Not sure how many of you read Dr. Becks blog but this is a great post on the origins of hell.
Here are my own findings on the origins of Hell, from my book Heaven, Yes - Hell, No:
The Hell Chapter
In the time of John the Apostle when he wrote down the Revelation, this word “hell” would have been some archaic form, spoken by tribes with which the early Christians as yet had no contact. I got curious, so I looked in the OED again, and here are some old forms of “hell”:
Old English – hel
Old Frisian – helle, hille
Old Saxon – hellja, hella
Middle Dutch – helle
Old High German – helle
Old Norse – hel, heljar
Gothic – halja
Original Teutonic - halja
Among the linguistic notes were some very old meanings, such as “literally, the coverer or hider,” (as a noun) and “to hide, conceal” (as a verb). By the way, the OED has dated examples of the use of most words, and for “hell,” the earliest was in an Old English document, dated about 825 AD. This was well after Christian Britain had been overrun by the then-pagan Saxons, Angles and Jutes. By this time the Roman Church had long possessed the Latin Vulgate Bible, using forms of “infernum” to replace “sheol” and “hades.” It was a fine word as used then, and originally meant “beneath” or “buried,” in the same sense as “sheol,” etc. The word only acquired the fiery meaning it has today after the rise of Hell theology. Of course, the idea and doctrine of Hell were already in existence by that date, but if you look into mythology, you will find that the Greek, Roman and Pagan myths all support some form of Hell. It should not surprise you to learn that Christianity went from the Jews, to the Greeks, to the Romans, and on to the so-called Barbarians, to eventually reach what would become the English-speaking world. I think Christianity picked up a lot more than just converts along the way.
Besides all that, I found that “Hel” was the name of the Norse goddess/ogress of their underworld, as well as the name of the supposed underworld itself. Hel’s supposed realm was also known as “Helheim,” meaning “House of Hel.” Interestingly, the roots of the word “Hel” hark back to the original meanings of “sheol” and “hades” – that is to say, “covered” and “hidden.” [source: Orel, Vladimir. 2003. A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, pp. 156, 168.]
Now, this is almost funny – “Hel” is pagan, but “Hell” is part of most Church Doctrine. Do you see the problem, reader? Pagans will tell you that Christianity has “pagan DNA,” and here it is all too clear to see. We need to look a little further – most Christians seem to subscribe to the view that people die, and their souls go immediately to Heaven, Hell or maybe Purgatory. The Bible never says anything of the sort, but gives us the promise of the Resurrection. Now if we are already in Heaven, then doesn’t the Resurrection seem just a bit creepy? I’ve never heard anyone tell me how being in Heaven right now and later getting Resurrected are even compatible. As for Hell, it gets really absurd when you consider dying and going there. So you’re dead. But…conscious torment in Hell requires you to be alive, right? But you’re dead. But you must be alive to suffer Hell. But you’re dead… There is no logical solution, unless you opt for the pagan Greek concept of the Immortality of the Soul, and mainstream Christianity did just that. This concept, this doctrine arose from the teachings of Socrates and Plato, and many early church fathers were Platonic in their outlook. See the next chapter for more on the nature of man, and what being alive really means.
“Hell” is a verb, as well as a noun, and is derived from an old Germanic word, meaning, as I said, “to cover.” My father told me about this years ago – if a farmer lacked a root cellar or a cellar/basement under the house, and needed a place to keep veggies or fruits over the winter, he would do the following. First, he would dig a pit or trench to below the local frost line. Then, he would line the bottom with straw. On top of that, he’d place a layer of, say, potatoes. More straw went on top of the potatoes, and he would finish the job by shoveling in the dirt previously dug out. Note – it is called “helling the potatoes.” Now in the case of Korah and the others who fell alive into the pit which opened under them, they were helled by God, and died in the pit, in the grave, in sheol. An eternal, conscious abode in the Hell of Dante, Milton, and Baxter is not mentioned or implied, so there is no need or reason to interpret it so. Many passages in the Bible having to do with death are subject to the same interpretation.
Picking up our historical thread again, the true Britons, now pushed into such corners as Wales and Cornwall, had a purer version of Christianity than the invading tribes were later converted to, as it had arrived in Britain in the first century – but that is another story. Since the Saxons had Hel, goddess and realm, and the Greeks had Hades, god and realm, I suspect the Saxons had long contact with the Greeks before they moved north and west – but again, that is another story. That, reader, is my take on how “hell” got into the English language, and some of my historical information may not be absolutely accurate, but the very similarity of “hel” and “hell” should send the serious Bible student on a word-study quest. It should also give pause to anyone who subscribes to the doctrine of Hell, as the very name of this Saxon underworld exposes the pagan roots of Hell for all to see. Further, I am confident that this exploration of the linguistic basis of Hell knocks a major prop out from under ECT.
Thanks for that excellent overview! I have some friends I can pass that along to.