Darkness

See under LIGHT.

The absence, privation, or want of natural light. In Scripture language it also signifies sin, Joh 3:19. trouble, Is. 8: 22. obscurity, privacy, Mat 10:27. forgetfulness, contempt, Ecc 6:4. Darkness, says Moses, was upon the face of the deep, Gen 1:2. that is to say the chaos was plunged in thick darkness, because hitherto the light was not created. Moses, at the command of God, brought darkness upon Egypt, as a plague to the inhabitants of it. The Septuagint, our translation of the Bible, and indeed most others, in explaining Moses’s account of this darkness, render it "a darkness which may be felt;" and the Vulgate has it, "palpable darkness;" that is, a darkness consisting of black vapors and exhalations, so condensed that they might be perceived by the organs of feeling or seeing; but some commentators think that this is carrying the sense too far, since, in such a medium as this, mankind could not live an hour, much less for the space of three days, as the Egyptians are said to have done, during the time this darkness lasted; and, therefore, they imagine that instead of a darkness that may be felt, the Hebrew phrase may signify a darkness wherein men went groping and feeling about for every thing they wanted. Let this, however, be as it may, it was an awful judgment on the Egyptians; and we may naturally conclude that it must have also spread darkness and distress over their minds as well as their persons. The tradition of the Jews is, that in this darkness they were terrified by the apparitions of evil spirits, or rather by dreadful sounds and murmurs which they made.

What made it still worse, was the length of time it continued; three days, or as bishop Hall expresses it, six nights in one. During the last three hours that our Saviour hung upon the cross, a darkness covered the face of the earth, to the great terror and amazement of the people present at his execution. This extraordinary alteration in the face of nature, says Dr. Macknight, in his Harmony of the Gospels, was peculiarly proper, whilst the Sun of Righteousness was withdrawing his beams from the land of Israel, and from the world; not only because it was a miraculous testimony borne by God himself to his innocence, but also because it was a fit emblem of his departure and its effects, at least till his light shone out anew with additional splendour in the ministry of his apostles. The darkness which now covered Judea, and the neighbouring countries, beginning about noon, and continuing till Jesus expired, was not the effect of an ordinary eclipse of the sun, for that can never happen but at the new moon, whereas now it was full moon; not to mention that the total darkness occasioned by eclipses of the sun never continues above twelve or fifteen minutes; wherefore it must have been produced by the divine power, in a manner we are not able to explain. Accordingly Luke (chap. 23: 44, 45.) after relating that there was darkness over all the earth, adds, "and the sun was darkened;" which perhaps may imply that the darkness of the sun did not occasion, but proceeded from the darkness that was over all the land. Farther, the Christian writers, in their most ancient apologies to the heathens, affirm that as it was full moon, at the passover when Christ was crucified, no such eclipse could happen by the course of nature. They observe, also, that was taken notice of as a prodigy by the heathens themselves.

In Scripture language the word darkness is variously used. In the natural sense of the word, it means the obscurity, such as is described at the original state of things, when JEHOVAH went forth in acts of creation. It is said, "darkness was on the face of the deep." (Gen. i. 2.) In a spiritual sense, darkness is frequently made use of in Scripture to denote the blindness and ignorance of the mind, by reason of sin. Hence Paul, when speaking of the conversion of the church at Corinth, saith, God, who commanded the light to shineout of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 4: 6.) The darkness of the grave, and the darkness of hell, are both also spoken of in Scripture. (Job x. 21, 22. Matt. xx2: 13.) The darkness which took place at the death of Christ, and which lasted from the sixth to the ninth hour, differed from all these, and was among the miracles which marked that momentous event. Profane writers, as well as the sacred Scriptures, have it upon record.Dionysius the Areopagite, in his epistle to Polycarp, makes mention of it with decided convictions on his mind, that the event was supernatural. And another writer, Suidas, relates, that the same Dionysius said concerning it, that God either suffered, or took part with one that did.

