Mark had no reason to think there would be any other gospel but his.
His was the first gospel we have.
Mark’s Gospel reports Jesus’ references to Gehenna.
Gehenna in Jewish Context
Gehenna is from Hebrew Ge Hinnom, “Valley of Hinnom”. The meaning of the name Hinnom itself is uncertain. What scholars can say is that it is likely a personal name, not a title. The Bible never explains or defines the name. There’s no clear Hebrew root that gives an agreed-upon meaning. A few speculative guesses you might see mentioned (but none are confirmed). One guess is that it is connect to a root meaning “to moan” or “lament”. Or possibly just an old proper name with no transparent meaning anymore
It was a real place outside Jerusalem, historically associated with child sacrifices in the time of the kings of Judah (2 Kings 23:10) and later became symbolic of divine judgment and impurity. “I did not command it, nor did it enter my mind” (Jeremiah 7:31) referring to the killings of the innocent there. Because God is opposed there, Gehenna is linked by Jesus to the final punishment of the wicked.
Gehenna is not Satan’s domain in Mark. In Mark’s Gospel, Gehenna is a place you are “thrown into”, associated with fire and destruction and a warning about judgment
But notice what Mark never says. Satan is never said to rule Gehenna. Satan is never said to administer punishment there. Satan is never said to receive anyone there.
By the time of Jesus, it was commonly used as a metaphor for destruction or punishment, sometimes linked to the afterlife, but also sometimes literally, as in a burning valley outside the city.
Jesus’ Use of Gehenna in Mark
In Mark (e.g., Mark 9:43–48), Jesus warns against sin and says it is better to lose a hand or foot than to be “cast into Gehenna.” Some scholars argue he meant literal, immediate destruction (e.g., the valley burning with trash) as a metaphor for impending catastrophic judgment, not just abstract spiritual torment. Others see it as eschatological, meaning he was talking about the end times, when God would judge the wicked globally—so the imagery is more cosmic and symbolic.
The Apocalyptic Context
Jesus often spoke in apocalyptic terms: wars, famines, and upheavals (Mark 13). If he expected a big, imminent end of the world, it makes sense that he could have been thinking of Gehenna literally as a fiery site of judgment, a tangible image for his listeners.
Simple preachers and wandering rabbis were perfectly capable of thinking there was no big world out there. They had no problem with surmising that all the wicked out there could burn in the literal Gehenna.
In this reading, Gehenna serves both as a symbol of judgment and a physical place of warning, bridging the immediate historical context and cosmic eschatology.
In short: It’s plausible Jesus could have meant Gehenna literally, especially if he expected imminent destruction. The text seems to allow for both a literal “burning valley” interpretation and a symbolic, eschatological one—they aren’t mutually exclusive. But I'd take it seriously - try to read nothing into it. Jesus meant what he said.