Gehenna

As John Day discusses in his book on the god Moloch, it is well known that in Jewish literature and in the NT, Gehenna is a term for the fiery portion of the underworld where the resurrected dead are destined to be punished (e.g. 4 Ezra 7:36; 2 Baruch 59:10, 85:13; Mark 9:43, 45, 47), and Gehenna itself derives from the Aramaic name for the valley of Hinnom, Gehinnam, the valley to the southeast of Jerusalem. As an eschatological term, Gehenna is constantly associated with fires that bring punishment to the wicked. What is the origin of this concept?

There is a popular notion (endorsed by the Watchtower Society) that Gehenna became the term for Hell because there was a garbage dump there which was constantly being burnt up by an incinerator and that corpses were thrown onto it. However, besides the fact that cremation was unusual for the time, there is no archaeological support for this view and no ancient writer mentions it. It is found for the first time only about A.D. 1200 in Kimhi's commentary on Psalm 27:13:

Archaeological evidence however clearly shows that the valley of Hinnom was instead utilized in the first century (and for a thousand years before) as cemetary grounds, containing thousands of tombs and graves (not exactly the most respectful place for a garbage dump). The oldest biblical text (dating from before the Babylonian Exile) in fact comes from a tomb in the Hinnom Valley. Jeremiah 7:32, 31:40 also appears to attest its use as burial grounds.  In view of the lack of any material evidence and historical evidence, Kimhi's claim appears to have been a late medieval attempt to explain the meaning of Gehenna.

The only fires that are certainly attested in connection with the valley of Hinnom are those associated with the sacrifices offered to the god Molech. Jeremiah 32:35 thus refers to idolators who "have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of ben-Hinnom, there to make their sons and daughters pass through fire in honor of Molech," and King Josiah is said to have "desecrated the furnace in the Valley of ben-Hinnom, so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through fire in honor of Molech" (2 Kings 23:10; cf. Leviticus 18:21, 20:2-5; Isaiah 30:33, 57:9). We also read in Jeremiah:

The name Topheth is cognate with Aramaic tapya and Syriac tepaya meaning "place of fire", "oven", and "furance", and this meaning is perfectly consistent with Isaiah 30:33, where Yahweh promises to "set fire" to Topheth, "like a stream of brimestone". The idea in Jeremiah 7:32-34 that Topheth will be crammed with the bodies of the dead idolators anticipates the later eschatological conception. The most important fact that contributed to the eschatological conception is that the valleys running down from Mount Zion were thought to represent Sheol. This was first pointed out by J. A. Montgomery in a JBL article published in 1908. In the OT, Zion was frequently equated with the mountain of Paradise (cf. Psalm 46:5; Isaiah 8:6; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Joel 4:18; Zecharaiah 14:8; Isaiah 11:6-9, 65:25; compare Revelation 21:10-22:2), and note that Gihon is the name of both the paradisiacal river in Genesis 2:13 and the spring in Mount Zion; similarly the "mountain of God" is equated with Eden in Ezekiel 28:12. According to Isaiah 14:12-15, Sheol lies at the base of this divine cosmic mountain, and it is only natural for the deep valley below it to be associated with the underworld. Note also that a valley adjoining the Hinnom valley is called the Valley of the Rephaim in Joshua 15:8, 18:16; 2 Samuel 5:18, 23:13; 1 Chronicles 11:15, 20:4 and the Rephaim were the ghosts of the dead residing in Sheol (cf. Job 26:5-6; Isaiah 14:4-5, 9-11, 26:14). The earthly valleys associated with the underworld also evoke the "valleys of Sheol" where the Rephaim are found:

This close association with the valleys near Jerusalem and Sheol explains why the Molech cult was practiced in this locale. As John Day explains with textual and archaeological evidence, Molech was a god of the underworld and was identified with the Akkadian god Nergal. This is why we read in Isaiah 57:9 that "with oil you made yourself look your best for Molech, lavishing your scents; you sent your envoys far afield, down to Sheol itself". The association with Molech and the underworld is even preserved in the Quran, where we encounter Malik as an angel of hell, to whom the damned appeal in order that he intercede with Allah (Quran, sura 43:77). Since Molech was a god of the underworld (Sheol), it is not too difficult to understand how fiery sacrifices associated with him in the Hinnom valley developed into the notion of the fires of the hellish Gehenna.