But what are all the testimonies of profane writers to those which God the Holy Ghost gives of it? Some have thought, that this supernatural darkness was the Father’s frown at the Jews’ cruelty, in crucifying Christ. For my part, I believe it to have been the very reverse. For never was the Father more glorified than by those sufferings of the Lord Jesus. Never was Christ more glorified than by those sufferings. Then it was that Scripture was fulfilled, and Jesus set, as JEHOVAH’S King, upon his holy hill of Zion." (Ps. 2: 6.)

What was it, this darkness then, under these views, meant to imply? Surely, that Jesus the Son of God, when becoming the sinner’s Surety, shall do all, and suffer all, the sinner deserved, and must have borne for ever, had not Christ interposed. Darkness, yea, darkness to be felt, shall be in the Surety’s lot. Christ is now lifted up a spectacle between heaven and earth. The sinner’s Surety is now appearing as one forsaken of both, and meriting the favour of neither. He is now suspended on the cross in the air, to represent histerritories, who is the "Prince of the power of the air." (Ephes. 2: 2.) The cataracts of divine wrath were now opened. Christ is beheld in the very character he had taken at the call of God the Father; first, made sin, and then, a curse, (see these Scriptures, 2 Cor. v. 21. Gal. 3: 13.) then follows, darkness, soul - trial, and death. It was not necessary the sinner’s Surety should go down into hell, to suffer there the torments of the damned: it is not the place that constitutes the suffering, but the manner: and here the judgment dueto the sinner seized him. He saith himself, The sorrows of death compassed me, the pains of hell gat hold upon me." (Ps. c16. 3.) Surely, if ever the face of hell was seen on earth, or the darkness of hell known, it was on that day. Hence, when the whole was passed, and this eclipse gone by; and day - light brake in again upon Jesus, he cried with a loud voice, " It is finished." (John xix. 30.) Reader! those cries of the Lord Jesus on the cross, during the dreadful darkness and desertion his soul endured, may serve to teach ussomewhat of those eternal shrieks and cries of the damned, who are cast out of God’s presence for ever!

the absence of light. “Darkness was upon the face of the deep,” Gen 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, Exo 10:21-22; Wis 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 Mat 27:45, with Joh 19:14, and Mar 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; Psa 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,”— let it be reckoned among the unfortunate days, Job 3:4-5. The expressions, “I will cover the heavens with darkness;” “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,” &c, signify very great political calamities, involving the overthrow of kings, princes, and nobles, represented by the luminaries of heaven. In a moral sense, darkness denotes ignorance and vice; hence “the children of light,” in opposition to “the children of darkness,” are the righteous distinguished from the wicked.

In the Gospels of Matthew (Mat 27:45) and Luke (Luk 23:44) we read that, while Jesus hung upon the cross, ’from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.’ That this darkness could not have proceeded from an eclipse of the sun is placed beyond all doubt by the fact that, it being then the time of the Passover, the moon was at the full. This darkness may therefore be ascribed to an extraordinary and preternatural obscuration of the solar light, which might precede and accompany the earthquake which took place on the same occasion. For it has been noticed that often before an earthquake such a mist arises from sulfurous vapors as to occasion a darkness almost nocturnal. Such a darkness might extend over Judea, or that division of Palestine in which Jerusalem stood, to which the best authorities agree that here, as in some other places, it is necessary to limit the phrase rendered ’all the land.’

