Dictionary entry

Deep

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(tehom; abussos,Lu 8:31the King James Version;Ro 10:7the King James Version; bathos,Lu 5:4; buthos,2Co 11:25):

The Hebrew word ("water in commotion") is used

(1) of the primeval watery waste (Ge 1:2), where some suggest a connection with Babylonian Tiamat in the creation-epic;

(2) of the sea (Isa 51:10and commonly);

(3) of the subterranean reservoir of water (Ge 7:11;8:2;49:25;De 33:13;Eze 31:4, etc.). In the Revised Version (British and American) the Greek word first noted is rendered, literally, "abyss." SeeABYSS; alsoASTRONOMY, sec. III, 7.