| Easton's Bible Dictionary Destruction, the Hebrew name (equivalent to the Greek Apollyon, i.e., destroyer) of "the angel of the bottomless pit" (Revelation 9:11). It is rendered "destruction" in Job 28:22; 31:12; 26:6; Proverbs 15:11; 27:20. In the last three of these passages the Revised Version retains the word "Abaddon." We may regard this word as a personification of the idea of destruction, or as sheol, the realm of the dead. Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) The destroyer, or angel of the bottomless pit; -- the same as Apollyon and Asmodeus. 2. (n.) Hell; the bottomless pit. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia ABADDON a-bad'-on ('abhaddon, "ruin," "perdition," "destruction"): Though "destruction" is commonly used in translating 'abhaddon, the stem idea is intransitive rather than passive-the idea of perishing, going to ruin, being in a ruined state, rather than that of being ruined, being destroyed.
The word occurs six times in the Old Testament, always as a place name in the sense in which Sheol is a place name. It denotes, in certain aspects, the world of the dead as constructed in the Hebrew imagination. It is a common mistake to understand such expressions in a too mechanical way. Like ourselves, the men of the earlier ages had to use picture language when they spoke of the conditions that existed after death, however their picturing of the matter may have differed from ours. In three instances Abaddon is parallel with Sheol (Job 26:6 Proverbs 15:11; Proverbs 27:20). In one instance it is parallel with death, in one with the grave and in the remaining instance the parallel phrase is "root out all mine increase" (Job 28:22 Psalm 88:11 Job 31:12). In this last passage the place idea comes nearer to vanishing in an abstract conception than in the other passages.
Abaddon belongs to the realm of the mysterious. Only God understands it (Job 26:6 Proverbs 15:11). It is the world of the dead in its utterly dismal, destructive, dreadful aspect, not in those more cheerful aspects in which activities are conceived of as in progress there. In Abaddon there are no declarations of God's lovingkindness (Psalm 88:11).
In a slight degree the Old Testament presentations personalize Abaddon. It is a synonym for insatiableness (Proverbs 27:20). It has possibilities of information mediate between those of "all living" and those of God (Job 28:22).
In the New Testament the word occurs once (Revelation 9:11), the personalization becoming sharp. Abaddon is here not the world of the dead, but the angel who reigns over it. The Greek equivalent of his name is given as Apollyon. Under this name Bunyan presents him in the Pilgrim's Progress, and Christendom has doubtless been more interested in this presentation of the matter than in any other.
In some treatments Abaddon is connected with the evil spirit Asmodeus of Tobit (e.g. 3:8), and with the destroyer mentioned in The Wisdom of Solomon (18:25; compare 22), and through these with a large body of rabbinical folklore; but these efforts are simply groundless. See APOLLYON. Willis J. Beecher |  | Multi-Version Concordance Abaddon (7 Occurrences) Revelation 9:11 They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is "Abaddon," but in Greek, he has the name "Apollyon." (WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV) Job 26:6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering. (WEB ASV NAS RSV) Job 28:22 Destruction and Death say,'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' (See NAS RSV) Job 31:12 For it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase. (See NAS RSV) Psalms 88:11 Is your loving kindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction? (See NAS RSV) Proverbs 15:11 Sheol and Abaddon are before Yahweh- how much more then the hearts of the children of men! (WEB ASV NAS RSV) Proverbs 27:20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; and a man's eyes are never satisfied. (WEB ASV BBE NAS RSV) |
