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Easton's Bible Dictionary
(originally Ge bene Hinnom; i.e., "the valley of the
sons of Hinnom"), A deep, narrow glen to the south of Jerusalem, where the idolatrous
Jews offered their children in sacrifice to Molech ( 2 Chronicles 28:3 ; 33:6
; Jeremiah 7:31 ; 19:2 - 6 ). This valley afterwards became the common receptacle
for all the refuse of the city. Here the dead bodies of animals and of criminals,
and all kinds of filth, were cast and consumed by fire kept always burning. It
thus in process of time became the image of the place of everlasting destruction.
In this sense it is used by our Lord in Matthew 5:22 , 5:29 , 5:30 ; 10:28 ; 18:9
; 23:15 , 23:33 ; Mark 9:43 , 9:45 , 9:47 ; Luke 12:5 . In these passages, and
also in James 3:6 , the word is uniformly rendered "hell," the Revised Version
placing "Gehenna" in the margin. (See HELL,
HINNOM.)
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
[SEE FROM HINNOM]
(lamentation), Valley of, otherwise called "the valley of the son" or "children
of Hinnom," a deep and narrow ravine, with steep, rocky sides, to the south and
west of Jerusalem, separating Mount Zion to the north from the "hill of evil counsel,"
and the sloping rocky plateau of the "plain of Rephaim" to the south. The earliest
mention of the valley of Hinnom is in ( Joshua 15:8 ; 18:16 ) where the boundary
line between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin is described as passing along the
bed of the ravine. On the southern brow, overlooking the valley at its eastern
extremity Solomon erected high places for Molech, ( 1 Kings 11:7 ) whose horrid
rites were revived from time to time in the same vicinity the later idolatrous
kings. Ahaz and Manasseh made their children "pass through the fire" in this valley,
( 2 Kings 16:3 ; 2 Chronicles 28:3 ; 33:6 ) and the fiendish custom of infant
sacrifice to the fire-gods seems to have been kept up in Tophet, which was another
name for this place. To put an end to these abominations the place was polluted
by Josiah, who renders it ceremonially unclean by spreading over it human bones
and other corruptions, ( 2 Kings 23:10 , 23:13 , 23:14 ; 2 Chronicles 34:4 , 34:5
) from which time it appears to have become the common cesspool of the city, into
which sewage was conducted, to be carried off by the waters of the Kidron. From
its ceremonial defilement, and from the detested and abominable fire of Molech,
if not from the supposed ever-burning funeral piles, the later Jews applied the
name of this valley --Ge Hinnom, Gehenna (land of Hinnom)--to denote the place
of eternal torment. In this sense the word is used by our Lord. ( Matthew 5:29
; 10:28 ; 23:15 ; Mark 9:43 ; Luke 12:5 )
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ga-hen'-a (geenna (see Grimm-Thayer, under the word)):
Gehenna is a transliteration from the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ge-hinnom, "valley
of Hinnom." This latter form, however, is rare in the Old Testament, the prevailing
name being "the valley of the son of Hinnom." Septuagint usually translates; where
it transliterates the form is different from Gehenna and varies. In the New Testament
the correct form is Gee'nna with the accent on the penult, not Ge'enna. There
is no reason to assume that Hinnom is other than a plain patronymic, although
it has been proposed to find in it the corruption of the name of an idol (EB,
II, 2071). In the New Testament (King James Version margin) Gehenna occurs in
Matthew 5:22 , 29 , 30 ; 10:28 ; 18:9 ; 23:15 , 33 ; Mark 9:43 , 15 , 47 ; Luke
12:5 ; James 3:6. In all of these it designates the place of eternal punishment
of the wicked, generally in connection with the final judgment. It is associated
with fire as the source of torment. Both body and soul are cast into it. This
is not to be explained on the principle that the New Testament speaks metaphorically
of the state after death in terms of the body; it presupposes the resurrection.
In the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) Gehenna
is rendered by "hell" (see ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT). That "the valley
of Hinnom" became the technical designation for the place of final punishment
was due to two causes. In the first place the valley had been the seat of the
idolatrous worship of Molech, to whom children were immolated by fire (2 Chronicles
28:3 ; 33:6). Secondly, on account of these practices the place was defiled by
King Josiah (2 Kings 23:10), and became in consequence associated in prophecy
with the judgment to be visited upon the people (Jeremiah 7:32). The fact, also,
that the city's offal was collected there may have helped to render the name synonymous
with extreme defilement. Topographically the identification of the valley of Hinnom
is still uncertain. It has been in turn identified with the depression on the
western and southern side of Jerusalem, with the middle valley, and with the valley
to the E. Compare EB, II, 2071; DCG, I, 636; RE3, VI.
Geerhardus Vos
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, gehenna, hell, hinnom, sacrifice to molech
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