An Inquiry into the Scriptural Import of the Words Sheol, Hades, Tartarus, and Gehenna

One of the most consequential works of biblical criticism the movement produced. Balfour, a Scottish-born minister trained in orthodoxy, examines every biblical occurrence of the four words translated 'hell' and argues that none of them denotes a place of endless punishment — sheol and hades meaning the grave or the unseen state, gehenna the valley outside Jerusalem and the judgment that fell on Israel. The book unsettled ministers across New England, drew a famous reply from Moses Stuart of Andover, and converted many readers to Universalism.

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