H7585 — שְׁאוֹל (shᵉʼôwl)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H7585
Original: שְׁאוֹל
Transliteration: shᵉʼôwl
Pronunciation: sheh-ole'
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: Uncertain; possibly from שָׁאַל (shāʼal, H7592) — to ask, inquire; or an unused root meaning to be hollow
Occurrences: 64 unique verses (68 tokens) in OT
Books: 17
First Occurrence: Gen 37:35 — "he refused to be comforted...I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From an uncertain root; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranean retreat), including its accessories and inmates: grave, hell, pit. (Strong's H7585)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
hell / of hell / in hell / into hell / from hell / on hell / as hell	31	48.4%
grave / to the grave / in the grave / of the grave / the grave / into the grave / as the grave / grave's	26	40.6%
pit / into the pit / of the pit	3	4.7%
Other (ask it, from, the)	4	6.3%

KJV uses "hell" and "grave" almost interchangeably for this word. The "pit" renderings appear in Ezekiel alongside בּוֹר synonyms.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Jonah	1	2.1
Habakkuk	1	1.8
Proverbs	9	1.0
Isaiah	10	0.8
Job	8	0.7
Amos	1	0.7
Psalms	15	0.6
Ecclesiastes	1	0.5
Hosea	1	0.5
Ezekiel	5	0.4
Genesis	4	0.3
1 Kings	2	0.2
Numbers	2	0.2
1 Samuel	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
2 Samuel	1	0.1
Song of Solomon	1	—

Concentrated in wisdom and prophetic literature (Psalms 15v, Isaiah 10v, Proverbs 9v, Job 8v). Nearly absent from the Pentateuch (only Num 16 and Deut 32) and Historical Books (only 4 verses). Highest density in short prophetic books (Jonah, Habakkuk).

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Realm of the Dead — Universal Destination¶

Sheol receives all who die; described as below the earth and contrasted with heaven above.

Gen 37:35 — "I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning"
Ps 89:48 — "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?"
Eccl 9:10 — "there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest"
Ps 141:7 — "Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth"

2. Descent — The Directional Language of Sheol¶

Sheol is invariably below; people "go down" (yārad, 26x) into it. The spatial metaphor is consistent throughout all genres.

Num 16:33 — "They...went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them"
Job 7:9 — "he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more"
Isa 14:15 — "thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit"
Job 17:16 — "They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust"

3. Sheol and Death as Paired Terms¶

Sheol (H7585) and māvet (H4194) appear in synonymous parallelism in 15 verses, functioning as a hendiadys for the full reality of death.

2 Sam 22:6 — "The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me"
Prov 5:5 — "Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell"
Ps 18:5 — "The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me"
Hos 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"

4. Fate of the Wicked¶

The wicked go to sheol as a consequence of judgment; descent is premature or violent.

Ps 9:17 — "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God"
Ps 55:15 — "let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings"
Prov 9:18 — "the dead are there; and her guests are in the depths of hell"
Deut 32:22 — "a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell"

5. Rescue and Redemption from Sheol¶

The Psalms especially express prayer for deliverance from sheol and celebrate God's power to raise from it.

Ps 16:10 — "thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption"
Ps 30:3 — "O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive"
Ps 86:13 — "thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell"
Hos 13:14 — "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death"

6. Sheol as Insatiable¶

Sheol is personified as ever-hungry, never satisfied — a poetic figure for insatiable appetite or ambition.

Prov 27:20 — "Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied"
Isa 5:14 — "hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure"
Hab 2:5 — "who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied"
Song 8:6 — "jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occ	Typical Pattern
יָרַד (yārad)	H3381	26x (41%)	"go down to sheol" — the standard directional descent formula
מָוֶת (māvet)	H4194	15x (23%)	"death / sheol" — synonymous parallelism pair
נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh)	H5315	9x (14%)	"deliver my soul from sheol" — rescue formula
חַי (chay)	H2416	7x (11%)	"went down alive" (Num 16) or "kept alive from sheol"
בּוֹר (bôr)	H953	5x (8%)	"sheol / pit" — synonymous parallelism (Isa 14:15; Job 17:16)
שֵׂיבָה (sêybâh)	H7872	5x (8%)	"bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to sheol" (Gen 42:38; 44:29, 31)

Word Family / Cognates¶

Root is uncertain. Proposed etymology from: - H7592 שָׁאַל (shāʼal) — to ask, demand (proposed: "the place that asks" = insatiable)

No clear cognate family.

Synonyms¶

H10 אֲבַדֹּון (ʼăvaddôwn) — Abaddon / destruction; close wisdom-text parallel to sheol.
בֹּור (bôr) — pit; tool-returned underworld / descent parallel.
H2822 חֹשֶׁךְ (chôshek) — darkness; the gloom associated with the realm of the dead.
H4194 מָוֶת (mâveth) — death; sheol's most frequent poetic partner.
H7845 שַׁחַת (shaḥath) — pit / corruption; another grave-pit parallel.

Antonyms¶

H2416 חַיִּים (ḥayyîm) — life; the direct opposite of the realm of the dead.
H8064 שָׁמַיִם (shâmayim) — heaven; the vertical opposite to sheol's downward region.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
קֶבֶר (qeber)	H6913	both "grave"	qeber = specific burial site / physical tomb; sheol = realm of all the dead
בּוֹר (bôr)	H953	both "pit"	bôr = physical cistern or pit; sheol = underworld realm, used figuratively
γέεννα (géenna)	G1067	both "hell"	géenna = Valley of Hinnom, place of final fiery judgment; sheol = realm of dead (no fire imagery)
ᾅδης (háidēs)	G86	both "hell / grave"	háidēs is the LXX/NT equivalent — semantically closest; direct heir

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
001003	Regions Under the Earth	Captures sheol as the subterranean realm of the dead, alongside tool-returned neighbors like Abaddon and the pit.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
ᾅδης (háidēs) G86	58x	33.87	Dominant equivalent; primary LXX rendering
καταβαίνω (katabaínō) G2597	17x	13.15	"Go down" — sheol-descent phrases rendered as verb
θάνατος (thánatos) G2288	14x	11.98	When sheol appears in parallelism with māvet
κατάγω (katágō) G2609	10x	14.59	"Lead down" — causative descent rendering

The H7585 → G86 bridge is exceptionally strong (co-occ 58, PMI 33.87). See cross-testament trace.