ABADDON

ABADDON (Heb. אֲבַדּוֹן; "place of destruction"). It is mentioned in the Wisdom literature of the Bible (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Prov. 15:11; Ps. 88:12); and it occurs also in the New Testament (Rev. 11:11) where, however, it is personified as the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Greek is "Apollyon" (ʾΑπολλυων, "destroyer"). In the Talmud (Er. 19a) it is given as the second of the seven names of Gehenna (*Gehinnom), the proof verse being Psalms 88:12, while Midrash Konen makes it the actual second department of Gehenna.

Abaddon

"The Destroyer," from a Hebrew word meaning "destruction." Chief of the demons of the seventh hierarchy. Abaddon is the name given by St. John in the Apocalypse to the king of the grasshoppers. He is sometimes regarded as the destroying angel or prince of the underworld, also synonymous with Apollyon (Rev. 9:11).

(See also Black Magic )

Sources:

Barrett, Francis. The Magus. London, 1801. Reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1967.

Abaddon (Heb.). Place of destruction, mentioned in the Wisdom literature (e.g. Job 31. 12, Psalm 88. 12). In the Talmud, it is a name given to Gehenna.

Abaddon a name for the Devil (Revelation 9:11) or for hell. Recorded from late Middle English, Abaddon comes via Greek from Hebrew ‘destruction’. Its use for ‘hell’ derives from Milton's Paradise Regained (1671).