Hades is the place where the dead go. Though it shares similarities with hell (usually gehenna, Matt. 5:22; 10:28; 9:43, etc), it is not necessarily the same place.  What we learn about Hades from the New Testament is that it is a place of the dead (Rev. 20:13), into which people descend (Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15; Acts 2:27). Jesus went there (Acts 2:27, 31) and returned.  Therefore, Hades does not appear to be a permanent location of people. Jesus speaks of it as a place of conscious existence (Luke 16:23) and Jesus has the keys of Hades (Rev. 1:18). Finally, death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).  Hades seems to correspond to the Old Testament’s Sheol since people to send alive into that place (Num. 16:30, 33; Psalm 55:15) and God is said to be with the person in Sheol (Psalm 139:8). In Acts 2:27, when Peter quotes Psalm 16:10, he substitutes Sheol for Hades: Acts 2:27, “BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.”  Psalm 16:10, “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”

 

• Greek word: ᾅδης, hades
• Meaning:   Hades,
• Strong’s #: G86
  Frequency:  10 occurrences

Summary of the meaning of the Greek word X, ‘X’ in all verses where it occurs in the New Testament.

1. Place of the dead
   1. Matt. 11:23; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27; 2:31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8; 20:13; 20:14
2. Ungodly power
   1. Matt. 16:18

 

TABLE OF ALL NEW TESTAMENT USAGES OF HADES, ᾅδης
Address	Verse	Meaning
Matt.  11:23	And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.	Place of the dead
Matt.  16:18	I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.	Ungodly power
Luke 10:15	And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!	Place of the dead
Luke 16:23	In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.	Place of the dead
Acts 2:27	BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.	Place of the dead
Acts 2:31	he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY.	Place of the dead
Rev.  1:18	and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.	Place of the dead
Rev.  6:8	I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.	Place of the dead
Rev.  20:13	And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.	Place of the dead
Rev.  20:14	Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.	Place of the dead

 

• “Hades never denotes the physical grave nor is it the permanent region of the lost. It is the intermediate state between death and the ultimate hell, Gehenna (Géenna [1067]). Christ declares that He has the keys of Hades (Rev. 1:18). In Rev. 6:8 it is personified with the meaning of the temporary destiny of the doomed; it is to give up those who are in it (Rev. 20:13), and is to be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).
  • Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000.
• “Hades became important to the Jews as the stereotyped term used by the translators of the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew name “Sheol” into Greek. This was a very suitable translation for the Hebrew term, for both words can signify the physical grave or death (Gn 37:35; Prv 5:5; 7:27), and both originally referred to a dark underworld (Jb 10:21, 22) where existence was at best shadowy (J 38:17; Is 14:9). Sheol is described as under the ocean (Jb 26:5; Jon 2:2, 3) and as having bars and gates (Jb 17:16). All people go there whether they are good or evil (Ps 89:48).”
  • Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988.

 

 

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