G12 - ἄβυσσος (abyssos)

Core Data

• Strong's: G12
• Original: ἄβυσσος
• Transliteration: abyssos
• Pronunciation: ab
• Part of Speech: Feminine noun
• Occurrences: 9 verses / 9 tokens across 3 NT books
• First Occurrence: Luke 8:31 - "go out into the deep"
• Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition

-us-sos; from (as a negative particle) and a variation of ; depthless,

Translation Distribution (KJV)

Translation	Verses	%
bottomless pit	5	55.6%
bottomless	2	22.2%
deep	2	22.2%

Distribution by Book

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	7	1.7
Romans	1	0.2
Luke	1	0.1

The word is Revelation-concentrated, with single non-Revelation uses in Luke and Romans.

Semantic Categories

1. The Deep as a Destination or Realm

• Luke 8:31 - demons request not to be commanded into "the deep."
• Romans 10:7 - "Who shall descend into the deep?"

2. The Bottomless Pit in Apocalyptic Vision

• Revelation 9:1-2 - the pit is opened with a key and smoke rises.
• Revelation 9:11 - the angel of the bottomless pit is named.

3. Source or Place of Beastly Ascent

• Revelation 11:7 - the beast ascends out of the bottomless pit.
• Revelation 17:8 - the beast shall ascend out of the bottomless pit.

4. Place of Confinement

• Revelation 20:1 - an angel has the key of the bottomless pit.
• Revelation 20:3 - Satan is cast into the bottomless pit.

Common Collocations

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἄγγελος (angel)	G32	3	angelic action around the abyss
ἀναβαίνω (ascend)	G305	3	ascending out of the abyss
κλείς (key)	G2807	2	key of the abyss/bottomless pit
φρέαρ (pit/well)	G5421	2	"pit of the abyss" construction
καταβαίνω (descend)	G2597	2	movement down to the deep
θηρίον (beast)	G2342	2	beast ascending from the abyss

Related Words

Synonyms / Domain Neighbors

• G1037 βυθός (bythos) - depth; shared "deep" translation.
• G3772 οὐρανός (ouranos) - listed by relationships tool in the geographical domain neighborhood.
• G5204 ὕδωρ (hydor) - water; relationship output as synonym/domain neighbor.

Antonyms

• G1040 βύσσος (byssos) - relationship output lists as antonym.

Easily Confused Words

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
βυθός (bythos)	G1037	deep	general depth/deep water; abyssos is the abyss/bottomless pit term
βάθος (bathos)	G899	deep	depth as measure/extent; abyssos is a named realm/place
תְּהוֹם (tehom)	H8415	deep	Hebrew source behind the dominant LXX bridge

Semantic Domain

• [001] Geographical Objects and Features - relationship tool domain; neighbors include ᾅδης (G86), ἀήρ (G109), αἰγιαλός (G123), αἰών (G165).

Hebrew Source

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Score
תְּהוֹם (tehom)	H8415	30	9.16	31.45
מַיִם (mayim)	H4325	13	4.08	10.76
חָרַב (charab)	H2717	4	6.13	9.87
מַעְיָן (ma`yan)	H4599	3	6.57	9.11

See Also

• H8415-thowm.md - Hebrew source bridge for tehom/deep
• TR-thowm-abyssos.md - cross-testament trace from H8415 tehom to G12 abyssos
• G2807-kleis.md - key; collocates with abyss in Rev 9:1 and 20:1
• G254-halysis.md - chain in Rev 20:1
• G906-ballo.md - cast/throw into the abyss in Rev 20:3
• WG-dragon.md - Revelation adversary word group
• WG-satan.md - Satan/adversary word group

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Generated from: gather_word_data.py, search_relationships.py, search_strongs.py, louw_nida.db Last updated: 2026-05-07