The volume aims to trace the origins of the discourse of hell in the Bible and in its literary environment, and in doing so to show the historical lines of tradition from antiquity to the present day. In doing so, he asks what ethical implications the talk of hell has and how it is compatible with God's universal will of salvation in the face of the power of evil: What is the connection between the threat of hell and man's readiness to repent? How can we speak of 'hell' in the context of the (apparent) tension between God's justice and mercy, between the election and rejection of creatures? What justification is there for the hope of a reconciliation of all creatures at the end of days? What eschatological expectations of a place of permanent distance from God require constructive theological criticism? And what resonance and relevance do notions of hell have in today's world and culture?