Correspondence: Grave; Brotherly Kindness and Charity

 •  4 min. read  •  grade level: 7
Question 80: What are the words for “grave” in Hebrew and Greek? Does the Hebrew word “Sheol” or the Greek word “Hades” ever mean the grave?
Answer: You do not need to be a Hebrew or Greek scholar to perceive the modern infidelity about a place of punishment. Any English reader may see in such a book as “Dr. Young’s Analytical Concordance”, that the Hebrew word “qeber” or “qeburah”, means “grave”, “tomb”, or “sepulcher”, and that the translators have improperly translated “Sheol” as meaning the grave in the following scriptures: Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 3135And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. (Genesis 37:35)
38And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. (Genesis 42:38)
29And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. (Genesis 44:29)
31It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. (Genesis 44:31); 1 Sam. 2:66The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. (1 Samuel 2:6); 1 Kings 2:6, 96Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. (1 Kings 2:6)
9Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. (1 Kings 2:9); Job 7:9; 14:13; 17:13; 21:13; 24:199As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. (Job 7:9)
13O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! (Job 14:13)
13If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness. (Job 17:13)
13They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. (Job 21:13)
19Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned. (Job 24:19); Psa. 6:5; 30:3; 31:17; 49:14, 15; 88:3; 89:48; 141:75For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? (Psalm 6:5)
3O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (Psalm 30:3)
17Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. (Psalm 31:17)
14Like 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 in the grave from their dwelling. 15But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. (Psalm 49:14‑15)
3For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. (Psalm 88:3)
48What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. (Psalm 89:48)
7Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. (Psalm 141:7); Prov. 1:12; 30:1612Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: (Proverbs 1:12)
16The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough. (Proverbs 30:16); Eccl. 9:1010Whatsoever 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. (Ecclesiastes 9:10); Sol. 8:66Set 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, which hath a most vehement flame. (Song of Solomon 8:6); Isa. 14:11; 38:10,1811Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. (Isaiah 14:11)
10I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. (Isaiah 38:10)
18For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. (Isaiah 38:18); Ezek. 31:1515Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. (Ezekiel 31:15); Hos. 13:1414I 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 shall be hid from mine eyes. (Hosea 13:14).
The Greek word for “grave” is “mnema” or “mnemeion”. 1 Corinthians 15:5555O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55) is “hades,” not “grave.”
“Sheol” or “Hades” mean the unseen state in every place where either word occurs. The unseen state is the separation of the soul from the body, without determining where; but Scripture shows that the body is in the grave, and that the soul or spirit is either in bliss or woe. When the Lord Jesus died, He commended His Spirit to His Father, so that He was absent from the body, present with the Father; and the saved thief was absent from the body and present with the Lord who had saved him; and this is paradise, the garden of delights, not a prison underneath the earth, but in heaven above (2 Cor. 12:2,42I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. (2 Corinthians 12:2)
4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (2 Corinthians 12:4)).
The Lord Jesus did not go into any prison to preach, or to free captives when He was dead. He was for the time in death, but could not be holden of it (Acts 2:2424Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (Acts 2:24)).
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16), the body goes into the grave; Lazarus is seen in the place of bliss (Abraham’s bosom is that to the Jews): the rich man is in torments; both are in the unseen state.
We do not speak now of either the wicked who die without Christ, or the Christian, washed in the blood of Christ, as being in Hades; for the truth enables us to speak with certainty of those who are lost as awaiting judgment, while the Christian is with Christ, which is “far better” than being here; but he is still waiting for Christ’s coming, when he will receive his body, glorified with Christ — glory belongs to the body.
“Hell” is “Hades” — the unseen — in Matthew 11:23; 16:1823And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (Matthew 11:23)
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18); Luke 10:15; 16:2315And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. (Luke 10:15)
23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (Luke 16:23); Acts 2:27,3127Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Acts 2:27)
31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:31); Revelation 1:18;6:8; 20:13-1418I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:18)
8And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:8)
13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Revelation 20:13‑14).
“Hell” is “Gehenna” — the place of suffering — in Matthew 5:22,29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,3322But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:22)
29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Matthew 5:29‑30)
28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
9And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. (Matthew 18:9)
15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. (Matthew 23:15)
33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33); Mark 9:43, 45,4743And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: (Mark 9:43)
45And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: (Mark 9:45)
47And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: (Mark 9:47); Luke 12:55But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. (Luke 12:5); James 3:66And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. (James 3:6).
Question 81: What is the difference between brotherly kindness and charity, rendered in the New Translation “brotherly love” and “love”? N. F. C.
Answer: Brotherly love is a precious fruit of grace. It has Christians in view, because they belong to the Lord. When genuine and pure, it flows from grace.
It is apt to avoid all that is painful to its objects, not to mar the mutual pleasantness of intercourse, and thus make them the measure of its conduct. If love of the brethren is our first object, we are apt to conform to them. We are therefore enjoined to put on love, which is the bond of perfectness (Col. 3:1414And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. (Colossians 3:14)). In 2 Peter 1:77And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. (2 Peter 1:7), we have, “In brotherly love, love.” This love will cause genuine brotherly love, but it brings in God — love is His nature. “Hereby know we that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments” (1 John 5:22By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. (1 John 5:2)). This love is exercised as in the presence of God, and therefore rejects what is inconsistent with His presence. It is the spirit of love working, but the Spirit of God — the Spirit of truth — is the power, and therefore rejects and rebukes what is against the truth. It rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. (1 Cor. 13:4-74Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4‑7)).
If our brotherly love is not springing from this fountain, it easily sinks down to natural kindness, so that man may be given the prominent place instead of God, and evil, that should be rebuked, may be covered up for peace’s sake. Love gives to God what rightly belongs to Him, for it is the activity of His nature. His love was shown at the cross in judging evil. Christ bore the judgment for our sins.
There can be no true love in indifference to evil, yet it covers a multitude of sins, for it goes after the one who is gone astray or is in danger of going astray, and by its activity the sins never come to view. We should not be careless about sin, nor should we be careless about our brother’s real good.
Divine love abhors evil, but rises over it, dealing with it in needed chastisement. Our brotherly love should flow from divine love having its true place in our hearts.