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Why is the meaning the English word "hell" acquired today innacurate to understand the Bible´s message?

7 Answers

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  • BJ
    Lv 7
    2 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Hell in English is translated from the Hebrew language (Sheol) which means the grave.

    Sheol is an unfamiliar term to many. It is a Hebrew word of uncertain derivation. Many religions teach that the dead are still alive, but as the inspired Word of God shows, those in Sheol are dead, without consciousness. Sheol is the common grave of mankind.

    Collier’s Encyclopedia says concerning Hell: First it stands for the Hebrew Sheol of the Old Testament and the Greek Hades of the Septuagint and New Testament.

    Since Sheol in Old Testament times referred simply to the abode of the dead and suggested no moral distinctions, the word hell, as understood today, is not a happy translation.

  • User
    Lv 7
    2 years ago

    First guess: because of your truly horrible grasp of English grammar.

  • 2 years ago

    "Hell" used to mean "grave" or "sheol," the state of being dead. The meaning has changed to the place of eternal torment. Depending on the translation you use, hell sometimes means one and sometimes means the other. You have to take the context into account. Usually, or maybe always when you encounter "hell" in the OT, it means the land of the dead.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    2 years ago

    Jesus said, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:41-42). Jesus wanted to torture people.

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  • 2 years ago

    Because of erroneously thinking it is the lake of fire. According to Revelation 20:14, KJV, hell is thrown into the lake of fire. Therefore it could not be a permanent place of torment if according to the verse it is destroyed, along with death.

  • 2 years ago

    Because many words in the KJV have changed meaning since 1611. Often, the words changed meaning to fit the bias of the readers.

    The word "modest" once meant "simple."

  • 2 years ago

    Because it conjures up ideas of a subterranean realm of fire and brimstone with horned demons and pitchforks. Real hell is nothing like that. It's simply separation from God for eternity, so it's more like neverending hopelessness and loneliness which drives you insane.

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