a deep, narrow ravine separating Mount Zion from the so-called
"Hill of Evil Counsel." It took its name from "some ancient
hero, the son of Hinnom." It is first mentioned in Josh. 15:8.
It had been the place where the idolatrous Jews burned their
children alive to Moloch and Baal. A particular part of the
valley was called Tophet, or the "fire-stove," where the
children were burned. After the Exile, in order to show their
abhorrence of the locality, the Jews made this valley the
receptacle of the offal of the city, for the destruction of
which a fire was, as is supposed, kept constantly burning there.
The Jews associated with this valley these two ideas, (1) that
of the sufferings of the victims that had there been sacrificed;
and (2) that of filth and corruption. It became thus to the
popular mind a symbol of the abode of the wicked hereafter. It
came to signify hell as the place of the wicked. "It might be
shown by infinite examples that the Jews expressed hell, or the
place of the damned, by this word. The word Gehenna [the Greek
contraction of Hinnom] was never used in the time of Christ in
any other sense than to denote the place of future punishment."
About this fact there can be no question. In this sense the word
is used eleven times in our Lord's discourses (Matt. 23:33; Luke
12:5; Matt. 5:22, etc.).
Hinnom
You Might Also Like:
Read More
Have you ever heard the story of Noah's Ark? It's a famous story from the Bible about a man named Noah who built a huge boat to save himself and the a...
Read More
Have you ever heard the story of the Tower of Babel? It's a story from the Bible about a group of people who wanted to build a tower that reached all ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ten Plagues in the Bible? It's a fascinating story about how God showed His power to the Pharaoh of Egypt and freed the ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ten Commandments in the Bible? These are ten rules that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai to guide the Israelites and all...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the 12 Tribes of Israel in the Bible? These tribes were the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, who was later named Isr...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ministry of Jesus in the Bible? Jesus was a great teacher and healer who spent three years traveling throughout Israel, ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Early Church in the Bible? After Jesus' death and resurrection, his followers began to spread his teachings throughout t...
