Reference: Darkness
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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.
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Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. read more. One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.
The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him is put out.
Others sat in darkness and gloom- prisoners in cruel chains-
Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine.
But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
And He said to him, "I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise."
The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and remarkable day of the Lord comes;
Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead, expose them.
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).
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Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt."
One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.
And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
Then Solomon said: The Lord said that He would dwell in thick darkness,
before I go to a land of darkness and gloom, never to return.
The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him is put out.
Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Others sat in darkness and gloom- prisoners in cruel chains-
They will look toward the earth and see only distress, darkness, and the gloom of affliction, and they will be driven into thick darkness.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned.
Look, the day of the Lord is coming- cruel, with rage and burning anger- to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners on it. Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine.
For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the Lord will shine over you, and His glory will appear over you.
The day will be dark in Tehaphnehes, when I break the yoke of Egypt there and its proud strength comes to an end in the city. A cloud will cover Tehaphnehes, and its villages will go into captivity.
a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and dense overcast, like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a great and strong people [appears], such as never existed in ages past and never will again in all the generations to come.
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness-how deep is that darkness!
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be shaken.
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land.
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three,
Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead, expose them.
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).
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Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt."
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt."
Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Look, the day of the Lord is coming- cruel, with rage and burning anger- to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners on it.
Look, the day of the Lord is coming- cruel, with rage and burning anger- to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners on it. Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine.
Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine.
For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the Lord will shine over you, and His glory will appear over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth, and total darkness the peoples; but the Lord will shine over you, and His glory will appear over you.
The mother of seven grew faint; she breathed her [last] breath. Her sun set while it was still day; she was ashamed and humiliated. The rest of them I will give over to the sword in the presence of their enemies." [This is] the Lord's declaration.
The mother of seven grew faint; she breathed her [last] breath. Her sun set while it was still day; she was ashamed and humiliated. The rest of them I will give over to the sword in the presence of their enemies." [This is] the Lord's declaration.
The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the Lord comes.
The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the Lord comes.
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.
And in that day- [this is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord God - I will make the sun go down at noon; I will darken the land in the daytime.
And in that day- [this is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord God - I will make the sun go down at noon; I will darken the land in the daytime.
And in that day- [this is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord God - I will make the sun go down at noon; I will darken the land in the daytime.
And in that day- [this is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the declaration of the Lord God - I will make the sun go down at noon; I will darken the land in the daytime.
Therefore, it will be night for you- without visions; it will grow dark for you- without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.
Therefore, it will be night for you- without visions; it will grow dark for you- without divination. The sun will set on these prophets, and the daylight will turn black over them.
But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be shaken.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days: The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the celestial powers will be shaken.
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land.
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
"This, then, is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
"This, then, is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead, expose them.
Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead, expose them.
Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.
Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.
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.
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Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
God called the light "day," and He called the darkness "night." Evening came, and then morning: the first day.
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt."
It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. The cloud was there [in] the darkness, yet it lit up the night. So neither group came near the other all night long.
And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
before I go to a land of darkness and gloom, never to return. [It is] a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness.
He parted the heavens and came down, a dark cloud beneath His feet.
He made darkness His hiding place, dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.
They do not know or understand; they wander in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned.
The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the shadowland of death, light has dawned.
But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land.
Every day while I was with you in the temple complex, you never laid a hand on Me. But this is your hour-and the dominion of darkness."
That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
"This, then, is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.
For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm,
and He has kept, with eternal chains in darkness for the judgment of the great day, angels who did not keep their own position but deserted their proper dwelling.
wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever!
The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues from 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
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And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
before I go to a land of darkness and gloom, never to return. [It is] a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness.
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land.
That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
"This, then, is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were 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,"
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Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.
If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above not care about it, or light shine on it. May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it. May an eclipse of the sun terrify it.
[It is] a land of blackness like the deepest darkness, gloomy and chaotic, where even the light is like the darkness.
Others sat in darkness and gloom- prisoners in cruel chains-
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land.
Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified Him.
It was the preparation day for the Passover, and it was about six in the morning. Then he told the Jews, "Here is your king!"