WG: Abomination
Overview
The abomination/defilement concept in Scripture involves distinct words that express different facets of what is detestable before God — from physical idols to moral corruption to ritual uncleanness. The Hebrew terms carry into the NT via the LXX βδελ- word family.
Word Group Members
| Strong's |
Word |
Transliteration |
POS |
Occurrences |
Role in Concept |
Library Entry |
| H8251 |
שִׁקּוּץ |
shiqquwts |
noun |
29 |
The idolatrous object (detestable idol) |
H8251 |
| H8441 |
תּוֹעֵבַה |
to'ebah |
noun |
112 |
The moral category (abomination broadly) |
H8441 |
| H8581 |
תַּעָב |
ta'ab |
verb |
20 |
The root action (to abhor, make abominable) — root of to'ebah |
H8581 |
| H8262 |
שָׁקַץ |
shaqats |
verb |
7 |
The action (to detest, make abominable) |
H8262 |
| H8263 |
שֶׁקֶץ |
sheqets |
noun |
11 |
The ritually unclean thing (dietary laws) |
H8263 |
| H1544 |
גִּלּוּל |
gillul |
noun |
48 |
The worthless idol (contemptible image) |
TODO(need H1544 study) |
| H6292 |
פִּגּוּל |
piggul |
noun |
4 |
Time-expired sacrificial flesh (putrid/stale offering) |
H6292 |
| H2930 |
טָמֵא |
tame' |
verb |
162 |
The resulting state (to be/become unclean) |
H2930 |
| G946 |
βδέλυγμα |
bdelygma |
noun |
6 |
NT abomination noun (LXX rendering of to'ebah/shiqquwts) |
G946 |
| G947 |
βδελυκτός |
bdelyktos |
adj |
1 |
NT adjective: detestable, abominable (Titus 1:16) |
— |
| G948 |
βδελύσσομαι |
bdelyssomai |
verb |
2 |
NT verb: to abhor, detest (Rom 2:22, Rev 21:8) |
G948 |
Relationships
Shared Roots
- shiqquwts (H8251), shaqats (H8262), sheqets (H8263) — all from root שׁקץ (to be filthy)
- to'ebah (H8441) — from root תעב (to abhor); separate root family
Co-occurrence (appear in same verses)
| Word A |
Word B |
Shared Verses |
Typical Context |
| shiqquwts (H8251) |
tame' (H2930) |
7 |
"defile with detestable things" (Eze 5:11) |
| shiqquwts (H8251) |
to'ebah (H8441) |
6 |
"detestable things and abominations" (Eze 11:18) |
| shiqquwts (H8251) |
gillul (H1544) |
5 |
"idols... and detestable things" (Eze 20:7-8) |
| shiqquwts (H8251) |
shamem (H8074) |
3 |
"abomination that makes desolate" (Dan 11:31) |
| to'ebah (H8441) |
tame' (H2930) |
10 |
"abomination" causing uncleanness |
| to'ebah (H8441) |
gillul (H1544) |
5 |
idols called abominations |
| gillul (H1544) |
tame' (H2930) |
11 |
"defiled with idols" (Ezekiel) |
LXX Overlaps
| Hebrew Words |
Shared Greek |
Notes |
| shiqquwts + to'ebah + sheqets |
all → βδέλυγμα (G946) |
LXX collapses three distinct Hebrew terms into one Greek word |
| gillul |
→ εἴδωλον (G1497) primarily |
Keeps "idol" distinct from "abomination" |
| tame' |
→ μιαίνω (G3392) or ἀκάθαρτος (G169) |
"Defile/unclean" stays in separate semantic lane |
| piggul |
→ κρέας (G2907) |
LXX renders as "meat/flesh" — does NOT use βδέλυγμα; distinct from the other terms |
Roles in the Concept
- Broad moral category: to'ebah (תּוֹעֵבַה) — the general term for what God finds detestable (moral, social, ritual)
- Idolatrous object: shiqquwts (שִׁקּוּץ) — the physically disgusting idol or cult object
- Worthless idol: gillul (גִּלּוּל) — the contemptible image (emphasizes futility, from "dung")
- Ritual uncleanness: sheqets (שֶׁקֶץ) — the unclean creature or object (dietary/purity laws)
- Root action (moral): ta'ab (תַּעָב) — to abhor, make abominable; the verb root of to'ebah — moral/personal loathing
- Root action (ritual): shaqats (שָׁקַץ) — to detest, make abominable; the verb root of shiqquwts/sheqets — ritual/dietary repugnance
- Time-expired sacrifice: piggûl (פִּגּוּל) — the narrowest term: specifically stale/putrid sacrificial flesh past its lawful eating window
- Resulting state: tame' (טָמֵא) — the defilement that results from contact with these things
- NT abomination noun: bdelygma (βδέλυγμα) — the LXX catchall rendering of to'ebah/shiqquwts/sheqets; carries Hebrew semantic range into NT (6v)
- NT abomination adjective: bdelyktos (βδελυκτός) — "detestable" as a character description (Titus 1:16; 1v)
- NT abomination verb: bdelyssomai (βδελύσσομαι) — to abhor, detest; from βδέω "to stink"; visceral physical disgust applied to moral revulsion (2v)
Key Passages Where Multiple Group Words Appear Together
- Eze 5:11 — shiqquwts + to'ebah: "thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations"
- Eze 11:18 — shiqquwts + to'ebah: "they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof"
- Eze 11:21 — shiqquwts + to'ebah: "whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations"
- Eze 7:20 — shiqquwts + to'ebah: "images of their abominations and of their detestable things"
Generated from: search_strongs.py, co-occurrence queries
Last updated: 2026-05-07