Click here for Part 1
Click here for Part 3
Part 1 focused primarily on the Hebrew word sheol which is translated as both hell and grave 31 times each in the King James Version (KJV) of the Old Testament.
Now let's talk about the Hebrew words for pit. The Hebrew bowr is most often translated into English as pit in the KJV but it turns out sheol is also translated as pit 3 times. These first two examples of sheol as pit are both from Numbers chapter 16.
Numbers 16:30 [Moses said] But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit [sheol]; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
Numbers 16:33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit [sheol], and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
In Part 1 I mentioned there was a time when God destroyed some disobedient Israelites by opening a sinkhole under their feet, trapping them and then burning them in front of the rest of the congregation of Israel. Those two verses I just showed you where that happens. Now let's continue in Numbers chapter 16 starting at verse 34 to see what happens after they are trapped in the sinkhole/pit.
Numbers 16:34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Numbers 16:35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
Okay so in context so far the Lord has opened a pit underneath men who have provoked Him. They were trapped and the Lord burned them with fire. Can you see where people take that to mean "the pit" is an underworld hell where the damned burn? I can see it. But let's continue reading and remember to keep things in context. Keep in mind there were 250 men who were burned and they were carrying censers (see verse 17). Censers are containers for burning incense during religious ceremonies.
Numbers 16:36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 16:37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
Numbers 16:38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
Numbers 16:39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Now some questions.
Did the damned in Numbers 16:33 go into a pit? Yes.
Were they burned? Yes.
Do those things sound like "hell" as the popular concept defines hell? Yes and we all know the damned are going to be burned in a lake of fire. So I can definitely see where a person could think verses 34 & 35 were describing hell.
But a few more questions.
Did they become spirits and go to a spiritual realm of burning as the popular concept of hell goes? No.
Were the other Israelites able to witness them burn? Yes, so they definitely were not in some underworld realm as hell is described.
In fact even though they went into a pit, it wasn't very deep. Deep enough to trap them but it was also shallow enough that Aaron's son Eleazar was able to retrieve the censers the victims were carrying so the pit was basically a shallow grave. Now ask yourself this question and be honest; if during a sermon or while watching a video, if the speaker only showed you verses 33 through 35 and told you it was speaking of "hell" the spiritual underworld of burning damnation, would you have later gone back and read those verses in context to verify the truth? Or would you have simply believed him because it already matched your preconceived notion of hell? I suspect most Christians would have accepted that interpretation without making any effort to verify the truth. I'm not saying that to ridicule anybody or make anybody feel bad. I'm trying to help people understand how vitally important it is to be a Berean. See Acts 17:10-11 to find out what being a Berean means if you don't know already. It is unwise to not verify the truth for yourself "because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8) and the devil certainly doesn't want you be a Berean.
In fact Satan just wants you to nod your head in agreement whenever scripture is misinterpreted, whether the misinterpretation was done intentionally by a wolf in sheep's clothing or it was an honest mistake. There are allegedly true stories out there where people make claims of going to heaven or hell for a period of time and then coming back. I believe the bible, I don't believe the creeds of churches over scripture... and I won't be deceived by those claims. I'm not saying these people are intentionally lying either. But we must be grounded in scripture, not traditions of men. There is a popular book and movie called Heaven Is For Real where a young boy alleged to have gone to heaven. Don't think for one second our enemy Satan won't use children to decieve the church. Whether this young boy was coached by people to say the things he did or if demons made him think these things happened I don't know... but I do know his claims aren't biblical. I also know because this boy was of pre-school age at the time of the alleged events there is a good chance other Christians will accuse me of attacking a child if I don't believe his story. So be it. I will also be attacked by other Christians for any number of other things just as Christ-believing Jews are attacked by their fellow Jews for believing scripture above traditions. "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).
There is a third time in the bible where sheol was translated as pit. It is in the book of Job.
Job 17:16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit [sheol], when our rest together is in the dust.
The phrase "bars of the pit" conjures up images of being held behind bars in prison. Isaiah also describes the pit as a prison in the following verse, but take note the Hebrew word for pit in this case is bowr, not sheol.
Isaiah 24:22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit [bowr], and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
Even though it's a different Hebrew word I'm going to show you five verses where it demonstrates that sheol and bowr mean the same thing - the pit. And the pit means the grave, not hell.
Psalms 30:3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave [sheol]: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit [bowr].
Proverbs 1:12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave [sheol]; and whole, as those that go down into the pit [bowr]:
Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell [sheol], to the sides of the pit [bowr].
Isaiah 38:18 For the grave [sheol] cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit [bowr] cannot hope for thy truth.
Ezekiel 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell [sheol] with them that descend into the pit [bowr]: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
Do you see how these verses demonstrate that sheol and bowr can be used interchangeably?
If you would like to see every verse where either sheol or bowr you can look them up in Strongs Concordance. Sheol is word H7585 and bowr is H953. Here is website where you look them up. https://www.blueletterbible.org/ . In the search box type H7585 or H953, then scroll down and you will see all the verses where those words are used.
Besides being translated as pit bowr is also translated as dungeon. So do you see where the grave/pit also symbolizes being imprisoned? Remember near the beginning of this study I showed you in Jonah said that being in the belly of the great fish was sheol, his grave (though only temporarily since the fish spewed him out). In Jonah 2:6 he compares being in the fish as having "bars around me" so we see example after example of the grave being a prison.
In Part 3 I will talk about the "bottomless pit" of Revelation, how it symbolizes the biggest mass grave in history and how it also symbolizes a prison for Satan and his minions. I will discuss and the original Greek words which are translated as hell in the New Testament as well.
Thanks for reading. God Bless.
