📖 Biblical Definition
Hades (Greek), corresponding to the Hebrew Sheol, is the intermediate realm of the dead in New Testament usage. It is not yet the final hell (Gehenna) but the temporary holding-place of disembodied souls awaiting resurrection and final judgment. In Christ’s account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), Hades holds the rich man in conscious torment while Abraham’s bosom holds Lazarus in comfort, separated by a fixed gulf. Christ holds "the keys of hell and of death" (Revelation 1:18). At the final judgment Hades itself is emptied and then cast, with death, into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). The intermediate state ends; resurrection and final judgment do not.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The realm of the dead awaiting resurrection.
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The Greek term used in the New Testament (translating Hebrew Sheol in the Septuagint) for the realm of the dead — the intermediate state where souls await resurrection; ultimately itself cast into the lake of fire at the final judgment.
📖 Key Scripture
Luke 16:23 — "And in hell (hadēs) he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom."
Acts 2:27 — "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (hadēs), neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
Revelation 20:14 — "And death and hell (hadēs) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Conflated with Gehenna (lake of fire), erasing the distinction between intermediate and final state.
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Translations conflating Hades with Gehenna ("hell" for both) corrupt Scripture's careful eschatology. The intermediate state and the final state get mashed into one undifferentiated "hell," obscuring Scripture's actual ordering: Hades itself is cast into the lake of fire at the final judgment. The corruption blurs precision; recovering the distinction recovers the doctrine.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek Hadēs — unseen.
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['Greek', 'G86', 'Hadēs', 'Hades, realm of dead']
['Hebrew', 'H7585', 'Sheol', 'Sheol']
Usage
"Distinguish Hades (intermediate) from Gehenna (final)."
"Hades itself is cast into the lake of fire."