Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SHEOL

(Heb. šĕʾôl)

The netherworld, the abode of the dead. Derived from the verb šʾh, “to be extinguished,” “to have misfortune,” the noun is translated by Gk. hádēs and Lat. infernum or inferi. The English translation “hell” is misleading. Often synonymous with death itself (e.g., 1 Kgs. 2:6, 9), Sheol is depicted as in the depths of the earth (Job 11:8; Prov. 15:24; Ezek. 31:15-18), a place of gloom (10:21-22) and decay (Isa. 14:11).

The concept of an afterlife was relatively undeveloped in Israel’s early period. The story of the “witch” of Endor is an excellent example of the concept of Sheol in Israel’s Monarchic period. Samuel appears after death as a shadowy figure, appearing much as he had in old age (1 Sam. 28:14). Thus Sheol is a place where the conditions of life are unchanged. From 1 Sam. 28:15 it seems that those in Sheol are in some state of rest and can be disturbed from that calm.

Later passages of the OT portray Sheol as a place of punishment for the unrighteous (Ps. 31:17[MT 18]). The righteous are there as well (cf. Ezek. 32:21, 27), but God is capable of delivering the righteous from Sheol’s icy grip (Ps. 49:15[16]). Still, the OT does not describe the alternative to Sheol for those delivered from it.

Jim West

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SHEOL

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)