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Sheol, Hades and Gehenna

Hebrew שְׁאוֹל. Greek ᾅδης · γέεννα. Also called Hell, Sheol, Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus, Valley of Hinnom, sheol · hadēs · geenna.

Four different words, for the realm of the dead and the place of judgment, that the KJV translates “hell” every time: Sheol (66 times), Hades (10), Gehenna (12) and Tartarus (once).

Sheol is where the Hebrew Bible says everyone goes at death, the righteous and the wicked alike: Jacob expects to “go down to Sheol mourning” for Joseph. Hades is the Greek name for the same place; Peter quotes Psalm 16:10 with Hades where the psalm has Sheol. Gehenna is a real valley, Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where children were burned to Molech, and Jesus made its name the word for final judgment: eleven of its twelve uses are his. Tartarus appears once, for the angels held for judgment. Older translations call all four “hell”; most modern ones keep the names apart, so a reader can see which one a verse means.

Four words older English Bibles call “hell”, and how ten translations render them

Four words, four places

  • Sheol שְׁאוֹל 66 uses

    The place of the dead in the Hebrew Bible, below, silent and dark, where everyone goes: the righteous and the wicked alike.

    “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son” Genesis 37:35

  • Hades ᾅδης 10 uses

    The Greek name for the realm of the dead, used for Sheol by the Greek Old Testament and by Peter when he quotes Psalm 16. In Revelation it gives up its dead and is thrown into the lake of fire.

    “the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” Matthew 16:18

  • Gehenna γέεννα 12 uses

    The Valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where children were burned to Molech; Jesus’ word for the place of final judgment. Eleven of its twelve uses are his sayings, the twelfth is in James.

    “go into hell, into the unquenchable fire” Mark 9:43

  • Tartarus ταρταρόω 1 use

    Once only, as a verb: the sinning angels were “cast into Tartarus”, the Greek name for the deepest pit, to be held for judgment.

    “cast them deep into hell” 2 Peter 2:4

One verse with each, in ten translations

Translation SheolPsalm 16:10 HadesActs 2:27 GehennaMatthew 10:28 Tartarus2 Peter 2:4
KJV hell hell hell hell
ASV Sheol Hades hell hell
BSB Sheol Hades hell hell
DBY Sheol hades hell the deepest pit of gloom
WEB Sheol Hades Gehenna Tartarus
LSV Sheol Hades Gehenna Tartarus
YLT Sheol hades gehenna Tartarus
OEB Sheol Hades Gehenna Tartarus
FBV the grave the grave Gehenna Tartarus
T4T the place where the dead people are the place where the dead are hell the worst place in hell

The cells marked say “hell”. The KJV says it for all four; only it says it for Sheol and Hades. Acts 2:27 is Peter quoting Psalm 16:10, so the first two columns are one verse: Hades is the Greek for Sheol. Gehenna is the Valley of Hinnom, named 13 times in the Hebrew Bible (Jeremiah 7:31).

Where each is used

Sheol 66

  1. Genesis 4
  2. Numbers 2
  3. Deuteronomy 1
  4. 1 Samuel 1
  5. 2 Samuel 1
  6. 1 Kings 2
  7. Job 8
  8. Psalms 16
  9. Proverbs 9
  10. Ecclesiastes 1
  11. Song of Solomon 1
  12. Isaiah 10
  13. Ezekiel 5
  14. Hosea 2
  15. Amos 1
  16. Jonah 1
  17. Habakkuk 1

Hades 10

  1. Matthew 2
  2. Luke 2
  3. Acts 2
  4. Revelation 4

Gehenna 12

  1. Matthew 7
  2. Mark 3
  3. Luke 1
  4. James 1

Tartarus 1

  1. 2 Peter 1

Counted in the site’s Hebrew and Greek by Strong’s number: Sheol H7585, Hades G86, Gehenna G1067, Tartarus G5020. The BSB keeps the name Sheol every time and Hades every time, and says “hell” for Gehenna and Tartarus.

Where it appears

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