"If I make my bed in hell" from Psalm 139:8

Question

Psalm 139:8 (KJV),

8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

I am interested to know what the Psalmist meant by making his "bed in hell". It sounds like an idiom to me. Is it a metaphor for death? Does it simply mean having a low point in life?

What does "make my bed in hell" mean?

Answer 1

The word "hell" in this text is from the Hebrew word "sheol" (שְׁאוֹל), and can mean grave, pit, or tomb. To make one's bed there, obviously, would be a euphemism for death or dying.

So the Psalmist is saying: "...if I go to my grave, you are there."

In effect, you are correct: it is essentially a poetic metaphor for death.

An interesting verse by which to compare it is found in Job, also using the same Hebrew word.

If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness. (Job 17:13, KJV)

In this couplet we also find the concept of making one's bed there in the grave (sheol).

Conclusion

The Hebrew word for "hell" (sheol) in Psalm 139:8 is a reference to the grave, and can be a euphemism for death.

Answer 2

Because the translation of the Hebrew word, "sheol" is rather controversial, most modern versions leave it untranslated. A few are brave enough to translate it such as:

• NIV: depths
• NLT: grave
• KJV: hell
• NKJV: hell
• CEV: world of the dead
• GNT: world of the dead
• ISV: [place of] the dead

In the specific case of Ps 139, "sheol" is part of a series of places to poetically, and hyperbolically describe the omnipresence of God:

• V7: Where can I flee from Your presence?
• V8a: If I ascend to the heavens, You are there;
• V8b: if I make my bed in the depths/sheol, You are there.
• V9a: If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
• V9b: if I settle by the farthest sea, (V10) even there Your hand will guide me;

This passage forms part of the true doctrine of Theology (teaching about God) that He is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, eternal, omnitemporal, etc.

APPENDIX - שְׁאוֹל Sheol

I include this appendix about שְׁאוֹל "sheol" only for completeness and how it is used in the OT Hebrew. It is simply the place where all dead people end up.

• Sheol is the destination for both the righteous (Gen 37:35, 42:38, 44:29, 31, Job 14:13, Ps 16:10) and wicked (Ps 9:17, 49:13, 14, Ps 55:15, Prov 5:5)
• It is possible to go alive into sheol, Num 16:33, Ps 55:15, Prov 1:12
• There is no consciousness in sheol, Ps 6:5, Ps 31:17, Eccl 9:10, Isa 38:10.
• In several places, "sheol" is used as a metaphor for deep, beneath the surface, Jonah 2:2, Amos 9:2, Isa 7:11.
• God can take people out of the grave, Hos 13:14. Note that 1 Cor 15:55 quotes this verse concerning the resurrection of the righteous.