The Jews associated with this valley these two ideas, (1) that of the sufferings of the victims that had there been sacrificed; and (2) that of filth and corruption. It became thus to the popular mind a symbol of the abode of the wicked hereafter. It came to signify hell as the place of the wicked. "It might be shown by infinite examples that the Jews expressed hell, or the place of the damned, by this word. The word Gehenna [the Greek contraction of Hinnom] was never used in the time of Christ in any other sense than to denote the place of future punishment." About this fact there can be no question. In this sense the word is used eleven times in our Lord's discourses (Matthew 23:33; Luke 12:5; Matthew 5:22 , etc.).
Easton's Bible Dictionary was written by Matthew George Easton, who lived from 1823-1894. This Scottish Presbyterian's other significant literary achievements were his English translations of two of Franz Delitzsch's commentaries. The nearly 4,000 entries cover material from Aaron to Zuzims!Wikipedia
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