Click here for Part 3
Part 1 focused primarily on the Hebrew word sheol which is translated as both hell and grave 31 times each in the King James Version (KJV) of the Old Testament.
Now let's talk about the Hebrew words for pit. The Hebrew bowr is most often translated into English as pit in the KJV but it turns out sheol is also translated as pit 3 times. These first two examples of sheol as pit are both from Numbers chapter 16.
Numbers 16:30 [Moses said] But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit [sheol]; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD.
Numbers 16:33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit [sheol], and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
In Part 1 I mentioned there was a time when God destroyed some disobedient Israelites by opening a sinkhole under their feet, trapping them and then burning them in front of the rest of the congregation of Israel. Those two verses I just showed you where that happens. Now let's continue in Numbers chapter 16 starting at verse 34 to see what happens after they are trapped in the sinkhole/pit.
Numbers 16:34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
Numbers 16:35 And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
Okay so in context so far the Lord has opened a pit underneath men who have provoked Him. They were trapped and the Lord burned them with fire. Can you see where people take that to mean "the pit" is an underworld hell where the damned burn? I can see it. But let's continue reading and remember to keep things in context. Keep in mind there were 250 men who were burned and they were carrying censers (see verse 17). Censers are containers for burning incense during religious ceremonies.
Numbers 16:36 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 16:37 Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed.
Numbers 16:38 The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel.
Numbers 16:39 And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar:
Now some questions.
Did the damned in Numbers 16:33 go into a pit? Yes.
Were they burned? Yes.
Do those things sound like "hell" as the popular concept defines hell? Yes and we all know the damned are going to be burned in a lake of fire. So I can definitely see where a person could think verses 34 & 35 were describing hell.
But a few more questions.
Did they become spirits and go to a spiritual realm of burning as the popular concept of hell goes? No.
Were the other Israelites able to witness them burn? Yes, so they definitely were not in some underworld realm as hell is described.
In fact even though they went into a pit, it wasn't very deep. Deep enough to trap them but it was also shallow enough that Aaron's son Eleazar was able to retrieve the censers the victims were carrying so the pit was basically a shallow grave. Now ask yourself this question and be honest; if during a sermon or while watching a video, if the speaker only showed you verses 33 through 35 and told you it was speaking of "hell" the spiritual underworld of burning damnation, would you have later gone back and read those verses in context to verify the truth? Or would you have simply believed him because it already matched your preconceived notion of hell? I suspect most Christians would have accepted that interpretation without making any effort to verify the truth. I'm not saying that to ridicule anybody or make anybody feel bad. I'm trying to help people understand how vitally important it is to be a Berean. See Acts 17:10-11 to find out what being a Berean means if you don't know already. It is unwise to not verify the truth for yourself "because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8) and the devil certainly doesn't want you be a Berean.
In fact Satan just wants you to nod your head in agreement whenever scripture is misinterpreted, whether the misinterpretation was done intentionally by a wolf in sheep's clothing or it was an honest mistake. There are allegedly true stories out there where people make claims of going to heaven or hell for a period of time and then coming back. I believe the bible, I don't believe the creeds of churches over scripture... and I won't be deceived by those claims. I'm not saying these people are intentionally lying either. But we must be grounded in scripture, not traditions of men. There is a popular book and movie called Heaven Is For Real where a young boy alleged to have gone to heaven. Don't think for one second our enemy Satan won't use children to decieve the church. Whether this young boy was coached by people to say the things he did or if demons made him think these things happened I don't know... but I do know his claims aren't biblical. I also know because this boy was of pre-school age at the time of the alleged events there is a good chance other Christians will accuse me of attacking a child if I don't believe his story. So be it. I will also be attacked by other Christians for any number of other things just as Christ-believing Jews are attacked by their fellow Jews for believing scripture above traditions. "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10).
There is a third time in the bible where sheol was translated as pit. It is in the book of Job.
Job 17:16 They shall go down to the bars of the pit [sheol], when our rest together is in the dust.
The phrase "bars of the pit" conjures up images of being held behind bars in prison. Isaiah also describes the pit as a prison in the following verse, but take note the Hebrew word for pit in this case is bowr, not sheol.
Isaiah 24:22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit [bowr], and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
Even though it's a different Hebrew word I'm going to show you five verses where it demonstrates that sheol and bowr mean the same thing - the pit. And the pit means the grave, not hell.
Psalms 30:3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave [sheol]: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit [bowr].
Proverbs 1:12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave [sheol]; and whole, as those that go down into the pit [bowr]:
Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell [sheol], to the sides of the pit [bowr].
Isaiah 38:18 For the grave [sheol] cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit [bowr] cannot hope for thy truth.
Ezekiel 31:16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell [sheol] with them that descend into the pit [bowr]: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
Do you see how these verses demonstrate that sheol and bowr can be used interchangeably?
If you would like to see every verse where either sheol or bowr you can look them up in Strongs Concordance. Sheol is word H7585 and bowr is H953. Here is website where you look them up. https://www.blueletterbible.org/ . In the search box type H7585 or H953, then scroll down and you will see all the verses where those words are used.
Besides being translated as pit bowr is also translated as dungeon. So do you see where the grave/pit also symbolizes being imprisoned? Remember near the beginning of this study I showed you in Jonah said that being in the belly of the great fish was sheol, his grave (though only temporarily since the fish spewed him out). In Jonah 2:6 he compares being in the fish as having "bars around me" so we see example after example of the grave being a prison.
In Part 3 I will talk about the "bottomless pit" of Revelation, how it symbolizes the biggest mass grave in history and how it also symbolizes a prison for Satan and his minions. I will discuss and the original Greek words which are translated as hell in the New Testament as well.
Thanks for reading. God Bless.
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