AYBD Question

Rick Hypes said:

Anyhow, I was wondering how well AYBD covers topics with both the normally accepted view and alternative views.

AYBD is strictly a Bible Dictionary. It has very little interest in questions of systematic theology. So there's no entries on dispensationalism or post-millenialism, etc., or even on the Trinity. It's entry on Hell (actually there's two entries, one on Hades, the other on Gehenna) deal stricly with how those two places were viewed in Biblical time. There is no discussion on how they are (or should be) viewed today. Nor is there any discussion on which ancient view was correct (for example, on the entry on resurrection, it will note that the Saducees didn't believe in resurrection - it notes the argument, but it doesn't say whether the Saducees were right, or wrong.)

If you want more insight into the strengths of AYBD, this this thread should help: http://community.logos.com/forums/t/22656.aspx

I've found the Zondervan Encyclopedia very helpful. I'm sure you'd find it valueable. Here's it's article on hell:

hell. This English word (from a Germanic root meaning “concealed place” or “underworld”) is used by the KJV in the OT to render Hebrew šĕʾôl H8619 (Deut. 32:22 et al.; see SHEOL); in the NT it renders Greek hadēs G87 (Matt. 11:23 et al.; see HADES) and geenna G1147 (Matt. 5:2 et al.; see GEHENNA). The NIV and other modern versions use it almost exclusively as a translation of geenna, which refers to the Valley of HINNOM (Wadi er-Rababi, just SW of JERUSALEM), the location of the notorious sacrificial offering by fire of children to the god MOLECH (2 Chr. 28:3; 33:6; cf. 2 Ki. 23:10; Jer. 7:32; 19:6). The apocalyptic book of 1 Enoch states that there would be an abyss filled with fire S of Jerusalem into which ungodly Israelites would be thrown. Later the idea was extended so that this place was conceived to be the scene of fiery punishment for all of the ungodly. Still later, when the place of punishment was conceived of as under the earth, the idea of fiery torment was maintained. (The English term occurs also as part of a phrase used to render tartaroō G5434, “to send to hell,” 2 Pet. 2:4. In Gk. mythology, Tartarus was the name of a deep abyss below Hades where the Titans were imprisoned, but in time the term became roughly equivalent to Hades.)

I. Intertestamental views. The teaching that there is a place where the ungodly are punished forever is scarcely mentioned in the OT. In the intertestamental period, however, this idea became prominent, although its acceptance by the rabbis was far from unanimous. According to the Apocryphal book of 2 Esdras (also known as 4 Ezra; see ESDRAS, SECOND), Ezra asks if the lost soul will be tortured immediately at death or not until the renewal of the creation, to which God answers: “as the spirit leaves the body … if it is one of those who have shown scorn and have not kept the way of the Most High … such spirit shall … wander about in torment, ever grieving and sad … they will consider the torment laid up for themselves in the last days” (2 Esd. 7:7–84.).

The pseudepigraphical book of 1 Enoch gives detailed descriptions of Gehenna as a place of punishment. The PHARISEES accepted this view: according to JOSEPHUS (War 2.8.14), they believed that “the souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment.” Elsewhere he describes the position of the Pharisees by saying that the wicked “are to be detained in an everlasting prison.” In the time just prior to the NT period, the rabbinical school of Shammai divided all men into three groups: the righteous, the wicked who are “immediately written and sealed to Gehenna,” and a third group of people who “go down to Gehinnom and moan and come up again.” The school of HILLEL thought that the ungodly were punished in Gehenna for a year and then annihilated, although certain especially wicked men “go down to Gehinnom and are punished there to ages of ages.”

II. Teachings of Jesus. It should be noted that in the NT, geenna is used only in the synoptics (except for an occurrence in Jas. 3:6), and only by JESUS CHRIST. In other words, the knowledge of hell comes almost exclusively from the teachings of Christ, who spoke emphatically on the subject on a number of occasions.

