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Gehenna
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Gehenna (/ɡɪˈhɛnə/ ghi-HEN-ə; Ancient Greek: Γέεννα, romanized: Géenna) or Gehinnom (Hebrew: גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם, romanized: Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm or גֵי־הִנֹּם, Gē-Hīnnōm, 'Valley of Hinnom') is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology.

Key Information

The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:8). During the late First Temple period, it was the site of the Tophet, where some of the kings of Judah had sacrificed their children by fire (Jeremiah 7:31).[1] Thereafter, it was cursed by the biblical prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 19:2–6).[2]

In later rabbinic literature, "Gehinnom" became associated with divine punishment as the destination of the wicked for the atonement of their sins.[3][4] The term is different from the more neutral term Sheol, the abode of the dead. The King James Version of the Bible translates both with the Anglo-Saxon word hell.

Etymology

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The Hebrew Bible refers to the valley as the "Valley of the son of Hinnom" (Hebrew: גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם),[5][6] or "Valley of Hinnom" (גֵי־הִנֹּם).[7] In Mishnaic Hebrew and Judeo-Aramaic languages, the name was contracted into Gēhīnnōm (גֵיהִינֹּם) or Gēhīnnām (גֵיהִינָּם) meaning "hell".

The English name "Gehenna" derives from the Koine Greek transliteration (Γέεννα) found in the New Testament.[8]

Geography

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1631 map showing the "Valée des enfans d'Ennon".
Valley of Hinnom identified with the Wadi er Rababi in the 1865 Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem
The Valley of Hinnom identified with the Wadi er Rababi, in a 1940s Survey of Palestine map
Valley of Hinnom 1948
Valley of Hinnom 2007
Tombs in the Valley of Hinnom

The exact location of the Valley of Hinnom is disputed. George Adam Smith wrote in 1907 that there are three possible locations considered by historical writers:[9]

  • East of the Old City (today identified as the Valley of Josaphat)
  • Within the Old City (today identified as the Tyropoeon Valley): Many commentaries give the location as below the southern wall of ancient Jerusalem, stretching from the foot of Mount Zion eastward past the Tyropoeon Valley to the Kidron Valley. However, the Tyropoeon Valley is usually no longer associated with the Valley of Hinnom because during the period of Ahaz and Manasseh, the Tyropoeon lay within the city walls and child sacrifice would have been practiced outside the walls of the city.
  • Wadi ar-Rababi: Dalman (1930),[10] Bailey (1986)[11] and Watson (1992)[12] identify the Wadi al-Rababi, which fits the description of Joshua that the Hinnom Valley ran east to west and lay outside the city walls. According to Joshua, the valley began at Ein Rogel. If the modern Bir Ayyub in Silwan is Ein Rogel, then Wadi ar-Rababi, which begins there, is Hinnom.[13]

Archaeology

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Main article: Tophet

Child sacrifice at other Tophets contemporary with the Bible accounts (700–600 BCE) of the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh has been established, such as the bones of children sacrificed at the Tophet to the goddess Tanit in Phoenician Carthage,[14] and also child sacrifice in ancient Syria-Palestine.[15] Scholars such as Mosca (1975) have concluded that the sacrifice recorded in the Hebrew Bible, such as Jeremiah's comment that the worshippers of Baal had "filled this place with the blood of innocents", is literal.[16][17] Yet, the biblical words in the Book of Jeremiah describe events taking place in the seventh century in the place of Ben-Hinnom: "Because they [the Israelites] have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind; therefore, behold, days are coming", declares the Lord, "when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter".[18] J. Day, Heider, and Mosca believe that the Moloch cult took place in the valley of Hinnom at the Topheth.[19]

No archaeological evidence such as mass children's graves has been found; however, it has been suggested that such a find may be compromised by the heavy population history of the Jerusalem area compared to the Tophet found in Tunisia.[20] The site would also have been disrupted by the actions of Josiah "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). A minority of scholars have attempted to argue that the Bible does not portray actual child sacrifice, but only dedication to the god by fire; however, they are judged to have been "convincingly disproved" (Hay, 2011).[21]

