Saturday, February 9, 2019

The “Hell” of which Jesus Christ Spoke (Part Three)

(For part one of this study, click here: https://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-hell-of-which-jesus-christ-spoke.html)

Heeding Jewish Myths

In Titus 1:10-14, Paul wrote the following to his co-laborer in the faith: For many are insubordinate, vain praters and imposters, especially those of the Circumcision, who must be gagged, who are subverting whole households, teaching what they must not, on behalf of sordid gain. One of them, their own prophet, said: “Cretans are ever liars, evil wild beasts, idle bellies.” This testimony is true. For which cause be exposing them severely, that they may be sound in the faith, not heeding Jewish myths and precepts of men who are turning from the truth.

As is evident from the part of this passage that I placed in bold, Paul clearly had no tolerance for “Jewish myths,” and instructed Titus to expose “severely” those in the faith who were heeding such myths. What I will be arguing in this third and final installment of my study on “Gehenna” is that the decision to translate Gehenna as “hell” betrays a preference for Jewish myths over the truth revealed in Scripture.

As argued in the previous installment, the term translated “hell” in most English Bibles is the name of a well-known locality near Jerusalem, and is never employed in the Hebrew Scriptures to mean anything other than the place with which every Jew in Christ’s day would’ve been familiar (i.e., Hinnom Valley). I further argued that it is in this valley that the prophecy found in the closing verse of Isaiah will be fulfilled. Here, again, is the argument with which I presented the reader in part two of this study:

1. The place where “their worm shall not die” and “their fire shall not be quenched” is the place where “the corpses of the mortals who transgressed against [God]” will reside and undergo destruction (Isaiah 66:24).

2. According to Christ in Mark 9:42-48, “Gehenna” is the location where “their worm shall not die” and “their fire shall not be quenched.”

3. The “Gehenna” of which Christ spoke is the location where “the corpses of the mortals who transgressed” referred to in Isaiah 66:24 will reside and undergo destruction.

But if Christ was referring to a literal valley into which literal corpses will be cast when he used the term “Gehenna,” why has the word been translated “hell” in most English Bibles? In order to answer this question, we need to consider the meaning of the word “hell” itself. And I can think of no better authority on this subject than what is, arguably, the biggest and oldest promoter of the doctrine of hell within the Christian religion: the Roman Catholic Church.

In the Catholic Encyclopedia’s entry on “hell,” we read the following:

The term hell is cognate to “hole” (cavern) and “hollow”. It is a substantive formed from the Anglo-Saxon helan or behelian, “to hide”. This verb has the same primitive as the Latin occulere and celare and the Greek kalyptein. Thus by derivation hell denotes a dark and hidden place. In ancient Norse mythology Hel is the ill-favoured goddess of the underworld. Only those who fall in battle can enter Valhalla; the rest go down to Hel in the underworld, not all, however, to the place of punishment of criminals.

After this brief history on the origin of the word “hell,” we’re then provided with four different meanings of the term that have been distinguished by theologians. However, the article informs us that, according to “the strict sense of the term,” hell denotes “the place of punishment for the damned, be they demons or men.”

Thus, when a translator chooses to use the term “hell” (rather than the transliterated word “Gehenna”), they have actually taken the liberty of interpreting the original Greek word for the reader rather than simply translating the word for the reader. For, again, the literal meaning of the term is an actual valley that borders the old city of Jerusalem to the south. So the English word “hell” is no more an accurate or appropriate translation of the Greek word Gehenna than it would be of the Greek words Ioudaia (“Judea”) or Hierousalem (“Jerusalem”). But again, why would a translator even choose to interpret Gehenna as “hell?” What’s the connection?

Concerning the connection between “hell” (the supposed “place of punishment for the damned”) and the term “Gehenna,” the article goes on to say:

“…in the New Testament the term Gehenna is used more frequently in preference to hades, as a name for the place of punishment of the damned. Gehenna is the Hebrew gê-hinnom (Nehemiah 11:30), or the longer form gê-ben-hinnom (Joshua 15:8), and gê-benê-hinnom (2 Kings 23:10) “valley of the sons of Hinnom”. Hinnom seems to be the name of a person not otherwise known. The Valley of Hinnom is south of Jerusalem and is now called Wadi er-rababi. It was notorious as the scene, in earlier days, of the horrible worship of Moloch. For this reason it was defiled by Josias (2 Kings 23:10), cursed by Jeremias (Jeremiah 7:31-33), and held in abomination by the Jews, who, accordingly, used the name of this valley to designate the abode of the damned (Targ. Jon., Gen., iii, 24; Henoch, c. xxvi). And Christ adopted this usage of the term(bold mine).

According to the above quotation, it is “the Jews” who used the name of the literal Valley of Hinnom “to designate the abode of the damned” (with two examples of this figurative usage of “Gehenna” by the Jews being referenced). And then we’re told that “Christ adopted this usage of the term.”

