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
the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness is on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters,
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.' And Moses stretcheth out his hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness -- thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; read more. they have not seen one another, and none hath risen from his place three days; and to all the sons of Israel there hath been light in their dwellings.'
The light hath been dark in his tent, And his lamp over him is extinguished.
Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron,
For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Cause not their light to shine, Darkened hath been the sun in its going out, And the moon causeth not its light to come forth.
but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness -- there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
and Jesus said to him, 'Verily I say to thee, To-day with me thou shalt be in the paradise.'
the sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the day of the Lord -- the great and illustrious;
and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness and rather even convict,
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 Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.'
they have not seen one another, and none hath risen from his place three days; and to all the sons of Israel there hath been light in their dwellings.'
And the people stand afar off, and Moses hath drawn nigh unto the thick darkness where God is.
Before I go, and return not, Unto a land of darkness and death-shade,
The light hath been dark in his tent, And his lamp over him is extinguished.
Cloud and darkness are round about Him, Righteousness and judgment the basis of His throne.
Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron,
And unto the land it looketh attentively, And lo, adversity and darkness! -- Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!
The people who are walking in darkness Have seen a great light, Dwellers in a land of death-shade, Light hath shone upon them.
Lo, the day of Jehovah doth come, Fierce, with wrath, and heat of anger, To make the land become a desolation, Yea, its sinning ones He destroyeth from it. For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Cause not their light to shine, Darkened hath been the sun in its going out, And the moon causeth not its light to come forth.
For, lo, the darkness doth cover the earth, And thick darkness the peoples, And on thee rise doth Jehovah, And His honour on thee is seen.
And in Tehaphnehes hath the day been dark, In My breaking there the yokes of Egypt, And ceased in her hath the excellency of her strength, She -- a cloud doth cover her, And her daughters into captivity do go.
A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of cloud and thick darkness, As darkness spread on the mountains, A people numerous and mighty, Like it there hath not been from of old, And after it there is not again -- till the years of generation and generation.
but if thine eye may be evil, all thy body shall be dark; if, therefore, the light that is in thee is darkness -- the darkness, how great!
'And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken;
And from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land unto the ninth hour,
And it was, as it were, the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land till the ninth hour,
and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness and rather even convict,
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 Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.'
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.'
And -- before they lie down -- she hath gone up unto them on the roof,
And -- before they lie down -- she hath gone up unto them on the roof,
Cloud and darkness are round about Him, Righteousness and judgment the basis of His throne.
Cloud and darkness are round about Him, Righteousness and judgment the basis of His throne.
Lo, the day of Jehovah doth come, Fierce, with wrath, and heat of anger, To make the land become a desolation, Yea, its sinning ones He destroyeth from it.
Lo, the day of Jehovah doth come, Fierce, with wrath, and heat of anger, To make the land become a desolation, Yea, its sinning ones He destroyeth from it. For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Cause not their light to shine, Darkened hath been the sun in its going out, And the moon causeth not its light to come forth.
For the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, Cause not their light to shine, Darkened hath been the sun in its going out, And the moon causeth not its light to come forth.
For, lo, the darkness doth cover the earth, And thick darkness the peoples, And on thee rise doth Jehovah, And His honour on thee is seen.
For, lo, the darkness doth cover the earth, And thick darkness the peoples, And on thee rise doth Jehovah, And His honour on thee is seen.
Languished hath the bearer of seven, She hath breathed out her spirit, Gone in hath her sun while yet day, It hath been ashamed and confounded, And their residue to the sword I give up before their enemies, An affirmation of Jehovah.
Languished hath the bearer of seven, She hath breathed out her spirit, Gone in hath her sun while yet day, It hath been ashamed and confounded, And their residue to the sword I give up before their enemies, An affirmation of Jehovah.
The sun is turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, Before the coming of the day of Jehovah, The great and the fearful.
The sun is turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, Before the coming of the day of Jehovah, The great and the fearful.
Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.
Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.