There is evidence however that the southwest shoulder of this valley (Ketef Hinnom) was a burial location with numerous burial chambers that were reused by generations of families from as early as the seventh until the fifth century BCE. The use of this area for tombs continued into the first centuries BCE and CE. By 70 CE, the area was not only a burial site but also a place for cremation of the dead with the arrival of the Tenth Roman Legion, who were the only group known to practice cremation in this region.[22]

The concept of Gehinnom

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Judaism

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Hebrew Bible

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The oldest historical reference to “the Valley of the Son of Hinnom” is found in the Book of Joshua (15:8 and 18:16) which describe tribal boundaries.[1] The following reference to the valley is at the time of King Ahaz of Judah, who, according to 2 Chronicles 28:3, “burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire”.[1] Later, in 33:6, it is said that Ahaz's grandson, king Manasseh of Judah, also “caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom”. Debate remains as to whether the phrase "cause his children to pass through the fire" referred to a religious ceremony in which the Moloch priest would walk the child between two lanes of fire, or to literal child sacrifice wherein the child is thrown into the fire.

The Book of Isaiah does not mention Gehenna by name, but the "burning place" (30:33) in which the Assyrian army is to be destroyed, may be read in Hebrew as "Topheth". Similarly, Isaiah 66:24 describes the bodies of sinners burning near Jerusalem.

During the reign of Josiah, Jeremiah condemned the Topheth worship which was conducted in the Hinnom valley (7:31–32, 32:35). Josiah destroyed the shrine of Moloch on Topheth to prevent anyone sacrificing children there (2 Kings 23:10). Despite Josiah's ending of the practice, Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem itself would be made like Gehenna and Topheth (19:2–6, 19:11–14).

A purely geographical reference appears in Nehemiah 11:30: the exiles returning from Babylon encamped from Beersheba to Hinnom.

Targums (Aramaic translations)

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Valley of Hinnom, 1854

The Targums (ancient Jewish paraphrase-translations of the Hebrew Bible) frequently supply the term "Gehinnom" to verses touching upon resurrection, judgment, and the fate of the wicked.[23] For example, Targum Jonathan to Isaiah 66:24 interprets the Biblical phrase "they [the corpses of sinners] shall be an abhorrence to all flesh" as "the evildoers shall be judged in Gehenna until the righteous say of them: We have seen enough".[24]

Rabbinical Judaism

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Gehinnom[25] became a figurative name for the place of spiritual purification for the wicked dead in Judaism.[26] According to most Jewish sources, the period of purification or punishment is limited to only 12 months and every Sabbath day is excluded from punishment, while the fires of Gehinnom are banked and its tortures are suspended. For the duration of Shabbat, the spirits who are serving time there are released to roam the earth. At Motza'ei Shabbat, the angel Dumah, who has charge over the souls of the wicked, herds them back for another week of torment.[4] After this the soul will move on to Olam Ha-Ba (the world to come), be destroyed, or continue to exist in a state of consciousness of remorse.[27]

In classic rabbinic sources, Gehinnom occasionally occurs as a place of punishment or destruction of the wicked.[28] Rabbi Joshua ben Levi is said to have wandered through Gehenna, like Dante, under the guidance of the angel Duma. Joshua describes seven chambers of Gehenna, each one presided over by a famous sinner from Jewish history, and populated by deceased sinners suffering brutal punishments.[29] According to another rabbinic story, the ancient Israelite leader Jair once threatened to burn alive those individuals who refused to worship Baal. In response, God sent the angel Nathaniel, who rescued the individuals and declared to Jair that "you will die, and die by fire, a fire in which you will abide forever."[30]

Rabbinic texts contain various answers to the questions of who suffers in Gehenna and for how long. According to the Tosefta, normal sinners are punished in Gehenna for 12 months, after which their souls leave Gehenna and turn into dust; while heretics, those who abandon the community (porshim midarkhei tzibur), and those who cause the masses to sin, suffer in Gehenna eternally.[31] The Talmud states that all who enter Gehenna eventually leave it, except for adulterers, those who humiliate others in public, and those who call others by derogatory names.[32]