Now, we do know that, by the time of Christ, certain Jewish sects had come to believe that a place of torment awaited the wicked after death. For example, this was the view of the Pharisees (who were, of course, Christ’s most public opponents during his earthly ministry). In this supposed post-mortem place of retribution, it was thought that the “immortal souls” of the wicked would be either endlessly tormented or (eventually) annihilated. Concerning the beliefs of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, the Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote: “They believe that souls have an immortal rigor in them, and that under the earth there will be rewards or punishments, according as they have lived virtuously or according to vice in this life; and the latter are to be detained in an everlasting prison (eirgmon aidion), but that the former shall have power to revive and live again” (D. Ant. 18.14-15).

Here we find that the Pharisees believed the subterranean place of punishment for wicked immortal souls was an “eternal (aidion) prison.” And in another place (B. War 2.162-64), Josephus wrote that the Pharisees “say that all souls are imperishable, but that the souls of good men only are removed into other bodies, but that the souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment.[1] In contrast with the doctrine of the Pharisees, we’re told by Josephus that the Sadducees “take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades.” From these quotes it is evident that the rewards and punishments which the Pharisees thought would be meted out to people in the afterlife would take place “in Hades.”

Having shown that at least some Jews in Christ’s day (e.g., the Pharisees) believed in a post-mortem, subterranean place of judgment, let’s now consider the two claims found at the end of the excerpt from the Catholic Encyclopedia article, as quoted above:

1. The Jews used the term Gehenna to designate the abode of the damned.

2. Christ adopted this usage of the term.

Concerning the first claim, the Jewish Rabbi David Kimhi (c. 12th century A.D.) wrote: ”And it [Gehenna] was a despised place where they cast filth and corpses, and there was there perpetually a fire for the burning of the filth and the bones of the corpses. On account of this, the judgment place of the wicked is parabolically called Gehenna.” Thus, according to Rabbi Kimhi, the term Gehenna began to be used “parabolically” to refer to the “judgment place of the wicked” (i.e., the subterranean place of punishment to which it was thought the wicked went after death). But when did this term begin to be used “parabolically” to refer to the supposed place of post-mortem judgment in which certain Jews (i.e., the Pharisees) believed? For in order for Christ to have “adopted” this usage, it had to have been fairly commonplace before the start of his public ministry (or at least it had to have become so by the time his public ministry began).

When we begin to try and determine when, exactly, the term Gehenna began to be used figuratively (or “parabolically”) by the Pharisees to refer to a subterranean “judgment place of the wicked” (or “abode of the damned”), it soon becomes clear that there is no conclusive evidence that any of Christ’s contemporaries actually used the term in this way. And even if some did, we have even less reason to believe that the term was so commonly and widely used in this way that those to whom Jesus spoke would’ve understood the term in no other way except for as a reference to this place (rather than as a literal reference to the actual valley of Hinnom).

The article provides two references in support of its claim that “the Jews” used the term Gehenna to “designate the abode of the damned.” The first reference is to the so-called “Targum of Jonathan.”[2] According to Sefaria.org, the date of the composition of this work “is disputed,” and it “might have been initially composed in the 4th century CE.” We’re also told that “some scholars date it in the 14th Century.” Even the earliest date that I’ve seen suggested for the composition of this work (which is sometime in the second century) is too late for it to be understood as evidence that the Jews in Christ’s day used the term Gehenna as a figurative designation for “the abode of the damned.”

The second quote is from the apocryphal “Book of Enoch.” Although there is evidence that 1 Enoch was, in fact, written before the time of Christ, the term “Gehenna” does not even appear in the passage referenced in the article (nor does it appear in the rest of the book). Rather, in the passage referenced, we’re told that “Enoch” sees a certain valley existing between two mountains which is “deep, but not wide,” which consists of “a strong rock,” and which has a single tree planted within it. After the brief description of this valley, we’re then told by “Uriel” (one of Enoch’s angelic guides) that the wicked “shall be collected” in this valley, and that it will be “their territory” in “the latter days.” However, not only is this valley not identified as “Gehenna,” it doesn’t even geographically match the actual Gehenna that formed the southern border of the old city of Jerusalem (and even if this valley is to be understood as Gehenna, it’s clear from the way it’s depicted that it’s intended to be understood as a literal valley, and not as a figurative depiction of some other place).

These, then, are the two references which the author of the Catholic Encyclopedia article apparently understood as supporting the theory that, in Christ’s day, the term Gehenna was used by the Jews to designate “the abode of the damned.” However, neither of these references can be understood as conclusive evidence that any of the Pharisaic contemporaries of Christ actually used the term “Gehenna” as a figurative reference to “the abode of the damned” (let alone that the term was so commonly used in this way that those to whom Jesus spoke would’ve understood the term in no other way except for as a reference to “the abode of the damned”). And this fact is problematic for the theory that Christ “adopted” the Pharisee’s figurative usage of the term. For how could Christ have adopted a figurative usage of the term Gehenna that didn’t actually exist before or during his public ministry? [3]

But let’s suppose (just for the sake of argument) that the Pharisaic contemporaries of Christ regularly used the term Gehenna in a figurative way to refer to the subterranean “abode of the damned” in which they believed. Do we have any good reason to believe that Christ would have sanctioned as true the Pharisees’ beliefs concerning this place? Before we answer this question, let’s consider another question: How did these Jews come to believe in the place of post-mortem punishment for the wicked that they began to figuratively refer to as “Gehenna?” From what source did these Jews get their information concerning the “abode of the damned” in which they believed?

