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Gehinnom

Gehinnom, also Gehenna, is a term rooted in Hebrew as Gei Ben-Hinom, meaning the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. It designates a real valley located to the south of ancient Jerusalem, adjacent to the Hinnom Brook. In antiquity the site became associated with certain cultic practices, including the historical Tophet, where ancient readers understood child sacrifice may have occurred. Over time the valley acquired a negative reputation in Jewish and later Christian thought, partly because of these associations and its location outside the city walls.

In the Hebrew Bible Gehenna is used as a real place name, referring to the Valley of

In the New Testament, Gehenna is used metaphorically by Jesus and other writers to describe the final

Archaeological and historical scholarship notes debates about the Tophet and the precise historical practices at the

Hinnom
and
its
desecration.
The
term
appears
in
passages
condemning
the
practices
once
carried
out
there
and
serves
as
a
geographic
reference
rather
than
a
moral
category
in
the
earliest
texts.
In
later
Jewish
writings
Gehenna
came
to
symbolize
a
realm
of
punishment
after
death,
often
conceived
as
a
temporary
state
of
purification
rather
than
eternal
damnation,
with
varying
ideas
about
duration
and
exact
mechanism.
destination
of
the
wicked,
commonly
rendered
as
hell.
The
term
marks
a
shift
from
a
geographic
location
to
a
symbolic
representation
of
judgment,
with
fire
and
destruction
as
common
motifs.
Christian
theological
traditions
have
developed
diverse
doctrines
about
the
nature,
duration,
and
purpose
of
Gehenna
or
hell.
site.
The
geographical
term
Gehenna
persists
in
religious
discourse
as
a
symbol
of
judgment
and
punishment,
while
its
meanings
continue
to
evolve
across
Jewish,
Christian,
and
secular
contexts.