Sheol

Heaven and Hell: The Geography of Sheol (Part 5 of ?)

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• published: 16 Jun 2011
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As we have previously seen from Genesis 37:35, Jacob said, after the loss of his son, that he would "go down" to sheol. Many other passages in the Bible also suggest that Sheol is "below" the earth. Job 21:13 states that the "wicked" go down to sheol. Proverbs 15:24 says that the wise may avoid Sheol that is below. [Psalm 30:3] "Yahweh, you have brought my soul up from Sheol, you have kept me alive by keeping me from going down into the pit." In this passage, and others, Sheol is likened to a pit, a hole in the ground" In Numbers chapter 16 (28-33) we find Korahh challenging Moses' authority. Moses tells the people, "[28] this is how you will know that Yahweh has sent me to do all these works... [29] ...if these men die a natural death, then Yahweh did not send me... [30] but if Yahweh does something unique and opens the mouth of the ground and swallows them up and they go down into Sheol, then you will know that they despised Yahweh." Once Moses finished his speaking, [31-33] "the mouth of the ground opened and the ground split apart and they went down alive into Sheol." While sheol is below the earth, a few passages describe the entrance into Sheol as the grave. In Isaiah 38:10 death and the grave is described as the "gates of Sheol." In Psalm 141:7 we read, "Our bones will be scattered at the mouth of Sheol." Another description of Sheol found in the Bible is its opposition to the heavens. Just as the heavens, or sky, is above the earth, so Sheol is below it. RSV Job 11:8 It is higher than heaven, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? RSV Psalm 139:8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! RSV Amos 9:2 "Though they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. While the Bible speaks frequently of Sheol, in a few passages it refers to the deeper or lower Sheol. ASV Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, And burneth unto the lowest She'ol. ASV Psalm 86:13 For great is thy lovingkindness toward me; And thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest She'ol. Other non-Biblical works of the Hebrews, as well as the New Testament, which we will soon examine, provide greater detail to the divisions within Sheol. The Biblical text clearly portrays Sheol as a world under the earth, an underworld. The Israelites were not unique in their belief in an underworld. Ancient cultures all over the earth have a similar belief in an underworld. In the Ancient Near East the Egyptians called the underworld Duat, the Babylonians Arallu, the Sumerians Kigal. In the Ancient Middle and far East the Hindus called it Naraka, The Chinese Yum gan, and the Japanese Yomi. In Ancient Eurpoe, the Celts called it Mag Mell, the Greeks and Romans called it Hades and the Norse called it Hel, the origin of our modern word Hell. In the Ancient Americas the Pueblos called it Shipap, the Aztecs Mictlan and the Mayans Metnal. In the Ancient South Pacific the Maori of New Zealand called it Hawaiki and the Polynesians of the South Pacific Pulotu.