Question of the Week: Why does the Apostle Peter mention Tartarus from Greek Mythology?
He doesn’t. At least he doesn’t mention Tartarus as it was understood in Greek Mythology. The word Tartarus is a Greek word. And like most words in spoken or written language, those words have meaning. When the Apostle Peter wrote to the church about false teachers in the early church, he makes a point comparing them to demons. The argument is fairly simple. If God didn’t let the angels get away with deception, then He won’t let humans get away with it either. The passage in question is in his second and final epistle discussing this very issue.
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
2 Peter 2:4 (NKJV)
The point continues down to 2 Peter 2:9, but the focus of the question is on the word “hell.” In Greek, Tartarus means “sunless abyss” or “bottomless pit.” The Apostle Peter is speaking to a primarily Greek speaking audience, therefore it would be appropriate for him to use Greek words. However, it would be inappropriate to conclude that if Greek Pagans used this word to refer to the lowest section of the Underworld where Zeus imprisoned the Titans, that is and could only be what the word could mean. Peter’s audience needs to be kept in mind as well. The existence of Zeus, Titans, the Underworld, and many other aspects of Tartarus as the pagans defined it are antithetical to Christianity and Judaism. There are no gods besides YHVH (Isaiah 44:6). There are no such thing as a species that predated the gods known as titans (Isaiah 43:10). The pagan descriptions of the Underworld describe the final resting place of the dead to all be in the same place. The Biblical definitions of Heaven and Hell describe whether you’re or separated from God or not. No Hebrew or Christian would claim that the grave or Sheol is the final place of the dead according to Christian doctrine. All of these things and more can be discussed in more detail. However, the most productive information we should have at our disposal is the ability to think critically about the context of Peter’s statement. If Peter is a Jew, speaking to people who believe the Old Testament and the Jewish Messiah, then his terms should be read in light of the audience and speaker just as much as the language he’s speaking in.
Would it be appropriate to conclude that Peter is referring to Tartarus as the Greek Pagans understood it, or the Hebrew Prophets understood it? Obviously the latter. The question that follows is if Tartarus is a Greek term, how would the term have been used if Peter was speaking in Hebrew? Sheol. Sheol is referred to as the holding place of the dead and translated into the Greek language in a variety of ways. Hades, The Grave, and most appropriate for our question this week, The Abyss. Jesus described it as a place where the righteous awaited Him and the wicked awaited Judgment. We read this in the account of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
Luke 16:19-31 (NKJV)
There are those who would argue this was a parable and not an actual description of the afterlife before Jesus’ completed work on the cross. However, notice that Jesus doesn’t introduce this as a parable. He uses proper names like Abraham and Lazarus. He emphasizes terms and makes points unique from any other “parable” He spoke. And likewise, even those who argue this is a parable aren’t discounting that the places and circumstances He’s illustrating His point through aren’t real things. Otherwise they’d have to argue that seeds and fields don’t actually exist given the fact they’re used in a parable by Jesus in Matthew 13:3-9. Or they’d have to argue that there are no such thing as vineyards and wine vats given the fact that Jesus used them in a parable in Mark 12:1-8. It’s not something you can be consistent with. Given that Jesus has the right to tell us what the afterlife is and isn’t, how does He describe it? Not in any way comparable to the writings of Hesiod and the Theogony. This is what will ultimately drive this point home.
Hesiod’s Theogony is the earliest written source we have from Greek culture that defines Tartarus in the way that paganism explains it to be. There are other and more extensive reports that were written later on. However, this is the first time in history that the word Tartarus was used to describe the dwelling place of the Titans. False teachers who would attempt to claim the Titans were real and actually understood to be angels are just trying to sell books. An actual prophet of God by the name of David (Acts 2:29-31) used the term hell, Sheol or abyss, in the Psalms.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
Psalm 139:7-8 (NKJV)
The earliest date ever attributed to Hesiod’s Theogony is between the 7th and 8th century BC. David lived and wrote these words in the 10th century BC. Jewish culture was using this term a very long time before the Greeks were. And given the fact that Peter was Jewish, it is far more reasonable to conclude that he was using the term as the Bible described it. Not how the pagan religions that Christianity disproves describe it.
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