1. Jesus states that “anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matt. 5:22). In the context Jesus is saying that whereas the OT simply condemned murder, he has a higher demand, and the result is that expressions of anger toward one’s brother can lead to the most severe punishment.
2. According to Jesus, the punishment of hell is so severe that it would be better for a person to lose an eye or a hand rather than that these members of the body should be instruments of sins that would lead to hell. Twice he speaks about the whole body being thrown into hell (Matt. 5:29–30).
3. Without using the word Gehenna itself, Jesus is obviously speaking of the punishment of  hell when he says that the tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and “thrown into the fire” (Matt. 7:19).
4. Part of the punishment pronounced upon the ungodly is that they will be cast out from the presence of Christ (Matt. 7:23). It is noteworthy that all of the above references come from the SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
5. The ultimate punishment resulting from apostasy will include being consigned “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12).
6. Jesus states that God has the power to “destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).
7. In the parable of the tares, as well as in the parable of the nets, Jesus says that at the end of the age, sinners will be cast into “into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:42, 50).
8. The ultimate punishment inflicted upon sinners is described by Jesus as being much worse than death itself, for it would be better to be drowned than to be punished for causing a child to be led astray (Matt. 18:6). Jesus then adds that it would be better to lose a limb that was the source of sinful behavior than to “be thrown into eternal fire” or “the fire of hell” (vv. 8–9). The parallel speaks of going “into hell, where fire never goes out” (Mk. 9:43), and hell is further described as the place “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (9:48, citing Isa. 66:24).
9. In the parable of the wedding feast, the punishment is again described as that of being “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:13).
10. Jesus condemns the Pharisees for making their converts “twice as much a child of hell as you are” (Matt. 23:15). A little later he warns that they will not be able to “escape being condemned to hell” (v. 33).
11. In the parable of the talents, Jesus again alludes to outer darkness and to the weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30), while in the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus says to those whom he condemns, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (25:41). Later in the same parable, Jesus describes their fate as “eternal punishment” (v. 46).

In several passages, Jesus implies that there will be degrees of punishment in hell. He speaks of hypocrites as those who will “receive the greater condemnation” (Mk. 12:40 NRSV); some “will be beaten with many blows,” whereas others who have a lesser knowledge of the master’s will, “with few blows” (Lk. 12:47–48). The certain conclusion from all of these passages is that Jesus taught the doctrine of hell clearly and emphatically. All but those who interpret Scripture with extreme literalism agree that this is figurative language used to describe hell, but the figures stand for the most terrible reality.

III. Writings of the apostles. As already note, the word hell (Gehenna) occurs only once outside the synoptics (Jas. 3:6), but the idea of severe punishment in the world to come is taught in several passages. For example:

1. PAUL speaks of the impending judgment of God, which will result in eternal life for those who do good, but “wrath and anger” for those who do wickedness. For the evildoer, “there will be trouble and distress” (Rom. 2:7–9).
2. A person’s appearance before the JUDGMENT SEAT of Christ will result in receiving “good or evil” depending on the actions during this life (2 Cor. 5:10). Paul sees the danger of this terrible fate as an impelling force in his ministry (v. 11).
3. At the return of Christ, those dwelling in complacency will experience sudden destruction, “and they will not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3).
4. At the SECOND COMING, Jesus will be “revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (2 Thess. 1:7–9).
5. The author of Hebrews speaks of “eternal judgment” as a fundamental of the faith (Heb. 6:2), and of the threat of punishment as “a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God” (10:27). He refers to it as “much worse punishment” (v. 29 NRSV) than the death that was administered to those who broke the law of Moses.
6. JAMES speaks of the tongue as “set on fire by hell” (Jas. 3:6).
7. In his second epistle, Peter writes about the angels who sinned and says that God “sent them to hell [Tartarus],” a place described as “gloomy dungeons” (2 Pet. 2:4). Later in the passage, God is described as knowing how “to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment” (v. 9). The ungodly are like brute beasts that will be “caught and destroyed” (v. 12). “Blackest darkness is reserved for them” (v. 17).
8. In a similar passage in Jude, it is revealed that the fallen angels have been kept by God “in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day” (Jude 6). The inhabitants of SODOM and GOMORRAH “serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire” (v. 7).
9. In the book of Revelation, an angel says of those who worship the beast that “the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever” (Rev. 14:11). The place of the wicked “will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (21:8).

These scriptural references demonstrate that the apostles followed Christ in teaching that life issues in two possible destinies, eternal blessedness or the torment of hell. The NT writers are very reserved in their descriptions of hell, especially in comparison to the contemporary extrabiblical literature, but they are clear in teaching a judgment issuing in eternal punishment. (See PUNISHMENT, ETERNAL for a discussion of the claims that the Bible teaches annihilation or universalism.)

IV. The early church. In the period immediately after NT days, the doctrine of hell was clearly taught. Many of the martyrs of that period, considering hell to be the fate of those who denied the faith, were given courage to face martyrdom by the conviction that this was the easier of the two alternatives.
In the 2nd cent., the church fathers give evidence in their writings of their convictions on the subject. For example, IGNATIUS (died A.D. 110) says, “one so defiled will go into unquenchable fire” (Eph. 16.2). The Epistle of Barnabas (c. 130) mentions “the way of eternal death with punishment” (20.1). The Shepherd of Hermas (c. 140) speaks of “those which fell into the fire and were burned are those who have departed for ever from the living God” (Vis. 3.7.2).

