Ancient Hebrew Cosmology
“Cosmology is the theory and lore of how the world or universe is structured. A kind of map or picture of the cosmos, cosmology is a way of naming things and putting them in their proper places.” James D. Tabor
Note, in the smooth illustration above, that the realm of the dead is called Sheol by the ancient Hebrews, to be distinguished from the Christian version of Hell. The difference is to some extent a matter of semantics. Eternal punishment for sin and life after death are conflated with the word Hell, whereas the “idea of Sheol is negative in contrast to the world of life and light above, but there is no idea of judgment or of reward and punishment.” The fascinating Biblical distinctions are traced through history by James Tabor in the rest of this essay.
Illustration by Michael Paukner (via)
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