In the Israelite's cosmological scheme, Sheol was considered a physical place somewhere beneath the earth's surface. However, in the New Testament, there is an extensive theology of an afterlife. In regards to hell, there are three Greek words so translated. Hades, as discussed above, Gehenna, and Tartaros.
When the Old Testament was translated into Greek, the cognate Hades was used for translated for Sheol. Hades, however, did not accurately express the Hebrew understanding. Hades was understood as more than a place of the dead, but included the notion of life everlasting. Indeed, this still being debated during Jesus' life; the Sadducees, representing orthodox Judaism, insisted there was no life-after-death (cf. Matthew 22.23).
The most predominant term for "hell" in the New Testament is Gehenna. Gehenna was the name of the constantly burning garbage dump located just outside the city gates of Jerusalem. According to Jewish tradition, Gehenna will be the location of the final judgement, thus the understanding of it as a place of punishment. The term Gehennais used nearly exclusively by Jesus, appearing only one other time in the Bible (James 3.6). The currently held myth that hell is a place of eternal burning comes from the references to this garbage pit.
The final term for hell is Tartaros. This word is found only in 2 Peter 2.4 and indicates a dungeon-prison for the spirit world.
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