Greek word · G12

ἄβυσσος

abyssos

abyss

Literally 'without bottom', 'unfathomably deep'. As a noun it means 'the deep': (1) the primordial waters under the earth, (2) the underworld or realm of the dead (Romans 10:7), (3) the prison of hostile spirits and powers (Luke 8:31).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

ἄ-βυσσος, -ον (Ion. βυσσός = βυθός),

1. in cl., boundless, bottomless (e.g. ἄ. πέλαγος, ἄ. πλοῦτος Æsch.).

2. [In LXX (for תְּהוֹם, Genesis 1:2, al.; exc. Isaiah 44:27, Job 41:22 for צוּלָה, מְצוּלָה, Job 36:16 for רַחַב) and] NT, as subst. (MM, VGT, see word), ἡ ἄ. (sc. χώρα), the abyss;

(a) of the sea (Genesis 1:2);

(b) of the underworld, as the abode of the dead: Romans 10:7 (a paraphrase of Deuteronomy 30:13 LXX); as the abode of demons, Luke 8:31, Revelation 9:1, 2, 11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:1, 3 (Cremer, 2).

† (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 20:3

Range of meaning: Literally 'without bottom', 'unfathomably deep'. As a noun it means 'the deep': (1) the primordial waters under the earth, (2) the underworld or realm of the dead (Romans 10:7), (3) the prison of hostile spirits and powers (Luke 8:31).
Against the English: KJV 'bottomless pit' and NLT 'bottomless pit' push readers toward hell and fire. ESV 'the pit' is shorter but similar. BSB, NASB, WEB and NIV transliterate it as 'Abyss', which keeps the ancient picture.
How it drifted: In popular imagination 'the bottomless pit' merged with hell as the place of fiery torment. Revelation keeps the two apart: the Abyss is a sealed holding place, and the 'lake of fire' (19:20; 20:10, 14) is where punishment is final.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX) abyssos regularly translates Hebrew tehom, 'the deep' (Genesis 1:2; 7:11; Psalm 104:6). In 1 Enoch fallen angels are bound and shut in places of darkness and deep chasms until judgment day (1 Enoch 10:4–6, 12–13; 18:11–16; 21:7–10). In Luke 8:31 the demons beg Jesus not to send them 'into the Abyss'. In Revelation the Abyss has a shaft and a key (9:1–2), and from it come the locust army, their king 'Abaddon' (9:11) and the beast (11:7; 17:8).

From the study of Revelation 9:1

Range of meaning: Literally 'without bottom', i.e. immeasurably deep. In the Greek Old Testament it translates Hebrew tehom, the primeval watery deep (Genesis 1:2; 7:11), and the depths of sea and earth (Psalm 71:20). By Jesus' day it also meant the underworld, the realm of the dead, and especially the prison where rebellious spirits are kept.
Against the English: KJV, ESV and NLT have 'bottomless pit'. Many modern readers hear that as 'hell', the final place of punishment, or as an endless fall. BSB, NIV and WEB keep 'Abyss'.
How it drifted: Translators going back to Tyndale rendered the word by its etymology ('bottomless'). Later popular usage then merged 'the bottomless pit' with hell and the lake of fire.
Used elsewhere in the period: 1 Enoch 10:4–6, 12–13 (the rebel watchers bound in darkness until the day of judgment); 18:11–16 and 21:7–10 (a deep chasm prison for disobedient stars and angels); Jubilees 5:6–10 (the angels bound in the depths of the earth). Luke 8:31: the demons beg Jesus not to send them 'into the abyss'. Romans 10:7: the abyss as the realm of the dead. Revelation 11:7 and 17:8: the beast rises from the abyss. Revelation 20:1–3, 7: Satan is locked in the abyss for a thousand years and then released. Only later is he thrown into the lake of fire (20:10).

