Places & biblical world
Sheol
A Hebrew biblical term concerning death and the realm of the dead.
Also called · the grave · realm of the dead
What it means
In Genesis 37, Jacob believes Joseph is dead and says he will descend to Sheol mourning his son. This is Jacob’s grief-stricken statement, not a report that Joseph has actually died.
Ecclesiastes 9 urges people to work while alive, saying there is no work, plan, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol. Psalm 16 expresses trust that God will not abandon the speaker there.
How it appears in the Bible
Jonah 2 uses the belly of Sheol within Jonah’s prayer from the fish’s belly. He describes crying out in deadly distress and God bringing his life up from the pit.
Translation note
The selected World English Bible retains Sheol in these passages. Lament, wisdom, and prayer in danger provide different contexts; the word is not automatically a description of final punishment.