Sacred Books Project

A Psalms Aside: Sheol | February 26, 2011

For the last week or so, I’ve been reading through the beginnings of the Book of Psalms, and interesting, if cryptic, part of the Bible. I had been aware of the Book of Psalms as one of the most widely quoted sections of the book, still oft used for any pithy inspirational statements needed for any given religious situation. I am given to understand that these mostly short pieces represent hymns originally sung. How much of their impact is lost due to the lack of music all of these centuries later I am not sure. In some areas, they seem almost like formula or charms sung by people hoping to change or avoid various situations. In particular, defense from undefined enemies seem to be a major theme throughout many of the early psalms. Why this emphasis on enemies? However, this quite a long book, and I believe I will have more to say after I’ve read more of them.

In the meantime, one thing that I’ve noticed during my reading so far has been the occasional mention of the term “Sheol.” A typical mention of the term occurs in Psalm 6 (Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble), which begs God to protect the speaker “for there is no mention of Thee in death; In Sheol who will give Thee thanks?” (Psalms 6:) It was also mentioned in Job, “when a cloud vanishes, it is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up.” (Job 7:9). Or how about Psalm 30, “O Lord, Thou has brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down into the pit.” (Psalms 30:3). Sheol

I first encountered the term Sheol while researching for a project on the various interpretations of the afterlife as seen in world cultures and mythologies my freshman year of college, with Sheol being described in ancient Hebrew mythology, as a dark, depressing, misty netherworld where people went after they died. It reminded me of Hades or the Asphodel Fields in Greek mythology, an “egalitarian” land of the dead where people simply went to, a gray, cold place where spirits wandered eternally. I did not realize at the time that the term was included in the Bible, thinking it came from more obscure sources in ancient religion and mythology, so it was interesting to see it being used in various books. Psalms in particular seems to mention it a lot. “The pit,” as it is described in Psalm 30, does not seem to be the most pleasant place to end up after death, but, from what I’ve seen so far, the afterlife has not been a matter of much discussion in the Old Testament. Instead, they focus on the actions of the living, death itself often being meted out as a punishment. Why do older religions have so little interest in life after death, with any afterlife described being so lackluster?

At least in modern Christianity, the afterlife seems to be a primary belief of the religion; perhaps it’s most important aspect. Heaven, and to a lesser extant, Hell still remain at the forefront of Christian teachings as well as popular culture, with even the most lax Christian professing a belief in the afterlife. Did this focus arise with the advent of Christianity? What in the culture changed that mandated elaborate afterlife worlds of reward and punishment to be discussed? How have fears and curiosity of death evolve or the centuries? Could a little bit of this shift be included in Psalms 18, “The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance,” when the speaker sings, “the cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me” (Psalms 18: 5) and calls on God for help, who later “rewarded me according to my righteousness” (Psalm 18:20). It seems to imply a reward after death for a life well led, something that had not been mentioned before. It will be interesting to watch how concepts of the afterlife and its relationship to life will change in religions. Finally, I wonder how this transition from a misty, insubstantial Sheol to modern Christian ideas of Heaven and Hell are looked at in modern religions. Is Sheol simply equated to Hell? This, the mystery of life after death, will be another category for my study as I continue to study the religious texts of world religions.