The traditional explanation that a burning rubbish heap in the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem gave rise to the idea of a fiery Gehenna of judgment is attributed to Rabbi David Kimhi (c. 1200 CE). He maintained that historically, in this valley fires were kept burning perpetually to consume the filth and cadavers thrown into it; therefore, the judgment of the evil after death was metaphorically named after the valley.[33] While this claim is logically plausible,[34] there is no direct archaeological nor literary evidence for it.[35]

Maimonides declares, in his 13 principles of faith, that the descriptions of Gehinnom as a place of punishment in rabbinic literature, were pedagogically motivated inventions to encourage respect of the Torah commandments by mankind, which had been regarded as immature.[36] Instead of being sent to Gehenna, the souls of the wicked would actually get annihilated.[37]

Christianity

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Ethiopian Orthodox Old Testament

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Frequent references to "Gehenna" are also made in the books of Meqabyan, which are considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[38]

New Testament

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In the King James Version of the Bible, the term appears 13 times in 11 different verses as Valley of Hinnom, Valley of the son of Hinnom or Valley of the children of Hinnom.

In the synoptic Gospels the various authors describe Jesus, who was Jewish, as using the word Gehenna to describe the opposite to life in the Kingdom (Mark 9:43–48). The term is used 11 times in these writings.[39] In certain usage, the Christian Bible refers to it as a place where both soul (Greek: ψυχή, psyche) and body could be destroyed (Matthew 10:28) in "unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:43).[40]

Christian usage of Gehenna often serves to admonish adherents of the religion to live righteous lives. Examples of Gehenna in the Christian New Testament include:

  • Matthew 5:22: "....whoever shall say, 'You fool', shall be guilty enough to go into Gehenna."
  • Matthew 5:29: "....it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into Gehenna."
  • Matthew 5:30: "....better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to go into Gehenna."
  • Matthew 10:28: "....rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul [Greek: ψυχή] and body in Gehenna."
  • Matthew 18:9: "It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than with two eyes to be thrown into the Gehenna...."
  • Matthew 23:15: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you... make one proselyte...twice as much a child of Gehenna as yourselves."
  • Matthew 23:33, to the Pharisees: "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of Gehenna?"
  • Mark 9:43: "It is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into Gehenna into the unquenchable fire."
  • Mark 9:45: "It is better for you to enter life lame, than having your two feet, to be cast into Gehenna."
  • Mark 9:47: "It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into Gehenna."
  • Luke 12:5: "....fear the One who, after He has killed has authority to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, fear Him."

Another book to use the word Gehenna in the New Testament is James:[41]

  • James 3:6: "And the tongue is a fire,...and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by Gehenna."

New Testament translations

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The New Testament also refers to Hades as a place distinct from Gehenna.[citation needed] Unlike Gehenna, Hades typically conveys neither fire nor punishment but forgetfulness. The Book of Revelation describes Hades being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). The King James Version is the only English translation in modern use to translate Sheol, Hades, Tartarus (Greek ταρταρώσας; lemma: ταρταρόω tartaroō), and Gehenna as Hell. In the New Testament, the New International Version, New Living Translation, New American Standard Bible (among others) all reserve the term "hell" for the translation of Gehenna or Tartarus (see above), transliterating Hades as a term directly from the equivalent Greek term.[42]

Treatment of Gehenna in Christianity is significantly affected by whether the distinction in Hebrew and Greek between Gehenna and Hades was maintained:

Translations with a distinction:

  • The fourth century Gothic Bible was the first bible translation to use the Germanic root Halja, and maintains a distinction between Hades and Gehenna. However, unlike later translations, Halja (Matt 11:23) is reserved for Hades,[43] and Gehenna is transliterated to Gaiainnan (Matt 5:30), which ironically is the opposite to modern translations that translate Gehenna into Hell and leave Hades untranslated (see below).
  • The late fourth century Latin Vulgate transliterates the Greek Γέεννα "gehenna" with "gehenna" (e.g. Matt 5:22) while using "infernus" ("coming from below, of the underworld") to translate ᾅδης (Hades]).
  • The 19th century Young's Literal Translation tries to be as literal a translation as possible and does not use the word Hell at all, keeping the words Hades and Gehenna untranslated.[44]
  • The 19th century Arabic Van Dyck distinguishes Gehenna from Sheol.
  • The 20th century New International Version, New Living Translation and New American Standard Bible reserve the term "Hell" only for when Gehenna or Tartarus is used. All translate Sheol and Hades in a different fashion. For a time the exception to this was the 1984 edition of the New International Version's translation in Luke 16:23, which was its singular rendering of Hades as Hell. The 2011 edition renders it as Hades.
  • In texts in Greek, and consistently in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the distinctions present in the originals were often maintained. The Russian Synodal Bible (and one translation by the Old Church Slavonic) also maintain the distinction. In modern Russian, the concept of Hell (Ад) is directly derived from Hades (Аид), separate and independent of Gehenna. Fire imagery is attributed primarily to Gehenna, which is most commonly mentioned as Gehenna the Fiery (Геенна огненная), and appears to be synonymous to the lake of fire.
  • The New World Translation, used by Jehovah's Witnesses, maintains a distinction between Gehenna and Hades by transliterating Gehenna, and by rendering "Hades" (or "Sheol") as "the Grave". Earlier editions left all three names untranslated.
  • The word "hell" is not used in the New American Bible,[45] except in a footnote in the book of Job translating an alternative passage from the Vulgate, in which the word corresponds to Jerome's "inferos," itself a translation of "sheol." "Gehenna" is untranslated, "Hades" either untranslated or rendered "netherworld," and "sheol" rendered "nether world."

Translations without a distinction:

  • The late tenth century Wessex Gospels and the 14th century Wycliffe Bible render both the Latin inferno and gehenna as Hell.
  • The 16th century Tyndale and later translators had access to the Greek, but Tyndale translated both Gehenna and Hades as same English word, Hell.
  • The 17th century King James Version of the Bible is the only English translation in modern use to translate Sheol, Hades, and Gehenna by calling them all "Hell."

Some Christians consider Gehenna to be a place of eternal conscious punishment.[46] Some other Christians, however, imagine Gehenna to be a place where sinners are tormented for a limited amount of time until they are eventually destroyed, soul and body. Some other Christians believe that Gehenna is a metaphor for complete destruction of soul and body, and that those who are "cast" into it will not experience any torment; they will just cease to exist. Some Christian scholars, however, have suggested that Gehenna may be a different type of metaphor, a prophetic one for the horrible fate that awaited the many civilians killed in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.[47][48]

Islam

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The name given to Hell in Islam, Jahannam, directly derives from Gehenna.[49] The Quran contains 77 references to the Islamic interpretation of Gehenna (جهنم), but does not mention Sheol / Hades as the "abode of the dead", and instead uses the word "Qabr" (قبر, meaning grave).

See also

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References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Gehenna

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from Grokipedia
Gehenna, also known as the Valley of Hinnom (Hebrew: Gei Ben-Hinnom), is a historic ravine located south of , now identified as er-Rababi, which served as a site for idolatrous child sacrifices to the deity Molech during the reigns of kings and Manasseh in ancient Judah. In the , it is depicted as a place of abomination and , where the prophet foretold it would become a valley of slaughter for the unburied corpses of the wicked, later renamed the Valley of Slaughter (Jer. 7:32–33; 19:6–7). In , Gehenna evolved from this physical location into a metaphorical realm of punishment for the wicked after death, often described as a fiery pit of torment that replaced the earlier neutral concept of as the underworld. Drawing on prophetic imagery of unquenchable fire and undying worms (Isa. 66:24), intertestamental literature such as 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra portrayed Gehenna as a place of eternal retribution for the damned, contrasting sharply with the bliss of Olam Ha-Ba () reserved for the righteous. Rabbinic texts further developed this idea, viewing Gehenna as a purgatorial or retributive space where souls undergo purification or final judgment, though interpretations varied on the duration—ranging from temporary for lesser sins to everlasting exclusion for the unrepentant. The term Gehenna (Greek: geenna) appears 12 times in the New Testament, primarily in the teachings of Jesus within the Synoptic Gospels, where it symbolizes eschatological judgment and the destruction of the unrighteous rather than mere physical death (Matt. 5:22, 29–30; 10:28; Mark 9:43, 47–48). In these contexts, Jesus contrasts Gehenna's "fire that is not quenched" and "worm that does not die" with entry into the Kingdom of God, emphasizing moral urgency and the consequences of sin (Matt. 18:9; James 3:6). This usage built on first-century Jewish understandings, transforming the valley's grim history into a vivid emblem of divine justice in both Jewish and emerging Christian traditions.

