What Old Testament passages connect with the concept of the "abyss"? Setting the Stage: Understanding “the Abyss” in the Old Testament - Hebrew terms that underlie the New-Testament idea of “abyss” • tᵉhôm – “the deep,” the primeval, unfathomable waters (Genesis 1:2) • ʾereṣ tachtîth – “the lowest parts of the earth” (Psalm 63:9) • mᵉtsûlâh / mᵉtsôlôth – “depths,” especially of the sea (Exodus 15:5; Jonah 2:3) • bəʾêr shachath / bôr – “pit,” sometimes linked with Sheol (Psalm 30:3; Isaiah 14:15) Together these words paint a picture of a dark, watery, subterranean realm—a fitting Old-Testament backdrop for the New-Testament “abyss.” Creation: The Deep before Order Was Spoken (Genesis 1:2) “Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” - “The deep” (tᵉhôm) is the raw, chaotic abyss from which God brings an ordered cosmos. - From the first page of Scripture, the abyss is real, yet fully under God’s sovereign control. Global Judgment: The Floodgates of the Abyss Opened (Genesis 7:11; 8:2) - “All the fountains of the great deep burst forth.” (7:11) - “The springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed.” (8:2) - God turns the primeval abyss back loose upon a sinful world—judgment by releasing what He once restrained. Poetic Reflections on the Deep (Job & Psalms) Job - “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?” (38:16) • God alone knows and governs those hidden recesses. Psalms - 33:7 – “He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap; He puts the depths of the ocean into storehouses.” - 42:7 – “Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have swept over me.” - 71:20 – “Even from the depths of the earth You will bring me back up.” - 104:5-6 – “You covered it with the deep like a garment.” Key takeaways • The abyss signals overwhelming power—yet the psalmists trust God inside it. • It can picture extreme distress, but also the place from which God rescues. Prophetic Glimpses: Defeat of Cosmic Evil (Isaiah & Ezekiel) “Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces… who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep…?” - The conquest of the abyssal sea monster prefigures final victory over evil. “I made the deep spring mourn… I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back.” - Nations arrogant like the cedar of Lebanon are felled; even the deep responds to God’s verdict. Descent and Deliverance: Jonah’s Prayer from the Deep (Jonah 2:2-6) - “From the belly of Sheol I called for help… The deep surrounded me… yet You brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.” - Jonah experiences the abyss literally and spiritually; God’s rescue foreshadows Christ’s triumph over the grave. Links to Sheol and “the Pit” - Psalm 30:3; 88:6; 143:3 – the pit as near-synonym for the abyss, a realm of death. - Isaiah 14:15 – the proud king cast “to Sheol, to the depths of the Pit.” - Proverbs 9:18; 23:14 – moral choices can end in those depths. Recurring Themes to Notice • God’s Sovereignty – The abyss exists, but never outside His hand. • Judgment & Mercy – He releases its waters in judgment yet restrains them in mercy. • Depths & Resurrection – Going down to the abyss sets the stage for God to raise up (Psalm 71:20; Jonah 2:6). Taken together, these passages ground the New-Testament language of “the abyss” in vivid Old-Testament realities: chaotic waters, the grave-pit, and the unreachable depths—always under the Lord who creates, judges, and saves. |
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