Some take the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus literally to preach torment. But if taken literally, the parable seems to imply absurdities -- Lazarus is blessed not because of faith, but just because he was sick and poor. So will only the poor/sick will be saved? And if this hell is literal, mustn’t Abraham's bosom also be a real placewhere millions of poor will reside? Jesus told this story as a symbolic lesson to the Pharisees. What really was his message?

Four words have been translated as hell in the Bible – Sheol, Hades, Gehenna and Tartaroo. The first one is Hebrew (Old Testament) and the rest are Greek (New Testament). Do all of these words mean the same? (At least that's what many of the English bible translations imply). Or do they mean different things?
When we refer to Hebrew and Greek dictionaries and the Bible's own descriptions of these words, we find deeper insight into their meanings.
And we also get clarity on many seemingly contradictory verses in the English bibles.

Some take the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus literally to preach torment. But if taken literally, the parable seems to imply absurdities -- Lazarus is blessed not because of faith, but just because he was sick and poor. So will only the poor/sick will be saved? And if this hell is literal, mustn’t Abraham's bosom also be a real placewhere millions of poor will reside? Jesus told this story as a symbolic lesson to the Pharisees. What really was his message?

Translators of the King James Biblerendered the Hebrew word SHEOL (65 occurrences) in English as grave (31 times), pit (3 times) and hell (31 times). They translated SHEOL as grave/pitwhen it was to be the resting place for good people, but rendered the same word as hell when referring to a bad person. Job actually prays to go to SHEOL (Job 14:12). And any Hebrew expert or even Wikipedia would confirm that SHEOL means grave/pit. The Bible actually describes what kind of a place SHEOL is!

Translators of the King James Biblerendered the Hebrew word SHEOL (65 occurrences) in English as grave (31 times), pit (3 times) and hell (31 times). They translated SHEOL as grave/pitwhen it was to be the resting place for good people, but rendered the same word as hell when referring to a bad person. Job actually prays to go to SHEOL (Job 14:12). And any Hebrew expert or even Wikipedia would confirm that SHEOL means grave/pit. The Bible actually describes what kind of a place SHEOL is!

Four words have been translated as hell in the Bible – Sheol, Hades, Gehenna and Tartaroo. The first one is Hebrew (Old Testament) and the rest are Greek (New Testament). Do all of these words mean the same? (At least that's what many of the English bible translations imply). Or do they mean different things?
When we refer to Hebrew and Greek dictionaries and the Bible's own descriptions of these words, we find deeper insight into their meanings.
And we also get clarity on many seemingly contradictory verses in the English bibles.