Edited by Jim McCrory, Sunday 1 February 2026 at 12:29
A Faithful Re-Reading of Hell in Scripture
A Lexical, Exegetical, and Historical-Theological Analysis
Introduction
The doctrine of Hell as eternal conscious torment has often been treated as a central Christian belief. Yet a sustained analysis of the biblical languages, literary genres, and early Christian theology raises serious doubts about its scriptural foundation. This essay argues that the doctrine does not arise naturally from the Hebrew or Greek texts, but from later interpretive traditions that misunderstood metaphorical language as literal ontology.
The argument proceeds in three stages:
A lexical analysis of key Hebrew and Greek terms using standard academic lexicons,
A reasoned engagement with the strongest counterarguments,
A historical survey of respected Christian thinkers who rejected the doctrine.
I. Lexical Evidence from Hebrew and Greek
1. Sheol in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew term שְׁאוֹל (Sheol) is consistently rendered in modern scholarship as the grave or the realm of the dead, not a place of torment.
HALOT defines Sheol as “the underworld, the place of the dead,” explicitly noting the absence of reward or punishment (HALOT, s.v. שְׁאוֹל).
TDOT emphasizes that Sheol represents “the inevitable destiny of all living beings,” without moral differentiation.
Texts such as Ecclesiastes 9:10 and Psalm 6:5 depict Sheol as a realm of silence and inactivity, not consciousness. The righteous and the wicked alike descend there, undermining any notion of punitive afterlife suffering in Hebrew theology.
This is decisive: the foundational Scriptures of Judaism contain no developed doctrine of post-mortem punishment.
2. Hades in the New Testament
The Greek ᾅδης (Hades) functions as the Septuagintal equivalent of Sheol.
BDAG defines Hades as “the underworld, the place of the dead,” noting that it is not inherently a place of punishment (BDAG, s.v. ᾅδης).
TDNT confirms that New Testament usage largely preserves the neutral, Hebrew sense rather than importing Greek mythological torment.
Significantly, Hades is described as temporary. In Revelation 20:14, Hades is destroyed—a detail incompatible with the idea that it is an eternal realm of punishment.
3. Gehenna: Metaphor, Not Metaphysics
The term γέεννα (Gehenna) is widely assumed to refer to Hell, but the lexicons challenge this assumption.
BDAG notes that Gehenna derives from the Valley of Hinnom and functions primarily as “a figurative term for destruction or judgment,” not a spatial description of the afterlife.
TDNT stresses its prophetic usage, shaped by Jeremiah’s warnings of national catastrophe.
Nothing in the lexical data requires Gehenna to mean eternal conscious torment. Its imagery is historical, symbolic, and rhetorical—rooted in judgment upon Jerusalem, not speculative metaphysics.
II. Jesus and the Nature of Illustrative Teaching
Jesus taught almost exclusively through parables, hyperbole, and prophetic imagery. Fire, darkness, and exclusion were common stock metaphors in Jewish preaching, designed to shock listeners into repentance.
To extract literal metaphysical geography from such language is methodologically unsound. Parables are not doctrinal blueprints; they are moral confrontations. No parable Jesus tells requires belief in infinite punishment for finite wrongdoing.
III. Revelation and the End of Death
The apocalyptic vision of the Book of Revelation is often cited to defend Hell, yet it explicitly states that “Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:14).
If Hell is eternal punishment, it cannot also be destroyed. The imagery communicates not preservation of suffering but the abolition of death itself, culminating in a world where “death shall be no more” (Rev 21:4).
Apocalyptic symbolism points toward final eradication, not eternal maintenance of evil.
It is often argued that “eternal punishment” proves endless torment.
Response: The Greek phrase κόλασιν αἰώνιον refers to punishment whose result is eternal, not whose process is ongoing. BDAG notes that αἰώνιος pertains to “pertaining to an age” and must be interpreted contextually, not philosophically. Scripture routinely speaks of “eternal redemption” or “eternal judgment” without implying an ongoing act.
Counterargument 2: “Unquenchable fire” and “undying worm” (Mark 9)
Response: These phrases quote Isaiah 66:24, which describes dead bodies, not living souls. The fire is unquenchable in the sense that it fully consumes; the worm does not die because there is no shortage of corpses. This is annihilateive imagery, not perpetual torture.
Counterargument 3: “The rich man and Lazarus” (Luke 16)
Response: This is a parable drawing on contemporary folklore. Its purpose is ethical reversal and social critique, not afterlife geography. Treating a parable as literal doctrine would also require belief that souls have fingers, tongues, and drop-sized thirst relief—an interpretive inconsistency rarely acknowledged.
V. Christian Writers Who Rejected Eternal Torment
The doctrine of Hell was never universally accepted in early Christianity.
Origen argued for apokatastasis—the eventual restoration of all beings. He explicitly denied that divine punishment was endless.
