For those in Christ, death is called sleep, and Jesus promised, “today you will be with Me in Paradise.” In Genesis 37:35, the Hebrew word is Sheol (H7585): It is the Old Testament’s name for the realm of the dead, the place the dead were pictured as going down to. Some English Bibles put ‘the grave’ or ‘hell’; the Berean...
Get DeepWordWhat the original says
Behind “Sheol” in this verse is the Hebrew word Sheol itself (said sheh-OLE): the Berean keeps the name.
It is the Old Testament’s name for the realm of the dead, the place the dead were pictured as going down to. Some English Bibles put ‘the grave’ or ‘hell’; the Berean keeps the name Sheol.
This form, she’olah, has an ending that means ‘toward’: ‘to Sheol’. Jacob says he will ‘go down’, the verb that often goes with Sheol.
In the Berean Standard Bible it is ‘Sheol’ 65 times: the name is kept almost every time. King Hezekiah, sick and afraid, says he “must go through the gates of Sheol” (Isaiah 38:10):
Word by word
| אֶל | בְּנִי | אָבֵל | שְׁאֹלָה | וַיֵּבְךְּ | אֹתוֹ | אָבִיו |
| to | son · my | mourning | Sheol · towards | and · he wept for | him | father · his |
Original form
What this tells us
Jacob’s sons have sold their brother Joseph into slavery and brought home his torn, bloodstained robe. Jacob believes his favorite son is dead: “All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.” His words are one of the Bible’s oldest pictures of death: “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” Sheol is the Old Testament’s name for the realm of the dead, where the dead go, out of sight and below. Jacob does not explain it. He only knows his son is gone, and that he will follow him there grieving. The Old Testament says honest, hard things about Sheol: it can be pictured as silence and shadow. Yet even there God is not absent: “if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there” (Psalm 139:8). And Jacob’s story does not end in this verse. Joseph is alive, and years later Jacob tells him, “I never expected to see your face again,” and then, “but now God has let me see your children as well” (Genesis 48:11). Grief can feel like going down with the one you lost. This verse shows that God’s people have felt exactly that, and that their story, and God’s part in it, was not over.
What the original says
Behind “Sheol” in this verse is the same Hebrew word, Sheol (said sheh-OLE).
It is the same word: the realm of the dead. Here it is pictured as having a hand, a grip on people.
This form, she’ol, comes after miyyad, ‘from the hand of’: word for word, ‘from the hand of Sheol’. The verb before it, yifdeh, ‘he will redeem’, is a word for paying a price to set someone free.
In the Berean Standard Bible it is ‘Sheol’ 65 times. Hosea uses the same picture: “I will ransom them from the power of Sheol” (Hosea 13:14):
Word by word
| יִפְדֶּה | נַפְשִׁי | מִיַּד | שְׁאוֹל | כִּי | יִקָּחֵנִי | סֶלָה |
| he will redeem | life · my | from · hand of | Sheol | for | he will take · me | Selah |
Original form
What this tells us
Psalm 49 is a song about money and death. It speaks to “both low and high, rich and poor alike” (Psalm 49:2), and it says no one can buy a way out: “No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God” (Psalm 49:7). Wealth stays behind when its owner dies. Then the writer says what money cannot do and God can: “But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself.” The word is Sheol again, the realm of the dead, pictured as a hand that holds on. God pays the price no one else could pay and takes the psalmist out of its grip. ‘Take’ is the same verb used of Enoch, who “walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away” (Genesis 5:24). Christians read this psalm in different ways, some as hope of rescue from an early death and others as an early glimpse of life beyond death. Paul later sings the full victory: “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Whatever you can or cannot afford in this life, this verse says the price that matters most is one God pays. What would it mean to rest your future in his hands rather than your own?
What the original says
Behind “has fallen asleep” in this verse is the Greek word koimaō (said koy-MAH-oh).
It means to sleep, to fall asleep, and the New Testament uses it again and again for dying.
This form, kekoimētai, describes something that has happened and still stands: he has fallen asleep, and is asleep now. A few words later Jesus says what he will do: exypnisō, ‘wake him up’.
In the Berean Standard Bible it is ‘asleep’ 13 times, counting its other forms. When Stephen died, Luke writes simply, “he fell asleep” (Acts 7:60):
Word by word
| ὁ | φίλος | ἡμῶν | κεκοίμηται | ἀλλὰ | πορεύομαι | ἵνα |
| the | friend | of us | has fallen asleep | but | I go | that |
Original form
What this tells us
Two sisters have sent Jesus a message: “Lord, the one You love is sick” (John 11:3). Even so, “He stayed where He was for two days” (John 11:6). Then he says to his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.” The word is koimaō, to fall asleep. The disciples take it literally and are relieved: “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will get better” (John 11:12). So Jesus has to say it plainly: “Lazarus is dead” (John 11:14). He had chosen a word for death that expects a waking. The rest of the chapter shows why. Before he goes to the tomb, Jesus tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). Then he weeps with the mourners and calls Lazarus out of the grave. Think of putting a child to bed: you say goodnight because you expect to say good morning. If you have lost someone who trusted Christ, this is the word the New Testament uses for them: asleep, not gone for good. The One who spoke it also wept at a friend’s grave.
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Download on the App StoreWhat the original says
Behind “those who sleep in death” in this verse is koimaō again (said koy-MAH-oh).
It is the same word as in John 11:11: to sleep, and so, for believers, to die.
This form, koimōmenōn, describes people in the middle of it: ‘those who are sleeping’. Paul’s next words say why he writes: so that you ‘may not grieve’ like those without hope.
