Category:Hell

Hell, n. Etym: [AS. hell; akin to D. hel, OHG. hella, G. hölle, Icel. hal, Sw. helfvete, Dan. helvede, Goth. halja, and to AS. helan to conceal. Hele, v. t., Conceal, Cell, Helmet, Hole, Occult.]

1. The place of the dead, or of souls after death; the grave; -- called in Hebrew sheol, and by the Greeks hades. He descended into hell. Book of Common Prayer. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. Psalm 16:10.

2. The place or state of punishment for the wicked after death; the abode of evil spirits. Hence, any mental torment; anguish. "Within him hell." Milton. It is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell. Shak.

3. A place where outcast persons or things are gathered; as: (a) A dungeon or prison; also, in certain running games, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention. (b) A gambling house. "A convenient little gambling hell for those who had grown reckless." W. Black. (c) A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his broken type. Hudibras. Gates of hell. (Script.) Defn: The places which command the entrances or access; hence, place of vantage; power; might. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18.

hell Hell, v. t.

Defn: To overwhelm. [Obs.] Spenser.

- ---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Hell - Derived from the Saxon helan, to cover; hence the covered or the invisible place. In Scripture there are three words so rendered:- (1.) Sheol, occurring in the Old Testament sixty-five times. This word sheol is derived from a root-word meaning "to ask," "demand;" hence insatiableness (Proverbs 30:15, Proverbs 30:16). It is rendered "grave" thirty-one times (Genesis 37:35; Genesis 42:38; Genesis 44:29, Genesis 44:31; 1 Samuel 2:6, etc.). The Revisers have retained this rendering in the historical books with the original word in the margin, while in the poetical books they have reversed this rule. In thirty-one cases in the Authorized Version this word is rendered "hell," the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of sheol are "the congregation of the dead" (Proverbs 21:16). It is (a) the abode of the wicked (Numbers 16:33; Job 24:19; Psalms 9:17; Psalms 31:17, etc.); (b) of the good (Psalms 16:10; Psalms 30:3; Psalms 49:15; Psalms 86:13, etc.). Sheol is described as deep (Job 11:8), dark (Job 10:21, Job 10:22), with bars (Job 17:16). The dead "go down" to it (Numbers 16:30, Numbers 16:33; Ezekiel 31:15, Ezekiel 31:16, Ezekiel 31:17). (2.) The Greek word "Hades" of the New Testament has the same scope of signification as "sheol" of the Old Testament. It is a prison (1 Peter 3:19), with gates and bars and locks (Matthew 16:18; Revelation 1:18), and it is downward (Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15). The righteous and the wicked are separated. The blessed dead are in that part of Hades called paradise (Luke 23:43). They are also said to be in Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22). (3.) Gehenna, in most of its occurrences in the Greek New Testament, designates the place of the lost (Matthew 23:33). The fearful nature of their condition there is described in various figurative expressions (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 13:42; Matthew 22:13; Matthew 25:30; Luke 16:24, etc.). (See HINNOM.)