„Ruch Biblijny i Liturgiczny” 69 (2016) nr 3, s.

 237–251
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21906/rbl.156

Ewelina Maniecka
Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow
[email protected]

Is the Valley of Hinnom

an Image of Damnation?

Many authors have described the Biblical pericopes related to dam-

nation. They have analyzed the problem of hell, asking questions about
its existence, about what can be found there, and about what souls ex-
perience in hell. Other researchers have put into question the eternity
of hell, instead suggesting that it is transient and that God will redeem
all people in the end. This article’s purpose is not to focus on whether or
not the reality of hell exists, but on where thinking about it came from.
What image preceded thinking about hell? What was Gehenna, and how
was it understood in both the Old and New Testaments?
There is no extended work on the subject of Gehenna in the scientific
literature.1 Vincente Vilar Huesco dealt with this topic cursorily in his
article “La Gehena, el seno de Abraham y el juicio particular la literatu-
ra judía precristiana,” Madrid 1955. In addition to describing the geo-
graphical place of Gehenna, the Spaniard also focuses on pre-Christian

1 There is only brief information about the geographic location and significance of
the Valley of Gehenna in Biblical dictionaries. However, there is not a single monograph
that pertains solely to that valley and contains a detailed description of it.
238 Ewelina Maniecka

texts related to the valley of Gehenna in which he found references to

eschatological times, the eternal fire, and destruction.2
One can with increasing frequency hear that hell was invented by the
Church as a tool of control used to frighten the faithful. However, it is
worth asking if hell really is just the product of someone’s imagination and
the translators of the Bible wanted to fool the faithful by writing about it;
if there exists any evidence in favor of the existence of hell; and if Jesus
Christ spoke about eternal damnation and warned of the reality of hell.
The theological term “hell” means an eternal punishment for one’s sins.
In the Old Testament, the term sheol was used to refer to a reality similar
to today’s understanding of hell, while the Greek hades and Gehenna are
used in the New Testament. However, neither sheol nor hades precise-
ly describes the same state as Gehenna. Gehenna was the ultimate place
where one served one’s sentence,3 while sheol and hades were terms de-
scribing the place where the souls of the deceased were held.
According to the Biblical Encyclopedia, sheol is a Biblical term describ-
ing hell. It also means power, strength, a monster that can destroy the
living, and the dark underground world where the souls of the deceased
descend. In this last meaning, it is the “equivalent of Hades and Tartar.”4
However, the Old Testament sheol is not a place of punishment; only the
New Testament Gehenna is such a place.5
Most frequently associated with Greek mythology, Hades was the name
of one of the gods of the Greek pantheon; he was the good of the under-
world. It was also the place where the deceased divided into three parts
stayed. Tarter was the place of punishment for wicked deeds on earth;
the damned there experienced eternal torments.6

2 Cf. V. Vilar Huesco, La Gehena, el seno de Abraham y el juicio particular la literatura

judía precristiana, [in:] XV Semana Bíblica Española, Madrid 1955, p. 269–303.
3 Cf. F. Rienecker, G. Maier, Leksykon biblijny, red. nauk. wyd. pol. W. Chrostowski,
Warszawa 2001, p. 604.
4 Cf. Encyklopedia Biblijna, red. P. J. Achtemeier, Warszawa 2004, p. 1183.
5 Cf. ibidem, p. 375–376.
6 “The concept of eternity as continuity without a beginning or end, without the pas-
sage of time, comes from Greek thought, not from the Bible” (F. Rienecker, G. Maier,
 Is the Valley of Hinnom an Image of Damnation? 239

The translation of any literary text is a challenged, because never can

what was written in the original language be fully reproduced in anoth-
er. And such is the case with the New Testament term γέεννα. In most
cases, this term is translated as “hell” in Polish. In recent years, transla-
tors have not tried to replicate γέεννα in their native language. Instead,
they have left it as the original Gehenna. What is Gehenna? What sig-
nificance does it have now, and what significance did this term have in
the Semitic culture of Israel? This article seeks to concisely answer these
and many other questions.