And it hath come to pass in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I have caused the sun to go in at noon, And caused darkness on the land in a day of light,
And it hath come to pass in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I have caused the sun to go in at noon, And caused darkness on the land in a day of light,
And it hath come to pass in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I have caused the sun to go in at noon, And caused darkness on the land in a day of light,
And it hath come to pass in that day, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I have caused the sun to go in at noon, And caused darkness on the land in a day of light,
Therefore a night ye have without vision, And darkness ye have without divination, And gone in hath the sun on the prophets, And black over them hath been the day.
Therefore a night ye have without vision, And darkness ye have without divination, And gone in hath the sun on the prophets, And black over them hath been the day.
but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness -- there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness -- there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
'And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken;
'And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken;
And from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land unto the ninth hour,
And from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land unto the ninth hour,
and lo, a messenger of the Lord stood over them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared a great fear.
and lo, a messenger of the Lord stood over them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared a great fear.
and the light in the darkness did shine, and the darkness did not perceive it.
and the light in the darkness did shine, and the darkness did not perceive it.
'And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil;
'And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil;
and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness and rather even convict,
and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness and rather even convict,
And this is the message that we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and darkness in Him is not at all;
And this is the message that we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and darkness in Him is not at all;
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
the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness is on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters,
and God calleth to the light 'Day,' and to the darkness He hath called 'Night;' and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day one.
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.'
and cometh in between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and the cloud and the darkness are, and he enlighteneth the night, and the one hath not drawn near unto the other all the night.
And the people stand afar off, and Moses hath drawn nigh unto the thick darkness where God is.
Before I go, and return not, Unto a land of darkness and death-shade, A land of obscurity as thick darkness, Death-shade -- and no order, And the shining is as thick darkness.'
And He inclineth the heavens, and cometh down, And thick darkness is under His feet.
He maketh darkness His secret place, Round about Him His tabernacle, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
They knew not, nor do they understand, In darkness they walk habitually, Moved are all the foundations of earth.
Cloud and darkness are round about Him, Righteousness and judgment the basis of His throne.
The people who are walking in darkness Have seen a great light, Dwellers in a land of death-shade, Light hath shone upon them.
the people that is sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in a region and shadow of death -- light arose to them.'
but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness -- there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
And from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land unto the ninth hour,
while daily I was with you in the temple, ye did stretch forth no hands against me; but this is your hour and the power of the darkness.'
and the light in the darkness did shine, and the darkness did not perceive it.
'And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil;
because we have not the wrestling with blood and flesh, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, with the spiritual things of the evil in the heavenly places;
For ye came not near to the mount touched and scorched with fire, and to blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
messengers also, those who did not keep their own principality, but did leave their proper dwelling, to a judgment of a great day, in bonds everlasting, under darkness He hath kept,
wild waves of a sea, foaming out their own shames; stars going astray, to whom the gloom of the darkness to the age hath been kept.
And the fifth messenger did pour out his vial upon the throne of the beast, and his kingdom did become darkened, and they were gnawing their tongues from the 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 stand afar off, and Moses hath drawn nigh unto the thick darkness where God is.
Before I go, and return not, Unto a land of darkness and death-shade, A land of obscurity as thick darkness, Death-shade -- and no order, And the shining is as thick darkness.'
And from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land unto the ninth hour,
and the light in the darkness did shine, and the darkness did not perceive it.
'And this is the judgment, that the light hath come to the world, and men did love the darkness rather than the light, for their works 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,"
See Verses Found in Dictionary
the earth hath existed waste and void, and darkness is on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of the waters,
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.' And Moses stretcheth out his hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness -- thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;
That day -- let it be darkness, Let not God require it from above, Nor let light shine upon it. Let darkness and death-shade redeem it, Let a cloud tabernacle upon it, Let them terrify it as the most bitter of days.
A land of obscurity as thick darkness, Death-shade -- and no order, And the shining is as thick darkness.'
Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron,
And from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land unto the ninth hour,
and it was the third hour, and they crucified him;
and it was the preparation of the passover, and as it were the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews, 'Lo, your king!'