“Sheowl” in the Old Testament was not seen as eternal torment. It was seen as the grave of death or an unseen burial. Using the King James Version the Hebrew word “sheowl” is translated as “the grave” 31 times. It is also translated as “hell” 31 times and “the pit” 4 times. In all usages in looking at the context this can be seen as the grave or a word describing the state of death. And “the grave” is the primary translation of other biblical versions. For example, the New International Version (NIV) does not have any usages of the word “hell” in the entire Old Testament. It almost always translates “sheowl” as “the grave”. Of the 66 usages for “sheowl”, 62 are translated as “the grave” in the NIV. One usage is translated as “dead” from Deuteronomy 32:22. One usage as “the depth below” from Job 11:8. One usage as “of the realm of the dead” from Job 26:6. One usage is translated as “death” from Proverbs 15:11.
I don't know if Mr. Hill is correct, but he's a good guy and makes a compelling argument. The video is around 37 minutes.
I'm not going to spend that much time listening to this guy's schpeel but I would again point you to Rob Bell's book, Love Wins. He addresses that issue (what hell is from examining biblical history). Not saying Bell's view is the last word, but it's reasonable to consider.
As is, Mark S's research (linked in his comment above).
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Mark Sanguinetti
The Myths of Hell
“Sheowl” in the Old Testament was not seen as eternal torment. It was seen as the grave of death or an unseen burial. Using the King James Version the Hebrew word “sheowl” is translated as “the grave” 31 times. It is also translated as “hell” 31 times and “the pit” 4 times. In all usages in looking at the context this can be seen as the grave or a word describing the state of death. And “the grave” is the primary translation of other biblical versions. For example, the New International Version (NIV) does not have any usages of the word “hell” in the entire Old Testament. It almost always translates “sheowl” as “the grave”. Of the 66 usages for “sheowl”, 62 are translated as “the grave” in the NIV. One usage is translated as “dead” from Deuteronomy 32:22. One usage as “the depth below” from Job 11:8. One usage as “of the realm of the dead” from Job 26:6. One usage is translated as “death” from Proverbs 15:11.
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Rocky
I'm not going to spend that much time listening to this guy's schpeel but I would again point you to Rob Bell's book, Love Wins. He addresses that issue (what hell is from examining biblical history). Not saying Bell's view is the last word, but it's reasonable to consider.
As is, Mark S's research (linked in his comment above).
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