שְׁאוֹל sheol
Hebrew word for “hell” · Strong’s H7585 · used 66 times in 64 verses
Meaning
Sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit;
How it is translated
Glosses given for sheol in context, with how often each is used:
- sheol 53
- sheol towards 9
- like sheol 3
- more than sheol 1
Where it is used
| Book | Uses | Per 1,000 words | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psalms | 16 | 0.8 | |
| Isaiah | 10 | 0.6 | |
| Proverbs | 9 | 1.3 | |
| Job | 8 | 1.0 | |
| Ezekiel | 5 | 0.3 | |
| Genesis | 4 | 0.2 | |
| Numbers | 2 | 0.1 | |
| 1 Kings | 2 | 0.2 | |
| Hosea | 2 | 0.8 | |
| Deuteronomy | 1 | 0.1 | |
| 1 Samuel | 1 | 0.1 | |
| 2 Samuel | 1 | 0.1 |
Also in 5 more books.
Chapters where it is used most
Isaiah 14 (3), Ezekiel 31 (3), Genesis 44 (2), Numbers 16 (2), 1 Kings 2 (2), Job 17 (2), Psalms 49 (2), Proverbs 15 (2), Isaiah 28 (2), Isaiah 38 (2)
Forms
- שׁאול 38
- שׁאלה 6
- שׁאולה 4
- משׁאול 4
- בשׁאול 4
- לשׁאול 4
- כשׁאול 3
- שׁאל 2
- לשׁאולה 1
Words used with it
Words that share verses with sheol more often than their overall frequency would suggest:
- יָרַד yarad “to go down” 26
- מָוֶת mavet “death” 14
- שֵׂיבָה sevah “greyheaded” 5
- נֶפֶשׁ nephesh “soul” 9
- בּוֹר bor “pit” 5
- חַי chay “alive” 7
- יָגוֹן yagon “sorrow” 3
- שָׂבֵעַ sava “to satisfy” 4
- תַּחְתִּי tachti “lower” 3
- אֵת et “with” 6
- גּוֹי goy “nation” 5
- חֶבֶל chevel “cord” 3
Key verses
The verses using sheol that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):
- Deuteronomy 32:22 — 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…
- Psalms 9:17 — The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
- Psalms 16:10 — For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
- Psalms 49:14 — Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume…
- Psalms 86:13 — For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
- Psalms 116:3 — The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 — Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
- Song of Solomon 8:6 — Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire,…
- Isaiah 28:15 — Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come…
- Hosea 13:14 — I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance…
- Jonah 2:2 — And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
- Habakkuk 2:5 — Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be…
See all 64 verses in the Word Atlas
Hebrew and Greek text, tagging, glosses and lexicon definitions: STEPBible.org, Tyndale House Cambridge (TAHOT, TAGNT, TBESH, TBESG; CC BY 4.0), adapted. Counts follow King James verse numbering; a word counts each time it is written.