G2050 — ἐρήμωσις (erēmōsis)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2050
Original: ἐρήμωσις
Transliteration: erēmōsis
Pronunciation: er-ay-mo'-sis
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: G2049 ἐρημόω (erēmoō) — to lay waste, make desolate
Occurrences: 3 (all unique verses; appears once in Matthew, Mark, and Luke)
First Occurrence: Matt 24:15 — "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G2049 (ἐρημόω); despoliation — desolation.

The word denotes the result of a devastating act: a place or community rendered empty, ruined, and abandoned. In the NT it carries a specifically prophetic sense, citing the Danielic formula of sanctuary desecration.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 20.3 — Destroy - 53.4 — Defile, Unclean, Common - 53 — Religious Activities

Other words in 20.3: ἀπόλλυμι (G622), ἀπώλεια (G684), ἀφανίζω (G853), ἐρημόω (G2049), καθαίρεσις (G2506)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [020] Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill - [053] Religious Activities

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
of desolation	2	67%
desolation	1	33%

All three uses render the word consistently as "desolation." The slight variation is syntactic (genitive "of desolation" vs. nominal "desolation").

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Matthew	1	0.1
Mark	1	0.1
Luke	1	0.1

Pattern: Confined entirely to the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24 // Mark 13 // Luke 21). All three occurrences are in Jesus's eschatological warning about the coming siege of Jerusalem and the fate of the temple.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Abomination of Desolation (Danielic Formula)¶

Jesus explicitly cites the "abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel" — a fixed prophetic phrase rooted in Dan 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11. The phrase functions as a warning marker for an identifiable event.

Matt 24:15 — "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)"
Mark 13:14 — "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains"

2. The Desolation of Jerusalem (Prophetic Fulfillment)¶

Luke's parallel passage replaces the Danielic formula with the visible sign of armies surrounding Jerusalem — identifying the event in concrete, historical terms.

Luke 21:20 — "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
βδέλυγμα (bdelugma)	G946	2x (Matt/Mark)	forms the fixed phrase bdelugma tēs erēmōseōs — "abomination of desolation"
τόπος (topos)	G5117	1x	"holy place" — the sanctuary location
ἅγιος (hagios)	G40	1x	"holy place" — the standing-in of the abomination
Ἱερουσαλήμ (Hierousalēm)	G2419	1x	Jerusalem as the locus of the desolation
στρατόπεδον (stratopedon)	G4760	1x	armies surrounding Jerusalem (Luke 21:20)
φεύγω (pheugō)	G5343	1x	flee as the commanded response
Ἰουδαία (Ioudaia)	G2449	1x	Judaea — those to flee the region
ἐγγίζω (engizō)	G1448	1x	"desolation is nigh" — imminent arrival

Word Family (ἔρημ- root)¶

G2048 ἔρημος (erēmos) — adj./noun: desert, wilderness, desolate place (48x)
G2049 ἐρημόω (erēmoō) — verb: to lay waste, make desolate (4x; including Rev 17:16; 18:17, 19)
G2047 ἐρημία (erēmia) — noun: solitude, desert region (4x)

Synonyms¶

G5013 ταπεινόω (tapeinoo) — humble, abase
G854 ἀφανισμός (aphanismos) — vanishing, disappearance
G2679 κατασκάπτω (kataskapto) — dig down, overthrow
G3973 παύω (pauo) — stop, cease
G1629 ἐκφοβέω (ekphobeo) — terrify
G2048 ἔρημος (eremos) — desert, desolate place
G264 ἁμαρτάνω (hamartano) — sin
G3996 πενθέω (pentheo) — mourn
G4863 συνάγω (synago) — gather together

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms surfaced from search_relationships.py for this lemma.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שָׁמֵם (shâmêm)	H8074	"of desolation"	The Hebrew verb behind the Danielic formula; ἐρήμωσις is its Greek rendering in the NT quotation. H8074 describes the act/state of stunning devastation; G2050 is the noun of result.

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew	Transliteration	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Definition
חׇרְבָּה	chorbah	H2723	6	7.79	drought, desolation, ruin (physical laying waste)
שַׁמָּה	shammah	H8047	5	7.64	ruin, consternation, horror (response to devastation)
שָׁמֵם	shâmêm	H8074	6	6.83	to devastate, make desolate, be appalled

The highest-PMI bridge (H2723) denotes physical ruin from drought or war. H8074 and H8047 are the words specifically used in Daniel's "abomination of desolation" formula — the LXX renders both with cognates of ἐρήμωσις/ἐρημόω.

Domain Neighbors (020003 — Destroy)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Primary KJV
G2049	ἐρημόω	4	desolate, is brought to desolation
G622	ἀπόλλυμι	29	perish, to destroy
G684	ἀπώλεια	13	destruction, perdition
G853	ἀφανίζω	4	doth corrupt, perish
G1474	ἐδαφίζω	2	lay even with the ground
G2506	καθαίρεσις	3	destruction, the pulling down

Key differences: ἐρημόω (G2049) is the cognate verb — making desolate; ἀπόλλυμι/ἀπώλεια (G622/684) denote total ruin or eternal loss with no sanctuary connotation; ἐρήμωσις (G2050) is specifically the prophetic-eschatological state of desolation tied to sanctuary desecration.