RE: Gehenna a real physical place in Israel?
Alvin Eriol > March 1st, 2021, 10:34 PM
The valley of Hinnom in Jerusalem to the southwest of the Temple Mount (joined in the south at the base of the hill by the Kidron valley to the east) was used in the days of the early, "wicked", kings of Judah for child sacrifices by fire to Canaanite gods. The Phoenicians and especially the Carthaginians were said to be especially dedicated to this sort of rites. "Molech" is thought by scholars now not to be an actual deity but a word for the type of altar where this was done. The valley was also called "Tophet".
After the reforms of Josiah, and the return from exile, the place was used as a garbage dump that was perpetually smouldering and burning. Jesus and other teachers of his time used the image of burning smouldering Ge'Hinnom as an illustration of what the afterlife holds for the wicked, which resulted in "Gehenna" and "Tophet" being used as alternate names for hell.