1. Geographic Location
The Valley of Gehenna (the Valley of Hinnom, the Valley of the Sons
of Hinnom) is located in the center of the city of Jerusalem. A cemetery
where Polish soldiers of World War II are interred is located on its solpe.
To the east of the city is Kidron Valley (also known under the name of
the Valley of Josaphat7). Tyropoeon Valley (also known as the Central
Valley and the Valley of Cheesemakers8) runs through its center. These are
Jerusalem’s main valleys. The beginning of the Valley of Gehenna is near
the Jaffa Gate to the west of the city. On the south side, Gehenna stretches
alongside Hezekiah’s Wall,9 which links up with Tyropoeon Valley and
Kidron Valley around the Pool of Siloam near the Dung Gate. During
Biblical times, the Valley of Hinnom stretched below the line of the city
walls from the west to the southeast. The three most important valleys

Leksykon biblijny, op. cit., p. 850).

7 The Valley of Josaphat’s name probably has nothing to do with the Biblical King of
Judah Jehoshaphat. The tem could refer to the Biblical translation of the name Josaphat,
which means “God has judged” (cf. ibidem, p. 328).
8 Cf. D. Bahat, Atlas biblijnej Jerozolimy, oprac. wyd. pol. W. Chrostowski, przekł.
E. Czerwińska, Warszawa 1999, p. 44.
9 According to a map drawn in 1908 by Paton, which can be found in: D. Bahat, Atlas
biblijnej Jerozolimy, op. cit., p. 14. According to other data, this wall was called the First Wall.
240 Ewelina Maniecka

(the Valley of Cheesemakers, Kidron Valley, and the Valley of Gehenna)

meet at one point near the Pool of Siloam.
In ancient times, many cities were built on hills. Thus valleys were
located at the feet of cities. Cities were intended to better protect cities.
As one can see, the topography of Jerusalem did not deviate from these
rules of founding cities. In order to get to the city from the south side,
one had to go through the Valley Gate or the Dung Gate10 and, accord-
ing to Sacred Scripture, also through the Potsherd Gate.11
However, the Valley of Gehenna also played another role, one that
was not laudable and that cloaked its name in infamy for centuries: it was
a garbage dump for Jerusalem’s inhabitants. It was also a place of punish-
ment for convicts. The bodies of the deceased who were denied a burial
were thrown there. The tofet – the place where humans, usually children,
were given as sacrifices to Moloch or Baal – was also located there.

2. Baal and Moloch: To Whom

Were the Sacrifices Given?

Baal was probably a Phoenician deity, the lord of lightning and the sky.
However, researchers are not in agreement as to if Baal was the function
of some deity in the pantheon. It is not known who or what Baal exact-
ly was, as in the Sacred Scriptures this term appears only in the context

10 Cf. ibidem, p. 14.

11 There is one piece of information about this gate in the Sacred Scriptures; it is found
in the Book of Jeremiah: “and go out toward the Valley of Ben-hinnom, at the entrance of
the Potsherd Gate; there proclaim the words which I will speak to you” (Jeremiah 19 : 2).
The prophet Jeremiah was to take with him the elders of Israel, buy clay vessels, and break
them near that entrance, after which he would transmit the prophecy. This concerned the
failure and destruction of the nation that had abandoned God and sacrificed children.
Just as these vessels could not have been glued together, the Lord would destroy Israel.
The prophecy also concerned the place known as tofet.
 Is the Valley of Hinnom an Image of Damnation? 241

of the destruction of altars, Asheras,12 and shrines devoted to Baal. We

learn nothing more about him from the Bible.
The term Moloch, however, has been studied in greater depth. It was
a deity worshiped in Semitic paganism as the ruler of the underworld.
Nonetheless, this term causes many problems, because vowels are not
used in the Old Testament texts. Depending on which vowels are added
to the consonants, we receive many diverse meanings of this term. The
most popular is “the king of humanity” and “the king of the city.” Worship
of Moloch did not take place on the Temple Mount; it took place beyond
the city walls in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. The Tofet, where human sac-
rifices were made, looked like the skull of a corpse. Victims were thrown
into its oral cavity, and smoke came out of its eye sockets and mouth. The
victims were thrown in there live. Such human sacrifices were made in
the Canaanite and Phoenician religions. The purpose of doing so was the
desire to ask the gods for better harvests and blessings, moving away mis-
fortunes, or to make the deities more benevolently inclined towards them.
The term tofet is used in four places in the Old Testament: 2 Kings
23 : 10, Jeremiah 7 : 31, and twice in Jeremiah 7 : 32. The pericope from the
Book of Jeremiah concerns lament over Jerusalem as a result of its idolatry.
The previous verses of the prophet contain the Word of God about obe-
dience to the Law and about the rejection of the Chosen People by God.13

