Sheol in OT #1 Flashcards
What is the basic meaning of שְׁאוֹל (sheol)?
Grave, Death
What are the two most common views of Sheol?
- The place where the “soul” or “spirit” of man goes at death (most common view) - as the body goes to the grave
- The place of punishment of the ungodly synonimous with hell (less common view) - as the body goes to the grave
What does The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible say about the Sheol as a place of punishment or torment for the departed souls of the dead?
“Nowhere in the Old Testament is the abode of the dead regarded as a place of punishment or torment. The concept of an infernal ‘hell’ developed in Israel only during the Hellenistic period.”
Theodore H. Gaster, “Abode of the Dead,” *The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible *(Nashville, 1962), 788.
Does the Bible differentiate between sheol as the dwelling place of the “departed soul” and the grave as the resting place for the dead body?
No.
”‘Sheol is the entirety into which all graves are merged; . . . Where there is grave, there is sheol, and where there is sheol, there is grave.’ Sheol is simply the “collective realm of the dead where all the deceased go, whether buried or unburried.
"In his doctoral dissertation on 'Sheol in the Old Testament,' Ralph Walter Doermann reaches the same conclusion. He writes, 'The dead were conceived as being in *sheol* and in the grave at the same time, yet not in two different places. All the deceased, because they were subject to the same conditions, were thought to be in a common realm.'"
Samuele Bacchiocchi, *Immortality or Resurrection?: A Biblical Study on Human Nature and Destiny *(Berrien Springs, MI: Samuele Bacchiocchi, 1997), 159. He quotes Johannes Pedersen, Israel: Its Life and Culture (Atlanta, 1991), 1:462 and Ralph Walter Doermann, “Sheol i the Old Testament,” (PhD Dissertation, Duke University, 1961), 191, respectively.
How many times does שְׁאוֹל (sheol) occur in the OT?
65
In the NIV:
29x - “the grave” (Job 7:9)
25x - “the realm of the dead” (Job 26:6)
7 - “death” (Ps 15:11)
2 - “depths below” (Job 11:8; Am 9:2)
1 - “depth” (Ps 139:8)
1 - “destined to die” (Ps 49:14)
What does Sheol have in common with “a pit” (Heb. bor)?
Both are used synonymously to refer the grave. ** **
Ps 88:3-4
“For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength”.
What does Sheol have in common with destruction (Heb. abaddon)?
Sheol is “the grave” itself and *abaddon *describes it as a state of utter “destruction.”
- Ps 88:11. “Is your steadfast love declared in the grave [**sheol], or your faithfulness in Abaddon?”
- Job 26:6. “Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.” * [Note: The Hebrew noun אָבְדָן, “abaddon,” means “destruction.” Note Esther 8:6 - “For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction [abaddon] of my kindred?”*
- Pr 15:11. “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!”
What S**heol have to do with darkness?
Darkness, (Heb. חֹ֫שֶׁךְ, “hoshek”) further defines the nature of sheol.
- Job 10:20-21 - “Are not my days few? Then cease, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer before I go—and I shall not return— to the land of darkness and deep shadow, the land of gloom like thick darkness, like deep shadow without any order, where light is as thick darkness.”
Ps 49:20; 88:13 - place where no light exists; Ps 94:17; cf. 115:17 - land of silence; Job 7:10 - land where everything vanishes.
What does Sheol have in common with dead men’s bones?
Both describe the grave as the realm of the dead. See Ps 55:16.
What is the condition of the deceased in this “realm of the dead”?
Unconscious non-existence. See Ec 9:2-10 - note: v. 2 it is the fate of all, not just some.
What is the simplest way in which death is described in the OT?
Unconscious rest. See Job 3:11, 13.
Where is this unconscious rest located?
In the grave among worms and in the dust. Job 17:13, 16.
What does sheol have to do with silence?
Sheol, which is said to be a place of utter silence (Heb. דּוּמָה, “dumah”).
- Ps 94:17. “If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.“
- Ps 115:117. “The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into _silence_.” **[Note Ps 6:5 where death and sheol are used synonymously: “For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?” Thus, death and Sheol,”are synonymous, and “silence” describes its condition.
What does *Sheol *have to do with vanishing and fading away?
Sheol is compared to the cloud that fades and vanishes to which one disappears and from which one never comes back.
Job 7:9-10. “As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up; he returns no more to his house, nor does his place know him anymore.”
