Illustrations of English words
derived from the Greek in the New Testament.

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By Gaylon West.

ENGLISH HISTORY of word GEHENNA from ETYMONLINE.COM

        gehenna (n.) "hell," 1620s (earlier "a place of torture," 1590s), from Church Latin gehenna (Tertullian), from Greek geenna, from post-biblical Hebrew gehinnom "Hell, place of fiery torment for the dead," figurative use of the place name Ge Hinnom "the Valley of Hinnom," southwest of Jerusalem, where, according to Jeremiah 19.5, children were sacrificed to Moloch. Middle English had gehenne (late 15c.) from French gehenne.ⁱ

        "The Valley of Hinnom was a ravine along the southern slope of Jerusalem. In Old Testament times, it was a place used for offering sacrifices to foreign gods. Eventually, the site was used to burn refuse. When the Jews discussed punishment in the afterlife, they employed the image of this smoldering waste dump. hellfire (n.) also hell-fire, "the fire of Hell, eternal torment," from Old English hellefyr, in which helle is the genitive case of hell. It translates Greek gehenna tou pyros, literally "hell of fire." Also used in Middle English for "erysipelas" (mid-15c.).

      hell(n.) In Middle English, hell is also for the Limbus Patrum, place where the Patriarchs, Prophets, etc. awaited the Atonement. Used in the KJV for Old Testament Hebrew Sheol and for the New Testament Greek Hades, Gehenna. Used figuratively for "state of misery, any bad experience" at least since late 14c. As an expression of disgust, etc., first recorded 1670s.

GREEK DEFINITIONS from MOUNCE iiCONCISE GREEK-ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Gehenna #G1067

“12x: Gehenna, pr. the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, once celebrated for the horrid worship of Moloch, and afterwards polluted with every species of filth, as well as the carcasses of animals, and dead bodies of malefactors; to consume which, in order to avert the pestilence which such a mass of corruption would occasion, constant fires were kept burning; hence, hell, the fires of Tartarus, the place of punishment in Hades, Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:29-30; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 18:9, et al.” [For the passages of "Gehenna hell" in KJV, see below*]

Gehenna #G1067

Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.
Total KJV occurrences: 12

*Translated in the New Testament in KJV : 12 times as "hell."
Matthew 5:22,"But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)}fire."
Matthew 5:29-30 (2)," And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)}. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.^{G1067 (Gehenna)}"
Matthew 10:28, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.^{G1067 (Gehenna)}"
Matthew 18:9, "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)} fire."
Matthew 23:15, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)} than yourselves."
Matthew 23:33,"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)}?"
Mark 9:43, "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)}, into the fire that never shall be quenched:"
Mark 9:45, "And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)}, into the fire that never shall be quenched"
Mark 9:47, "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)} fire:"
James 3:5-6 (2), "Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell^{G1067 (Gehenna)}."