3. History of the Valley of Gehenna

The Valley of Gehenna is mentioned several times in the Sacred
Scriptures, although it is not given a major role in the holy books.

12 Ashera was the name of a goddess worshiped in Phoenician-Canaanite areas. She

was the wife of Baal, the god of fertility. Her symbol was placed next to the altar for the
worship of Baal, which often was a tree, wooden pole, or statue, The term ashera refers
to the same goddess (as her name), but also to what she had presented and symbolized
(cf. Nowy leksykon biblijny, red. F. Kogler, R. Egger-Wenzel, M. Ernst, red. naczelny wyd.
polskiego H. Witczyk, tł. z jęz. niem. Ł. Siemieniec, Kielce-Freiburg 2011, p. 44–45).
13 No equivalent of the term tofet appears in the New Testament.
242 Ewelina Maniecka

Whenever the Old Testament refers to the Valley of Gehenna, it has the
uninhabited geographical place known to all inhabitants of Jerusalem
in mind. When, the, did this area receive such an ill reputation in Jesus’
time? Why did Jesus’ contemporaries associate the Valley of Gehenna
with suffering? Why did Christ Himself use the term Gehenna in the al-
legorical sense? The answer to these questions can be found in the rule
of certain kings of Judah.
After the Kingdom of Judah was separated into North and South
Kingdoms in 931 BC, rulers who introduced idolatry occupied the thrones
of both kingdoms. The Kingdom of Israel first fell victim to the ruler who
rejected worship of Yahweh. King Ahab14 and his wife Jezebel, who sup-
ported worship of these idols, should be mentioned here. It was because
of them that worship of foreign deities also moved to the South Kingdom.
In the Kingdom of Judah, the problem of idolatry and the giving of sac-
rifices to idols increased during the rule of Queen Athaliah (Ahab’s sis-
ter or daughter15 who married Jehoram, king of Judah), especially when
Ahaz and Manasseh occupied the throne.16
During the rule of King Ahaz, son of Jotham, in 734–728 BC17 the
kingdom found itself in a difficult situation. Despite the warnings of the
prophet Isaiah, he did not form an anti-Assyrian coalition together with
Pekah, the king of Israel, and Resin II, the Syrian king. Furthermore,
Ahaz’s kingdom was harassed by the Edomites, Philistines, as well as by
his would-be allies. The kings of Israel and Syria wanted to place anoth-
er king on the throne of Judah, one who would accept their proposal.
When Ahaz learned of this, he asked the Assyrian ruler Tiglath-Pileser

14 He ruled in 871–852.

15 Cf. Nowy Leksykon Biblijny, op. cit., p. 6.
16 Of course, the worship of foreign gods had appeared in Israel before the kingdom
was divided into north and south. This had occurred during Solomon’s rule. His policy
of increasing his influence was related to marrying the daughters of rulers with whom
Solomon had entered into political contacts to avoid wars. Solomon’s wives introduced
worship of idols, so the king himself worshipped them. As a punishment, God declared
that the kingdom would be divided.
17 Encyklopedia Biblijna, op. cit., p. 12, says that Ahaz probably ruled in 735–715 BC.
 Is the Valley of Hinnom an Image of Damnation? 243