Terminology and Origins

Etymology

The term Gehenna originates from the Hebrew phrase Gê-Ḥinnōm, literally translating to "Valley of Hinnom," where gê denotes "valley" in Hebrew and Ḥinnōm (or Hinnom) is presumed to be a , possibly referring to a or pre-Israelite landowner who owned or was associated with the area. This etymological structure reflects the valley's identification as a specific topographic feature south of ancient , with the name appearing in varied forms such as Ge Ben-Hinnom (Valley of the Son of Hinnom) in some biblical contexts. The earliest biblical references to Gê-Ḥinnōm occur in the Book of Joshua 15:8 and 18:16, where it functions solely as a neutral geographic boundary marker delineating the territories of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin during the Israelite conquest and settlement. These passages present the term without any pejorative connotations, emphasizing its role in land division rather than symbolic significance. Over time, within the , the meaning of Gê-Ḥinnōm shifted from a literal place-name to a symbol of impurity, largely due to its association with Canaanite-influenced practices of conducted at the nearby site in honor of the deity , as condemned in texts like 2 Kings 23:10 and Jeremiah 7:31. These prohibitions highlight the valley's desecration through Phoenician and Canaanite religious s, transforming it into a metaphor for moral and spiritual defilement and eventual . By the prophetic writings, such as 66:24, the location evokes imagery of unquenchable fire and unending disgrace for the wicked, establishing its early symbolic role as a site of punishment.

Linguistic Variations

The term "Gehenna" was first transliterated into Greek as Géenna (Γέεννα) in the , the Greek translation of the , appearing in 15:8 to refer to the Valley of Hinnom. This form was retained in the , where it occurs 12 times, primarily in the Gospels, as a direct borrowing from the Hebrew Gê’ Ḥinnōm. In the Latin , translated by in the late 4th century, the term appears as Geennom, as seen in 15:8 ("convallem filii Ennom... contra Geennom"), preserving the Hebrew structure while adapting it to Latin phonetics. This Latin rendering significantly influenced Western Christian terminology and scriptural traditions, embedding Gehenna into medieval and . Aramaic adaptations in the Targums, ancient interpretive translations of the Hebrew Bible, render the term as Gehinnom or Gehinnam (ܓܗܢܐ in Syriac Aramaic script), often with added interpretive layers that highlight destructive or fiery imagery in post-biblical contexts. These forms, derived from the Hebrew, appear in rabbinic literature to denote a place of judgment, reflecting Aramaic's role as a lingua franca in Jewish texts from the Second Temple period onward. The Islamic term (جهنم) derives from the Hebrew ge-hinnom via intermediaries, with possible transmission through Syriac or Ethiopic gahannam, entering as a in the where it denotes a of with multiple gates. This adaptation underscores the cross-cultural linguistic exchange in the during . In modern languages, "Gehenna" remains the standard English form, pronounced approximately as /ɡəˈhɛnə/, though scholarly discussions note variations like /ɡɪˈhɛnə/ influenced by classical Greek reconstruction, with occasional /dʒɪˈhɛnə/ echoes from Arabic Jahannam. In French, it is typically Géhenne, pronounced /ʒe.ɛn/, as used in translations like the Louis Segond Bible, reflecting Romance phonetic shifts. These contemporary usages preserve the term's biblical roots while adapting to vernacular phonology in European languages.

