New Test. Stud. vol. 34, 1988, pp. 238-249 CHAIM MILIKOWSKY WHICH GEHENNA? RETRIBUTION AND ESCHATOLOGY IN THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS AND IN EARLY JEWISH TEXTS Gehenna, we all know, is a Hebrew word which means hell. It appears often in Jewish texts of the Hellenistic and Roman periods as well as in the New Testament. In this paper we hope to show that the use of this word in Matthew and Luke, when analyzed in the context of Jewish notions of retribution, offers us an important key to understanding Matthew's and Luke's beliefs concerning eschatology, retribution, and their interrelationship. Though both Matthew and Luke refer to punishment in Gehenna, they use it to denote two very different notions of retribution. Since Jewish texts of late antiquity also know of two different Gehennas, the passages in the Synoptic Gospels are greatly illuminated by this comparison. As we shall see, the eschatological beliefs of Matthew and Luke, as well as their notions of reward and retribution, differ greatly, and, as a consequence, they use the same word - Gehenna - to denote very different'ideas. In the New Testament the word Gehenna appears eleven times, seven times in Matthew, twice in Mark, and once each in Luke and James. On the basis of these occurrences, with a sidewise glance at the evidence of other Jewish texts, Jeremias concluded that Gehenna in the New Testa- ment is 'the place of punishment in the last judgment'. 1 However, an analysis of the relevant texts indicates that Jeremias' attempt to establish a unified scheme of retribution and eschatology in the New Testament is marred. Before we turn to the analysis of the passages themselves, it is essential that we briefly survey the history of the word Gehenna in both pre- and post-New Testament Jewish literature. The term Gehenna or gehinnam (in its rabbinic Hebrew vocalization) 2 developed from the name of a topographical landmark, a valley on the border of the City of David. This valley is generally called gy' bn hnm (valley of the Son of Hinnom) in the Bible, but occasionally simply gy' hinm, 3 which is almost identical to the rabbinic word. During the course of the Judaean monarchy, this valley became the centre for pagan cultic activity, especially the sacrifice of children by fire. 4 Isaiah 30. 33 tells us that Assyria is destined for tofet, which is in the