What is Abaddon?

“Sheol is naked before God,
and Abaddon has no covering.”

-Job 26:6

Well, I, and other students, have already answered the question concerning Sheol...but what is Abaddon? In this verse, as well as Proverbs 15:11, it is referred to in conjunction with Sheol, which would lead us to think that it is a place. The word Abaddon in Hebrew actually means “destruction” or “ruin” (New Advent). If it is a place, then it would have to be a place of destruction, much like our perception of Hell. It is also considered to be a compartment of Gehenna (AskDefine). The name Gehenna is derived from The Valley of the Son of Hinnom, a place outside ancient Jerusalem where children were sacrificed by fire to gods like Moloch (Jeremiah 19:2-6). Gehenna in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition has become the destination of the wicked after death. Even if Abaddon is just a compartment of Gehenna, then it is still a place devoted to destruction of the damned. From this I think it is pretty safe to say that Abaddon refers to Hell. 

Abaddon has also been personified by scripture. In Revelation 9:1-11, Abaddon is the “Angel of the Abyss” and leader of an army of mutant locusts that torture the unbelievers after the sounding of the fifth trumpet. This is the only mention of Abaddon by name in the New Testament. Some believe this makes Abaddon a demon, or even the Devil himself. Jehovah's Witnesses argue that it can not be either of these considering Revelation 20:1-3, which states the angel with the key to the abyss overthrows Satan. They believe Abaddon is the resurrected Jesus Christ. 

I am more inclined to think it is just a word synonymous with destruction. The six times it is mentioned in the Old Testament, Abaddon can be replaced with “destruction” just as “the grave” can be substituted for Sheol.