Jesus used the well-known Hinnom valley fires (and not some unfamiliar place accessible only after death) as an analogy of the fire to be used to kill (not torture!) forever those who refuse to repent of hatred, anger and open condemnation of another person: "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'RACA!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'YOU FOOL!' shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matthew 5:22) The literal meaning of the Greek word Gehenna (Strong's Concordance #G1067), translated as "hell" in Jesus' statement, is the 'valley of Hinnom.' Other places where Gehenna is erroneously translated as "hell" include Matthew 18:9, 23:33; Mark 9:43 and others. The first mention in the Bible of the valley is in the book of Joshua where the borders of the tribe of Judah are defined: "And the border went up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to the southern slope of the Jebusite city (which is Jerusalem). The border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Hinnom westward . . ." (Joshua 15:8, NKJV throughout)
Hinnom is a deep, narrow ravine on the south end of Jerusalem. Anciently (before the time of Jesus), it was at this location that idolatrous Israelites worshipped the pagan gods Moloch (Molech) and Baal using, among other things, fire. Many of the kings of Judah (and Israel), like Ahaz, personally endorsed the worship of false gods using fire: "Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king (of Judah, beginning in 735 B.C.), and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord, as his father David had done. For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the Baals. He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and BURNED HIS CHILDREN IN THE FIRE, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel." (2Chronicles 28:1-3)
One of the reforms of Josiah, who reigned over the Kingdom of Judah from 640 to 609 B.C., was to destroy those places used to worship false gods. The Bible states one of the practices stopped by Josiah was: "And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter PASS THROUGH THE FIRE to Molech." (2Kings 23:10)
What does it mean to 'pass through the fire?' Two commentaries on the meaning of this verse state: "The rabbins say that Topheth had its name from toph, a drum, because instruments of this kind were used to drown the cries of the children that were put into the burning arms of Molech, to be scorched to death. " (Adam Clark's Commentary on the Entire Bible) "Topheth, (a place) very near Jerusalem, where was the image of Molech, to whom some sacrificed their children, burning them in the fire, others dedicated them, making them pass between two fires." (John Wesley's Explanatory Notes)
At the time of Jesus Hinnom valley was not used to worship false gods. Fire however, because of its long tradition of use, continued in the place albeit with a still unpleasant purpose: "After the return of the Jews from captivity, this place was held in such abhorrence that, by the example of Josiah, it was made the place where to throw all the dead carcasses and filth of the city, and was not infrequently the place of public executions." (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible on Matthew 5:22) " . . . the valley of the son of Hinnom, was a place near Jerusalem, where the filth and offal of the city were thrown, and where a CONSTANT FIRE was kept up to consume the wretched remains of executed criminals. It was a human shambles, a public chopping-block, where the arms and legs of men and women were quartered off by thousands." (Adam Clark's Commentary on the Entire Bible) "a fire was kept burning in it to consume the carrion and all kinds of impurities that collected about the capital. " (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary on Matthew 5:22)
Some commentaries have also suggested that Judas, after he betrayed Jesus, used a tree near a precipice overlooking Hinnom from which to hang himself. | 