2 Chronicles 28:3 ASV). And concerning Manasseh: “He also made his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom” (2 Chronicles 33:6 ASV).

King Josiah, however, as part of his reform, ceremonially defiled the valley so that it could no longer be used for these purposes. “And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech” (2 Kings 23:10 ASV). “Topheth” means “place of burning,” and this was the specific location in the valley where the sacrifices took place. Topheth came to be synonymous with the larger area of Hinnom.

Those who prefer the torture theory of hell may seek to by‑pass the garbage dump and trace the Scriptural meaning of Gehenna back to the human sacrifices, claiming that these are a symbol of torment. We would not expect Jesus to utilize a pagan sacrifice to a false god as an explanation for his use of  Gehenna. Rather, the true meaning of the word is found in Jeremiah’s condemnation of these practices, in which God declares that the Valley of Hinnom would become a place of slaughter.

“And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither came it into my mind. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The Valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place to bury” (Jeremiah 7:31,32 ASV, 19:1‑7, 32:35). Thus, from the divine standpoint, Hinnom (Gehenna) became a symbol of the destruction of the wicked, not torment. We can draw a straight line from Jeremiah to Jesus, without mentioning the garbage dump.

THE TEACHING OF JESUS

Jesus, however, in his teaching about Gehenna, referred to another prophet, Isaiah. He said: “And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into Gehenna; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:47,48, ASV margin). [7] This is a reference to the final verse of Isaiah (66:24) in which those who survive the “little season” at the end of the Millennial Age will consider the judgment of those consigned to the second death. It reads: “And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh” (ASV). Here nothing live is exposed to the consuming fire and devouring worms, but rather “dead bodies” are depicted. This is a picture of annihilation, not torment.

Jesus may also have had in mind the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the king of Assyria: “For a Topheth is prepared of old; yea, for the king it is made ready; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it” (Isaiah 30:33 ASV). Topheth here, being a place of burning, is used as a symbol for the fiery destruction of the king of Assyria. Not that the king went to the final state pictured by Gehenna, but that the destruction could be used to picture that state.

Our  Lord consistently used  Gehenna as a symbol of annihilation. As we have seen, he said that God can “destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (Matthew 10:28, ASV margin). He contrasted entering into Gehenna with entering into life. “And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire” (Matthew 18:9, ASV margin). He meant by this that it is better for someone to lose anything dear to him as an eye than to retain it and be destroyed in Gehenna. He was in full accord with Jeremiah, who described Gehenna (Hinnom) as “The Valley of Slaughter” (Jeremiah 7:32 ASV).

It is not necessary to appeal to the garbage dump as an explanation of Gehenna in order to refute the teaching of eternal torment. Unless or until more evidence is found to substantiate the former, it might be wise to hold this explanation in abeyance.

— Br. Robert Virgil

 

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[1] Quoted from article “Hell,” pages 240‑41.

[2] See also Reprints 2601‑2603 where an explanation is given for each text in the New Testament where the word Gehenna appears. Reproduced in the booklet Where Are the Dead? pages 37‑48, published by Chicago Bible Students.

[3] Alternatively pronounced “Kimchi.”

[4] Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. 2020. Simon & Schuster: New York, NY. Pages 157‑58.

[5] Retired Professor of Hebrew Bible at Duke University and Barrow Professor of Biblical Studies at Mount Olive College.

[6] Biblical Archaeologist, Issue of September 1986. Page 189.

[7] Identical statements about the worm and the fire in verses 44 and 46 of the KJV are not found in the better manuscripts and are therefore omitted in modern translations.

 

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