In the Berean Standard Bible it is ‘asleep’ 13 times. Paul uses it again in the next verse: “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14):
Word by word
| ἀδελφοί | περὶ | τῶν | κοιμωμένων | ἵνα | μὴ | λυπῆσθε |
| brothers | concerning | those | falling asleep | so that | not | you may be grieved |
Original form
What this tells us
Paul had to leave the young church in Thessalonica in a hurry, by night (Acts 17:10). Since then some of its members have died, and the others are worried about them. Paul writes, “Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.” The word is koimaō, sleep. Paul does not say Christians should not grieve. He says they grieve differently, not “like the rest, who are without hope.” Grief with hope still weeps, but it weeps toward a morning. Then he gives the reason: “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). He ends, “Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18). Christians differ on what the dead know before that morning: many believe they are with Christ at once, some that they sleep until the resurrection, and Catholic teaching adds purgatory, a final cleansing; all of them hold to the resurrection itself. If you are grieving, you are allowed to. This verse does not take your tears away; it gives them somewhere to look.
What the original says
Behind “those who have fallen asleep” in this verse is koimaō (said koy-MAH-oh).
It is the same word: to fall asleep, used here for all who have died.
This form, kekoimēmenōn, describes people who have fallen asleep and remain so. Just before it comes aparchē, ‘firstfruits’: the first sheaf of a harvest, brought to God as the promise of the rest.
In the Berean Standard Bible it is ‘asleep’ 13 times. Paul uses it again later in this chapter: “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51):
Word by word
| ἐγήγερται | ἐκ | νεκρῶν | ἀπαρχὴ | τῶν | κεκοιμημένων | ἐγένετο |
| has been raised | out from | dead | firstfruit | of those | having fallen asleep | he became |
Original form
What this tells us
Some in the church at Corinth were saying there is no resurrection of the dead. Paul asks them, “how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:12), and spells out what would follow: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). Then he turns: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” The word for asleep is koimaō again. Notice that Jesus is not described as asleep; he is raised. Those who belong to him are sleeping, and he is the first of the harvest. Firstfruits were the first sheaf of the harvest, brought to the priest as a sign that the whole field would follow (Leviticus 23:10). Paul says the rest will come in order: “Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him” (1 Corinthians 15:23). Think of the first green shoot in a field after a long winter: it tells you what the whole field is about to do. Your hope for the people you have lost, and for yourself, rests on something that has already happened. Jesus has been raised, and the harvest is on its way.
What the original says
Behind the word “Paradise” in this verse is the Greek word paradeisos (said pah-RAH-day-sos).
It means a park or garden, and so a place of delight. Strong’s says the word came into Greek from further east; the Greek Old Testament uses it for the garden of Eden.
This form, paradeisō, is the ‘in’ form: ‘in Paradise’. Jesus’ sentence begins with sēmeron, ‘today’: word for word, ‘today with Me you will be in Paradise’.
The word is used only 3 times in the New Testament. Paul says he “was caught up to Paradise” (2 Corinthians 12:4):
Word by word
| σήμερον | μετ᾽ | ἐμοῦ | ἔσῃ | ἐν | τῷ | παραδείσῳ |
| today | with | Me | you will be | in | the | Paradise |
Original form
What this tells us
Jesus is dying on a cross between two criminals. One of them mocks him. The other says, “We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41). Then he asks, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” (Luke 23:42). Jesus answers, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The word for Paradise is paradeisos, a garden, the word the Greek Old Testament used for Eden. A man with no time left to earn anything is promised a garden, and the company of Jesus, that very day. Paul speaks the same way about his own death: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed” (Philippians 1:23). Christians who believe the dead sleep until the resurrection read this verse as ‘I tell you today, you will be with Me’, since the oldest Greek copies have no commas, while most Bibles place the comma before ‘today’; on either reading, the promise to the dying man is ‘with Me’. If you are afraid of death, notice what Jesus promised a man who had nothing to offer: not a test, but his own presence. ‘With Me’ is the heart of the answer.
What the original says
Behind “depart” in this verse is the Greek word analuō (said ah-nah-LOO-oh).
It means to loosen or break up, and so to set off, to depart. Strong’s gives ‘to break up, i.e. depart’.
This form, analusai, is the ‘to …’ form: ‘to depart’. Paul joins it to another: ‘to depart and to be with Christ’, two sides of one event.
It is used only 2 times in the New Testament: ‘depart’ here, and ‘return’ in Luke 12:36, where servants wait for their master to come home from a wedding banquet:
Word by word
| ἔχων | εἰς | τὸ | ἀναλῦσαι | καὶ | σὺν | Χριστῷ |
| having | for | the | to depart | and | with | Christ |
Original form
What this tells us
Paul is in chains, writing to friends in Philippi, and he does not know whether his case will end in release or death. He says, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21), and admits he cannot decide: “So what shall I choose? I do not know” (Philippians 1:22). The word for “depart” is analuō, to loosen and set off, like a boat untied from the dock. For Paul, departing means one thing above all: “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.” Death is not the end of his journey but the way to Christ’s side. Yet he chooses to stay for their sake: “But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:24). In another letter he says the same: “We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). For Paul, dying in Christ is a homecoming, and living in Christ is work worth doing. Paul was not in a hurry to die, and not afraid to. Somewhere between those two is a peace you can ask God for: whatever comes, to be with Christ.
Behind "sleep" are 14 different words
Your English Bible says "sleep" 101 times. Behind it stand several Hebrew and Greek words:
Reflect
Read it as yours
Jesus said this to a dying man who had nothing to offer. Read it slowly:
Name it
Who are you thinking of as you read this, or what do you fear about your own death? Write it down, and read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 beside it: grief, with hope.
Carry with you
If death is a sleep for those in Christ, what does that change about how you think of the people you have lost?
A note
If you are grieving, or afraid of dying, you do not have to carry it alone. A pastor, a counselor or a trusted friend can sit with you in it.