Sheol (Hell) in the First Book of Enoch
The First Book of Enoch contains one of the most detailed early Jewish descriptions of Sheol, the realm of the dead. In this text Sheol is not presented as an abstract spiritual realm but as a place within the earth, associated with mountains, rock chambers, and deep subterranean divisions where the dead remain until judgement. The description occurs primarily in 1 Enoch chapter 22, where Enoch is shown the place where the dead are gathered.
The narrative begins with a geographical description of the location:
“22:1 And from there, I went to another place, and he showed me in the west a large and high mountain, and a hard rock, and four beautiful places.”
The setting described is a mountain with a hard rock formation containing four divisions. This description naturally suggests cavern-like chambers within a mountain, where the dead are separated according to their condition. The “four beautiful places” may be understood as compartments within this rock structure.
This idea corresponds closely with the broader biblical description of Sheol as a subterranean realm. Several passages describe Sheol as being in the earth and beneath the surface of the ground. For example:
“For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.” (Deuteronomy 32:22)
Here the foundations of the mountains are associated with the depth of hell. The phrase suggests that Sheol lies beneath the mountainous foundations of the earth.
Other passages emphasize the depth and downward direction of Sheol.
“It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?” (Job 11:8)
“Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell.” (Psalms 55:15)
“For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.” (Psalms 86:13)
“The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.” (Proverbs 15:24)
These passages consistently present Sheol as beneath the earth, reinforcing the description in Enoch of a deep cavernous region.
Enoch continues by describing the interior of these chambers:
“22:2 And inside, it was deep, wide, and very smooth. How smooth is that which rolls, and deep and dark to look at!”
This imagery conveys a vast hollow space within the earth, deep and dark, suggesting a silent and hidden region where the dead remain.
The angel Raphael then explains the purpose of these places.
“22:3 Then Raphael, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered me, and said to me: ‘These beautiful places are there so that the spirits of the souls of the (righteous and the unrighteous,) dead, might be gathered into them. For them they were created; so that here they might gather the souls of the sons of men.’”
The purpose of these chambers is to gather the dead until the appointed time of judgement.
Raphael continues:
“22:4 And these places they made, where they will keep them until the day of judgement, and until their appointed time, and that appointed time will be long, until the great judgement (seat of Christ) comes upon them (the righteous and unrighteous).”
The dead therefore remain in Sheol until the great judgement. The New Testament refers to this same event:
“For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
Likewise:
“For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God.” (1 Peter 4:17)
Thus both Enoch and the New Testament present a period between death and judgement.
While observing this realm of the dead, Enoch notices a voice making a complaint:
“22:5 And I saw the soul of a dead man making suit, and his voice went forth to heaven and made suit.”
The text emphasizes that the figure seen is a dead man, not an immortal being living consciously in heaven. The imagery reflects a slain person whose death cries out for justice.
Enoch asks Raphael about the voice.
“22:6 Then I asked Raphael, the angel who was with me, and said to him: ‘Whose spirit is that, the voice of which reaches to heaven, and complains?’”
Raphael answers:
“22:7 And he answered me, and said to me, saying: ‘This spirit is the one that came out of Abel, whom Cain, his brother, killed. And he will complain about him until his offspring are destroyed from the face of the Earth.’”
This scene parallels the statement in Genesis concerning Abel:
“The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10)
The cry is therefore symbolic language, representing the demand for justice.
The biblical principle behind this symbolism appears in Leviticus:
“For the soul of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11)
Because the life of the flesh is in the blood, spilled blood can be poetically described as crying out. The writer of Hebrews also alludes to this concept:
“The blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24)
Thus Enoch’s vision uses a personification of spilled blood to express the demand for judgement.
Enoch then asks another question regarding the structure of Sheol:
“22:8 At that time therefore I inquired respecting him, and respecting the general judgement, saying, Why is one separated from another?”
Raphael explains that the dead are separated into divisions.
“22:9 And he answered me, and said to me: ‘These three places were made, in order that they might separate the spirits of the dead... And thus the spirits of the righteous have been separated; this is the spring of water, and on it the light.’”
The righteous therefore occupy a separate division characterized by light and water, symbols of life and peace.
This idea of a separation between the righteous and the wicked appears in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man.
“And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed.” (Luke 16:26)
Although the story uses symbolic imagery, it illustrates the concept of division between two groups.
In the parable the rich man says:
“Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue.” (Luke 16:24)
The request for only a drop of water suggests the imagery is symbolic rather than literal. Furthermore, Revelation clarifies that Hades itself will eventually be destroyed:
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14)
If Hades can be thrown into the lake of fire, it cannot itself be the final place of fiery punishment.
Returning to Enoch, Raphael describes another division:
“22:10 Likewise, a place has been created for sinners, when they die, and are buried in the earth, and judgement has not come upon them during their life.”
These sinners remain in Sheol awaiting judgement.
The description continues:
“22:11 And here their souls will be separated for after a resurrection to judgement, being in torment at the Great Day of judgement and Punishment.”
Thus the suffering is associated with the day of judgement, not necessarily the state immediately after death.
Another division is also described:
“22:12 And this division has been made for the souls of those who complain, and give information about their destruction, about when they were killed in the days of the sinners.”
This refers to victims of injustice whose deaths cry out for judgement.
Finally Raphael describes a class that remains permanently in Sheol:
“22:13 Thus a place has been created for the souls of men who are not righteous, but sinners… But their souls will not be killed on the day of judgement, nor will they rise from here.”
This statement suggests that some individuals never rise from the death-state.
The concept of a perpetual sleep also appears in the prophets:
“And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake.” (Jeremiah 51:57)
Similarly Isaiah says:
“They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise.” (Isaiah 26:14)
These passages describe a class of people who remain in permanent death.
The Book of Enoch elsewhere reinforces the idea that Sheol temporarily holds the dead until the resurrection.
“1 Enoch 51:1 And in those days the Earth will return that which has been entrusted to it, and Sheol will return that which has been entrusted to it and that which it has received.”
Here the earth and Sheol both release the dead for judgement.
Another passage describes the fate of sinners:
“1 Enoch 56:8 And in those days Sheol will open its mouth and they will sink into it… Sheol will swallow up the sinners in the presence of the elect ones.”
Likewise:
“1 Enoch 99:11 Woe to you who extend evil to your neighbours; for you will be killed in Sheol.”
These passages portray Sheol as the death-state of the wicked.
According to the interpretation of Enoch 22, there are four chambers within Sheol. One is reserved for the righteous, while three are reserved for the unrighteous. Raphael states:
“Three of the four places have been reserved for the unrighteous, and only one place is reserved for the righteous.”
This creates a three-to-one ratio, suggesting that the number of the unrighteous greatly exceeds the number of the righteous.
Finally Enoch concludes his vision with praise:
“22:14 Then I blessed the Lord of Glory, and said: ‘Blessed are you O Yahweh, Lord of Righteousness, who rules over everything forever.’”
The vision of Sheol therefore emphasizes several key ideas: the dead rest within the earth, they remain there until the time of judgement, and they are separated according to their deeds. The First Book of Enoch thus provides one of the earliest and most detailed descriptions of the structure of Sheol in Jewish literature.