LUX VERITAS

Dictionary entry

גֵּי־הִנֹּם

Gehenna

gê-hinnom

The valley south of Jerusalem that became an image of the final judgement.

The Valley of Hinnom, where children were sacrificed to Moloch and which later served as a rubbish dump kept perpetually in flames. Jesus uses it as a metaphor for the final destiny of the unrepentant. Modern translations tend to render Gehenna simply as “hell”, which erases the original geographical image.

Where it appears

  • Jeremiah 7:31
  • Matthew 5:22
  • Mark 9:43