The Hebrew noun abed (אָבֵד) denotes destruction, ruin, or the place/state of perishing. It is closely related to abad (H6) — the verb "to perish" — and abaddon (H11), the personified realm of the dead. The word captures not merely the act of dying but the condition of utter ruin and irretrievable loss.
In Hebrew thought, abed stands in sharp contrast to chayim (life) and shalom (wholeness). The Wisdom literature uses such vocabulary to warn that the path of sin leads to destruction — not mere temporal misfortune but spiritual and eternal ruin. The antidote to abed is the fear of the LORD, which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). The New Testament picks up this very concept in John 3:16 — "should not perish" (Greek: apollymi, G622) — making the contrast between destruction and eternal life a cardinal theological axis.