What is Gehenna?

 
by George Sidney Hurd
 
What is Gehenna? Many Christians are not even familiar with the term, since most translations simply translate it as “hell,” along with the other Greek words Hades and Tartarus, also rendered as hell, in spite of the fact that each of these terms are distinct in meaning.
 
It is beyond the scope of this article to go into the actual meaning of Hades and Tartarus within their biblical contexts. Here we will restrict ourselves to a consideration of what Jesus meant when He referred to the fires of Gehenna. Was Jesus referring to an eschatological postmortem judgment, or was He simply warning the Jews living in that generation that they were in danger of being killed and their dead corpses cast into the Valley of Hinnom west of Jerusalem, which was called Gehenna in Greek?
 
Preterists would argue that when Jesus spoke of the Gehenna of fire He was merely referring to those Jews who would be killed and thrown into the Valley of Hinnom in 70AD. However, what they often either overlook or intentionally omit is the eschatological significance that the term Gehenna had acquired for the Jews by the time of Christ. There were two primary rabbinical schools in Jerusalem during Christ’s ministry, that of the rabbi Hillel (70BC – 10AD) and the school of Shammai (50BC – 30AD) [1] Both used the term Gehenna (Heb. Gehinnom גיהנום, “Valley of Hinnom”) to refer to a place of postmortem purification. Both schools taught that the righteous entered directly into the “age to come” (Olam Ha-Ba), whereas the rest went to Gehenna where they would undergo purification for one year. [2]   The more radical and pharisaical rabbi, Shammai, taught that the unredeemable reprobates would continue on in an eternal state of shame and contempt. [3] However, by the end of the second century, Traditional Judaism generally held that only the worst of the wicked will remain in Gehenna beyond 12 months. The Shabbat Talmud says: “The judgment of the wicked in Gehenna lasts for twelve months. Surely their sin was atoned in that time.” [4]
 
The word Gehenna (Gr. Γέεννα) is used by Jesus 11 times but only on three different occasions, first in the Olivet Discourse speaking to the multitudes (Matt 5:22,29,30). Afterwards, He mentioned Gehenna once when speaking to His own disciples (Matt 10:28), once when warning against causing one of His little ones to stumble (Matt 18:9) and once as a warning to the scribes and Pharisees (Matt 23:15,33). There are at least 5 considerations which make it evident that Jesus was referring to the common understanding of the Jews of that time, referring to Gehenna as a place of postmortem purification rather than speaking of the literal Valley of Hinnom:  1) Jesus called Gehenna “eonian fire,” 2) Gehenna is seen to be a place of temporary containment, 3) The sins worthy of Gehenna do not correspond to the sin which led to Israel’s desolation, 4) God – not man, is seen to be the one casting into Gehenna, and 5) The alternative to Gehenna is not merely being left alive, but “entering into life” or “entering into the kingdom.”
 
1) Jesus called Gehenna “Eonian Fire”
 
“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire (τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον, “eonian fire”). 9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.”
(Matt 18:8-9 WEB)
 
The fact that Jesus also referred to the Gehenna of fire as “the eonian fire” (τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον), makes it clear that He was not simply speaking of their dead corpses being cast into the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem. This becomes even more evident considering how He employs the exact same term in reference to the separation of the Gentile sheep from the Gentile goats at His Second Coming:
 
"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire (τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον, “eonian fire”) prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt 25:41) 
 
Here Jesus doesn’t call it Gehenna of fire, since He is addressing the goats from the Gentile nations at His coming who would not have been familiar with that Hebraism. That He is not referring to the literal Valley of Hinnom is even more evident, considering that the eonian fire is “prepared for the devil and his angels” – something that could not be said of the Valley of Hinnom. In the same passage Jesus also called the eonian fire “eonian correction” (κόλασιν αἰώνιον, kolasin aionion), which would be incompatible with corpses that have been cast into the Valley of Hinnom (Matt 25:46).
 
There is no reason to conclude that the Gehenna of fire or the eonian fire is distinct from the Lake of Fire into which the Beast and False Prophet will be cast alive at Christ’s Second Coming (Rev 19:20), and also where those who are not found written in the book of life will be cast after being resurrected for the White Throne Judgment at the close of Christ’s millennial reign in order that they may undergo the Second Death (Rev 19:20), and also where those who are not found written in the book of life will be cast after being resurrected for the White Throne Judgment at the close of Christ’s millennial reign in order to undergo the Second Death (Rev 20:11-15).
 
The Early Church Fathers also understood Gehenna fire or eonian fire to be equivalent to the Lake of Fire. This can be seen in the following quote from Irenaeus (130 – 202 AD). In Against Heresies he said: “…death and hell were sent into the lake of fire, the second death."  Now this is what is called Gehenna, which the Lord styled eternal fire.” [5]  Cyprian (210 to 258AD) also equated Gehenna with the Lake of Fire or the second death. He said: “Assuredly he may fear to die, who, not being regenerated of water and the Spirit, is delivered over to the fires of Gehenna; he may fear to die who is not enrolled in the cross and passion of Christ; he may fear to die, who from this death shall pass over to a second death…” [6] Origen (185 to 253AD) wrote: “Gehenna…for the purification of such souls as are to be purified by torments, agreeably to the saying: ‘The Lord cometh like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and of gold.’” [7] It is worthy of note that none of the Early Fathers understood the fire of Gehenna as referring to the 70AD judgment.
 
I demonstrate the temporal purifying nature of the eonian fire or the Lake of Fire in my article: Sulfur, Salt and the Refiner’s Fire.
 
