Gehenna

Gehenna, the Greek form of the Hebrew Gehinnom, the name of the valley of Hinnom, a deep and narrow gorge on the south side of Jerusalem. When Ahab introduced the fire-god Moloch from Phoenicia, this valley became the scene of his worship, and here many infant sacrifices took place. Josiah, on restoring the religion of Jehovah, defiled the valley by scattering dead men's bones, after which it became a receptacle for all the filth of the city. This was partly consumed in fires which were always kept burning in the valley. All these associations may have contributed to the use of "Gehenna" in the New Testament in the sense of a place of torment after death.