JUSTIN MARTYR (c. 110–165) states, “we are fully convinced that each will suffer punishment by eternal fire, according to the demerit of his actions” (1 Apol. 17.4). IRENAEUS (c. 135–200) uses the term “eternal fire” repeatedly. TERTULLIAN (c. 160–220) mentions “the greatness of the punishment which continueth, not for a long time, but forever.” He is the first of the church fathers who expresses joy at the spectacle of the lost in hell, an attitude not found in the Bible, but one that became common in the Middle Ages. The early Christian theologians gave unanimous testimony in favor of the belief in hell. It was not until ORIGEN (c. 185–254), who held a number of other unbiblical views as well, that a major church teacher denied this doctrine.

In conclusion, the doctrine of hell is a thoroughly biblical doctrine. Therefore it is not surprising that in the history of theology a denial of this doctrine has often accompanied weak views of biblical inspiration. The reaction against this doctrine has, however, been partly the fault of some of its adherents who have proclaimed it in crudely literalistic terms. Thoroughgoing conservatives such as Calvin, Hodge, Strong, and Schilder have recognized the symbolic nature of the biblical terms “worm,” “fire,” etc. Another cause of reaction against the doctrine has been the exultant glee or other unloving attitudes held by some who have proclaimed it, but this is not a part of the biblical doctrine.

The Bible does not give the physical location of hell or anything about its furnishings, but it assures readers that those whose sins are not atoned for by Jesus Christ will receive perfect justice from God, that they will receive exactly what they deserve for all eternity, which will be a most miserable fate. This ought to be one of the impelling motives making evangelism the urgent business of all Christians.

(See further S. Bartlett, Life and Death Eternal [1866]; W. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology [1888], 2:667–754; K. Schilder, Wat is de hel? [1920]; W. R. Inge et al., What Is Hell? [1930]; J. S. Bonnell, Heaven and Hell [1956]; H. Buis, The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment [1957]; H. Blamires, Knowing the Truth about Heaven and Hell: Our Choices and Where They Lead Us [1988]; N. M. de S. Cameron, ed., Universalism and the Doctrine of Hell [1992]; W. V. Crockett et al., Four Views on Hell [1992]; W. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine [1994], ch. 56.)

Rick Hypes Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 12:01 PM

Anyhow, I was wondering how well AYBD covers topics with both the normally accepted view and alternative views. An example that I can think of quickly is Hell: Eternal Punishment vs. Annihilation. Also things such as Preterism vs. Historicism vs. Futurism vs. Idealism.

Can anyone either post a screen shot of the term "Hell"

Mark Barnes Replied: Fri Nov 26, 2010 2:13 PM

I've found the Zondervan Encyclopedia very helpful. I'm sure you'd find it value able. Here's it's article on hell

((see prior post))

And here is the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary on the subject  [That I got via Black Friday]

HELL. See HADES, HELL; and GEHENNA.

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, 127 vol 3

HADES, HELL. The Greek word Hades (ha̧dēs) is sometimes, but misleadingly, translated “hell” in English versions of the NT. It refers to the place of the dead but not necessarily to a place of torment for the wicked dead. In Greek religious thought Hades was the god of the underworld; but more commonly the term referred to his realm, the underworld, where the shades or the souls of the dead led a shadowy existence, hardly conscious and without memory of their former life. In early times it seems Hades was usually conceived as a place of sadness and gloom (but not punishment) indiscriminately for all the dead. However, as early as Homer the notion existed that some individuals experienced endless punishment in Hades, and later, especially through the influence of Orphic-Pythagorean ideas, belief in postmortem rewards and punishments in Hades became common. While Greek ideas about the afterlife probably did not influence the origins of Jewish expectations of retribution after death, later Jewish writers sometimes incorporated particular terms and concepts from the Greek and Roman Hades into their own pictures of the afterlife.

The old Hebrew concept of the place of the dead, most often called Sheol (šĕ˒ôl) in the Hebrew Bible, corresponded quite closely to the Greek Hades. Both were versions of the common ancient view of the underworld. Like the old Greek Hades, Sheol in the Hebrew Bible is the common fate of all the dead, a place of darkness and gloom, where the shades lead an unenviable, fading existence. In the LXX therefore Sheol is usually translated as Hades, and the Greek term was naturally and commonly used by Jews writing in Greek. This Jewish usage explains the ten NT occurrences of the word Hades.

