Reference

Job 17:16

Death as SleepWhole-Person DeathHell Terminology (Sheol/Hades/Gehenna/Lake of Fire)Sheol / The Grave
“They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.”
14

I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.

15

And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?

16

They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.

Why This Verse Was Tagged

Death as Sleep
Keyword Match
80% relevance

This verse contains specific terms directly associated with this theme.

Whole-Person Death
Semantic Discovery
80% relevance

This verse was identified through meaning similarity — its content is mathematically close to known verses in this theme, even without sharing the same vocabulary.

Sheol / The Grave
Keyword Match
70% relevance

This verse contains specific terms directly associated with this theme.

Counter-Arguments

The strongest case that this verse does not belong in this theme.

Death as Sleep

The verse speaks of "rest together in the dust," which could be interpreted as a final, permanent state rather than a temporary sleep from which one awakens.

Whole-Person Death

The verse speaks of "our rest together in the dust," which could be interpreted as the body resting while some other part of the person, not explicitly mentioned here, continues to exist or experience something. The "bars of the pit" could also refer to a state of confinement rather than non-existence.

Hell Terminology (Sheol/Hades/Gehenna/Lake of Fire)

The verse speaks of "the bars of the pit" and "dust," which are terms more readily associated with the grave or Sheol as a general place of the dead, rather than a specific place or state of punishment like Gehenna or the Lake of Fire.

Sheol / The Grave

The verse speaks of "bars of the pit" and "dust" as a shared resting place, which could be interpreted metaphorically for a state of despair or finality in life, rather than a literal destination for the dead.

Death as Sleep
Death as Sleep

Cross-References

Job 3:17Thematic

“There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.”

Isaiah 38:17Thematic

“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.”

Job 3:17Thematic

“There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.”

Psalms 143:7Thematic

“Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.”

Job 18:13Thematic

“It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength.”

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Thematic Connections

Death as SleepWhole-Person DeathHell Terminology (Sheol/Hades/Gehenna/Lake of Fire)Sheol / The Grave

Private Study Note