From the study of Revelation 20:1

Range of meaning: The word is built from a- ('without') and byssos ('depth, bottom'), so it means literally 'bottomless, unfathomably deep'. In biblical-era usage it is almost always a noun, 'the Deep'. Its meanings include: (1) the primeval watery deep of creation and the flood; (2) the depths beneath the earth, the realm of the dead; (3) in Jewish apocalyptic writing and the New Testament, the underworld prison where rebellious spirits are held until judgment. In Revelation it is a place with a shaft (9:1–2, phrear) that can be locked, opened, shut and sealed (20:3). It is the source of the demonic locusts (9:2–3) and of the beast (11:7; 17:8). Their king is 'the angel of the Abyss' (9:11).
Against the English: KJV and ESV say 'bottomless pit'. BSB, WEB, NASB and NIV say 'abyss' or 'Abyss'. 'Bottomless pit' follows the word's makeup but suggests an endless fall or simply 'hell'. In Revelation the Abyss is a temporary jail, and it is clearly different from the lake of fire (19:20; 20:10, 14).
How it drifted: The KJV rendering 'bottomless pit' entered popular speech as a synonym for hell. Later Christian imagery then merged the Jewish underworld zones (Abyss, Hades, Tartarus, Gehenna, the lake of fire) into one place of eternal torment.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX), abyssos usually translates Hebrew tehom, 'the deep'. Examples: Gen 1:2 ('darkness was over the abyss'), Gen 7:11 (the fountains of the great deep), Ps 71:20 (LXX 70:20, 'from the depths of the earth'), Job 41:24 LXX (the deep where Leviathan lives). Luke 8:31 has demons begging Jesus not to send them 'into the Abyss', which shows it was a known prison for spirits. In Rom 10:7 it is the realm of the dead. 1 Enoch describes places of imprisonment beneath the earth and at the edge of the world for fallen angels (1 En 10; 18–21), though the Greek fragments vary in vocabulary. 2 Pet 2:4 and Jude 6 describe fallen angels kept in chains and darkness until judgment.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

Luke 8:31 ἄβυσσον abyss

And the demons kept begging Jesus not to order them to go into the Abyss.

Romans · 1

Romans 10:7 ἄβυσσον; abyss?’

or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”

Revelation · 7

Revelation 9:1 ἀβύσσου, abyss,

Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the Abyss.

Here: The deep underworld. In the Greek Old Testament it is the primeval 'deep'. In Jewish writings of Jesus' day it is the prison where rebel spirits are held until judgment. This is where the locust army of 9:3–11 comes up from.
Revelation 9:2 ἀβύσσου· abyss;

The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.

Here: The Abyss: the deep beneath the world. Biblical Greek used this word for the primeval waters of creation. In Jesus' day it was also pictured as the prison where rebel spirits were held. It is not the final 'lake of fire' of Revelation 20.
Revelation 9:11 ἀβύσσου· abyss;

They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.

Here: The 'bottomless' deep under the earth. Jewish writings of the time pictured it as the prison of rebellious spirits. The angel is 'of' it: he belongs to it and rules it.
Revelation 11:7 ἀβύσσου abyss

When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.

Here: The deep below the world. In the Greek Old Testament it translates the primeval watery deep of Genesis 1:2. In Jewish thought of Jesus' day it was also the prison of rebel spirits. The beast's power has its roots in the realm of chaos and demons.
Revelation 17:8 ἀβύσσου abyss

The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.

Here: The primeval deep and underworld prison where hostile spiritual powers are kept. Its king is "the Destroyer" (9:11).
Revelation 20:1 ἀβύσσου Abyss

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.

Here: The deep beneath the earth. In Jewish thought of the period it was the holding prison for rebellious spirits. It is not the lake of fire, which is the final place of punishment in 20:10.
Revelation 20:3 ἄβυσσον Abyss

And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.

Here: The underworld deep, the prison-shaft from which the locusts and the beast come up. Here it is a place of holding, not the place of final punishment (that is the lake of fire, 20:10).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.