The notion of a fiery judgment developed not as a doctrine of an immortal, disembodied soul, but as part of the doctrine of the resurrection, as immortality, in a post-exilic Jewish context, was tied to the hope of a resurrection (cf. Wisdom 3:4; 2 Maccabees 7:9, 16-17; Daniel 12). The earliest reference to eternal fire, in Isaiah 66:22-24 refers only to "the corpses of men who have rebelled against [Yahweh]," so initially the belief was apparently centered only on the everlasting destruction of the dead body. When the belief in the resurrection began to take hold, some (such as the writers of 2 Maccabees and the Testament of Job 4:7-11) limited the resurrection as a reward to the righteous. But most viewed the resurrection as twofold; the eschatological belief was that at the time of the end (e.g. Judgment Day), the resurrection would bring "some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace." (Daniel 12:2). The Testament of Benjamin (second century B.C.) similarly foretold:

According to 2 Baruch 50:2-54:21, the righteous would be changed "into the splendor of angels" but the wicked would be resurrected in grotesque, "horrible shapes" and "shall suffer the torment of judgment" so that "a retribution will be demanded with regard to those who have done wicked deeds". Again, the concept of hell is part of the belief in the final resurrection. Similarly, Matthew 25:46 refers to the wicked going "away to eternal punishment and the virtuous to eternal life," and John 5:27-29 says that "the Son of Man has been appointed supreme judge, for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice: those who did good will rise again to life and those who did evil to condemnation". Revelation 20:11-15 gives an extended vision of the resurrection of the dead, Hades being emptied of its dead, followed by the judgment of dead, and the eternal punishment of the resurrected wicked in the lake of fire.

The late Jewish and NT conception of Gehenna similarly drew on this notion of the resurrection. Thus Jesus specifies that both "soul and body" and the "body" would go to the "judgment" of Gehenna -- that is, after the resurrection (Matthew 5:29, 10:28, 23:33). This has nothing to do with punishment of a disembodied immortal soul; it is punishment of a resurrected person, of both body and spirit. Other Jewish apocalypses describe the Gehenna that the resurrected wicked will face:

Gehenna is copiously described in rabbinical literature. It was thought to have several gates, one in the valley of Hinnom and other in Jerusalem ('Erubin 19a), likely drawing on Isaiah 31:9 which refers to Yahweh having "his furance in Jerusalem". The entrance into Gehenna is narrow but underneath Gehenna extends infinitely (Menahot 99b), and "the whole world is like a lid for Gehenna" (Pesahim 94a). The fire in Gehenna is 60 times as hot as any terrestial fire (Berakot 57b). Regarding the punative nature of Gehenna, God declares: "I punish the slanderers from above, and I also punish them from below with glowing coals" ('Ar. 15b). That the Pharisees believed in such a concept of everlasting punishment is also evident from Josephus, Antiquities 18.1.3, and eschatological Gehenna appears in the synoptic Gospels as an already-established notion that Jesus draws on in his teaching.

I'm still looking for any historical evidence that the Valley of Hinnom was used as a garbage dump, with fires burning continually to burn up refuse.  I just found another vaguely relevant reference, by the Islamic scholar Mujir al-Din al-Ulaymi, who described Umar's conquest of Jerusalem in the seventh century A.D.  Umar found Jerusalem in a very sad state of disrepair, with rubble and garbage everywhere, and to clean up the city, he threw rubble and dung over the city wall into the Valley of Hinnom.  This not a reference to an existing garbage dump in the valley, and Mujir al-Din's history is very late, published around A.D. 1495.  I'm still looking for earlier citations, but John Day claims that the earliest reference to such a dump is that of Kimhi from around 1200.  It is amazing how commonly this claim is accepted as fact, when the historical evidence of the existence of such a dump is so very slight.

 

Hi Leolaia!  Thanks, this was very interesting and informative.  Got me wondering now.

