ἄβυσσος G0012
The abyss; a bottomless depth or chasm, often the underworld prison of demonic beings or the realm of the dead.
In classical Greek, abyssos described anything unfathomably deep or boundless. The Septuagint adopted it for the primordial deep of Genesis 1:2 and the great watery depths. In the New Testament, it takes on a distinctly cosmic-eschatological flavor: the demons in Luke 8:31 beg Jesus not to send them into the abyss, and in Revelation 9:1-11 it is the locked shaft from which destructive locusts emerge. Paul uses it in Romans 10:7 as the realm of the dead. Spanish 'abismo' and French 'abime' preserve the same sense of unfathomable depth, while German 'Abgrund' (literally 'away-ground') captures the bottomless quality vividly.
Senses
1. abyss — The abyss as a cosmological deep or underworld prison—a vast, bottomless realm associated with chaos, confinement of evil spirits, and the abode of the dead. In Luke 8:31 the demons plead not to be cast into the abyss; in Revelation 9:1-2, 11 it is a locked pit from which destructive forces emerge under a demonic king. Romans 10:7 employs it as the realm of the dead from which Christ was raised. All nine NT occurrences share the core image of a terrifying, inaccessible depth beneath the created order. 9×
AR["الهاويَةِ", "الهاوِيَةِ", "الهَاوِيَةِ", "الْهَاوِيَةِ", "هاويَةِ"]·ben["অতল-গহ্বরে", "অতল-গহ্বরের", "অতল-থেকে", "অতলে", "অতলের;", "অতলের।"]·DE["Abgrund", "ἄβυσσον"]·EN["abyss"]·FR["abîme"]·heb["הַתְּהוֹם", "תְּהוֹם"]·HI["अथाह", "अथाह-कुण्ड", "अथाह-गड्ढे", "अथाह-गड्ढे-की", "अथाह-गड्ढे।"]·ID["itu", "jurang-maut", "jurang-maut.", "jurang-maut;"]·IT["abisso", "abusson"]·jav["jurang", "jurang-peteng", "kalanggengan", "pedaleman?", "teleng"]·KO["무저갱", "무저갱-의", "무저갱에", "무저갱의", "심연", "심연으로"]·PT["abismo", "abismo?"]·RU["бездну", "бездны", "бездны.", "бездны;", "это"]·ES["abismo", "abismo,"]·SW["kuzimu", "kuzimu,", "kuzimu.", "kuzimu;", "kuzimu?", "shimo-la-kuzimu"]·TR["derinlikten", "derinliğe", "derinliğin", "dipsiz-çukura", "dipsizlikten", "dipsizliğin", "uçuruma"]·urd["اتھاہ", "اتھاہ-گڑھے", "اتھاہ-گہرائی", "پاتال؟"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἄβυσσος, ον, bottomless, unfathomed, πηγαίRefs 5th c.BC+: generally, unfathomable, boundless, πλοῦτοςRefs 5th c.BC+ __II ἡ ἄ. the great deep, LXX: the abyss, underworld, NT; the infinite void, Refs