The imagery of this gulf and Nephi's explanation provide an interesting concept of hell. Symbolically, hell is portrayed here as a gulf. It is a gulf of separation, with the wicked on the other side. It is not a burning river. It is not a bottomless pit. In fact, there is nothing in it. It is a gulf. In Nephi, hell is the separation of the wicked from the righteous (and God, by extension). Thus for Nephi, hell is not a place, but a state, a state of separation from God. Thus any torment derived from this hell would necessarily be self-imposed rather than a definition of place.