Reference: Darkness
American
The absence of natural light, Ge 1:2, and hence figuratively a state of misery and adversity, Job 18:6; Ps 107:10; Isa 8:22-9:1; also the absence of the sun and stars, and hence the fall of chief men and national convulsions, Isa 13:10; Ac 2:20. "Works of darkness," are the impure mysteries practiced in heathen worship, Eph 5:11. "Outer darkness" illustrates the gloom of those on whom the gates of heaven are closed, Mt 8:12. The darkness in Egypt, Ex 10:21-23, was miraculous; also that which covered all Judea with sympathetic gloom at the crucifixion of Christ, Lu 23:43. This could not have been caused by an eclipse of the sun; for at Passover the moon was full, and on the opposite side of the earth from the sun.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the earth was waste and without form; and it was dark on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters.
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark. And when Moses' hand was stretched out, dark night came over all the land of Egypt for three days; read more. They were not able to see one another, and no one got up from his place for three days: but where the children of Israel were living it was light.
The light is dark in his tent, and the light shining over him is put out.
Those who were in the dark, in the black night, in chains of sorrow and iron;
For the stars of heaven and its bright armies will not give their light: the sun will be made dark in his journey through the heaven, and the moon will keep back her light.
But the sons of the kingdom will be put out into the dark, and there will be weeping and cries of pain.
And he said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you will be with me in Paradise.
The sun will become dark and the moon will be turned to blood, before that great day of the Lord comes in glory:
And have no company with the works of the dark, which give no fruit, but make their true quality clear;
Easton
The plague (the ninth) of darkness in Egypt (Ex 10:21) is described as darkness "which may be felt." It covered "all the land of Egypt," so that "they saw not one another." It did not extend to the land of Goshen (ver. Ex 10:23).
When Jesus hung upon the cross (Mt 27:45; Lu 23:44), from the "sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour."
On Mount Sinai, Moses (Ex 20:21) "drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." This was the "thick cloud upon the mount" in which Jehovah was when he spake unto Moses there. The Lord dwelt in the cloud upon the mercy-seat (1Ki 8:12), the cloud of glory. When the psalmist (Ps 97:2) describes the inscrutable nature of God's workings among the sons of men, he says, "Clouds and darkness are round about him." God dwells in thick darkness.
Darkness (Isa 13:9-10; Mt 24:29) also is a symbol of the judgments that attend on the coming of the Lord. It is a symbol of misery and adversity (Job 18:6; Ps 107:10; Isa 8:22; Eze 30:18). The "day of darkness" in Joe 2:2, caused by clouds of locusts, is a symbol of the obscurity which overhangs all divine proceedings. "Works of darkness" are impure actions (Eph 5:11). "Outer darkness" refers to the darkness of the streets in the East, which are never lighted up by any public or private lamps after nightfall, in contrast with the blaze of cheerful light in the house. It is also a symbol of ignorance (Isa 9:2; 60:2; Mt 6:23) and of death (Job 10:21; 17:13).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark.
They were not able to see one another, and no one got up from his place for three days: but where the children of Israel were living it was light.
And the people kept their places far off, but Moses went near to the dark cloud where God was.
Then Solomon said, O Lord, to the sun you have given the heaven for a living-place, but your living-place was not seen by men;
Before I go to the place from which I will not come back, to the land where all is dark and black,
The light is dark in his tent, and the light shining over him is put out.
Dark clouds are round him; his kingdom is based on righteousness and right judging.
Those who were in the dark, in the black night, in chains of sorrow and iron;
And he will be looking down on the earth, and there will be trouble and dark clouds, black night where there is no seeing.
The people who went in the dark have seen a great light, and for those who were living in the land of the deepest night, the light is shining.
See, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with wrath and burning passion: to make the land a waste, driving the sinners in it to destruction. For the stars of heaven and its bright armies will not give their light: the sun will be made dark in his journey through the heaven, and the moon will keep back her light.