Gregory of Nyssa, a Cappadocian Father revered in both East and West, described punishment as purgative and finite, insisting that God’s justice aims at healing, not torment.
Early Syriac Christianity, including Isaac of Nineveh, likewise rejected eternal punishment as incompatible with divine love.
Notably, no ecumenical council ever dogmatized eternal conscious torment.
Conclusion
When evaluated using standard lexicons, literary analysis, and historical theology, the doctrine of Hell as eternal conscious torment lacks textual grounding. The Hebrew Bible knows no such place; the Greek terminology does not require it; Jesus’ teaching method cautions against literalism; Revelation depicts death itself destroyed; and respected Christian theologians explicitly denied the doctrine.
The weight of evidence suggests that Hell, as popularly imagined, is not a biblical teaching but a theological construction imposed upon metaphorical language.
A Faithful Re-Reading of Hell in Scripture
A Faithful Re-Reading of Hell in ScriptureA Lexical, Exegetical, and Historical-Theological Analysis
Introduction
The doctrine of Hell as eternal conscious torment has often been treated as a central Christian belief. Yet a sustained analysis of the biblical languages, literary genres, and early Christian theology raises serious doubts about its scriptural foundation. This essay argues that the doctrine does not arise naturally from the Hebrew or Greek texts, but from later interpretive traditions that misunderstood metaphorical language as literal ontology.
The argument proceeds in three stages:
1. Sheol in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew term שְׁאוֹל (Sheol) is consistently rendered in modern scholarship as the grave or the realm of the dead, not a place of torment.
Texts such as Ecclesiastes 9:10 and Psalm 6:5 depict Sheol as a realm of silence and inactivity, not consciousness. The righteous and the wicked alike descend there, undermining any notion of punitive afterlife suffering in Hebrew theology.
This is decisive: the foundational Scriptures of Judaism contain no developed doctrine of post-mortem punishment.
The Greek ᾅδης (Hades) functions as the Septuagintal equivalent of Sheol.
Significantly, Hades is described as temporary. In Revelation 20:14, Hades is destroyed—a detail incompatible with the idea that it is an eternal realm of punishment.
3. Gehenna: Metaphor, Not MetaphysicsThe term γέεννα (Gehenna) is widely assumed to refer to Hell, but the lexicons challenge this assumption.
Nothing in the lexical data requires Gehenna to mean eternal conscious torment. Its imagery is historical, symbolic, and rhetorical—rooted in judgment upon Jerusalem, not speculative metaphysics.
Jesus taught almost exclusively through parables, hyperbole, and prophetic imagery. Fire, darkness, and exclusion were common stock metaphors in Jewish preaching, designed to shock listeners into repentance.
To extract literal metaphysical geography from such language is methodologically unsound. Parables are not doctrinal blueprints; they are moral confrontations. No parable Jesus tells requires belief in infinite punishment for finite wrongdoing.
The apocalyptic vision of the Book of Revelation is often cited to defend Hell, yet it explicitly states that “Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:14).
If Hell is eternal punishment, it cannot also be destroyed. The imagery communicates not preservation of suffering but the abolition of death itself, culminating in a world where “death shall be no more” (Rev 21:4).
Apocalyptic symbolism points toward final eradication, not eternal maintenance of evil.
Counterargument 1: “Eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46)
It is often argued that “eternal punishment” proves endless torment.
Response:
The Greek phrase κόλασιν αἰώνιον refers to punishment whose result is eternal, not whose process is ongoing. BDAG notes that αἰώνιος pertains to “pertaining to an age” and must be interpreted contextually, not philosophically. Scripture routinely speaks of “eternal redemption” or “eternal judgment” without implying an ongoing act.
Response:
These phrases quote Isaiah 66:24, which describes dead bodies, not living souls. The fire is unquenchable in the sense that it fully consumes; the worm does not die because there is no shortage of corpses. This is annihilateive imagery, not perpetual torture.
Response:
This is a parable drawing on contemporary folklore. Its purpose is ethical reversal and social critique, not afterlife geography. Treating a parable as literal doctrine would also require belief that souls have fingers, tongues, and drop-sized thirst relief—an interpretive inconsistency rarely acknowledged.
The doctrine of Hell was never universally accepted in early Christianity.
Notably, no ecumenical council ever dogmatized eternal conscious torment.
ConclusionWhen evaluated using standard lexicons, literary analysis, and historical theology, the doctrine of Hell as eternal conscious torment lacks textual grounding. The Hebrew Bible knows no such place; the Greek terminology does not require it; Jesus’ teaching method cautions against literalism; Revelation depicts death itself destroyed; and respected Christian theologians explicitly denied the doctrine.
The weight of evidence suggests that Hell, as popularly imagined, is not a biblical teaching but a theological construction imposed upon metaphorical language.