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אַבְדָן

𐤀𐤁𐤃𐤍

ʼabdân

H12 noun

SILEX Entry

Root אבד to perish, to vanish, to be lost, to be destroyed

Definition

A poetic or emphatic term denoting utter ruin, destruction, or perishing, often personified or employed to evoke the concept of total obliteration or the fate of the lost. Primarily used in parallelism with terms such as 'death' (māwet) or 'Sheol' to refer to the realm of the dead, the Pit, or a place/state of annihilation. The semantic range extends from literal physical destruction to the figurative sense of a realm or state in which all is lost or perished.

Semantic Range

destruction, utter ruin, perishing, the realm of destruction (often personified), death; state of being utterly lost or annihilated; poetic/descriptive name for the underworld or cosmic ruin

Root / Etymology

From the root אָבַד (ʼ-b-d), which means 'to perish, vanish, be lost, be destroyed.' אַבְדָן is a noun form indicating the state or act of being destroyed or perishing, or destruction itself. The term expresses a completed result—the state of having perished or been brought to ruin.

Historical & Contextual Notes

אַבְדָן occurs rarely in the Hebrew Bible, appearing primarily in poetic or wisdom contexts (e.g., Job 28:22). It is closely associated with שַׁחַת (shaḥat, 'the Pit'), מָוֶת (māwet, 'death'), and שְׁאוֹל (sheʼol, 'the underworld' or 'realm of the dead'). Its use is typically non-literal, referring more to the abstract or metaphysical concept of complete loss or annihilation, rather than to concrete destruction (of objects or places). Later Jewish interpretive tradition sometimes identified Abaddon as a cosmic or eschatological figure or place (cf. post-biblical literature and Revelation 9:11 in the Greek Bible), but in early Israelite texts, the term does not refer to any personified being. Standard English translations often render it simply as 'destruction,' which can obscure its role as an evocative poetic term signifying the uttermost loss, often in parallel with Sheol, rather than mundane ruin. Distinct from the more common אָבַד ('to be lost' or 'to perish'), אַבְדָן is reserved for these highly stylized contexts.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from אָבַד; a perishing; destruction.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אבד (ʾ-b-d) — to perish, to vanish, to be lost, to be destroyed

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H10 אֲבַדֹּה and destruction-of
H11 אֲבַדּוֹן Realm of Destruction
H13 אׇבְדַן in ruin-of
H5648 עֲבַד he perished
H6 אָבַד utterly destroying

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H12-01 וְ/אַבְדָ֑ן veavedan HC/Ncmsa and destruction and utter ruin 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H12-01 Esther 9:5 וְ/אַבְדָ֑ן veavedan HC/Ncmsa and destruction and utter ruin
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