Sheōl

‘Sheōl’ is the biblical underworld and is referred to as being under the earth or in the depths of the earth. Its depth is commonly juxtaposed with heaven’s height:

Deuteronomy 32:22

22 “For a fire was kindled in My wrath And burns to the bottom of hell (Sheōl), And consumes the earth and its increase, And sets on fire the foundations of mountains.

Job 11:8

8 It is higher than the heavens – what would you do? Deeper than hell (Sheōl) – what would you know?

Amos 9:2

2 “If they dig into hell (Sheōl), from there my hand does take them; and if they climb up to the heavens, from there I bring them down.

Psalm 139:8

8 If I go up into the heavens, You are there; If I make my bed in hell (Sheōl), see, You are there.

‘Sheōl’ is commonly referred to as a place associated with death:

Psalm 141:7

7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of hell (Sheōl), As when one ploughs and breaks up the earth.

Proverbs 9:18

18 But he does not know that the dead are there, Her guests are in the depths of hell (Sheōl).

‘Sheōl’is in fact described as the place where one’s soul abides after the death of one’s body, and it is where Yeshũa’s soul was ‘not left’ after His death:

Acts 2:27

27 because You shall not leave my soul in hell (hades), nor shall You give Your Holy/Set-Apart One to see corruption.

Psalm 16:10

10 For You do not leave my soul in hell (Sheōl), Neither let Your Holy/Set-Apart One see corruption.

‘Sheōl’is where Jacob expected to go upon the death of his body and where he expected Joseph (whom he believed to be dead) to be:

Genesis 37:35

35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “Now let me go down into the grave (Sheōl) to my son in mourning.” So his father wept for him.

David also expected to go to where his dead son was:

2 Samuel 12:23

23 “But now he is dead, why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back again? I am going to him, but he does not return to me.”

‘Sheōl’ is from whence one’s soul is ‘saved/delivered’ (see Appendix – Heaven and Hell):

Psalm 86:13

13 For Your kindness is great toward me, And You have saved/delivered my soul from the depths of hell (Sheōl).

The idea of ‘Sheōl’ as the abode of the dead is perhaps becoming more familiar, in certain circles, recently but there is debate over whether it is a place of conscious activity. There are verses that some understand as implying that there is no mental activity in ‘Sheōl’:

Psalm 6:5

5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; Who gives You thanks in She’ol?

Psalm 115:17

17 The dead do not praise Yah, Nor any going down to silence.

These verses need context, because they are not implying that anybody who is dead or in ‘Sheōl’ cannot do these things. A contrast is being drawn between the dead who do not know YHVH and the dead who do:

Psalm 6:4-5

4 Return, O יהוה, rescue my soul! Oh, save/deliver me for Your kindness’ sake!

5 For in death there is no remembrance of You; Who gives You thanks in She’ol?

This is a plea for the ‘salvation/deliverance’ of the psalmist’s soul from ‘Sheōl’, being contrasted with the plight of those who die having not been ‘saved/delivered’. It is essentially saying, ‘If one dies without such assurance, it is too late to praise God.’

Psalm 115:17-18

17 The dead do not praise Yah, Nor any going down to silence.

18 But we, we bless Yah Now and forever. Praise Yah!

Again, the dead referred to here, exclude those who praise God. This is not a statement on the ability of the souls of the dead to praise God but on the need for God’s forgiveness while one is living.

Another verse that is misunderstood, when bereft of context, is found in the book of Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 9:5

5 For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know naught, nor do they have any more reward, for their remembrance is forgotten.

The reasoning goes, that if the dead know nothing then they are unconscious, but one must appreciate the rest of Solomon’s statement:

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6

5 For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know naught, nor do they have any more reward, for their remembrance is forgotten.

6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy have now perished; and they no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun.

Solomon’s statement is not absolute, it pertains to what the dead know about what is happening on earth, or ‘under the sun’. The dead have consciousness of that which transpires in ‘Sheōl’, however. Yeshũa tells us that this is so:

Luke 16:20-31

20 “And there was a certain beggar named El’azar, being covered with sores, who was placed at his gate,

21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Indeed, even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “And it came to be that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to the bosom of Aḇraham. And the rich man also died and was buried.

23 “And while suffering tortures in the grave (hades), having lifted up his eyes, he saw Aḇraham far away, and El῾azar in his bosom.

24 “And crying out he said, ‘Father Aḇraham, have compassion on me, and send El῾azar to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented by this flame.’

25 “But Aḇraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your life you received your good, and likewise El῾azar the evil, but now he is comforted and you are suffering.

26 ‘And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who wish to pass from here to you are unable, nor do those from there pass to us.’

27 “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,

28 for I have five brothers, let him warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment’

29 “Aḇraham said to him, ‘They have Mosheh and the prophets, let them hear them.’

30 “And he said, ‘No, father Aḇraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they shall repent.’

31 “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Mosheh and the prophets, neither would they be persuaded even if one should rise from the dead.’”

Some will say that Yeshũa was not describing reality but was telling a parable with a twist on a popular story of the time. I have seen no evidence of this, it seems to be a baseless claim, and it seems, to me, that this suggestion has simply become an explanation without foundation. It seems, to me, to be born of convenience rather than of any solid reality. Regardless, I would advise caution when declaring Yeshũa to be using falsity and fantasy in what He taught. Yeshũa explains ‘Sheōl’ to be a place of conscious experience and perception, and this is certainly how ‘Sheōl’ is elsewhere described. Isaiah speaks of ‘Sheōl’ as being able to be ‘excited’ and ‘stirred up’.

Isaiah 14:9-10

9 “Hell (Sheōl) from beneath is excited about you, to meet you at your coming; it stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

10 “All of them respond and say to you, ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us?

I think that the idea that the dead are unconscious may also be a misunderstanding of the dead being spoken of as being ‘asleep’, which is a common scriptural idiom:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

13 Now, brothers, we do not wish you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you be sad as others who have no expectation.

14 For if we believe that ישוע died and rose again, so also Elohim shall bring with Him those who sleep in ישוע.

1 Corinthians 15:51

51 See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

Resurrection from the dead is referred to as the ‘waking up’ of those who have ‘fallen asleep’:

John 11:11

11 He said this, and after that He said to them, “Our friend El‛azar has fallen asleep, but I am going there, to wake him up.”

The resurrection of those having died is spoken of as them waking from sleep:

Luke 8:52-55

52 And they were all weeping and mourning for her, and He said, “Do not weep, she is not dead, but sleeps.”

53 And they were laughing at Him, knowing that she was dead.

54 But taking her by the hand He called, saying, “Child, arise.”

55 And her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. And He directed that she be given food to eat.

One should be careful when presuming oneself to be unconscious when asleep. After all, while one’s body is asleep one’s consciousness is active in dreams. In a similar way, when one’s body is dead, one’s soul is active in ‘Sheōl’.