G946 — βδέλυγμα (bdelygma)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G946
Original: βδέλυγμα
Transliteration: bdelygma
Pronunciation: bdel'-oog-mah
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: From G948 βδελύσσομαι (bdelyssomai) — to turn away from, detest, abhor; ultimately from βδέω (bdeo, "to stink")
Occurrences: 6 verses in NT (6 tokens; 4 books)
First Occurrence: Mat 24:15 — "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From βδελύσσομαι (bdelyssomai, G948): a detestation; specifically, an idol or idolatrous object; by extension, anything morally or religiously loathsome — "abomination." In the Septuagint it renders Hebrew תּוֹעֵבָה (to'ebah) and שִׁקּוּץ (shiqquts), the standard OT terms for what is ritually or morally abhorrent to God, especially idolatry and associated pagan practice.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Primary Domain: 25.17 — Abhor (sub-domain of "Attitudes and Emotions")
Secondary Domain: 53.4 — Defile, Unclean, Common (sub-domain of "Religious Activities")
Glosses: "what is detestable," "what is abhorrent," "an abomination which desolates"

The dual-domain classification captures both the affective element (revulsion, hatred) and the cultic element (ritual defilement, idolatry).

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[025] Attitudes and Emotions — abhorrence, detestation, and what evokes revulsion.
[053] Religious Activities — cultic defilement, abominable practice, and religious pollution.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
abomination	4	66.7%
abominations	1	16.7%
ABOMINATIONS (capitalized, title)	1	16.7%

The KJV renders βδέλυγμα uniformly as "abomination(s)" — no variation.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	3	0.7
Matthew	1	0.1
Mark	1	0.1
Luke	1	0.1

Concentration pattern: half of all NT occurrences are in Revelation (the two Babylon/harlot passages plus the New Jerusalem exclusion). The other three are in the Synoptic Gospels, where two are the parallel "abomination of desolation" sayings (Mat 24:15; Mark 13:14) and one is Jesus' contrast between human valuation and divine judgment (Luke 16:15). Absent from Paul, Hebrews, and the general epistles.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Eschatological "Abomination of Desolation"¶

Technical phrase βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως drawn from Daniel (LXX Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11), pointing to a defiling presence in the holy place that triggers desolation. - Mat 24:15 — "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place" - Mark 13:14 — "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation... standing where it ought not"

2. Idolatrous / Defiling Contents of Babylon's Cup¶

βδέλυγμα as the cumulative output of the harlot-system: idolatry, fornication (spiritual and literal), and moral filth concentrated in a single vessel. - Rev 17:4 — "having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication" - Rev 17:5 — "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH"

3. What God Loathes vs. What Men Esteem¶

Ethical reversal — something humans exalt can be βδέλυγμα before God. - Luke 16:15 — "that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God"

4. Exclusion from the New Jerusalem¶

Final purity boundary: no βδέλυγμα enters the eschatological city. - Rev 21:27 — "there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἐρήμωσις (erēmōsis, desolation)	G2050	2x (33%)	fixed phrase "abomination of desolation" (Mat/Mark)
Δανιήλ (Daniēl)	G1158	2x (33%)	"spoken of by Daniel the prophet"
προφήτης (prophētēs)	G4396	2x (33%)	prophetic attribution formula
ἵστημι (histēmi, stand)	G2476	2x (33%)	"standing" in the holy place / where it ought not
ἀναγινώσκω (anaginōskō, read)	G314	2x (33%)	parenthetical "let him that readeth understand"
γράφω (graphō, write)	G1125	2x (33%)	"that which is written" — prophetic text
γέμω (gemō, be full)	G1073	1x (17%)	Rev 17:4 "cup... full of abominations"
Βαβυλών (Babylōn)	G897	1x (17%)	Rev 17:5 — abomination-bearer named
γυνή (gynē, woman)	G1135	1x (17%)	Rev 17:4 — the harlot-figure holding the cup
ἀρνίον (arnion, Lamb)	G721	1x (17%)	Rev 21:27 — those in the Lamb's book contrasted