The rise of Jewish belief in resurrection and eternal life had a significant impact on ideas about Sheol/Hades. Resurrection was understood as God’s eschatological act of bringing the dead from Hades back to life. Probably the earliest, simplest idea was that the shades will return from Hades to bodily life. Sometimes they were expected to be raised as spirits to dwell with the angels in heaven. According to a more dichotomous view of human nature, the soul will be brought from Hades, the body raised from the grave, and body and soul reunited in resurrection. Whichever view of resurrection was adopted, Hades became the temporary abode of the dead, between death and the general resurrection at the end of the age; but there was not necessarily any other change in the understanding of Hades.

In most early Jewish literature Hades or Sheol remains the place to which all the dead go (2 Macc 6:23; 1 En. 102:5; 103:7; Sib. Or. 1:81–84; Ps.-Phoc.112–113; 2 Bar. 23:4; T. Ab. A 8:9; 19:7) and is very nearly synonymous with death (Wis 1:12–16; 16:13; S. Sol. 16:2; Rev 6:8; 20:13), as well as actually synonymous with other OT terms for the place of the dead (“the earth,” “the dust,” Abaddon: 1 En. 51:3; 4 Ezra 7:32; Ps.-Philo 3:10; 2 Bar. 42:8; 50:2). At the resurrection Hades will return what has been entrusted to it (1 En. 51:3; 4 Ezra 4:42; 7:32; 2 Bar. 42:8; 50:2; Ps.-Philo 3:10; 33:3; cf. Rev 20:13)—a notion which expresses God’s sovereignty over Hades (cf. 1 Sam 2:6; Tob 13:2; Wis 16:13). The dead have been temporarily entrusted by God to the safekeeping of Hades; at the resurrection he will demand them back. Thereafter death will no longer happen, and so the mouth of Hades will be sealed so that it can no longer receive the dead (2 Bar. 21:23; Ps.-Philo 33:3), or, in an alternative image, Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14). Thus Hades retains its close association with death and is not confused with the place of eternal torment for the wicked after the day of judgment, which was usually known as Gehenna. Even when Hades is portrayed as the fate for which the wicked are heading, in contrast to the eternal life to which the righteous are destined, the traditional characteristics of the place of the dead—darkness and destruction—are often in mind (Pss. Sol. 14:9–10; 15:10, 13; 16:2; Jub. 7:29; 22:22).

However, the picture of Hades was affected by the expectation of resurrection and eternal destiny in a further way. The notion of resurrection was connected with that of the judgment of the dead. At the day of judgment, the righteous will receive the reward of eternal life and the wicked the judgment of eternal destruction or eternal torment. This ultimate distinction between the righteous and the wicked was often held to be anticipated during the temporary abode of the dead in Hades. The earliest example is 1 Enoch 22, where Enoch is shown four “hollow places” in which four different classes of the dead are kept until the day of judgment. The early character of this concept is shown by the fact that one of the two classes of the wicked, those who have already been punished for their sins in this life, will apparently be neither rewarded nor punished on the day of judgment, whereas sinners who have not been punished in this life will then receive their judgment. But for all classes Hades is essentially a place of waiting for judgment: the righteous are refreshed with a spring of water while they await the joys of paradise, but the wicked are not said to be punished. They are simply held in detention awaiting trial and condemnation. In later conceptions the classes of the dead are reduced to two. The places where they wait came to be called the chambers or treasuries of the souls (Ps.-Philo 32:13; 2 Bar. 21:33; 30:1; 4 Ezra 4:35, 41; 7:32, 80, 85, 95, 101, 121; cf. Ps.-Philo 15:5: “chambers of darkness” for the wicked; Ps.-Philo 21:9: “the secret dwelling places of souls”; the terminology of chambers may derive from Isa 26:20; cf. 1 Clem. 50:3).

In the extended account of the intermediate state in 4 Ezra 7:75–101, it is explained that after death the souls of the dead have seven days of freedom, during which they see the rewards awaiting the righteous and the torments awaiting the wicked. The wicked are therefore sad in anticipation, and the righteous rejoice in anticipation of the destiny awaiting them, but the rewards and punishments themselves are reserved for the last day. After the seven days the righteous enter their chambers, where they rest in quietness, guarded by angels (7:85, 95). In this account the wicked do not have chambers at all but continue to wander around in tormented awareness of their doom (7:80, 93).

