I originally wanted to give this book 4 stars (see next paragraph), but Philip Johnston did such a thorough job covering and commenting on all the references to Sheol in the Hebrew Bible that I had to give it 5. Much of this book covers Israelite views, reflections and responses to death, while only part of it probes into what Sheol was actually like in terms of practical existence there. Though somewhat disappointing, the Bible itself gives very little information about what Sheol was actually like either. Were the righteous in comfort? Were the wicked in punishment? Or were they equally in silent darkness? This leads me to my contention with the book.Johnston is hesitant to address the central question we all want to know: were people tormented in Sheol? Johnston devotes a half-sentence to this in the entire body of the book, and then addresses it in a small paragraph in the book's conclusion. He says on p. 208, with regard to whether the wicked dead were punished post-mortem, "And again this is possible, but..." That's it. Then in the conclusion, in response to the "shame and everlasting contempt" unto which people will resurrect in the eschaton according to Daniel 12:2, Johnston says on p. 237 that it "remains unexplained and underdeveloped". I find it very disappointing that Johnston takes such a reluctant stand on this important issue. Nonetheless, I GREATLY enjoyed reading the book otherwise.