Sheol – The Old Testament Word for Hades

• Kittle defines it as: the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates
• How is Sheol translated?
  • Septuagint (The Greek OT) translates the Hebrew Sheol with the Greek word Hades (temporary resting place of the dead).
  • NASB: Sheol 64 times. 
  • KJV: Hell 31 times; grave 31 times; pit three times.

EVERY OT verse with (H7585) Sheol (64 verses) – NASB Translation below

Explore these verses and journal out what the Lord reveals to you about sheol.

1. Gen_37:35  “Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, ‘Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.’ So his father wept for him.”
2. Gen_42:38  “But Jacob said, ‘My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’"
3. Gen_44:29  “'If you take this one also from me, and harm befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.'”
4. Gen_44:31  “when he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die. Thus your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow.”
5. Num_16:30  "But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol, then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD."
6. Num_16:33  “So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.”
7. Deu_32:22  “For a fire is kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.”
8. 1Sa_2:6  "The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.”
9. 2Sa_22:6  “The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.”
10. 1Ki_2:6  "So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.”
11. 1Ki_2:9  "Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood."
12. Job_7:9  "When a cloud vanishes, it is gone, So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.”
13. Job_11:8  "They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?”
14. Job_14:13  "Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me!”
15. Job_17:13  "If I look for Sheol as my home, I make my bed in the darkness;”
16. Job_17:16  "Will it go down with me to Sheol? Shall we together go down into the dust?"
17. Job_21:13  "They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.”
18. Job_24:19  "Drought and heat consume the snow waters, So does Sheol those who have sinned.”
19. Job_26:6  "Naked is Sheol before Him, And Abaddon has no covering.”
20. Psa_6:5  “For there is no mention of You in death; In Sheol who will give You thanks?”
21. Psa_9:17  “The wicked will return to Sheol, Even all the nations who forget God.”
22. Psa_16:10  “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay”.
23. Psa_18:5  “The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.”
24. Psa_30:3  “O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.”
25. Psa_31:17  “Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon You; Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.”
26. Psa_49:14  “As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no habitation.
27. Psa_49:15  “But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah.”
28. Psa_55:15  “Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.”
29. Psa_86:13  “For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”
30. Psa_88:3  “For my soul has had enough troubles, And my life has drawn near to Sheol.”
31. Psa_89:48  “What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.”
32. Psa_116:3  “The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow.”
33. Psa_139:8  “If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.”
34. Psa_141:7  “As when one plows and breaks open the earth, Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.”
35. Pro_1:12  “Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;”
36. Pro_5:5  “Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.”
37. Pro_7:27  “Her house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.”
38. Pro_9:18  “But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.”
39. Pro_15:11  “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of men!”
40. Pro_15:24  “The path of life leads upward for the wise That he may keep away from Sheol below.”
41. Pro_23:14  “You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.”
42. Pro_27:20  “Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.”
43. Pro_30:16  “Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, ‘Enough.’"
44. Ecc_9:10  “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.”
45. Son_8:6  "’Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD.’”
46. Isa_5:14  “Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.”
47. Isa_7:11  "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven."
48. Isa_14:9  "’Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.’”
49. Isa_14:11  “'Your pomp and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you And worms are your covering.'”
50. Isa_14:15  "’Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.’”
51. Isa_28:15  “Because you have said, ‘We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.’"
52. Isa_28:18  "’Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place.’”
53. Isa_38:10  “I said, ‘In the middle of my life I am to enter the gates of Sheol; I am to be deprived of the rest of my years.’"
54. Isa_38:18  "’For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.’”
55. Isa_57:9  "’You have journeyed to the king with oil And increased your perfumes; You have sent your envoys a great distance And made them go down to Sheol.’”
56. Eze_31:15  “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘On the day when it went down to Sheol I caused lamentations; I closed the deep over it and held back its rivers. And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it.
57. Eze_31:16  ‘I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I made it go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, were comforted in the earth beneath.
58. Eze_31:17  ‘They also went down with it to Sheol to those who were slain by the sword; and those who were its strength lived under its shade among the nations.’”
59. Eze_32:21  "’The strong among the mighty ones shall speak of him and his helpers from the midst of Sheol, 'They have gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.'”
60. Eze_32:27  "’Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war and whose swords were laid under their heads; but the punishment for their iniquity rested on their bones, though the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living.’”
61. Hos_13:14  ‘”Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion will be hidden from My sight.’”
62. Amo_9:2  "’Though they dig into Sheol, From there will My hand take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there will I bring them down.’”
63. Jon_2:2  “and he said, ‘I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.’”
64. Hab_2:5  "’Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples.’”

Notes on Sheol

1. The place one goes to at death.
2. God’s anger and fire burns to the lowest part of Sheol and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
3. Sheol is described as something you go down to.
4. God is able to raise one up from Sheol (apparently referring to being resurrected).
5. God is present everywhere, even in Sheol.
6. There is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol.

Research articles by Mark Virkler

1. Three Views of Hell - An introduction to what these three views are.
2. Age, Eternity & Immortality Explored In-Depth – Demonstrates from Scripture that the word translated eternity can be as short as three days, and that immortality is extended ONLY to those accepting the gospel. The wicked are NOT immortal, so they perish.
3. Research Hell, Hades, Lake of Fire, Book of Life – Read every verse in the New Testament which contains these words so you know exactly what they say.
4. Explore every verse from Young’s Literal Translation containing the Greek words aion/aionios – YLT never uses the word eternal, but instead “age-during”. 
5. Explore what Jesus said about the end of the unrighteous – Get it direct from the Master.
6. Sheol – The Old Testament Word for Hades
7. 38 New Testament Verses on Fire