Translated as "grave", "pit", or "abode of the dead", is the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible's underworld, a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life, a place of stillness and darkness cut off from God.
The inhabitants of Sheol were the "shades" (rephaim), entities without personality or strength. Under some circumstances they could be contacted by the living, as the Witch of Endor contacts the shade of Samuel for Saul, but such practices are forbidden (Deuteronomy 18:10). While the Old Testament writings describe Sheol as the permanent place of the dead, in the Second Temple period (roughly 500 BCE-70 CE) a more diverse set of ideas evolved: in some texts, Sheol is the home of both the righteous and the wicked, separated into respective compartments; in others, it was a place of punishment, meant for the wicked dead alone. When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek in ancient Alexandria around 200 BC the word "Hades" (underworld) was substituted for Sheol, and this is reflected in the New Testament where Hades is both the underworld of the dead and the personification of the evil it represents.
Rephaite ( /ˈrɛfi.aɪt/; Heb. plural רפאים, Rephaim) is a Northwest Semitic term that occurs in the Hebrew Bible as well as other, non-Jewish ancient texts from the region. It can refer either to a mythical race of giants, or to dead ancestors who are residents of the Netherworld.
The inhabitants of Sheol were the "shades" (rephaim), entities without personality or strength. Under some circumstances they could be contacted by the living, as the Witch of Endor contacts the shade of Samuel for Saul, but such practices are forbidden (Deuteronomy 18:10). While the Old Testament writings describe Sheol as the permanent place of the dead, in the Second Temple period (roughly 500 BCE-70 CE) a more diverse set of ideas evolved: in some texts, Sheol is the home of both the righteous and the wicked, separated into respective compartments; in others, it was a place of punishment, meant for the wicked dead alone. When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek in ancient Alexandria around 200 BC the word "Hades" (underworld) was substituted for Sheol, and this is reflected in the New Testament where Hades is both the underworld of the dead and the personification of the evil it represents.
Rephaite ( /ˈrɛfi.aɪt/; Heb. plural רפאים, Rephaim) is a Northwest Semitic term that occurs in the Hebrew Bible as well as other, non-Jewish ancient texts from the region. It can refer either to a mythical race of giants, or to dead ancestors who are residents of the Netherworld.