Hell - "Gehenna"

I've recently been doing an indepth study on Hell and am coming to believe differently than what I've been taught since childhood. One of the most interesting things I've come across is the cultural context of what Jesus said concerning Gehenna.

When Jesus spoke of sin and sinners burning in continuous fire, He spoke of Gehenna. Jesus uses the word Gehenna 10 times in the Gospels, and the Gospels only record Jesus using the word Hades 4 times. And only once is the word Hades used in regards to a person - the rich man in Luke 16. And considering Luke was a Gentile, it's understandable that He would use a Greek term to reference a fiery afterlife twice and only use Gehenna once.

Anyhow, Jesus used almost exclusively the word Gehenna to reference God's punishment upon sin and sinner; so understanding that word in its cultural context is very important. What was Gehenna and how did the first century Jew understand the concept of Gehenna? When Jesus used the word Gehenna, what did it communicate to His first century audience?

Lexicons and commentaries all note that Gehenna was Jerusalem's trash dump where the city waste was consumed by fire and maggots; trash was burnt and waste flesh, even the bodies of condemned criminals, was reduced to dust by maggots. It was a place continuously (eternally) burning with fire and continuously populated by maggots (worm dieth not).  The continuous fire was actually fueled by brimstone - sulfur. The valley of Gehenna was selected by default to be a trash dump because it was where Molech had been worshipped and children burnt in sacrifice to that idol; so when the Jews repented from such, they used the site as a trash dump. This is information readily noted in most commentaries and lexicons.

What is rarely noted is that Gehenna was used by the Rabbis of Jesus' day to reference the afterlife of sinners. Shammai and Hillel both used Gehenna to speak metaphorically of a place of purification of the soul for those who were not righteous enough to directly enter Paradise - the Garden of Eden. Shammai believed that only the extremenly righteous went to Paradise when they died; everyone else went to Gehenna.  Most would rise to Ga Eden (Paradise) after being purified, having their sins burnt up - similar to the Catholic concept of Purgatory.  Hillel taught that only the wicked went to Gehenna.  Both Shammai and Hillel taught that the longest most people would stay in Gehenna was 11 months, and only the most wicked evil person would stay longer, possibly as much as 12 months.  They debated as to what would happen to the especially wicked people, whether they too would be purified, annihilated, or endure the punishment of Gehenna indefinitely.  They agreed though that most people, after being purified and healed by fire though, rose from the pit and were admitted to Paradise, the Garden of Eden!  This was especially true for loved ones!

Thus, when Jesus spoke of Gehenna, unless He otherwise specified, the word Gehenna would have carried this meaning of a place of purification and healing of the soul!   Note Jesus' use of Gehenna in the following passage.

Mark 9:42-49 "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell (Gehenna), where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell (Gehenna). And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell (Gehenna), where " 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.' Everyone will be salted with fire."

The NLT actually translates vs. 49 as "Everyone will be purified by fire." And according to the immediate literary context, there is no reason to not equate "fire" in vs. 49 with the "fire" of Gehenna in the previous verses. So Jesus warned everyone to be careful how we live, especially in regards to how we treat others. If we treat others badly, especially if we cause someone to loose faith, we're accountable for our actions and will suffer the chastisement of the Lord undergoing His fiery purification - terrible and yet redemptive (with a purpose)! And though the Rabbis taught that some are righteous enough to not undergo the fire of Gehenna, Jesus said that "Everyone will be purified by fire!"