The only Jewish literature which was binding on the Jews as authoritative before and during Christ’s public ministry was that which constituted those inspired writings which Christ called the “Law and the Prophets” and “the word of God.” Christ spoke as if the books that comprise our “Old Testament” Scriptures had been completed by his day, and ought to have been considered inspired canon to the Jewish people. In Jesus’ day, this collection of inspired writings was the standard of truth by which all Jewish beliefs and practices were to be measured. And nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures does Gehenna ever figuratively refer to a subterranean place of punishment for the disembodied souls of the wicked. Every time we read of this geographical location in the Hebrew Scriptures, it’s a literal reference to the geographical location. The Hebrew Scriptures are completely silent concerning any sort of figurative usage of “Gehenna.” And not only this, but these inspired writings are just as silent concerning the existence of a subterranean place of punishment for the disembodied souls of the wicked. That is, the very existence of the place which certain Jews came to figuratively refer to as “Gehenna” is not even revealed in their own inspired Scripture.

So where did their information concerning this place of punishment come from? Well, insofar as the subterranean place of punishment for the wicked in which the Pharisees believed is not revealed in their own inspired Scripture, it ultimately doesn’t matter where they got their information from. All that matters is that the source from which they derived their information concerning this place is a non-inspired one. And this means that their beliefs concerning this place of punishment do not correspond with what God himself had revealed to them in their inspired Scriptures, and - as such - could not possibly have had God’s authoritative approval. It is simply irrelevant what the views expressed in the Jewish literature or oral tradition of Christ’s day were if they did not have their origin in the writings that Jesus understood to be inspired and authoritative. If the views held by the Jews of Christ’s day concerning a place they figuratively referred to as “Gehenna” were derived from an uninspired source, then it’s neither very reasonable nor very honouring to Jesus to say he would have subscribed to them.

In fact, Christ explicitly rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for holding to and teaching things that were foreign to their own inspired Scriptures. In Mark 7:6-13, for example, we find Christ accusing the scribes and Pharisees of “teaching for teachings the directions of men,” of leaving “the precept of God” and “holding the tradition of men,” of “repudiating the precept of God, that [they] should be keeping [their] tradition,“ and of “invalidating the word of God by [their] tradition.” And in addition to the specific examples Christ provided, Christ added that “many such like things” were these religious leaders doing! Their teachings concerning the subterranean place of judgment in which they believed (and which they, at some point, began to figuratively refer to as “Gehenna”) can, therefore, be understood as just another way in which they invalidated the word of God by their tradition.



[1] The words translated “eternal punishment” in this quotation from Josephus are aidios timoria, and must not to be confused with the words found in Matthew 25:46 (which, despite being commonly translated as “eternal punishment,” are different Greek words entirely - i.e., kolasin aionios, or “chastening eonian”).

[3] It could be objected that, in the Babylonian Talmud (c. 450 – 550 AD), we’re told that the two Pharisaical “schools of thought” (i.e., “Beit Shammai” and “Beit Hillel”) had doctrinal positions concerning “Gehenna” (see Rosh Hashana 16b-17a: https://www.sefaria.org/Rosh_Hashanah.16b?lang=bi). It’s true that both “Beit Shammai” (“House of Shammai”) and “Beit Hillel” (“House of Hillel”) existed before and during Christ’s public ministry. However, it must be kept in mind that these two schools continued in existence after the time of Christ’s public ministry as well (with “Beit Shammai” continuing until the close of the first century and “Beit Hillel” continuing after that). So it could very well be the case that these Pharisaical schools began using the term Gehenna in a figurative sense after Christ’s public ministry had already ended. Moreover, the codification of the Talmud took place in the 5th century, and the quotes as they appear in this work could have undergone some editing over time, with glosses being added to reflect the vocabulary of the time at which the Talmud was codified. In any case, it doesn’t follow that this figurative usage of “Gehenna” was common or well-known before or during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry.

1 comment:

  1. Very good series on Gehenna, Aaron. Your assertion concerning the Pharisees view of Gehenna, "it ultimately doesn’t matter where they got their information from" is so true. If the basis of any teaching is outside of the Scriptures, it's not important to me, definitely not important enough to alter the clear teaching of the Scriptures.

    I recently commented on an annihilationist's YouTube video where the presenter proclaimed the virtue of "sola scriptura," right after he had used words and ideas from the Targum as the main support for his teaching on the second death.

    Aaron, you're doing valuable work, keep going.

    ReplyDelete