Sheol has a myriad of different definitions ranging from a tomb (Theodore Lewis 101) to simply a place where the dead reside. There is, and always will be, controversy over what Sheol actually is. Sheol is used in countless ways in the Bible. Therefore, it is difficult to say what Sheol actually consists of. By debunking the definitions of Sheol, the characteristics of Sheol, and the people who reside in Sheol, the reader will have a better understanding of what Sheol truly is. Sheol is found in the depths of the earth. Most passages in the Bible refer to people “descended” into the Underworld. This means that Sheol is in fact located beneath the earth. In his article Dead, Abode of the, Theodore Lewis, professor of Near Eastern studies at John Hopkins University, mentions that Sheol “comes down”; Sheol is the lowest place on earth (Lewis 102). Lewis also states that Sheol is like the underworld, a place of no return (Lewis 102). Throughout the Bible, Sheol is also called a pit or grave. Proverbs 1:12 states, “let us swallow them up alive and whole like Sheol, like those who go down to the pit.” This passage states that Sheol is sometimes considered a pit. Theodore Lewis also compares Sheol to a pit (Lewis 101). Lewis thinks of Sheol as a pit where people live, almost like an underworld. Additionally, Lewis compares Sheol to a tomb (Lewis 102). Lewis declares that Sheol is a grave because no one knows anything and no one worships God (Lewis 102). There are many different characteristics that make Sheol like a pit or a tomb. Sheol is often considered dark, barren, and lifeless (Lewis 101). When people go to the Underworld they are unable to get out. In her commentary, The Lesson of Assyria, Margaret Odell, Professor o...... middle of paper ......ke a tomb or pit, where the deceased reside (Lewis 101, Margaret Odell 394). While it is difficult to say what Sheol actually consists of, we know that Sheol has many different characteristics, ranging from the lifeless and barren to the gates that enclose it. Furthermore, we know that Sheol contains both the wicked and the non-wicked; however, God delivers the righteous from the Underworld. Ultimately a decision is made whether or not to spend eternity in the underworld. Being righteous, God may one day deliver someone from the underworld, just as "he brought up my soul from the underworld, he brought me back to life from those who went down into the pit" (Psalm 30.3) Works Cited Lewis, T.J. "Death, abode of IL ." Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2: pp. 104-105. Ed. by David Noël Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Odell, M. S. “The Lesson of Assyria.” Ezekiel, pp. 391-399. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Pub., 2005.