Definition of Gehena

Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom, on the S. of Jerusalem, with Tophet (q. v.) at its eastern end; became the symbol of hell from the fires kept burning in it night and day to consume the poisonous gases of the offal accumulated in it.

Ge*hen"na (g&esl;*h&ebreve;n"n&adot;), n. [L. Gehenna, Gr. Ge`enna, Heb. Gē Hinnōm.] (Jewish Hist.) The valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, where some of the Israelites sacrificed their children to Moloch, which, on this account, was afterward regarded as a place of abomination, and made a receptacle for all the refuse of the city, perpetual fires being kept up in order to prevent pestilential effluvia. In the New Testament the name is transferred, by an easy metaphor, to Hell.

The pleasant valley of Hinnom. Tophet thence
And black Gehenna called, the type of Hell.

Milton.

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