Abaddon

Historical Article from The Catholic Encyclopedia

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Article Text

A Hebrew word signifying:

ruin, destruction (Job 31:12);
place of destruction; the Abyss, realm of the dead (Job 26:6; Proverbs 15:11);
it occurs personified (Apocalypse 9:11) as Abaddon and is rendered in Greek by Apollyon, denoting the angel-prince of hell, the minister of death and author of havoc on earth. The Vulgate renders the Greek Apollyon by the Latin Exterminans (that is, “Destroyer”). The identity of Abaddon with Asmodeus, the demon of impurity, has been asserted, but not proved.

In Job 26:6, and Proverbs 15:11, the word occurs in conjunction with Sheol.

Source Record

Author: Maas, Anthony
Publication: The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1907.
Nihil Obstat: Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
Imprimatur: Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.