'Deep' in the Bible

The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, on that same day all the fountains of the great deep [subterranean waters] burst open, and the windows and floodgates of the heavens were opened.

Also the fountains of the deep [subterranean waters] and the windows of the heavens were closed, the [pouring] rain from the sky was restrained,

When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him.

By the God of your father who will help you,And by the Almighty who blesses youWith blessings of the heavens above,Blessings lying in the deep that couches beneath,Blessings of the [nursing] breasts and of the [fertile] womb.

When the days of weeping and public mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to [the nobles of] the house of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying,

I will destroy your high places [devoted to idolatrous worship], and cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies upon the [crushed] bodies of your idols, and My soul will detest you [with deep and unutterable loathing].

These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel [while they were still] beyond [that is, on the east side of] the Jordan [River] in the wilderness [across from Jerusalem], in the Arabah [the long, deep valley running north and south from the eastern arm of the Red Sea to beyond the Dead Sea] opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab (place of gold).

And of Joseph he said,“Blessed by the Lord be his land,With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,And from the deep water that lies beneath,

But Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent peg and a hammer in her hand, and came up quietly to him and drove the peg through his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died.

So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they left, and no one saw or knew nor did anyone awaken, because they were all sound asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

“Let darkness and gloom claim it for their own;Let a cloud settle upon it;Let all that blackens the day terrify it (the day that I was born).

“Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,When deep sleep falls on men,

“Can you discover the depths of God?Can you [by searching] discover the limits of the Almighty [ascend to His heights, extend to His widths, and comprehend His infinite perfection]?

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

“For the morning is the same to him as the thick darkness [of midnight];For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

“Man puts an end to darkness [by bringing in a light],And to the farthest bounds he searches outThe rock buried in gloom and deep shadow.

“[As for] the earth, out of it comes food,But underneath [its surface, down deep] it is turned over as fire.

“The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

“In a dream, a vision of the night [one may hear God’s voice],When deep sleep falls on menWhile slumbering upon the bed,

“Have you entered and explored the springs of the seaOr [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?

“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

“Water becomes like stone [and hides itself],And the surface of the deep is frozen and imprisoned.

“He makes the deep water boil like a pot;He makes the sea like a [foaming] pot of ointment.

“Behind him he makes a shining wake;One would think the deep to be gray-haired [with foam].

Then He will speak to them in His [profound] angerAnd terrify them with His displeasure, saying,

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.

The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him,And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning.

Transgression speaks [like an oracle] to the wicked (godless) [deep] within his heart;There is no fear (dread) of God before his eyes.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,Your judgments are like the great deep.O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

Deep calls to deep at the [thundering] sound of Your waterfalls;All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.

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

They devise acts of injustice, saying,“We are ready with a well-conceived plan.”For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep (mysterious, unsearchable).

I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold;I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.

Rescue me from the mire and do not let me sink;Let me be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep waters.

Do not let the floodwater overwhelm me,Nor the deep waters swallow me up,Nor the pit [of Sheol] shut its mouth over me.

The waters [of the Red Sea] saw You, O God;The waters saw You, they were in anguish;The deeps also trembled.

He split rocks in the wildernessAnd gave them abundant [water to] drink like the ocean depths.

You cleared away the ground before it,And it took deep root and filled the land.

How great are Your works, O Lord!Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man’s understanding].

In whose hand are the depths of the earth;The peaks of the mountains are His also.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;The waters were standing above the mountains.

They have seen the works of the Lord,And His wonders in the deep.

“Let burning coals fall upon them;Let them be thrown into the fire,Into deep [water] pits from which they cannot rise.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].

The way of the wicked is like [deep] darkness;They do not know over what they stumble.

“When He established the heavens, I [Wisdom] was there;When He drew a circle upon the face of the deep,

When He made firm the skies above,When the fountains and springs of the deep became fixed and strong,

The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters [copious and difficult to fathom];The fountain of [mature, godly] wisdom is like a bubbling stream [sparkling, fresh, pure, and life-giving].