for help. Ahaz offered him various good as well as a large sum of money
in exchange. The help came. Wanting to buy the grace of the Assyrian
king, Ahaz sacrificed his son. Because of this act, the king of Judah be-
came a vassal of Assyria. In his Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus writes
that the gifts for the Assyrian king came not only from the royal trea-
sury, but also from the temple treasury. Ahaz banned making sacrifices
to God in the temple. He has gone down in history as the first king who
served Moloch and gave offerings of incense in the Valley of Hinnom.
Ahaz’s successor, his son Hezekiah, ruled the kingdom in 728–699 BC.18
His rule has been described very positively in the Bible. He opened, re-
built, and cleansed the temple, thus renewing worship. At his command,
priests had to throw all the vessels that were used for idolatrous worship
into the brook Kidron. He asked them to make petitionary sacrifices for
the royal family and the entire nation. He made Passover the most im-
portant holiday and Jerusalem the central place of worship. Hezekiah
destroyed other shrines located in his kingdom.
Meanwhile, Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah and his successor in
Jerusalem, did not follow in his father’s footsteps and thus has been harsh-
ly judged in the history of Jerusalem. Manasseh ruled in 699–643 BC.19
He did not have as much courage as his father and became an Assyrian
vassal.20 As king, Manasseh overturned all of his father’s religious re-
forms; he placed statues of Baal and Asherah, and he introduced child
sacrifices to the Valley of Gehenna in the place called tofet.21 He permit-
ted the worship of the gods from neighboring countries. The height of
paganism, however, was the introduction and construction of altars and
statues of foreign gods inside the temple. Manasseh participated in mag-
ic and practices of sorcery.22 The Second Book of Chronicles mentions

18 Other sources give 721–693 BC.

19 Nowy Leksykon Biblijny, op. cit., p. 463.
20 Cf. S. S. Montefiore, Jerozolima. Biografia, przekł. M. Antosiewicz, W. Jeżewski,
Warszawa 2011, p. 43.
21 In light of contemporary research, the tofet was a furnace in the shape of a skull.
22 Cf. Pismo Święte Starego i Nowego Testamentu w przekładzie z języków oryginalnych.
Pierwsza i Druga Księga Kronik, tłum., wstęp i koment. H. Langkammer, Lublin 2001, p. 357.
244 Ewelina Maniecka

that the king had a conversion before his death and demanded that only
Yahweh be worshiped. The book also mentions his noble deeds, such as
the strengthening of the walls of Jerusalem or the reorganization of the
army (2 Chronicles 33 : 12–20).

4. Religious Reform
The rule of Josiah on the throne of Judah took place in 641–609 BC. The
son of Amon became king when he was just eight years old because his
father had been killed. Josiah’s foreign ventures have been obscured by
his state reforms.23 Josiah conquered neighboring countries. Meanwhile,
renovation of the temple began under Josiah’s rule. In 622 BC, the Book
of the Law was found. Thanks to it, worship was reformed. The king de-
manded that all shrines on high places and altars be destroyed: “Josiah
also removed all the shrines on the high places near the cities of Samaria
which the kings of Israel had erected, thereby provoking the Lord; He did
the very same to them as He had done in Bethel” (2 Kings 23 : 19). “He
did likewise in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and in the ru-
ined villages of the surrounding country as far as Naphtali; he destroyed
the altars, broke up the sacred poles and carved images and beat them
into the dust, and tore down the incense stands throughout the land of
Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 34 : 6–7). Within
Jerusalem’s city limits, Josiah demanded that the images of the idols be
burned in the Kidron Valley and expelled the idolaters from the temple.
Meanwhile, the pagan priests were killed.24 The king wanted to central-
ize worship in the Temple in Jerusalem; for that reason, he destroyed
all other forms of worship across the country. Josiah demanded that all
false priests be killed, while all priests from the generation of Aaron and
Levi were brought to Jerusalem. All of Josiah’s reforms were undertaken
under the leadership of the prophetess Huldah and were related to the
prophets Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.

23 Cf. Encyklopedia biblijna, op. cit., p. 419.

24 S. S. Montefiore, Jerozolima. Biografia, op. cit., p. 45.
 Is the Valley of Hinnom an Image of Damnation? 245

Another one of Josiah’s successes was the holiday of Passover, which

became a pilgrimage festival. From that point on, sacrifices of lambs were
offered in Jerusalem. Previously, the holiday was a family holiday cele-
brated in homes and local shrines. As 2 Kings 23 : 21–23 notes, the first
Passover celebration was celebrated during the eighteenth year of Josiah’s
rule. Then, the ruler dedicated a large number of animals to be sacrificed.
Following the king’s example, the princes did the same.

