Gehenna - Etymology

Etymology

English "Gehenna" represents the Greek Ge'enna (γέεννα) found in the New Testament, a phonetic transcription of Aramaic Gēhannā (ܓܗܢܐ), equivalent to the Hebrew Ge Hinnom, literally "Valley of Hinnom".

This was known in the Old Testament as Gai Ben-Hinnom, literally the "Valley of the son of Hinnom", and in the Talmud as גהנם Gehinnam or גהנום Gehinnom.

Citation: In the New American Standard Bible, Joshua 15:8 (see below) notes, "Then the border went up the valley of Ben-hinnom (גֵּי בֶן־הִנֹּם) ("gai ben hinnom") to the slope of the Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is before the valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the valley of Rephaim toward the north." Joshua is describing the boundaries of the tribe of Judah.

Keil and Delitzsch note in their Commentary on the Old Testament, "It (the boundary of the tribe of Judah) then went up into the more elevated valley of Ben-hinnom, on the south side of the Jebusite town, i.e., Jerusalem (see at Jos 10:1), and still farther up to the top of the mountain which rises on the west of the valley of Ben-hinnom, and at the farthest extremity of the plain of Rephaim towards the north. The valley of Ben-hinnom, or Ben-hinnom (the son or sons of Hinnom), on the south side of Mount Zion, a place which was notorious from the time of Ahaz as the seat of the worship of Moloch (Kg2 23:10; Ch2 28:3; Ch2 33:6; Jer 7:31, etc.), is supposed there, but of whom nothing further is known (see Robinson, Pal. i. pp. 402ff.)." This reference in Joshua is the first mention in the Old Testament of this "Valley of the Sons of Hinnom."

This valley, as Keil and Delitzsch note, is "on the south side of the Jebusite town, i.e., Jerusalem." This valley is mentioned five times in the Book of Jeremiah (7:31,32 19:2,6 32:35) as the place in which the people would "burn their sons and daughters in the fire" as part of the worship of Moloch as noted by Keil and Delitzsch.

In the Qur'an, Jahannam (جهنم) is a place of torment for sinners and non-believers, or the Islamic equivalent of Hell.