The Valley of Hinnom

Geography

The Valley of Hinnom, also known as Gehenna in later contexts, is situated south and west of ancient , forming a deep ravine that extends westward from its confluence with the near the , curving around the southern side of the city. It forms a natural boundary between to the north and the Hill of Evil Counsel (modern Givat Hananya or Abu Tor) to the south. This positioning places it in close proximity to key ancient sites, including the City of David and the ridge to the east, with the Hinnom Brook (modern Nahal Hinnom) flowing intermittently through its course. Topographically, the valley is a narrow, steep approximately 2 kilometers in length, characterized by rocky terrain and sharp descents that deepen as it curves southward before turning eastward. Today, it is identified with the er-Rababi (also spelled Wadi Rababa), a dry riverbed that features seasonal streams during winter rains, contributing to its arid, rugged landscape. In modern times, the valley has undergone significant urban development amid Jerusalem's expansion, with the neighborhood encroaching from the east and infrastructure like roads, a promenade, and a altering its natural contours. Much of the area remains a green space with stone terraces and olive groves, though it now includes paved paths connecting west Jerusalem's to 's Al-Bustan area. These changes have integrated the once-isolated ravine into the city's fabric while preserving elements of its seasonal hydrological features.

Archaeology

Archaeological investigations in the Valley of Hinnom have primarily consisted of salvage excavations due to the area's integration into modern , yielding evidence of burials and destruction layers but no confirmation of the biblical as a site of . The proposed Tophet, described in texts like 7:31 as a location for offerings to Molech, has not been identified through digs; extensive surveys and excavations in the valley and broader have uncovered no urns, altars, or remains indicative of infant immolation, contrasting with well-documented Punic tophets in featuring thousands of cremated urns from the 9th century BCE onward. Significant findings come from , a on the valley's southwestern slope excavated by Gabriel Barkay in 1979–1980, where seven rock-cut burial caves dating to the late 8th–early 6th centuries BCE contained repositories with disarticulated human bones, pottery shards (including Judean storage jars and bowls), and faunal remains from domestic animals like sheep and goats. These artifacts reflect standard Judahite mortuary practices, including the reuse of tombs and secondary burial, with no signs of ritual sacrifice; among the most notable discoveries were two tiny silver amulets inscribed with the from Numbers 6, the earliest known biblical texts. Adjacent excavations in the City of David by Yigal Shiloh (1978–1985) exposed thick burn layers up to 60 cm deep along the southwestern slope above the valley, comprising ash, charred wood, collapsed mud-brick structures, and scattered pottery and animal bones from the Babylonian destruction of 586 BCE, corroborating textual accounts of widespread conflagration and confirming Canaanite-influenced in the region through imported ceramics and high-place remnants. Evidence from the Second Temple period (c. 516 BCE–70 CE) includes quarry activity and sporadic industrial debris in the valley, such as lime production pits with ash deposits, but no substantial layers indicating use as a municipal dump for or corpses; scholarly consensus attributes such waste disposal to the nearby , where stratified garbage layers with organic refuse and burnt materials have been documented, undermining traditional interpretations of perpetual fires in Hinnom. In the , urban encroachment has limited large-scale digs, but salvage operations like the 2006 excavation in Ben Hinnom ( Permit A-4891) revealed plastered pools and agricultural terraces from Hellenistic to Byzantine times, while a probe in the northern valley uncovered Iron Age architecture beneath later fills. Geomagnetic surveys, applied regionally to date burnt destruction layers via iron oxide alignments in and bricks, have refined chronologies for Jerusalem's sites but have not been extensively used in Hinnom due to sparse combustion evidence; ongoing debates center on the Tophet's precise location, with proposals ranging from the valley floor to nearby slopes, though no consensus exists amid preservation challenges.

