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a-bis´, (ἡ ἀÌβυσσος, heÌ„ aÌbussos): In classical Greek the word is always an adjective, and is used (1) literally, “very deep,†“bottomlessâ€; (2) figuratively, “unfathomable,†“boundless.†“Abyss†does not occur in the King James Version but the Revised Version (British and American) so transliterates ἀÌβυσσος, aÌbussos in each case. The King James Version renders the Greek by “the deep†in two passages (; ). In Revelation the King James Version renders by “the bottomless pit†(, , ; ; ; , ). In the Septuagint abussos is the rendering of the Hebrew word תּהו×, tehoÌ„Ì„mÌŒ. According to primitive Semitic cosmogony the earth was supposed to rest on a vast body of water which was the source of all springs of water and rivers (; ; ; ). This subterranean ocean is sometimes described as “the water under the earth†(; ). According to tehoÌ„Ì„m is the home of the leviathan in which he plows his hoary path of foam. The Septuagint never uses abussos as a rendering of ש××ול, she'oÌ„l (= Sheol = Hades) and probably tehoÌ„m never meant the “abode of the dead†which was the ordinary meaning of Sheol. In tehoÌ„m is used figuratively, and denotes “many and sore troubles†through which the psalmist has passed (compare ). But in the New Testament the word abussos means the “abode of demons.†In the King James Version renders “into the deep†(Weymouth and The Twentieth Century New Testament = “into the bottomless pitâ€). The demons do not wish to be sent to their place of punishment before their destined time. Mark simply says “out of the country†(). In the word is equivalent to Hades, the abode of the dead. In Revelation (where the King James Version renders invariably “the bottomless pitâ€) abussos denotes the abode of evil spirits, but not the place of final punishment; it is therefore to be distinguished from the “lake of fire and brimstone†where the beast and the false prophet are, and into which the Devil is to be finally cast (; ). See also ASTRONOMY, III, 7.