A Hebrew word that means “place of destruction.” It appears six times in the Old Testament, usually referring to the place where people go after they die (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Psalm 88:11; Proverbs 15:11; 27:20).
Abaddon means the same thing as Sheol (the underworld or realm of the dead). Some Bible translations use words like “hell,” “death,” “the grave,” or “destruction” instead of Abaddon.
The same Hebrew word appears once in the New Testament in its Greek form, Apollyon (Revelation 9:11). In this verse, the idea of destruction is shown as a person called the “angel of the Abyss [the bottomless pit].” Because of this, some translations use the word “destroyer” instead of Abaddon.
In the book of Revelation, John has a vision where Abaddon (or Apollyon) is described as the angel ruling over the place of the dead. This angel appears after the fifth trumpet sounds (Revelation 9:1).