Did Abraham go to hell when he died?

Answer 1

It all depends how you understand The Bible word 'hell'.

If you're referring to 'hellfire' or a place/condition of 'eternal torment'; then NO, Abraham did not go to that 'hell'.

But if you're referring to the Hebrew word used in the Old Testament, namely 'sheol', then YES, Abraham went to that 'hell'. Because the word 'sheol' simply means 'the common grave where all mankind goes at death.'

· Collier's Encyclopedia (1986, Vol. 12, p. 28) comments on the use of the word 'hell' in some Bible translations: "Since Sheol in Old Testament times referred simply to the abode of the dead and suggested no moral distinctions, the word 'hell,' as understood today, is not a happy translation."

· Encyclopaedia Britannica (1971, Vol. 11, p. 276) stated regarding Sheol: "Sheol. . . . The state of the dead was one of neither pain nor pleasure. Neither reward for the righteous nor punishment for the wicked was associated with Sheol. The good and the bad alike, tyrants and saints, kings and orphans, Israelites and gentiles-all slept together without awareness of one another."

The concept that mankind was given an 'immortal soul' which survives after a person dies, does not come from God's Holy Word The Bible. It originates from ancient non-Bible sources (pagan origins); and has been integrated into the religions which claim to be 'Christian'.

The Bible word 'Sheol', wrongly translated as 'hell', originally conveyed no thought of heat or torment but simply of a 'covered over or concealed place.' In the old English dialect the expression "helling potatoes" meant, not to roast them, but simply to place the potatoes in the ground or in a cellar.