Religious Interpretations

In Judaism

In the , Gehenna refers to the Valley of Hinnom (Gei Hinnom), a location near infamous for child sacrifices to the deity Molech during the monarchy period. Texts such as 2 Kings 23:10 describe King defiling the site by burning human bones there to halt these practices, while 7:31–32 and 19:6 denounce the building of high places for such sacrifices, renaming the valley the "Valley of Slaughter" as a symbol of impending against . This physical site's association with fire and desecration evolved into symbolic imagery of judgment, as seen in 30:33, which evokes a pyre-like "Topheth" prepared for the king of , and 66:24, depicting unending fire and worms consuming the rebellious. These passages frame Gehenna not as an realm but as a cursed earthly locale embodying God's wrath against sin. Aramaic Targumim, interpretive translations of the composed between the Second Temple and early rabbinic periods, began transforming Gehenna into a more explicitly infernal concept by incorporating eschatological punishment motifs. These expansions reflect Hellenistic influences on Jewish , blending the valley's historical stigma with apocalyptic imagery of eternal fire, though still tied to prophetic oracles rather than a fully developed . In , as articulated in the and (compiled roughly 200–500 CE), Gehenna emerges as a post-mortem spiritual domain for purification or punishment, distinct from Sheol's shadowy neutrality and not conceived as eternal torment. 10:1 affirms that all has a share in except certain heretics and sinners, who face Gehenna as a consequence, while Babylonian 33b describes it as a fiery valley where the wicked, including biblical figures like , undergo torment to atone for sins, typically lasting twelve months before the soul's release. Rabbinic texts distinguish two forms: an immediate, soul-only Gehenna for interim cleansing and an eschatological version post-resurrection involving body and soul, emphasizing divine mercy over endless suffering—most souls eventually ascend to paradise, with only the utterly wicked annihilated. This framework underscores ethical living and , portraying Gehenna as a corrective process rather than vindictive hellfire. Intertestamental literature like 1 Enoch further developed these ideas, portraying fiery valleys of punishment for the wicked and , influencing later rabbinic conceptions of Gehenna. Medieval Kabbalistic literature, particularly the (late ), reinterprets Gehenna as a mystical cleansing force within the divine structure, purifying souls of impurities through fiery trials to restore cosmic harmony. In the 's cosmology, Gehenna operates as a purgatorial realm under angelic oversight, lasting up to twelve months for emotional and spiritual refinement, aligning with earlier rabbinic durations but integrating it into the (divine emanations) as a necessary step toward union with the . This view emphasizes Gehenna's role in tikkun (repair), transforming punishment into redemptive suffering. In , Gehenna retains much of this purgatorial essence, viewed as a temporary mechanism, though literal interpretations vary; and progressive streams often treat it metaphorically as psychological or communal consequences of sin, prioritizing ethical action over speculation.

In Christianity

In Christian theology, Gehenna primarily appears in the New Testament as a term denoting a place of divine judgment and punishment for the wicked after death. The Greek word geenna (γέεννα), derived from the Hebrew gê-hinnōm, occurs 12 times in the New Testament, 11 times in the Synoptic Gospels in the teachings of Jesus, and once in the Epistle of James (James 3:6). For instance, in Matthew 5:22, Jesus states that anyone who calls a brother a "fool" will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna, portraying it as a consequence of unrighteous anger. Similarly, Matthew 10:28 instructs believers to fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna, highlighting total destruction rather than mere physical death. In Mark 9:43-47, Jesus describes Gehenna as a place of unquenchable fire where it is better to enter life maimed than to have two hands or eyes and be thrown into the fire, underscoring its role as a symbol of irreversible loss for the unrepentant. Luke 12:5 echoes this by urging fear of God, who after killing has authority to cast into Gehenna. These passages collectively frame Gehenna as a fiery realm of final retribution, distinct from Hades (the intermediate state of the dead), and tied to Jesus' teachings on moral accountability and the kingdom of God. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's Old Testament, translated into Ge'ez from Hebrew and Greek sources between the 4th and 14th centuries, uniquely retains and amplifies Gehenna's punitive imagery in prophetic books like Isaiah and Jeremiah, influencing early African Christian eschatology. In this canon, which includes broader deuterocanonical texts, Gehenna is depicted not only as a historical valley of abomination but as a prophetic symbol of fiery judgment, such as in Jeremiah's visions of retribution against idolatry. This emphasis shaped Ethiopian liturgy and art, portraying Gehenna as an eternal fire for the damned, distinct from Western traditions by integrating apocalyptic elements from the Book of Enoch, where fiery valleys serve as the abode of fallen angels and apostates undergoing torment. Such translations reinforced a vivid doctrine of hell in Ethiopian Christianity, emphasizing moral purification through fear of divine justice from the church's ancient roots in the 4th century. Early Church Fathers offered varied interpretations of Gehenna, evolving from metaphorical to more literal views of punishment. Origen (c. 185–254 CE) interpreted Gehenna's fire as remedial and purifying, part of his doctrine of apokatastasis (universal restoration), where even the devil might eventually be reconciled to God through pedagogical torment rather than endless suffering. Jerome (c. 347–420 CE), in contrast, critiqued Origen's universalism in works like his Letter to Avitus (Epistle 124), highlighting the problematic nature of Origen's views on the restoration of all beings, including demons, through cycles of punishment. By the medieval period, this literalist perspective culminated in Dante Alighieri's Inferno (c. 1320), which vividly depicts Gehenna-inspired hell as nine circles of escalating eternal torment, drawing on biblical imagery to symbolize unrepentant sin's consequences and solidifying popular Christian views of unending agony. Translation challenges have shaped Christian understandings of Gehenna, with English Bibles like the King James Version (KJV, 1611) and (NIV, 1978) rendering geenna uniformly as "," conflating it with other terms like and obscuring its topographic origins. This choice, rooted in Tyndale's 1526 translation, emphasized a unified of postmortem but sparked debates over accuracy, as some scholars argue for retaining "Gehenna" to preserve ' allusion to the Valley of Hinnom's defilement. In modern ecumenical discussions, Gehenna fuels debates between eternal conscious torment—supported by passages like Revelation 14:11 describing unending smoke of torment—and , which interprets destruction in Gehenna (e.g., Matthew 10:28) as final cessation of existence rather than perpetual suffering, gaining traction among evangelicals like for aligning with divine mercy. These views remain contested, with challenging traditional while affirming 's severity through permanence.

