Ask (To) - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words
Usage Number: 1
Part Of Speech: Verb
Strong's Number: H7592
Original Word: sha’al
Usage Notes: "to ask, inquire, consult." This word is found in many Semitic languages, including ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic. It is found throughout the various periods of Hebrew and is used approximately 170 times in the Hebrew Bible. The first occurrence is found in Gen. 24:47, where the servant of Abraham asks Rebekah, "Whose daughter art thou" It is commonly used for simple requests, as when Sisera asked for water from Jael (Judg. 5:25).
Since prayer often includes petition, sha’al is sometimes used in the sense of "praying for" something: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psa. 122:6). In the idiomatic phrase, "to ask another of his welfare," it carries the sense of a greeting (cf. Exod. 18:7; Judg. 18:15; 1 Sam. 10:4). Frequently, it is used to indicate someone's asking for God's direction or counsel (Josh. 9:14; Isa. 30:2). In Psa. 109:10 it is used to indicate a begging. "Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg."
Usage Number: 2
Part Of Speech: Noun
Strong's Number: H7585
Original Word: she’ôl
Usage Notes: "place of the dead." Sha’al seems to be the basis for an important noun in the Old Testament, She’ôl. Found 65 times in the Hebrew Bible, She’ôl refers to the netherworld or the underground cavern to which all buried dead go. Often incorrectly translated "hell" in the kjv, She’ôl was not understood to be a place of punishment, but simply the ultimate resting place of all mankind (Gen. 37:35). Thus, it was thought to be the land of no return (Job 16:22; Job 17:14-16). It was a place to be dreaded, not only because it meant the end of physical life on earth, but also because there was no praise of God there (Psa. 6:5). Deliverance from it was a blessing (Psa. 30:3).
In some instances, it may be a symbol of distress or even plague; it is often used in parallel with "the Pit," another symbol of destruction. Everything about She’ôl was negative, so it is little wonder that the concept of hell developed from it in the inter-testamental and New Testament literature. She’ôl is translated variously in the English versions: "hell, pit, grave" (kjv); "netherworld" (nab). Some versions simply give the transliteration, "Sheol" (rsv, jb, nasb).