Sheol

Sheol () is a term Hebrew untranslatable, designating the "hell", the "common grave of mankind ', well, not really able to decide whether or not a beyond. The Hebrew Bible describes it as a place without comfort, where everyone, and just criminal, slave and king, pious and impious meet after death to remain there in silence and become dust. However, this is not a final disposition, and some texts refer to those who "are saved" (Psalms 86:13, etc.), those in back, etc..

Description of Sheol in the Hebrew Bible

In some sources, such as Deuteronomy 32:22, Sheol seems to be synonymous with the depths of the Earth. " Sheol is sometimes compared to the dark and gloomy underworld of Hades or Tartarus of Greek mythology. The Sheol is the common destination of the righteous and the wicked, the righteous and just Job indeed sees the destination as Sheol (Job 3).

However, in many instances, the Sheol does not seem to be a destination or even a place, but simplememt "grave". In the Ecclesiastes , for example, "... the dead know nothing, they have no more reward, and until their memory is forgotten." Similarly, "Whatever your hands find to do, do it as fully as Sheol, where you go, there is neither work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom." (Ecc. 9:5-10)

Jacob , weeping at the announcement of the supposed death of Joseph , exclaims: "I want to get my son, mourning in Sheol" ( Genesis 37:35). The Sheol may be personified: Sheol is never satisfied ( Proverbs 30:20) it "has enlarged its desire, and opened her mouth without measure," ( Isaiah 5:14), but it is likely allegories.

Finally, the psalm evokes two facts quite exceptional in Psalm 18:5-7, David's voice reaching to the Lord: "The cords of death surrounded me, and the torrents of ungodliness made me afraid ; ties Sheol (translated " grave "in the version KJV 1910 surrounded me, the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, I cried to my God; its palaces, He heard my voice and my cry came before Him to His ears "and in Psalm 86:13:" Your love for me is great, you saved me from the depths of Sheol. "

The Hebrew concept of the afterlife is found in the darkness of the Sumerian culture in which Inanna descends. See also Ereshkigal.

Distinction between Sheol and "grave" in the Hebrew Bible

Notwithstanding the metaphorical use (Jonah 2:2), and rendering usual by Sheol "grave," the Sheol is clearly differentiated in a simple grave in Hebrew. The term "qever" or "q'vourah" is universally used to designate a tomb, while "Sheol" is "grave," the "place Distinction between Sheol and hell

The hell is not a concept derived from the Hebrew but Germanic mythology, used to convey the concept of Guehinnom ( Jahannam Arabic, Gehenna in French) which, far from being a place of perdition underground inaccessible and unknown to the living, was the valley of Hinnom or Ben Hinnom (Gue Hinnom) Area of Jerusalem ( Joshua 15:8, 18:16, 2 Kings 11:10 p.m., Jeremiah 7:31, Nehemiah 11:30). From rubbish dump to be incinerated, it became the scene of an idolatrous cult where children were passed through fire to Canaanite god Moloch. It is through this that it will become a place of conviction.

Moreover, in the Book of Job, although Satan is portrayed as the living tormenting and tempting, it is no mention of a chair or even a stay in Sheol.

The eminent biblical scholar William Foxwell Albright noted that SHE'OL seems to share the root of SHA'AL, which normally means "ask, question, question." Sheol in this case could have a similar meaning. One could therefore relate to a kind of purgatory.

Tvedtnes John, another Bible scholar, extends this hypothesis by linking the theme common to near-death experiences , soul questioning after crossing the Tunnel.
In addition, the teshuva repentance saying in Hebrew , and Teshuva can also mean "answer" (that is to say the opposite of the question), this may be one of the readings of the Mishnah 's 2:15 Treaty of Fathers , "Rabbi Eliezer said, 'Do not be quick to get mad, and made Teshuva one day before your death. But how can you know the day of your death? Make Academic Opinion

According to Professors Stephen L. Harris and James Tabor, the Sheol is a place of "nothing", whose roots in the Hebrew Bible.

Prof. Tabor, Chair of Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, wrote in his What the Bible says about Death, Afterlife, and the Future:

"The ancient Hebrews never imagined not the idea of an immortal soul living a full life after death, nor a resurrection or resuscitation of some kind. Both men and beasts came from dust and returning to dust ( gen. 2:7, 3:19). The word nefesh, traditionalism translated "living soul" but rather understood as "living being" is the same word used for all creatures and involves no idea of immortality ... All the dead go to Sheol, and they are buried together, good or bad, rich or poor, free or slaves (Job 3:11-19). He is described as a region "dark and deep," "Fosse," "the land of forgetfulness," cut off from God and every human life above (Ps. 6:5, 88:3-12). Although in some texts, the power of YHWH reaches the Sheol (Ps. 139:8), the dominant idea is that the dead are abandoned forever. Sheol This concept may seem in contrast with negative life happens "up there" among the living, but n 'There was also no concept of trial or retribution. When leading a life of extreme suffering and misery, as was the case of Job, the Sheol may even appear as a welcome relief to the pain - see Job chap. 3. Nevertheless, it's basically a sort of "nothingness," an existence that is barely there, where a "shadow" or "nuance" of the former self survives (Ps. 88:10). "

History

The Sheol in older designs

Sheol neither god nor demon, it requires no ritual of entry. This dark place underground and is located deep in the abyss (Job 38:16-17) which floats on the land of the living. A path leads to this dark cave (Job, 10:21, 17:13, Psalm 87:7). Nobody can go back (Job 7:9, 10:21, 14:12, Psalm 48:20), except when the necromancer brings back the witch of Endor (I Samuel 28). All humans end up in Sheol, good or bad (except Enoch and Elijah "abducted live in heaven"). There is no reward of souls after death. The dead man has neither body nor the breath of life, but he persevered, how? shadow as semi-conscious in silence (Psalm 93.17), as "low" (Job 26:5, Isaiah 14:9, Psalm 87:5), without force, without memory, without information, without joy. "There is neither work nor knowledge nor wisdom nor accounts in Sheol whither thou goest" (Ecclesiastes Ecclsiaste., 9:9). "The man goes to his house of eternity! And the mourners are already running in the street before the wire loose money The Sheol as Isaiah and Ezekiel

This time the subject Sheol hardship, those who have done evil, such as the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:11), the pagans who "terrorized the land of the living" (Ezekiel 32:17-32 ).