For truly, the earth will be dark, and the peoples veiled in blackest night; but the Lord will be shining on you, and his glory will be seen among you.
And at Tehaphnehes the day will become dark, when the yoke of Egypt is broken there, and the pride of her power comes to an end: as for her, she will be covered with a cloud, and her daughters will be taken away prisoners.
For a day of dark and deep shade is near, a day of cloud and black night: like a black cloud a great and strong people is covering the mountains; there has never been any like them and will not be after them again, from generation to generation.
But if your eye is evil, all your body will be dark. If then the light which is in you is dark, how dark it will be!
But straight away, after the trouble of those days, the sun will be made dark and the moon will not give her light and the stars will come down from heaven and the powers of heaven will be moved:
Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour.
And it was now about the sixth hour; and all the land was dark till the ninth hour;
And have no company with the works of the dark, which give no fruit, but make their true quality clear;
Fausets
The ninth Egyptian plague (Ex 10:21, etc.). Especially calculated to affect the Egyptians who worshipped Ra, the sun god. Its sudden and intense coming when Moses stretched out his hand marked it as supernatural. Its basis was natural, namely, the chamsin or sandstorm (see Septuagint), from the S.W. desert. It produces a darkness denser than the densest fog, so that no man rises from his place; men and beasts hide until it is over, for it penetrates even through well closed windows. This explains the peculiar phrase "darkness which may be felt." What still more marked its judicial character was (compare Isa 13:9-10; Joe 2:31; 3:15; Mt 24:29) "the children of Israel had light in their dwellings."
The date of Am 8:9 coincides with a total eclipse visible at Jerusalem shortly after noon, Feb. 9th, 784 B.C.; the date of Mic 3:6 with the eclipse June 5th, 716 B.C. (Dionys. Hal., 2:56); the date of Jer 15:9 with the eclipse of Sept. 30th, 610 B.C. (Herodotus, 1:74,103.) The darkness over all the land (Juaea) from the sixth to the ninth hour during Christ's crucifixion (Mt 27:45) cannot have been an eclipse, for it would not last three hours, seldom intensely more than six minutes. The eclipse, darkness and earthquake in Bithynia, noted by Phlegon of Tralles, was probably in the year before. This darkness at Christ's crucifixion was nature's sympathy with her suffering Lord; perhaps partly intended by the prophecy Am 8:9.
As the glory of the Lord shone around the scene of His birth (Lu 2:9), so a pall of darkness was fitly spread over His dying scene. By the paschal reckoning the moon must then have been at its full phase, when the sun could not be eclipsed. Darkness is the image of spiritual ignorance and unbelief (Isa 60:2; Joh 1:5; 3:19; 1Jo 2:8). "Outer darkness" expresses exclusion from the brightness of the heavenly banquet (Mt 8:12). "The works of darkness," i.e. sins (Eph 5:11). God dwells in thick darkness; i.e., we cannot penetrate the awe inspiring mysteries of His person and His dealings. But God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1Jo 1:5; 1Ki 8:12; Ps 97:2).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark.
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark.
Dark clouds are round him; his kingdom is based on righteousness and right judging.
Dark clouds are round him; his kingdom is based on righteousness and right judging.
See, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with wrath and burning passion: to make the land a waste, driving the sinners in it to destruction.
See, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with wrath and burning passion: to make the land a waste, driving the sinners in it to destruction. For the stars of heaven and its bright armies will not give their light: the sun will be made dark in his journey through the heaven, and the moon will keep back her light.
For the stars of heaven and its bright armies will not give their light: the sun will be made dark in his journey through the heaven, and the moon will keep back her light.
For truly, the earth will be dark, and the peoples veiled in blackest night; but the Lord will be shining on you, and his glory will be seen among you.
For truly, the earth will be dark, and the peoples veiled in blackest night; but the Lord will be shining on you, and his glory will be seen among you.