5. Jesus Christ and Gehenna

The term Gehenna (γέεννα) appeared only in the Old Testament for
the first time. Previously, other names were used to describe the area,
including: the Ben-Hinnom Valley, Ben-Hinnom, and Ge-Hinnom. The
name comes from its first Canaanite owner.25. The term ‫ן־הינֹּם‬ ִ ‫ גֵּ יא ֶב‬ge
wen-hinnom used to describe the Ben-Hinnom Valley ten times in the
Old Testament. This is always the name of an area outside the walls of
Jerusalem, the description of an ordinary valley that had no significance
to the city’s inhabitants. The valley came to have ill repute only during
the king’s rule. Even the prophet Jeremiah cursed it (Jeremiah 7, 11; 9, 6;
32, 35). After a certain point, the term Gehenna came to be used to de-
scribe a place of punishment and damnation.
In the New Testament, the term γέεννα occurs twelve times, eleven of
which are in Jesus’ own statements. It is used once in the Epistle of James.
When talking about Gehenna, Jesus never has the geographic place in
mind. He warns His listeners against committing sins that may lead one
to Gehenna, to the eternal fire, because from the days of the kingdom,
especially starting with the rule of Ahaz, the Valley of Gehenna was as-
sociated with shame and with Israel’s rejection of the one God, because
it was that king who sacrificed his child to Moloch.
The Gospel in which Jesus says the most words related to damnation
and the fires of hell is ascribed to St. Matthew. In the pericope Matthew

25 Pismo Święte Starego i Nowego Testamentu w przekładzie z języków oryginalnych.

Pierwsza i Druga Księga Kronik, op. cit., p. 325.
246 Ewelina Maniecka

5 : 22–30, the term γέεννα appears a total of three times. This text is found
in the Sermon on the Mount, just after the eight Beatitudes and the in-
structions that Jesus had given to His disciples. Next, Jesus explains the
Fifth and Sixth Commandments. It is here that He warns against dam-
nation and the fire of Gehenna. According to Jesus’ words said while de-
scribing the Fifth Commandment, everyone who will be angry or insult
one’s neighbor will be answerable to a court. Meanwhile, he who calls
his neighbor “Raqa” will be punished with fiery hell (a fiery Gehenna).26
After these harsh words, Jesus instructs His listeners to make amends with
their opponents in order for them to not be judged by their opponents.
The judgment and earthly punishment that Jesus speaks of is related to
judgment and the final punishment. First there will be a judgment, and
then a court will issue a verdict, and then the person under question will
be thrown into prison. A court, the equivalent of the Sanhedrin in heav-
en, and punishment, or hell,27 awaits him who makes transgressions. In
this case, Jesus uses a qualitative movement: “from an earthly and human
court in the direction of God’s eschatological court.”28 This is suggested
not only by an earthly punishment and broadly understood anger, but
also by a punishment after death.
Jesus warns of the fire of Gehenna in relation to the Sixth Commandment
twice. Everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed
adultery in his heart. In Jesus’ time, adultery was subject to the death
penalty. One spoke of adultery when a woman was married (thus single)
because she violated her wedding vows. A man who betrayed his wife
did not destroy his marriage, but the woman’s marriage. For this reason,
Jesus tightens the Sixth Commandment. When He speaks of looking at
a woman lustfully, He could have the destruction of a neighbor’s marriage

26 Cf. C. S. Keener, Komentarz historyczno-kulturowy do Nowego Testamentu, red.

nauk. wyd. pol. K. Bardski, W. Chrostowski, przekł. Z. Kościuk, Warszawa 2010, p. 19.
27 Cf. ibidem, p. 19.
28 Ewangelia według świętego Mateusza, part 1: Rozdziały 1–13, wstęp, przekł. z oryg.,
koment. A. Paciorek, Częstochowa 2005, p. 222 (Nowy Komentarz Biblijny. Nowy
Testament, 1.1).
 Is the Valley of Hinnom an Image of Damnation? 247

