A noun meaning the deep, the abyss, or the unfathomable depths — particularly of water. It describes the terrifying depths of the ocean or deep waters, which in Hebrew cosmology represented chaos, the unknown, and the power of death. The word appears in poetic and lament contexts.
The depths of the sea hold a particular terror in Hebrew imagination. Jonah's descent into them was a living death — he describes being in Sheol, with seaweed wrapped around his head. The Psalms frequently use the depths as a metaphor for extreme distress, divine judgment, or the threat of annihilation. Yet God is sovereign even over the depths: he can command the abyss, walk on water, rescue from the deepest pit. The same God who parted the Red Sea and delivered from the deep guarantees that no depth — whether literal or metaphorical — can separate his people from his love.