'Shadow' in the Bible

Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”

When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops.” But Zebul said to him, “You are only seeing the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”

Isaiah said, “This will be the sign to you from the Lord, that He will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow [indicating the time of day] go forward ten steps, or go backward ten steps?”

Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to go forward ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

So Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow on the steps ten steps backward by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.

For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope [of remaining].

“For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,Because our days on earth are [like] a shadow [just a breath or a vapor].

Before I go—and I shall not return—To the land of darkness and the deep shadow [of death],

The [sunless] land of utter gloom as darkness itself,[The land] of the shadow of death, without order,And [where] it shines as [thick] darkness.”

“He uncovers mysteries [that are difficult to grasp and understand] out of the darknessAnd brings black gloom and the shadow of death into light.

“Like a flower he comes forth and withers;He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

“My face is red and swollen with weeping,And on my eyelids is the shadow of death [my eyes are dimmed],

“My eye has grown dim (unexpressive) because of grief,And all my [body’s] members are [wasted away] like a shadow.

Keep me [in Your affectionate care, protect me] as the apple of Your eye;Hide me in the [protective] shadow of Your wings

Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,I fear no evil, for You are with me;Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

“Surely every man walks around like a shadow [in a charade];Surely they make an uproar for nothing;Each one builds up riches, not knowing who will receive them.

Yet You have [distressingly] crushed us in the place of jackalsAnd covered us with [the deep darkness of] the shadow of death.

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious and merciful to me,For my soul finds shelter and safety in You,And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge and be confidently secureUntil destruction passes by.

For You have been my help,And in the shadow of Your wings [where I am always protected] I sing for joy.

The mountains were covered with its shadow,And its branches were like the cedars of God.

I am counted among those who go down to the pit (grave);I am like a man who has no strength [a mere shadow],

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most HighWill remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].

My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun];And as for me, I wither away like grass.

Some dwelt in darkness and in the deep (deathly) darkness,Prisoners [bound] in misery and chains,

He brought them out of darkness and the deep (deathly) darknessAnd broke their bonds apart.

I am vanishing like a shadow when it lengthens and fades;I am shaken off like the locust.

Man is like a mere breath;His days are like a shadow that passes away.

For who [limited by human wisdom] knows what is good for man during his lifetime, during the few days of his futile life? He spends them like a shadow [staying busy, but achieving nothing of lasting value]. For who can tell a man what will happen after him [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun [after his life is over]?

But it will not be well for the evil man, nor will he lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

(The Shulammite Bride)“Like an apple tree [rare and welcome] among the trees of the forest,So is my beloved among the young men!In his shade I took great delight and sat down,And his fruit was sweet and delicious to my palate.

The people who walk in [spiritual] darknessWill see a great Light;Those who live in the dark land,The Light will shine on them.

Like heat in a dry land, You will subdue the noise of foreigners [rejoicing over their enemies];Like heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the tyrants is silenced.

Who proceed down to EgyptWithout consulting Me,To take refuge in the stronghold of PharaohAnd to take shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

“Therefore the safety and protection of Pharaoh will be your shameAnd the refuge in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation and disgrace.

Listen carefully, I will turn the shadow on the stairway [denoting the time of day] ten steps backward, the shadow on the stairway (sundial) of Ahaz.” And the sunlight went ten steps backward on the stairway where it had [previously] gone down.

He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,In the shadow of His hand He has kept Me hidden;And He has made Me a sharpened arrow,In His quiver He has hidden Me.

I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the [renewed] heavens and lay the foundations of the [renewed] earth, and to say to Zion (Jerusalem), ‘You are My people.’”

“They did not say, ‘Where is the LordWho brought us up from the land of Egypt,Who led us through the wilderness,Through a land of deserts and of pits,Through a land of drought and of the deep darkness [of the shadow of death],Through a land that no man passed throughAnd where no man lived?’

Give glory to the Lord your God,Before He brings darknessAnd before your feet stumbleOn the dark and shadowy mountains,And while you are longing for lightHe turns it into the shadow of death,And makes it into thick darkness.

“In the shadow of HeshbonThe fugitives stand powerless [helpless and without strength],For a fire has gone out from Heshbon,A flame from the midst of Sihon;It has destroyed the forehead of MoabAnd the crowns of the heads of [the arrogant Moabites] the ones in tumult.

The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord [our king],Was captured in their snares,He of whom we had said, “Under his shadowWe shall live among the nations.”

‘All the birds of the sky made their nests in its twigs,And under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth [to their young],And all of the great nations lived under its shadow.

They also went down to Sheol with it to those who were slain by the sword; those who were its strength lived under its shade among the nations.

He who made the [cluster of stars called] Pleiades and [the constellation] Orion,Who turns deep darkness into the morningAnd darkens the day into night,Who calls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the surface of the earth,The Lord is His name.

“The people who were sitting (living) in [spiritual] darkness have seen a great Light,And for those who were sitting (living) in the land and shadow of [spiritual and moral] death,Upon them a Light has dawned.”

Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him and obey Him!”

To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,To guide our feet [in a straight line] into the way of peace and serenity.”

to such an extent that they even carried their sick out into the streets and put them on cots and sleeping pads, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on one of them [with healing power].

Such things are only a shadow of what is to come and they have only symbolic value; but the substance [the reality of what is foreshadowed] belongs to Christ.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].