in mind.29 That is why Jesus adds that if an eye or any body part is the
source of sin, it should be removed: an eye should be plucked or a hand
should be cut off and thrown off: “It is better for you to lose one of your
members than to have your whole body go up to Gehenna” (Matthew
5 : 29b). Jesus implores that we get rid of everything that leads us to sin,
even if that thing is very valuable.30 Jesus also speaks of the need to cut
off one’s hand or leg and to pluck one’s eye out in Matthew 18 : 8–9 in the
context of scandalizing children. The punishments of dismembering body
parts or plucking one’s eyes out were commonly known and applied.31
The noun γέεννα appears once more in Matthew 10 : 28. This time,
the term is not used as a caustion against committing sins, but within the
context of Jesus’ instruction for there to not fear the death of the body,
only the death of the soul and God, Who can send souls to the eternal
fire, to hell. The whole pericope in which the term γέεννα is used con-
cerns courage during the persecutions of Jesus’ disciples. For Jesus, the
term “death” means above all “death of the soul.” For Him, death was but
a “dream” if the soul of a deceased person was pure and without sins that
would condemn one to hell. Meanwhile, whoever lives in mortal sin is
a dead person for Jesus, someone who is not alive and who condemned
himself to eternal damnation to the fires of Gehenna. The term γέεννα
has such a meaning in this place. Fear is to concern God only if some-
one sins and rejects Jesus, not acknowledging Him before other people
(Matthew 10 : 32).
The last fragments of the Gospel according to St. Matthew (Matthew
23 : 15–33) in which the noun γέεννα appears are a warning to hypocrit-
ical, two-faced people. In both of these fragments, Jesus addresses the
Pharisees, knowledgeable about Scripture. As the teachers of Israel, they

29 Cf. Ewangelia według świętego Mateusza, part 1: Rozdziały 1–13, op. cit., p. 226.
30 In the understanding of the law at the time, the right side of the body was consid-
ered to be more important than the left. It is for this reason that Jesus here refers to the
symbolic right side (right eye and right hand), in order to present drastic measures and
radicalism in disposing of everything that can lead to sin and thus to the fire of Gehenna.
31 Słownik współczesnego języka polskiego, red. nauk. B. Dunaj, Warszawa 2001, t. 2,
p. 568.
248 Ewelina Maniecka

seek to win over pagans.32 However, when one person already becomes
a co-religionist, they make him or her more deserving of the fires or hell
than he or she were before going in the direction of their teachers. “Jesus
exposes an upsetting contrast. The proselyte does not become a son of the
kingdom, but instead a son of Gehenna (the expression ‘son of Gehenna,’
a person deserving of Gehenna, is typical of Judaism.”33 How did this
happen, and why did the Pharisees make their new believers more de-
serving of hell? The Evangelist did not provide us with a solution to this
puzzle. Knowing the Pharisees’ behavior, one can speculate why Jesus
judged them so harshly. According to Antoni Pacierek, the problem was
that those who converted to Judaism became more zealous and fanati-
cal in professing the faith than those who had converted them. Such an
interpretation of the Law caused them to break with their former lives,
including with their family. Their zealousness required of them complete
obedience to the ritual Law.34
Next, Jesus speaks of the killing of the prophets by the ancestors of
the Pharisees and those versed in Scripture who now decorate and wor-
ship the tombs of the killed: “Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; now fill
up what your ancestors measured out! You serpents, you brood of vipers,
how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna?” (Matthew 23 : 31–33).
By saying these words, Jesus predicted the future acts of Israel’s leaders.
He predicted an unjust trial and His own death to which the Pharisees
and scholars contributed. These words predict the future of Jesus, who
shared the fate of prophets who lived before Him, Israel’s religious leaders
who were deprived of life. Jesus heeded his listeners’ attention to a greater
responsibility of those who should lead others to God.

