Sheol

Sheol (Hebrew, often rendered the grave, hell, or the pit in older translations, and transliterated as Sheol in modern versions) designates in the Old Testament the realm of the dead — the place to which all the deceased descend, righteous and wicked alike. It is portrayed as a shadowy underworld beneath the earth (Numbers 16:30–33; Deuteronomy 32:22; Job 26:6), a land of silence and darkness (Psalm 115:17; Job 10:21–22) from which return was impossible.

The Hebrew concept of Sheol does not clearly distinguish between the fates of the righteous and wicked, though some texts hint at degrees of existence within it (Isaiah 14:9–11; Ezekiel 32:17–32). It corresponds to the Greek Hades used in the Septuagint. The New Testament develops a sharper distinction, with Hades reserved for the wicked (Luke 16:23; Revelation 20:13–14) while the righteous dead dwell with Christ in paradise. The resurrection of Christ is described as his not being abandoned to Hades (Acts 2:27, quoting Psalm 16:10), marking the beginning of death's defeat.