Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ABYSS

Although in English translations of the OT “abyss” is rarely used (cf. Gen. 1:2 NEB, NAB), Gk. ábyssos (“primal ocean” or “world of the dead”) appears frequently in the LXX as a translation of Heb. tĕhôm, “waters of the deep.” Tĕhôm, treated as a proper name, derives from the same Semitic root as Tiamat, the goddess in Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation story. However, it does not appear to be personified in the OT and refers variously to the creation event (Gen. 1:2; Job 38:16; Ps. 33:7), to blessings and fertility (Gen. 49:25; Deut. 8:7; Ps. 78:15), and to destruction (Gen. 7:11; 8:2; Ezek. 26:19; Amos 7:4). It is also associated with the Reed Sea (Exod. 15:5; Isa. 51:10; Ps. 106:9).

When “abyss” is not used to translate tĕhôm, “the deep” is often employed (cf. Gen. 1:2 NJPSV, RSV, NRSV).

Usually translated “abyss” in the NT, it refers to the place of the dead (Rom. 10:7) and is synonymous with hell or Hades. It more frequently refers to the place where the forces of evil dwell (e.g., Luke 8:31; Rev. 9:1, 2).

John R. Spencer

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ABYSS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)