•    Use eSword to search for the word “hell”, using KJV+ as your Bible version.
If you need help using eSword refer to the eSword website tutorials.

    •    You’ll find the word “hell” occurs only 54 times. What does “Strongs” say the word translated “hell” means in the Old Testament? You should find that there is just one original Hebrew word. What does that word mean?

    •    You can confirm its meaning by searching for the Strongs number H7585 (the number Strong used to tag this word) to see other ways the Hebrew word has been translated. Does this have any bearing on your understanding of what the Bible means by ‘hell’?

    •    Moving into the New Testament, apart from one exception there are two words used translated “hell”. Try looking at the meanings of the words given by Strongs. Try to distinguish between actual meanings given and opinions offered.

    •    One of the words, ‘gehenna’, is described by Strong as ‘a valley of Jerusalem’. Further research will be needed to find the significance of this which is beyond the scope of this short study. However you would find that it was the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem where fires were kept burning constantly. Does this hint at why Jesus spoke about being “thrown into the fires of Gehenna”, or ‘onto the rubbish dump’? Have a look at the relevant passages again with this meaning in mind and try to work out what Jesus meant.

    •    The other New Testament word is ‘hades’ (Strongs: G86). If you search for G86 you’ll see the ways this word has been translated. Is the translation in 1Corinthians 15:55 significant? How does it compare with the Old Testament view on what ‘hell’ is? Does this have any bearing on your understanding of this word?

This is a difficult topic to deal with fully in a brief study like this. You might, however, be surprised by what you’ve found but it would need deeper study to find out exactly what the Bible is teaching about what happens when we die. The book of Ecclesiastes, especially chapters 3 & 9, might be a good starting point. You might also like to try the “Bible Surprises” page 1 “The immortal soul”.