Word Family / Cognates¶

G948 βδελύσσομαι (bdelyssomai) — verb: to detest, abhor (the root from which G946 is formed)
G947 βδελυκτός (bdelyktos) — adjective: detestable, abominable (Titus 1:16)

Synonyms¶

G167 ἀκαθαρσία (akatharsia) — uncleanness, impurity; moral-religious pollution neighboring abomination.
G4202 πορνεία (porneia) — fornication; a frequent partner in idolatry/defilement contexts.
G94 ἄδικος (adikos) — unrighteous, unjust; marks what is morally offensive.
G4189 πονηρία (ponēria) — wickedness, depravity; ethical evil that aligns with abominable conduct.
G5004 ταλαιπωρία (talaiporia) — wretchedness, misery; surfaced by search_relationships.py as a neighboring negative-value term.
G2873 κόπος (kopos) — trouble, toil, vexation; another negative-value neighbor surfaced by the relationship tool.
G150 αἰσχρός (aischros) — shameful, base; overlaps with what is morally disgusting.
G763 ἀσέβεια (asebeia) — ungodliness, impiety; religious offense close to abomination language.

Antonyms¶

G2107 εὐδοκία (eudokia) — good pleasure, approval; the positive opposite of what is detestable before God.

Easily Confused Words (via KJV translation overlap)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
תּוֹעֵבָה (to'ebah)	H8441	"abomination" (24v shared in KJV)	Hebrew OT term — broader ethical/ritual range (dietary, sexual, idolatrous, commercial)

Easily Confused Words (via LXX mapping — shared Greek equivalent)¶

The LXX uses βδέλυγμα to render multiple distinct Hebrew terms, which can conflate in Greek:

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occ with G946	Nuance Conflated
תּוֹעֵבָה (to'ebah)	H8441	66x	the most common source — broad "abomination"
שִׁקּוּץ (shiqquts)	H8251	20x	specifically detestable/idolatrous objects — source of Daniel's phrase
שֶׁקֶץ (sheqets)	H8263	11x	ritual filth (unclean creatures, Lev 11)
שֶׁרֶץ (sherets)	H8318	6x	swarming things (dietary impurity)
גִּלּוּל (gillul)	H1544	7x	idols (Ezekiel's preferred term of contempt)
טָמֵא (tamē)	H2930	9x	verb: to be ritually unclean

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Score	Notes
תּוֹעֵבָה (to'ebah)	H8441	66	7.10	29.86	Primary LXX equivalent — dominant OT source
שִׁקּוּץ (shiqquts)	H8251	20	7.46	22.72	Source of Daniel's "abomination of desolation" (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 LXX)
שֶׁקֶץ (sheqets)	H8263	11	7.84	19.48	Ritual-impurity term
שֶׁרֶץ (sherets)	H8318	6	6.52	12.68	Swarming things
עַשְׁתֹּרֶת ('Ashtoreth)	H6253	3	7.84	10.87	Named pagan deity
גִּלּוּל (gillul)	H1544	7	5.16	10.72	Ezekiel's "idols"
מַלְכָּם (Malkam/Milkom)	H4445	3	7.10	9.85	Ammonite deity
שָׁקַץ (shaqats)	H8262	3	6.84	9.48	Verb: to detest/make loathsome
טָמֵא (tamē)	H2930	9	3.87	8.91	General ritual impurity
צִידֹנִי (Tsidoni)	H6722	3	5.52	7.65	Sidonian (by association with their idols)

The two dominant bridges are H8441 to'ebah (broad moral/ritual abomination) and H8251 shiqquts (specifically idolatrous detestable objects). The Synoptic "abomination of desolation" formula draws on שִׁקּוּץ; the Revelation "cup of abominations" formula evokes both streams.