32 Cf. przypis do Mt 23, 15 w: Biblia Tysiąclecia. Pismo Święte Starego i Nowego

Testamentu w przekładzie z języków oryginalnych, oprac. zespół biblistów polskich z in-
icjatywy benedyktynów tynieckich, wyd. 5, Poznań 2012.
33 Ewangelia według świętego Mateusza, part 2: Rozdziały 14–28, wstęp, przekł.
z oryg., koment. A. Paciorek, Częstochowa 2008, p. 404 (Nowy Komentarz Biblijny.
Nowy Testament, 1.2).
34 Cf. ibidem, p. 404.
 Is the Valley of Hinnom an Image of Damnation? 249

In St. Matthew’s Gospel, there is one pericope in which all the uses of
the term γέεννα in that book cumulate (9 : 42–48). Like Matthew 18 : 6–11,
this text concerns scandal conceived in various ways: when one becomes
the source of sin for another faithful person, and also when body parts
become the sources of sin for a person. Jesus advises to get rid of one’s
hand, foot, or eye if it were to be the source of sin.
Of course, one can ask if Jesus really wanted the mutilation of a per-
son’s body. Certainly, He did not. After all, Jesus treated the human body
with respect; He healed and resurrected people. Thus one can conclude
that He was opposed to the doing of any harm, to the mutilation of one-
self or of one’s neighbors.35 If Jesus had thought otherwise, then He would
have tolerated the judgment and stoning of a woman who was found to
be guilty of adultery (John 8 : 1–11). And Jesus not only didn’t permit
lynching; He also absolved the woman of her sins. These statements are
of a hyperbolic nature; their purpose is not to encourage anyone to mu-
tilate him or herself, but instead to radically cut oneself off from sin and
follow Jesus, who summons us to conversion and respect of the Mosaic
Law in a new, deeper way.

Summary
“The name geenna, from the Hebrew gê-hinnōm (the Valley of Hinnom
located to the south of Jerusalem; today’s Wadi er-Rababi), is described
in the New Testament as a place of fire where heathens will be thrown
after the Final Judgment. Thus Gehenna refers to hell.”36
Several facts concerning the Valley of Gehenna and explaining why
the regions to the south of Jerusalem were not seen in a positive light
were explained on the basis of New Testament texts. Idolatry, which
spread in the ninth century before Christ; the sacrificing of children; the

35 Bliźnim w nauczaniu Jezusa jest każdy człowiek. Wyrazem tego jest przypowieść
o miłosiernym Samarytaninie zawarta w Ewangelii według św. Łukasza 10, 30–37.
36 Nowy Testament. Ewangelie i Dzieje Apostolskie. Tekst z komentarzem, oprac.
G. Vigini, przekł. komentarza T. Truś, Lublin 2000, p. 56.
250 Ewelina Maniecka

unrelenting flame after the victims; the disposal of the bodies of people
who were denied a burial; the disposal of garbage (which maintained
the fire in the valley): all this has become symbolic of the reality of hell.
Presently, the Valley of Gehenna has been cleaned of the past tragedy of
children and the condemned, and there are no traces of the past throwing
away of trash. However, the place’s ill reputation has remained, because
nobody builds any residences or commercial buildings there. It looks as
if the place were still cursed.
The Valley of Gehenna, identified with hell, and the Valley of Josaphat,
considered a valley in which God’s judgment will take place, meet near the
Pool of Siloam. This fact is also interesting for theological reasons: Jesus
prophesied that during the Last Judgment God would separate the just
from the unjust like the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25 : 32) and will
condemn those without mercy to the eternal fire (Matthew 25 : 41, 46).
According to the beliefs of the Israelites that would occur in the Valley
of Josaphat, and such a punishment would be eternal damnation in the
Valley of Gehenna.

Abstract
Is the Valley of the Hinnom an Image of damnation?
The Valley of the Hinnom in the Old Testament always referred to a place south of
the city walls. After the sacrifices of children made to Molech, this area was cursed. The
people began to throw garbage and dispose of the bodies of convicts there while unfad-
ing fire burnt them. Unpleasant and acrid smoke constantly hovered over this area. The
teaching of Jesus of Nazareth changed the meaning of the term Gehenna. Jesus used it to
bring people to the reality of damnation. He pointed to the need for one’s radical turn-
ing away from evil and sin in order to avoid this punishment. The valley of disgrace has
become thus the image of eternal hell in Jesus’ preaching.

Keywords

Gehenna; γέεννα; valley; sacrifices of children; hell; eternal damnation

 Is the Valley of Hinnom an Image of Damnation? 251

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