The mother of seven is without strength; her spirit is gone from her, her sun has gone down while it is still day: she has been shamed and overcome: and the rest of them I will give up to the sword before their haters, says the Lord.
The mother of seven is without strength; her spirit is gone from her, her sun has gone down while it is still day: she has been shamed and overcome: and the rest of them I will give up to the sword before their haters, says the Lord.
The sun will be made dark and the moon turned to blood, before the great day of the Lord comes, a day to be feared.
The sun will be made dark and the moon turned to blood, before the great day of the Lord comes, a day to be feared.
The sun and the moon have become dark, and the stars keep back their shining.
The sun and the moon have become dark, and the stars keep back their shining.
And it will come about in that day, says the Lord God, that I will make the sun go down in the middle of the day, and I will make the earth dark in daylight:
And it will come about in that day, says the Lord God, that I will make the sun go down in the middle of the day, and I will make the earth dark in daylight:
And it will come about in that day, says the Lord God, that I will make the sun go down in the middle of the day, and I will make the earth dark in daylight:
And it will come about in that day, says the Lord God, that I will make the sun go down in the middle of the day, and I will make the earth dark in daylight:
For this cause it will be night for you, without a vision; and it will be dark for you, without knowledge of the future; the sun will go down over the prophets, and the day will be black over them.
For this cause it will be night for you, without a vision; and it will be dark for you, without knowledge of the future; the sun will go down over the prophets, and the day will be black over them.
But the sons of the kingdom will be put out into the dark, and there will be weeping and cries of pain.
But the sons of the kingdom will be put out into the dark, and there will be weeping and cries of pain.
But straight away, after the trouble of those days, the sun will be made dark and the moon will not give her light and the stars will come down from heaven and the powers of heaven will be moved:
But straight away, after the trouble of those days, the sun will be made dark and the moon will not give her light and the stars will come down from heaven and the powers of heaven will be moved:
Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour.
Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour.
And an angel of the Lord came to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining round about them: and fear came on them.
And an angel of the Lord came to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining round about them: and fear came on them.
And the light goes on shining in the dark; it is not overcome by the dark.
And the light goes on shining in the dark; it is not overcome by the dark.
And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.
And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.
And have no company with the works of the dark, which give no fruit, but make their true quality clear;
And have no company with the works of the dark, which give no fruit, but make their true quality clear;
This is the word which came to us from him and which we give to you, that God is light and in him there is nothing dark.
This is the word which came to us from him and which we give to you, that God is light and in him there is nothing dark.
Hastings
Morish
Used in various significations in scripture.
1. State of the earth before God said, Let there be light. Ge 1:2.
2. Temporary absence of light in the night. Ge 1:5.
3. Extraordinary darkness sent by God. Ex 10:21; 14:20; Mt 27:45.
4. The darkness by which God shrouded His glory. Ex 20:21; Ps 18:9,11; 97:2; Heb 12:18.
5. State of death as compared with natural life. Job 10:21-22.
6. Moral darkness as the consequent state of man fallen. Ps 82:5; Isa 9:2; Mt 4:16; Joh 1:5; 3:19; 2Co 6:14; 1Pe 2:9.
7. It characterises Satan and his agents. Lu 22:53; Eph 6:12; Re 16:10.
8. It is the abode of wicked spirits and will characterise the place of punishment of the wicked. Mt 8:12; 2Pe 2:4; Jude 1:6,13. God is light, and Christ came into the world as the true light: everything shut out from God, or opposed to God and to the Lord Jesus, must partake of moral darkness.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the earth was waste and without form; and it was dark on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters.
Naming the light, Day, and the dark, Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark.
And it came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel; and there was a dark cloud between them, and they went on through the night; but the one army came no nearer to the other all the night.
And the people kept their places far off, but Moses went near to the dark cloud where God was.
Before I go to the place from which I will not come back, to the land where all is dark and black, A land of thick dark, without order, where the very light is dark.
The heavens were bent, so that he might come down; and it was dark under his feet.