Just for your note, the WTS' position that Gehenna is specifically not Sheol though they are similar is because in Revelation after the dead, the righteous and unrighteous, are give up out of Sheol (mankind's common grave) then Sheol itself is thrown into Gehenna.  Thus Gehenna is the place representing final and ultimate destruction.  As well, Satan is thrown into Gehenna and so are beasts like the 666-Beast and the "false prophet"; these abstract concepts of organizations and conceptual places like Sheol itself being destroyed in Gehenna supports the idea that Gehenna is a symbolic place of "final" destruction.

Interesting no real evidence of any dump of burning fire outside Jerusalem.  Does that mean it didn't exist?

The concept of the "resurrection" seems to have been a very eary belief as it is referenced in Job at least, who was considered to be a contemporary of Moses.  So I don't think the concept of the resurrection was that late.  Interesting research though, THANKS!!

JC

 

In the ancient Semitic world an altar connected the world of the worshipper with that of the god. So it was usual to place an altar as close as possible to the divine realm for which it served as the contact point. Hence the desire to build a ziggurat "with its top in the heavens" (Genesis 11:4). Jeremiah 2:20 and Ezekiel 6:13 protest at worship of astral deities "upon every hill". Conversely, underworld gods could be contacted through altars in low places: ravines, crevices or caves.

Evidence for naming the underworld after the place which served as its entrance can be found in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (J.B.Pritchard, 1955, p.107), which relates Ishtar's descent into the underworld from Kutu, a city which was a centre of a cult to Nergal (i.e. the planet Mars):

Similarly, the river Acheron which was thought to be a point of access with the dead [Herodotus, The Histories, V.92] as it flowed to the surface from the realm beneath, became the name of the river surrounding the underworld [Homer, Odyssey, x.513] and later became the name of the underworld itself [Sophocles, Antigone, 805; Virgil, Aeneid, VII.312].

So, although the earliest mention of the underworld as Gehenna is in the New Testament and early Rabbinic literature, it possibly dates back to the sacrifices to the underworld god, Molech, in the time of Isaiah.

Earnest 

Exactly.  John Day in fact mentions that very thing..... the city of Kutu being the cult site/underworld city of Nergal.  An example from Ugarit may be the mention of the cities of Athtart and Edrei in Bashan as the cities of Rapiu, the king (mlk) of the underworld.  Deuteronomy 3:11-14 similarly mentions this locale in connection with the last of the Rephaim, and it stands on a plateau below Mount Hermon (Sirion), regarded in Ugaritic epic as the heavenly dwelling place of El and the divine council (compare 1 Enoch 6:6).

Another wonderful thread Leolaia.  As JWs we were asked to disregard a great many things. 

The T. of Ben. 10:6-11 reference to being raised "over a tribe" certainly reminds of Luke 22 and Matt 19 promising to "judge (rule)tribes of Israel.  Perhaps this could be the subject of another thread.

I often puzzle at the varied Hellenized Jewish concepts of afterlife.  The influence of the Greek immortal spirit certainly shaped the images but yet they retained some sort of necessity for a body in Persian fashion.   Even in Job (written post Exile) we find the author conceiving of a resurrection to Yahwah's presence in a fleshly body. (19:26)

The Ascension of Isaiah and the Apocalypse of Abraham may well predate Matt.

There is also the Daniel 7:9; Revelation 20:4.  Apparently the concept of the twelve patriarchs judging their own tribes gave way to the twelve apostles (the Twelve) judging the dead.  This taps into the symbolism of the Twelve representing Israel.

Leolaia,

There is a popular notion (endorsed by the Watchtower Society) that Gehenna became the term for Hell because there was a garbage dump there which was constantly being burnt up by an incinerator and that corpses were thrown onto it. However, besides the fact that cremation was unusual for the time, there is no archaeological support for this view and no ancient writer mentions it. It is found for the first time only about A.D. 1200 in Kimhi's commentary on Psalm 27:13:

After finally having a chance to look into this, I've found the practically everything I read on the subject suggests that the valley of Hinnom was a garbage dump. The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary says the following:

Because of its nearness to Potters Street (cf. 18:1) and the consequent dumping of a lot of potters? rubbish just outside it, one gate of Jerusalem was known as Potsherd Gate. This gate led to a valley known either as the valley of the son of Hinnom, after a previous owner, or as Topheth. This 2^nd name may originally have had other vowels, e.g. Tephath (see above on 7:16-20). ?Tephath? may have had a particular significance which is now lost, or it may have been just a place name. Because of its previous association with child-sacrifice cults, Josiah made this valley into a garbage dump for the city (II Kings 23:10) and it smoldered continually with rubbish fires. When the doctrine of an afterlife with rewards and punishments became widespread among the Jews ? during the 2^nd and 1^st cents. B.C. ? (?valley of?) Hinnom was corrupted into Gehenna, the NT term for hell.

- Interpreter?s One-Volume Commentary, page 386a ?

2 Kings 23:10 (NRSV), suggests that Josiah defiled (garbage dump???) Topheth.

10 He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, so that no one would make a son or a daughter pass through fire as an offering to Molech. - 2 Kings 23:10 (NRSV)

Can you offer a little more information on the idea that the valley of Hinnom was not a garbage dump, or be a little more specific on what is meant by Josiah's  "desecration" of the valley?

pseudo

Pseudoxristos...I just stumbled upon this thread and your late comment and as Leolaia has disappeared for now I'll reply.  The garbage dump tradition truly has no archaeological support, it appears, like Leolaia said, to have been a late attempt (12 th century) to explain the associations of Gehenna with punishment.  This simplified explanation that required no embarassing early superstition caught on and has been repeated and enlarged so much that nearly every commentary uses it.  I have read a couple more cautious comentaries that say this dump explanation is based upon 'speculation'.  The desecration of the holy site in Jeremiah is it's use as a comon cemetery.

As a side note, the wording of 2 Kings 23 unwittingly reveals the artificiality of Joshiah's Reform in comparison to traditional Israelite religion. Deuteronomistic history considers those cults as unclean, abominable, yet it has to use the vocabulary of ritual uncleanness (to defile = lit. "to make unclean," tm') for desecrating the (politically) "unclean" holy places... Likewise the sacred prostitutes will still be referred to by the root qdsh, just as the Holy of holies. It's easier to rewrite history than to erase the traces of the past in the words themselves...

I'm not sure what that means narkissos, can you explain more?

OK, I'll try to put it backwards:

Most of the OT technical priestly vocabulary is not a an artificial creation; it keeps the tracks of the ancient Israelite religion, which was a diversified system of ritual and worship (including temple prostitution, Asherah worship, Molech/Melech ritual, worship of the dead, etc.). The dichotomies holy / profane, clean / unclean, already belong to this ancient system.

The political Reform of Josiah and the subsequent Deuteronomistic history declare 90 % of this ancient religion (all except the Jerusalem Yahwist temple "orthodox" ritual) wrong and retrojects this view upon the past, using the priestly vocabulary to its own political ends: what was once "holy" and "clean" in other sanctuaries becomes (and always was, in Deuteronomistic perspective) "profane", "unclean" or "abominable".

But when it comes to describe the Reform the two uses (Deuteronomistic and ancient priestly) of the same terms clash against one another: to clean an unclean place (from the Deuteronomistic standpoint) Josiah has to defile it, i.e. make it unclean (in the ancient priestly sense). With this lexical dissonance the Deuteronomist historian betrays his ordinary twist of priestly vocabulary and his general agenda.

The positive name of the "temple prostitutes" (qedeshim, the "holy ones", e.g. v. 7) is a similar evidence of the artificiality of Deuteronomism: they were never an "abomination" before Deuteronism declared them "abominable".

Very very interesting.  Where did you learn this?

The translator's eye.

I guess that means I'm screwed.

Thanks, peacefulpete and Narkissos.

Both of your comments have been helpful.

pseudo

PP, I don't know what you mean but what I meant is that these are the kind of things you just can't help to notice when you happen to strive for consistency in Bible translation (an impossible goal in itself): from this standpoint the variations in Hebrew usage then clearly appear, and sometimes it turns quite interesting indeed.

I meant that I'll never be able to make such observations as I am not a translator.  But it's nice to have friends that are.