Commentaries:
Mark wrote down the same Greek word gehenna here in verse 45 that he used in verse 43. The translators of the Authorized or King James Version of the Bible of AD 1611 selected the English word "hell" to represent this Greek word gehenna.
What Is Hell?
Notice what A Dictionary of the Bible, edited by James Hastings, says about the use of the word "hell" in the Old and New Testaments. Keep in mind, as you read this, that the Old Testament was originally written in the Hebrew language, and that the New Testament was originally written in the Greek language.
In our Authorized Version the word "hell" is unfortunately used as the rendering of three distinct words, with different ideas [or meanings]. It represents, 1) the sheol of the Hebrew Old Testament, and the hades in the New Testament. . . . It is now an entirely misleading rendering, especially in the New Testament passages. The English revisers, therefore, have substituted hades [going back to the original Greek word] for "hell" in the New Testament. . . . In the American revision the word "hell" is entirely discarded in this connection. . . .
The word "hell" is used 2) as equivalent to [the Greek word] tartaros (II Peter 2:4) . . . and, 3) . . . as the equivalent of [the Greek word] gehenna. . . .
So we see that the real meanings of three different Greek words—hades (equivalent to the Hebrew sheol of the Old Testament), tartaros, and gehenna—have been confused with each other because translators have attempted to make the one English word "hell" cover the definitions of all three words! No wonder confusion has reigned in the minds of millions.
What do these words really mean?
The original Old Testament Hebrew word sheol and the New Testament Greek word hades mean the same thing—simply the grave. These original words have been translated "grave" in many places in the Bible. "Hell" is an old English word, and over 350 years ago when the Authorized Version was translated, the people of England commonly talked of "putting their potatoes in hell for the winter"—a good way of preserving potatoes—for the word then meant merely a hole in the ground which was covered up—a dark and silent place—a grave! But pagan teachings gaining popular acceptance have caused people to misapply the old English word "hell" to the lurid imaginations of Dante.
The second Greek word, tartaros, which has also been translated into the English word "hell," occurs only once in the New Testament (II Peter 2:4), and does not refer to humans, but to the restrained condition of fallen angels. Its meaning, translated into English, is "darkness of the material universe," or "dark abyss," or "prison."
But what about gehenna? This Greek word, as all authorities admit, is derived from the name of the narrow, rocky Valley of Hinnom which lay just outside Jerusalem. It was the place where refuse was constantly burned up. Trash, filth, and the dead bodies of animals and despised criminals were thrown into the fires of gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom. Ordinarily, everything thrown into this valley was destroyed by fire—completely burned up. Therefore, Christ used gehenna to picture the terrible fate of unrepentant sinners!
What Is Hell?
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A Christian's potential is so fabulous that he must do whatever he can to ensure it. No matter how important they are to us, we must abandon any worldly attachments, friendships, and employments that will lead us into sin, or we will receive eternal judgment. Of course, Jesus' illustrations of cutting off a limb or plucking out an eye are not literal, but He wants us to understand the stakes. It is far better to attain to eternal life without enjoying the pleasures of sin than to enjoy them here in this life and be lost. Thus, Jesus emphasizes that we must remove temptation and avoid sin at all costs.
Martin G. Collins
Parables of the Millstone and the Lost Sheep
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