ἄσβεστος

From the study of Matthew 3:12

Range of meaning

'Unquenchable', meaning impossible to put out (a- 'not' + sbennymi 'to quench'). Homer uses it for 'unquenchable laughter' and 'unquenchable glory', meaning something no one can stop or hold down. The word is about force that cannot be stopped. Whether that also means endless duration depends on the context.

Against the English

Most versions: 'unquenchable fire'. The NLT has 'never-ending fire', which turns a word about being impossible to put out into a word about how long it lasts.

How it drifted

Later debates about hell have often made 'unquenchable' mean simply 'everlasting'. The Greek word focuses on the fact that the fire cannot be put out.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 66:24 (Greek translation: 'their fire will not be quenched'), on the corpses of the rebels, lies behind this phrase. Mark 9:43 says 'into the unquenchable fire'. Jeremiah 7:20 and 17:27 speak of God's anger or judgment as fire that 'will not be quenched'.

From the study of Mark 9:43

Range of meaning

Unquenchable, inextinguishable: a fire that no one can put out. In Homer it describes endless things such as 'unquenchable laughter' and 'unquenchable glory'.

Against the English

'Unquenchable' (BSB, ESV, WEB) is accurate. KJV 'never shall be quenched' and NIV 'never goes out' lean toward the idea of lasting forever.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matt 3:12 and Luke 3:17 (the chaff burned 'with unquenchable fire'); LXX Job 20:26. The idea comes from Isaiah 66:24 and Jer 7:20 ('it will burn and not be quenched').

From the study of Luke 3:17

Range of meaning

"Unquenchable, not able to be put out." It is formed from sbennymi, "to quench," with the negative prefix a-. It can describe anything that cannot be suppressed or stopped.

Against the English

Most versions say "unquenchable" (KJV "fire unquenchable"). NLT has "never-ending fire," which turns a statement about what cannot stop the fire into a statement about how long it lasts.

How it drifted

Modern readers often hear "unquenchable fire" as a ready-made label for a fully developed doctrine of hell. The word itself says the fire cannot be put out by anyone. The text does point to God's final judgment. How long the burning or the burnt lasts is a question for other texts and is debated (see debates).

Used elsewhere in the period

Homer uses it for "unquenchable laughter" (Iliad 1.599), "undying fame" (Odyssey 4.584), and a flame that cannot be stopped when the Greek ships are fired (Iliad 16.123). In the Greek Old Testament, Job 20:26 says of the wicked man that "a fire not fanned will devour him," rendered as pyr asbeston (unquenchable fire). The idea goes back to Isaiah 66:24, whose closing picture is of the corpses of the rebels: "their worm will not die, their fire will not be quenched." Mark 9:43–48 uses asbestos and quotes Isaiah 66:24. Judith 16:17 has God sending "fire and worms into their flesh" forever.