Meaning of Sheol and Hell
Through out the Hebrew Scriptures, the Hebrew word sheol {sheh-ole’} is associated with death. It is first used in Genesis 37:35.
35And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
Grave is the Hebrew word sheol {sheh-ole’}. Sheol is found in the Hebrew Scriptures 65 times. It is translated the grave 31 times, hell 31 times and pit 3 times. Sheol is a place of rest for the dead, where the soul is unconscious. Regardless of the English word to which it is translated, sheol has a consistent meaning.
Think about this, do you honestly believe that Jacob believed he was going to a fiery hell? Absolutely not, after hearing of his son’s supposed death, Jacob was looking forward to rest with his son. Literally, sheol is the Hebrew word for the place of departed souls.
Here are some others that went to sheol, Numbers 16:30.
30But if Yehovah make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit (sheol); then ye shall understand that these men have provoked Yehovah.
Pit is the Hebrew word sheol. These people ended up in sheol. The same place Jacob wanted to go. Yet it states that they provoked the Lord, they were not favored by God. Who were these? Numbers 16:27-29
27So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. 28And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that Yehovah hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 29If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then Yehovah hath not sent me.
This was Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. They tried to lead a revolt against Moses. They tried to usurp Moses’ God given authority. They ended up in Sheol. The very same place Jacob wanted to go. In the Hebrew Scriptures, both the good and wicked end up in the same place. Again, Sheol refers to the place of departed souls and it does not matter what one did on earth.
The word hell, which is so vividly used in our language today, is actually derived from the old English word, helan. It was used to express the burying of potatoes in the cellar for the long winter to prevent spoilage. It was called helan potatoes. The confusion arises today not from what the Bible states, but from man’s preconceived ideas.
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