BENEATH

be-neth': The adverb for "under" (kato). In John 8:23, the words "ye are from beneath," suggest hell in contrast to heaven. But the succeeding clause, "ye are of this world," gives the key for the interpretation. Earth, not hell, is expressed, although "that more awful meaning surely is not excluded" (Alford).

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.