Laziness casts one into a deep sleep [unmindful of lost opportunity],And the idle person will suffer hunger.

A plan (motive, wise counsel) in the heart of a man is like water in a deep well,But a man of understanding draws it out.

The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit [deep and inescapable];He who is cursed by the Lord [because of his adulterous sin] will fall into it.

For a prostitute is a deep pit,And an immoral woman is a narrow well.

Whatever has been is far off, deeply remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it [for it is beyond the grasp of man]?

“I am the rose [of the plain] of Sharon,The lily of the valleys [that grows in deep places].”

“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God [one that will convince you that God has spoken and will keep His word]; make your request as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven.”

These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steep and rugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places.

They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, to the high places to weep.Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba;Everyone’s head is shaved, and every beard is cut off [in mourning].

For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep.He has closed your eyes, [you who are] the prophets;And He has covered your heads, [you who are] the seers.

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who [try to] deeply hide their plans from the Lord,Whose deeds are done in a dark place,And who say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

For Topheth [in Hinnom] has long been ready;Indeed, it has been prepared for the [Assyrian] king.He has made it deep and wide,A pit of fire with plenty of wood;The breath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone (blazing sulfur), kindles and fans it.

You will no longer see the fierce and insolent people,A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends,Of a strange and stammering tongue which no one understands.

“It is I who says to the deep, ‘Be dried up!’And I will make your rivers dry.

Who is among you who fears the Lord,Who obeys the voice of His Servant,Yet who walks in darkness and has no light?Let him trust and be confident in the name of the Lord and let him rely on his God.

Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea,The waters of the great deep,Who made the depths of the sea a pathwayFor the redeemed to cross over?

“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?’

“O generation [that you are], consider and regard carefully the word of the Lord.Have I been a wilderness to Israel [like a land without food],A land of thick and deep darkness [like a path without light]?Why do My people say, ‘We [have broken loose and we] are free to roam [at will];We will no longer come to You’?

“Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths [of the desert to escape the judgment of Edom],O inhabitants of Dedan,For I will bring the destruction of Esau (Edom) upon himWhen I inspect and punish him.

“Flee, run far away! Dwell in the depths [of the desert],O inhabitants of Hazor,” says the Lord,“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has planned a course of action against youAnd devised a scheme against you.

Thus says the Lord God,‘You will drink your sister’s cup,Which is deep and wide [and filled to the brim].You shall be laughed at and derided;It contains much [too much to endure].

For thus says the Lord God, “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you,

“Your rowers have brought youInto great and deep waters;The east wind has broken and shipwrecked youIn the heart of the seas.

‘The waters nourished it, the deep [underground waters] made it grow tall.Its rivers ran all around the place where it was planted,Sending out its streams to all the trees (other nations) of the field.

‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when Assyria went down to Sheol (the place of the dead) I caused mourning; I closed the deep [subterranean waters] over it and restrained its rivers. And the many waters [that contributed to its prosperity] were held back; and I made [the heart of] Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away because of it.

“And these are the measurements of the altar [of burnt offering] in cubits (the cubit being a [long] cubit [the length of a forearm] and a hand width): the base shall be a cubit [long] and a cubit wide, with its border on its edge all around it of a span [in width]. And this shall be the height of the base of the altar.

The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen wide on its four sides, and the border around it shall be half a cubit; and its base shall be a cubit all around, and its steps shall face the east.”

“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;He knows what is in the darkness,And the light dwells with Him.

Now as he (Gabriel) was speaking with me, I drifted into a deep sleep (unconsciousness) with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand [where I had stood before].

Then I heard the sound of his words; and when I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in a deep sleep, with my face toward the ground.

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.

Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God called for punishment with fire, and it devoured the great deep [underground sources of water] and began to consume the land.

“For You cast me into the deep,Into the [deep] heart of the seas,And the currents surrounded and engulfed me;All Your breakers and billowing waves passed over me.

The mountains saw You and [they] trembled and writhed [as if in pain];The downpour of waters swept by [as a deluge].The deep uttered its voice and raged,It lifted its hands high.