So we come to the final facet muddying the story of Jesus going to hell: translation and terminology issues. First up, we’ve got Sheol: the Old Testament Hebrew notion of the world of the dead that can also mean the literal ground in which dead people are placed. Then we’ve got Hades, as in: Yes, the three-part Greek underworld and eponymous name of its ruler, brother of Zeus. Hades comes up in the Bible because the New Testament was first written in Greek. Then we’ve got other terms like the “lake of fire” mentioned in Revelations, a different location from either Sheol or Hades that’s kind of the final, eternal realm of torment for unbelievers. Then we’ve got yet other terms mentioned on sites like Got Questions, including, “the abyss,” “the great chasm,” “the grave,” and more.
So where is “hell” in all this? Nowhere except in certain translations. Those translations, strictly speaking, are inaccurate and sometimes don’t even distinguish between Sheol, Hades, and Hell. Even the Apostle’s Creed itself, which kickstarted the semi-canonical nature of the Jesus in hell story, relates an incorrect translation if it uses the word “hell.” The word “hell” made its way into Old English (about 450 to 1150 C.E.) via Scandinavian myth and the Old Norse goddess Hel, who presided over the land of the dead.
In the end, what’s the story of Jesus going to hell in the Bible? Nothing, because it doesn’t exist — either from a historical or theological angle.
