Scholars have debated whether “gates of Hades” (πύλαι ᾅδου) in Matt.16:18 refers to the ungodly powers of the underworld (Davies and Allison 2004, 2.630-633) or death itself (Luz 2001, 363). This paper contends that significant progress can be achieved by exploring Septuagintal sources mediated through Second Temple literature. The argument begins by exploring πύλαι ᾅδου and its rough Hebrew equivalents in the Hebrew Bible and Septuagint, where they are consistently used as a metaphor for death’s boundary, a barrier that can only be overcome through divine intervention (Isa. 38:10; Job 38:17; cf. Job 17:16; 1 Sam 2:6). In the next phase we explore the πύλαι ᾅδου in Jewish Greek Literature corresponding to the Hebrew Bible, where we find it occurs as a euphemism for death (3 Macc. 5:51; Odes 11:10; Ps. Sol. 16:2), most notably in Wis. 16:13, where God is said to have “authority over life and death,” paralleled with his leading to the gates of Hades and back up again. While biblical commentators frequently cite these texts, their specific relationship is rarely investigated. Utilizing Lanier’s criteria for evaluating intertextuality – specifically verbatim correspondence, availability of antecedent material, and explicit signaling (2024, 12-18) – this study argues that Matthew draws on Wis 16:13 to develop the concept of the πύλαι ᾅδου. Through Peter’s confession of Jesus’ messiahship, Matthew reinterprets this concept, proclaiming a decisive victory over death.