The Sheol from the III ^century av. AD

Ecclesiastes 3:21) asks: "Who knoweth the spirit of the children of men goes upward?" Tobit (4:6-10) argues that good works, such as giving alms to God, "deliver from death and keep going in the darkness." The martyrs Jewish victims of the persecution of Antiochus IV, from 168 BC. BC, died with the certainty of "eternal life" through the experience of resurrection, while those "who wage war against God" will be punished (Maccabees 7). Daniel (12:2-3) announces that "many of those who sleep in the land of dust shall awake to everlasting life," and others "to eternal condemnation."

The Sheol in the Book of Wisdom

The Book of Wisdom is written in Greek, in Alexandria, first century av. AD, it is not part of the Hebrew canon. This writing expresses theories close to the Greek philosophy: immortality of the soul, compensation equal in eternity, Resurrection:

"They know the secrets of God, they do not expect compensation for holiness, they do not believe the reward of pure souls (2:22). Yes, God created man for immortality (2 : 23) ... The souls of the righteous, they are in the hand of God and no torment will ever touch them (3:1 )..."

The books in Sheol intertestamental

The Book of Enoch , generally attributed to the Hellenized Jews of Alexandria, reports the cosmological vision of Enoch. The author describes Sheol as divided into four sections: the first called in the Gospel according to Luke " Abraham's bosom , "the righteous and the holy joyfully await the Day of Judgement , in the second, people are moderately good await their reward, and the third where the wicked are punished and await their trial at the resurrection and the fourth where the bad guys who do not even deserve to be resurrected are eternally tormented.
This cosmology is one of the few to include closer or hell in Sheol. According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus went to Sheol when he died in order to make known the just of the Hebrew Bible.

The Sheol in popular culture

In the novel of science fiction of Robert Heinlein , Starship Troopers , Sheol is the name of a planet colonized by Arachnids and decimated by a military attack earth.

In Regent's Park College , the Permanent Private Hall of Oxford University has a complex underground, including a laundry and bathrooms, and popularly known as Sheol.

Sheol is the name of the organization in which Mysterio comes to Matt Murdock in Daredevil : Under the wing of the Devil.

Sheol is also the title of a novel by science-fiction post-apocalyptic Jean-Pierre Fontana; Denol editions, collection "Presence of the Future".

In the massively multiplayer game " Anarchy Online ", there is a vast area in" Shadowlands "(Land of Shadows) called" Sheol ". This dark place, relief tortured, is a labyrinth of rocks where it is easy to get lost.

Finally, we find Sheol in role playing post-apocalyptic " Obsidian ", where it means the size of which come from the daemons that ravage the Earth.

In the novel " Memnoch the Devil , "of Anne Rice , the hero Lestat the Vampire has a discussion with Memnoch the Devil, who is visiting the Sheol. It is described as an empty, gray, dreary souls roam where to learn to forgive them and wait in the hope of redemption up to the light of God.

In Sanskrit , the word "Shiv" is associated with the "invisible", the "hidden". " Shiva "is considered the master of destruction, or the end. Everything leads to the "Shivam", the invisible world.
The word "Gahanam" means "deep". In Sreemath Bhagavatham, everything in the known world is enveloped in a state of "Gahan Tamas" or Deep Dark, only the enlightened will be drilled to reach the light of the Creator.

Notes

References to Sheol in the Bible

• Genesis Gen. 37:33-35 ; Gen. 42:37-38 ; Gen. 44:27-31
• Numbers Num. 16:23-33 ;
• Deuteronomy Deut. 32:22 ;
• The books of Samuel 1 Sam 2:6 ; 2 Sam 22:5-6 ;
• The books of Kings 1 R. 2:6 , 1 R. 2:9 ;
• Isaiah Is 5:14 ; Is 7:11 ; Is 2:11 p.m. ; Is 28:15-18 ; Is 38:10-18 ; Is 57:9
• Ezekiel Ez. 31:15-17 , Ez. 32:21-27 , Ez. 22:26-31 , Ez. 11:38 p.m. ; Ez. 44:24 , Ez. 45:17 , Ez. 46:1-12 ;
• Hosea Hos. 1:14 p.m. ;
• Amos Amos 9:2 ;
• Jonah Jon. 2:2 ;
• Habaccuc Hab. 2:5
• The book of Job: Job 7:9-10 , Job 11:7-8 , Job 14:11-14 , Job 17:13-16 , Job 9:13 p.m. ; Job 24:19 , Job 26:6
• Psalms Psalms 6:5 , Ps 9:17 , Ps 4:10 p.m. ; Ps 18:4-5 , Ps 30:3 , Ps 31:17 , Ps 49:14-15 ; Ps 55:15 , Ps 86:13 , Ps 88:3 , Ps 89:48 , Ps 116:3 ; Ps 139:8 ; Ps 141:7
• Proverbs Prov. 1:11-12 , Prov. 5:5 , Prov. 7:27 , Prov. 9:18 , Prov. 3:11 p.m. ; Prov. 3:24 p.m. ; Prov. 11:14 p.m. ; Prov. 27:20 , Prov. 30:16 ;
• Ecclesiastes Eccl. 9:5-10

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