He made the dark his secret place; his tent round him was the dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
Dark clouds are round him; his kingdom is based on righteousness and right judging.
The people who went in the dark have seen a great light, and for those who were living in the land of the deepest night, the light is shining.
The people who were in the dark saw a great light, and to those in the land of the shade of death did the dawn come up.
But the sons of the kingdom will be put out into the dark, and there will be weeping and cries of pain.
Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour.
When I was in the Temple with you every day, your hands were not stretched out against me: but this is your hour, and the authority of the dark power.
And the light goes on shining in the dark; it is not overcome by the dark.
And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.
For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens.
You have not come to a mountain which may be touched, and is burning with fire, and to a black cloud, and a dark smoke, and a violent wind,
And the angels who did not keep to their kingdom but went out from the place which was theirs, he has put in eternal chains and in dark night till the great day of the judging.
Violent waves of the sea, streaming with their shame, wandering stars for whom the darkest night is kept in store for ever.
And the fifth let what was in his vessel come out on the high seat of the beast; and his kingdom was made dark; and they were biting their tongues for pain.
Smith
is spoken of as encompassing the actual presence of God, as that out of which he speaks, --the envelope, as it were, of divine glory.
The plague of darkness in Egypt was miraculous. The darkness "over all the land,"
attending the crucifixion has been attributed to an eclipse, but was undoubtedly miraculous, as no eclipse of the sun could have taken place at that time, the moon being at the full at the time of the passover. Darkness is also, as in the expression "land of darkness," used for the state of the dead,
and frequently, figuratively, for ignorance and unbelief, as the privation of spiritual light.
Joh 1:5; 3:19
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the people kept their places far off, but Moses went near to the dark cloud where God was.
Before I go to the place from which I will not come back, to the land where all is dark and black, A land of thick dark, without order, where the very light is dark.
Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour.
And the light goes on shining in the dark; it is not overcome by the dark.
And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.
Watsons
DARKNESS, the absence of light. "Darkness was upon the face of the deep," Ge 1:2; that is, the chaos was immersed in thick darkness, because light was withheld from it. The most terrible darkness was that brought on Egypt as a plague; it was so thick as to be, as it were, palpable; so horrible, that no one durst stir out of his place; and so lasting, that it endured three days and three nights, Ex 10:21-22; Wisdom 17:2, 3. The darkness at our Saviour's death began at the sixth hour, or noon, and ended at the third hour, or three o'clock in the afternoon. Thus it lasted almost the whole time he was on the cross; compare Mt 27:45, with Joh 19:14, and Mr 15:25. Origen, Maldonatus, Erasmus, Vatablus, and others, were of opinion that this darkness covered Judea only; which is sometimes called the whole earth; that is, the whole country. Chrysostom, Euthymius, Theophylact, and others, thought it extended over a hemisphere. Origen says it was caused by a thick mist, which precluded the sight of the sun. That it was preternatural is certain, for, the moon being at full, a natural eclipse of the sun was impossible. Darkness is sometimes used metaphorically for death. "The land of darkness" is the grave, Job 10:22; Ps 107:10. It is also used to denote misfortunes and calamities: "A day of darkness" is a day of affliction, Esther 11:8. "Let that day be darkness; let darkness stain it,"
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And the earth was waste and without form; and it was dark on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters.
And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark. And when Moses' hand was stretched out, dark night came over all the land of Egypt for three days;
That day--let it be dark; let not God take note of it from on high, and let not the light be shining on it; Let the dark and the black night take it for themselves; let it be covered with a cloud; let the dark shades of day send fear on it.
A land of thick dark, without order, where the very light is dark.
Those who were in the dark, in the black night, in chains of sorrow and iron;
Now from the sixth hour it was dark over all the land till the ninth hour.
And it was the third hour when they put him on the cross.
(It was the day when they made ready for the Passover; and it was about the sixth hour.) And he said to the Jews, There is your King!