2) Gehenna is seen to be a place of temporary containment
 
“…whoever shall say, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna… 26 Most assuredly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.” (Matt 5:22,26 WEB)
 
Here Jesus compared one being cast into Gehenna of fire to being cast into prison until one has paid in full. The Lake of Fire or eonian fire is seen to be limited in duration. Those who are cast into the Lake of Fire are said to be judged according to their works, receiving “their part” (μερος meros, “deserved portion”) in the Lake of Fire. A part or portion speaks of a measured sentence, not a perpetual one. Jesus also said that some would receive few lashes, whereas others will receive many (Luke 12:47-48). Such references to a limited duration and measured severity are just as incompatible with the dead corpses thrown into the Valley of Hinnom in 70AD, as they are with the doctrine of eternal torment or annihilationism.
 
3)The sins worthy of Gehenna do not correspond to the sin which led to Israel’s desolation
 
The sins that Jesus said would result in one being cast into Gehenna of fire included sins we all have been guilty of, such as calling someone a fool, failing to seek reconciliation with someone whom you have offended, causing one of His little ones to stumble, or looking at a woman to lust after her (Matt 5:22-23,28; 18:6-9).  However, the nation of Israel was not judged for these sins in 70AD, but for the sin of rejecting and crucifying Jesus, their Messiah and King (Luke 10:11-12; Matt 21:43; 23:37-39). Indeed, if all the Jews of that generation living in Judea who were guilty of these common sins had been killed and cast into the Valley of Hinnom, the valley would have become a literal mountain of corpses.
 
4) God – not man, is seen to be the one casting into Gehenna
 
“I tell you, my friends, don't be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:4-5 WEB)
 
Apart from the fact that Jesus is here speaking to His own disciples rather than the Jewish leaders who were the ones guilty of rejecting Him, we see that man does not have the power to cast anyone into Gehenna, only God does. Many who died due to starvation, attacks by the Romans, or by factions within Jerusalem were thrown over the wall into the Valley of Hinnom by men. Yet Jesus here says that man is not able to cast anyone into Gehenna. That is the sole prerogative of God, the just Judge of all.  
 
Some counter that it cannot be God to whom Jesus is referring when He says that we are to fear Him who has power to cast into Gehenna, since, right after saying this, He tells them not to be afraid (Luke 12:7). However, although it might sound paradoxical, those who walk in the fear of the Lord fear nothing. As Moses said to the children of Israel, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin” (Ex 20:20). The fear of the Lord frees us from all fear. I consider this subject further in my article: Fear Him who can Destroy Both Body and Soul.
 
5) The alternative to Gehenna is not being left alive, but “entering into life” or “entering into the kingdom of God”
 
“If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehenna, into the fire that will never be quenched—46 'where their worm doesn't die, and the fire is not quenched.' 47 If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.” (Mark 9:45-47 WEB)
 
So, we see that the alternative Jesus presents here is not that of avoiding death as opposed to being killed and cast into the Valley of Hinnom, but rather it is between being cast into Gehenna, the eonian fire, or entering into life, entering into the kingdom.
 
These are the same alternatives later presented in the separation of the sheep from the goats at Christ’s Second Coming where the sheep among the Gentiles will inherit the kingdom, entering into the eonian life, whereas the goats will enter into the eonian fire prepared for the devil and his angels, also referred to as eonian correction (Matt 25:34,41,46).
 
The obvious reason why Jesus didn’t refer to the eonian fire as Gehenna of fire in Matthew 25 is because He is speaking of the Gentile nations who would be unfamiliar with the term Gehenna. Gehenna is only named by Jesus in the synoptic gospels when addressing a Jewish audience.  References to Gehenna do not appear in the Gospel of John which is addressed to a Gentile audience. The word is only used in one other place in the New Testament in the epistle of  James, which was addressing Jews from the dispersion (James 1:1; 3:6).
 
Conclusion
 
We have seen that, during Christ’s ministry, the Jews already understood “Gehenna of fire” to be referring, not to the literal Valley of Hinnom, but to a postmortem fire in which the unjust are believed to undergo a twelve-month period of purification. While some among the Pharisees believed that the fires were everlasting for the worst of the wicked like Nero or Hitler, Jesus referred to the eonian fire as being limited in duration for all subjected to it, lasting indefinitely “until.” I develop this further in my article: The Duration of Punishment.
 
We also saw that the sins which are said to result in one being cast into Gehenna do not correspond to the sin which resulted in Jerusalem’s desolation which was the sin of rejecting and crucifying their Messiah. Also, it is God alone who is said to have the power to cast into Gehenna of fire, whereas the dead corpses cast into the Valley of Hinnom were thrown there by men. Finally, those who avert Gehenna are said to enter into life or enter into the kingdom of God, rather than simply remaining alive, as was the case with those who survived because they heeded Jesus’ command to flee Jerusalem when they saw the armies surrounding the city. Therefore, all things considered, it is evident that Jesus was referring to the common understanding of Gehenna at that time as a place of postmortem purification and not the literal Valley of Hinnom.


[1] https://sharperiron.org/article/jesus-and-his-disciples-rabbinic-schools-oral-law-and-distinct-callings-discipleship#:~:text=The%20Two%20Rabbinic%20Schools%20in%20Jesus'%20Day&text=As%20a%20matter%20of%20fact,%E2%80%9D)%20Shammai%20and%20Beit%20Hillel.&text=Modern%20Judaism%20has%20mostly%20descended,Hillel%20faction%20of%20the%20Pharisees.
 

[2] Mishnah Eduyot 2:10 https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Eduyot.2.10?lang=bi
 
 

[3] Rosh Hashanah 16b https://www.sefaria.org/Rosh_Hashanah.16b.15?lang=bi
 

[4] Shabbat https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.33b.8?lang=bi
 

[5] Irenaeus, Against Heresies, book 5, chapter 35 section 2
 

[6] Cyprian, Treatise 7, paragraph 14
 

[7] Origen, Contra Celsius. VI. 25

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