The idea that the eternal punishment of the wicked has already begun in Hades, even before the last judgment, begins to be found occasionally in Jewish literature of the NT period. In this case Hades sometimes becomes the scene not only of darkness and gloom, but also of fire (cf. Sir 21:9–10), which had traditionally been reserved for the torment of the wicked in Gehenna after the last judgment. (1 En. 63:10 seems to be an exceptional case where Sheol itself is the scene of final punishment in fire after the last judgment; cf. perhaps 103:7–8.) Thus in the surviving fragments of Jannes and Jambres we seem to have the first instance of the many stories (later popular in Christianity) in which someone is brought back temporarily from Hades in order to warn the living of the fate of the wicked (it is this possibility which is requested and refused in Luke 16:27–31). The Egyptian magician Jannes explains to his brother that he is being punished in the fires of the underworld. In the Apocalypse of Zephaniah Hades is equated with the abyss (6:15; 7:9; 9:2), and the seer sees in it the sea of fire and other forms of punishment for the wicked (6:1–2; 10:3–14). (However, neither of these works is certainly of pre-Christian Jewish origin.) Josephus claims that the Pharisees believed there are postmortem rewards and punishments “under the earth” (Ant 18.14).

In a final development Hades sometimes becomes exclusively the place of punishment for the wicked, while the righteous go at death to paradise or heaven. This may be the case in the Apoc. Zeph. However, we should not expect too much consistency in eschatological concepts. Older images often survive alongside later developments. Thus the Testament of Abraham (Recension A) clearly refers to Hades as the fate of all the dead (8:9; 19:7); but it is not easy to reconcile this with its account of the separation of the souls, who at death go through two distinct gates, one leading to eternal punishment and the other to paradise (11), which is located in heaven (20:12, 14). In Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31), which reflects popular conceptions of the afterlife, it seems that only the rich man goes to Hades (though this is not entirely clear), where he is tormented in fire, while Lazarus goes to “Abraham’s bosom” in paradise (cf. T. Ab. A 20:14). The two locations are within sight of each other (cf. 4 Ezra 7:85, 93); but this need not imply that both are in the underworld, since even after the last judgment paradise and Gehenna are said to be within sight of each other (4 Ezra 7:36–38; 1 En. 108:14–15; Apoc. El. 5:27–28).

Other NT references to Hades also reflect Jewish usage. In Acts 2:27, 31, which directly reflect OT usage, Hades is the abode of all the dead before the resurrection. Also directly dependent on OT usage is Matt 11:23 = Luke 10:15 (cf. Isa 14:13–15). The image in Rev 20:13 is a traditional apocalyptic one (1 En. 51:3; 4 Ezra 4:42; 7:32; 2 Bar. 42:8; 50:2; Ps.-Philo 3:10; 33:3), while the personification of Hades, along with death, there and in Rev 6:8, derives from OT usage continued by later writers (for death and Sheol both personified, see Ps 49:14; Isa 28:15; Hos 13:14).

The gates of Hades (Matt 16:18) are traditional. Both the Babylonian Underworld and the Greek Hades had gates, but the image more immediately reflects the OT (Isa 38:10; cf. “gates of death” in Job 38:17; Ps 9:14; 107:18) and later Jewish writings (Wis 16:13; 3 Macc. 5:51; So. Sol. 16:2; cf. Ap. Pet. 4:3). The gates of Hades keep the dead imprisoned in its realm. Only God can open them (cf. Wis 16:13; Ap. Pet. 4:3, which probably reflects a Jewish description of resurrection; Ps 107:16 may have been interpreted in this way). Whatever the precise meaning of Matt 16:18, its reference must be not to the powers of evil, but to the power of Hades to hold the dead in death. A related image is that of the keys of Hades (Rev 1:18), which open its gates (cf. 2 En. 42:1): the risen Christ, victorious over death, has acquired the divine power to release from the realm of death (cf. also b. Sanh. 113a). For bibliography see DESCENT TO THE UNDERWORLD.

                 Richard Bauckham    vol. 3, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, 14-15

Rick Hypes said:

Anyhow, I was wondering how well AYBD covers topics with both the normally accepted view and alternative views. An example that I can think of quickly is Hell: Eternal Punishment vs. Annihilation. Also things such as Preterism vs. Historicism vs. Futurism vs. Idealism.

Can anyone either post a screen shot of the term "Hell" or maybe just tell me if it covers alternative views such as this one? This is a determining factor whether I go with the AYBD today or wait another two weeks and buy the Zondervan product.

From your question I gather that your interests are not very similar to mine, but I would note that the AYBD is one of the best resources to be found in the area of bible dictionaries.  You cannot really go wrong by getting it.