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Abaddon

ABADDON (Heb. אֲבַדּוֹן; “place of destruction”). It is mentioned in the Wisdom literature of the Bible (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Prov. 15:11; Ps. 88:12); and it occurs also in the New Testament (Rev. 9:11) where, however, it is personified as the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Greek is “Apollyon” (ʾΑπολλυων, “destroyer”). In the Talmud (Er. 19a) it is given as the second of the seven names of Gehenna (Gehinnom ), the proof verse being Psalms 88:12, while Midrash Konen makes it the actual second department of Gehenna.


Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.