Gehenna / Valley of Hinnom (“hell”)

Summary

A valley-trial carried through to a destructive verdict. At Jerusalem’s boundary, the Valley of Hinnom—where counterfeit worship sacrificed children and which God renamed the Valley of Slaughter—pictures the judgment that destroys both body and soul. Distinct from Sheol, which holds the dead.

The fuller book and notebook trail is available in Heaven and Hell.

Definitions

Symbolic Definition

A valley-trial carried through to a destructive verdict. At Jerusalem’s boundary, the Valley of Hinnom—where counterfeit worship sacrificed children and which God renamed the Valley of Slaughter—pictures the judgment that destroys both body and soul. Distinct from Sheol, which holds the dead.

Literal Biblical Definition

The valley at Jerusalem’s boundary where children were sacrificed in counterfeit worship; Josiah defiled its Topheth, and Jeremiah called it the coming Valley of Slaughter.

Webster’s Definition

Webster’s 1913 entry for gehenna begins: “(Jewish Hist.) Defn: The valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, where some of the Israelites sacrificed their children to Moloch, which, on this account, was afterward regarded as a place of abomination, and made a receptacle for all the refuse of the city, perpetual fires being kept up in order to prevent pestilential effluvia.”

These definitions may agree, but they are independent evidence. A biblical passage may use the term literally, symbolically, or both at the same time; the literal properties remain part of the logic when Scripture uses the object as a symbol.

The Short Case

Gehenna signifies ‘the judgment’ that destroys both soul and body, distinct from Sheol, derived from the burning carcases in the valley of Hinnom.

“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” — Matthew 10:28

“And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” — Isaiah 66:24

“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.” — Jeremiah 7:32

“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:” — Mark 9:43

“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” — Mark 9:44

“And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:” — Mark 9:45

“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” — Mark 9:46

“And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:” — Mark 9:47

The definition stays with the relationship these passages establish. Literal appearances preserve the image; they do not require every occurrence to be symbolic.

Dictionary Comparison

Webster’s 1913 entry for gehenna begins:

“Ge*hen”na, n. Etym: [L. Gehenna, Gr. G.] (Jewish Hist.) Defn: The valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, where some of the Israelites sacrificed their children to Moloch, which, on this account, was afterward regarded as a place of abomination, and made a receptacle for all the refuse of the city, perpetual fires being kept up in order to prevent pestilential effluvia. In the New Testament the name is transferred, by an easy metaphor, to Hell. The pleasant valley of Hinnom. Tophet thence And black Gehenna called, the type of Hell. Milton.”

The dictionary supplies the ordinary sense. The definition above is narrower or figurative only where Scripture’s own cross-references require that transfer.

Corpus and Method

This study checks the glossary’s defining citations first, then compares them with every KJV verse that prints gehenna. The English-form sweep found 0 verses. It is exhaustive for those printed forms, but it is not a substitute for a Strong’s-number sweep where several Hebrew or Greek words share one English translation.

Evidence by Sense

The entry currently states one controlling sense:

1. Core sense: A valley-trial carried through to a destructive verdict. At Jerusalem’s boundary, the Valley of Hinnom—where counterfeit worship sacrificed children and which God renamed the Valley of Slaughter—pictures the judgment that destroys both body and soul. Distinct from Sheol, which holds the dead.
2. Defining witnesses: Josh 15:8; 18:16; 2 Kgs 23:10; Jer 7:31-32; 19:2-6; Matt 10:28; Isa 66:24; Mark 9:43-48
3. Boundary: the sense applies where the passage activates the same relationship; ordinary literal uses remain literal.

Competing Definitions Tested

• The book may imply annihilation and may locate the imagery more concretely in the Valley of Hinnom, whereas the dominant traditional view understands an eternal postmortem state of conscious punishment. That could support REFINED if those details are treated as defining, but the blind consensus expressly leaves the judgment’s nature unsettled.

• One could argue MATCH: the consensus responses themselves say the settled core is only ‘final judgment on the wicked, distinct from Sheol/Hades,’ with the torment-vs-destruction question explicitly unsettled; on that framing the book merely takes a listed alternative within an acknowledged open debate, not a refinement of the settled core. Alternatively, the book entry never explicitly denies eternal torment — ‘fire is not quenched’ language is retained — so the annihilationist reading is inferred from emphasis rather than stated.

• The book does not explicitly choose between eternal conscious torment and annihilationism, leaving the exact nature of the judgment ambiguous compared to more detailed theological definitions.

These tests identify the boundary the definition must explain. A shared phrase or nearby theme is not enough by itself; the cited passages must establish the proposed identity and account for the countertexts without changing senses whenever the reading becomes difficult.

Relationship to Other Symbols

No reciprocal opposite is assigned. Related images may share a scene or a consequence without becoming aliases.

Related definitions used by this entry: Valley, Shadow of Death, Judgment, and Sheol.

Occurrence Register

No exact KJV English-form occurrences were found under the display forms searched. The defining citations and underlying Hebrew or Greek terms therefore govern this entry.

Conclusion

A valley-trial carried through to a destructive verdict. At Jerusalem’s boundary, the Valley of Hinnom—where counterfeit worship sacrificed children and which God renamed the Valley of Slaughter—pictures the judgment that destroys both body and soul. Distinct from Sheol, which holds the dead.

This is the glossary conclusion. The occurrence register and competing-reading section show where further evidence would strengthen, narrow, or test it without silently changing the definition.