Chart of The Afterlife term "Sheol" in the Old Testament │ Christ Assembly │ Expository Bible Studies

Chart of The Afterlife Term “Sheol” in the Old Testament

Afterlife Studies

Christ Assembly

If you do not recall a day in your life when you received eternal life as a free gift from Jesus, then this article will not make sense to you. Please click the eternal life button now and learn more about finding peace with God and being born again today.

Eternal Life

The chart below presents my understanding of the Afterlife term “Sheol” in various Old Testament contexts. I have made many personal choices about whether the verses describing Sheol or the context includes death, grace, body, or soul. Please keep in mind the distinction that Jesus drew in Matthew 10:28 between body and soul. At times, the destruction of human flesh may be in view, such as the decay of the body of David. While David’s body decayed in the ground, we have no indication that David’s soul ever went to Sheol. In fact, only the souls of unbelievers go to Sheol, the place of destruction in the Afterlife. I urge you to open your Bible and review the evidence in the verses below to understand the use of the term “Sheol” in the Old Testament. Many false views of Sheol have been presented by so many ignorant people throughout church history. Instead of following the ignorant, open your Bible and see for yourself what the verses say. God breathed them out because they equip us for His service every day. In a broad sense, Sheol may refer a place of bodily destruction, where everyone’s body decays. Sheol also personifies the power of evil spiritual influence gripping people before physical death with fear and terrors. To read more about the Afterlife, see my book on the Afterlife.

Important Facts About Sheol–Open your Bible and review the verses below in context.

Remember the distinction that Jesus described in Matthew 10:28 about body and soul.
The souls of saints never go to Sheol after death.
Your body may go to Sheol, but that does not prove your soul went there after death.
Unsaved souls go to Sheol after death and suffer.
Physical bodies descend into Sheol, where they undergo decay.
Sheol reaches out to living people, causing fear, terror and sadness.
Sheol is not the same as the Pit.
Sheol is not the same as Death.
Symbolically, some people go to Sheol while still alive, which speaks of their fears, terrors, dread and suffering.
Sheol has chambers, but the soul of Abraham was never in Sheol.
Sheol and Hades are not synonymous.
Neither the souls nor the bodies of believers go to Hades.
No souls of saints go to Sheol.

entries per page

Search:

Verse	Word	Content	Subject	Death	Grave	Body	Soul
Genesis 37:35	שְׁאֹ֑לָה	Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.	Jacob	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Genesis 42:38	שְׁאֹֽולָה	I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son	Jacob	Yes	No	No	No
Genesis 44:29	שְׁאֹֽלָה	You will bring my gray hair down to Sheol	Jacob	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Genesis 44:31	שְׁאֹֽלָה	Your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow.	Jacob	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Numbers 16:30	שְׁאֹ֑לָה	Ground opens and they descend alive into Sheol	Korah Rebels	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Numbers 16:33	שְׁאֹ֑לָה	They went down alive into Sheol and the earth closed over them and they perished from the midst of the assembly	Korah Rebels	Yes	No	Yes	No
Deuteronomy 32:22	שְׁאֹ֣ול	Anger of God burns to the lowest part of Sheol, and consumes the earth, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains	The Perverse Generation of Israel	Yes	No	Yes	Maybe
1 Samuel 2:6	שְׁאֹ֖ול	The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up	All People	Yes	No	Yes	No
2 Samuel 22:6	שָׁא֔וּל	The cords of Sheol surround me; the snares of death confronted me.	David	Yes	No	No	No
1 Kings 2:6	שְׁאֹֽל	Do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace	Joab	Yes	No	Yes	No

Showing 1 to 10 of 65 entries