In Islam

In Islamic eschatology, Gehenna is incorporated as Jahannam, the Arabic term for , which serves as a place of in the for evildoers and disbelievers. The word Jahannam derives from the Hebrew Gehenna (referring to the Valley of Hinnom), transmitted through Jewish and Christian influences during the formative period of . It appears over 77 times in the , often depicted as a multi-layered realm of torment involving fire, boiling water, and other afflictions to underscore divine justice. For instance, Quran 2:206 states that for the arrogant sinner, "Hell will be their proper place. What an evil place to rest!" Similarly, Quran 4:56 describes the : "Surely those who reject Our signs, We will cast them into the Fire. Whenever their skin is burnt completely, We will replace it so they will ˹constantly˺ taste the punishment." Other verses evoke boiling water that severs intestines (Quran 47:15) and scalding fluids as drink (Quran 14:16-17), emphasizing Jahannam as one of seven levels of , each corresponding to different sins and intensities of . Hadith literature elaborates on 's structure and torments, portraying it with seven gates designated for specific categories of sinners, such as hypocrites, thieves, and adulterers. A narration in describes the fire's vastness and the least punished inmate's suffering, where even minimal torment feels eternal due to regret. Punishments include repeated burning with skin regrowth to prolong agony, as echoed in prophetic traditions, and chains dragging inhabitants through boiling springs. For Muslim sinners, functions temporarily as purification before eventual entry into paradise, while it remains eternal for disbelievers and polytheists ( 11:107-108). These descriptions aim to instill fear and moral deterrence in earthly life, linking to the Day of Judgment when souls are resurrected and judged. Classical scholars like al-Tabari (d. 923 CE) connected Jahannam to the historical Valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem, interpreting it as a symbolic warning site of divine wrath, where idolatrous practices once occurred, now transformed into an eschatological abode. In his tafsir, al-Tabari explains Quranic references to Jahannam as a fiery pit reflecting God's retribution, drawing on both scriptural and pre-Islamic lore to affirm its reality as a deterrent against sin. In Sufi mysticism, transcends literal fire to symbolize spiritual purification, where the soul's ego () is burned away to achieve closeness to God, as articulated by (d. 1240 CE), who viewed hellfire as a transformative process rather than mere retribution. Contemporary Islamic scholarship and fatwas often affirm the literal reality of 's physical torments based on and , while allowing metaphorical interpretations for its psychological and spiritual dimensions to aid moral reflection; for example, scholars at IslamQA emphasize its tangible existence but note symbolic elements in describing unimaginable suffering. This dual approach maintains 's role as an ethical motivator in modern Muslim thought.

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