After Life (16) - Valley of Himmon

The most common image used by Jesus to describe the fate of those who reject him is the word in the Greek New Testament translated as “hell". “Gehenna" is not a Greek word, but a transliteration of two Hebrew words. “Ge” is the Hebrew word for gully, gorge or valley. “Himmon” is a foreign word and is probably the name of a Jebusite man who lived in Jerusalem before the Exodus (Jos 15:8). Gehenna (Ge Himmon) is the name for a valley or gulch outside the city of Jerusalem.

The Valley of Himmon was a place where children had been sacrificed to Molech and where Baal had been worshiped (Jer 32:35). In Jesus time, it had become the rubbish dump for the city of Jerusalem. Fires in the valley burned continually for the destruction of garbage. Sulphur was put on decomposing garbage to reduce the spread of disease. So when according to Matthew, Jesus said,

It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell (Matt 5:29; cf Matt 5:30;18:8; 18:9).

He was really saying,

It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into the rubbish dump.

The rubbish dump is place where stuff is discarded and destroyed. Things that are no longer required are sent there for destruction. They have no value, so they can be destroyed and forgotten. The rubbish dump is not a place of torture or torment.When Jesus said that a person’s body would be thrown in the rubbish dump, he was saying that they were of no value to anyone. Their body could be destroyed and forgotten.