Darkness is often used symbolically in the Scriptures as opposed to light, which is the symbol of joy and safety, to express misery and adversity (Job 18:6; Psa 107:10; Psa 143:3; Isa 8:22; Isa 9:1; Isa 59:9-10; Eze 30:18; Eze 32:7-8; Eze 34:12). Darkness of the sun, moon, and stars is used figuratively to denote a general darkness or deficiency in the government or body politic (Isa 13:10; Eze 32:7; Joe 2:10-31). In Eph 5:11, the expression ’works of darkness’ is applied to the heathen mysteries, on account of the impure actions which the initiated performed in them. ’Outer darkness’ in Mat 8:12, and elsewhere refers to the darkness outside, in the streets or open country, as contrasted with the blaze of cheerful light in the house, especially when a convivial party is held in the night time. And it may be observed that the streets in the East are utterly dark after nightfall, there being no shops with lighted windows, nor even public or private lamps to impart to them the light and cheerfulness to which we are accustomed. This gives the more force to the contrast of the ’outer darkness’ with the inner light.

Darkness is used to represent the state of the dead (Job 10:21; Job 17:13). It is also employed as the proper and significant emblem of ignorance (Isa 9:2; Isa 60:2; Mat 6:23; Joh 3:19; 2Co 4:1-6).

The absence of natural light, Gen 1:2, and hence figuratively a state of misery and adversity, Job 18:6 Psa 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 Mal 2:20 . "Works of darkness," are the impure mysteries practiced in heathen worship, Zep 5:11 . "Outer darkness" illustrates the gloom of those on whom the gates of heaven are closed, Mat 8:12 . The darkness in Egypt, Exo 10:21-23, was miraculous; also that which covered all Judea with sympathetic gloom at the crucifixion of Christ, Luk 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.\par

Darkness. Darkness 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. Exo 20:21; 1Ki 8:12. The plague of darkness in Egypt was miraculous.

The darkness "over all the land," Mat 27:45, 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, Job 10:21-22, and frequently, figuratively, for ignorance and unbelief, as the privation of spiritual light. Joh 1:5; Joh 3:19.

The ninth Egyptian plague (Exo 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; Joe 3:15; Mat 24:29) "the children of Israel had light in their dwellings."

The date of Amo 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 (Mat 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 Amo 8:9.

As the glory of the Lord shone around the scene of His birth (Luk 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; Joh 3:19; 1Jn 2:8). "Outer darkness" expresses exclusion from the brightness of the heavenly banquet (Mat 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 (1Jn 1:5; 1Ki 8:12; Psa 97:2).

(properly חשֶׁךְ, cho’shek; σκότος), the absence of light; the state of chaos as represented by the sacred writer in Gen 1:2. SEE CREATION.

The plague of darkness in Egypt (Exo 10:21) was one so thick and intense as to seem almost palpable. The “palpable obscure” of Milton appears to express the idea in a forcible manner. The Tamul translation gives “darkness which causeth to feel,” or so dark that a man is obliged to feel his way, and until he shall have so felt he cannot proceed. Some expositors are disposed to contend for the literal palpableness of this darkness by supposing that the agency employed was a wind, densely filling the air with particles of dust and sand. Such winds are not unknown in the Eastern deserts, and they are always very appalling and destructive in their effects. Others think that a dense fog was spread over the land; but a darkness consisting of thick clammy fogs and exhalations, so condensed as to be perceived by the organs of touch, might have extinguished animal life in a few hours. Whether the darkness was exhibited in these or any other forms, the miracle must have struck the Egyptians with astonishment and horror, as the sun was one of their principal deities, and was supposed to be the source of life and the soul of the world, and with the moon to rule all things. SEE PLAGUES OF EGYPT.

In the Gospels of Matthew (Mat 27:45) and Luke (Luk 23:44) we read that, while Jesus, hung upon the cross, “from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.” Most of the ancient commentators believed that this darkness extended to the whole world. But their arguments are now seldom regarded as satisfactory, and their proofs even less so. Of the latter the strongest is the mention of an eclipse of the sun, which is referred to this time by Phlegon Trallianus, and, after him, by Thallus (ap. Africanum). But even an eclipse of the sun could not be visible to the whole world, and neither of these writers names the place of the eclipse. Some think it was Rome; but it is impossible that an eclipse could have happened from the sixth to the ninth hour both at Rome and Jerusalem. It is, therefore, highly probable that the statement of Phlegon, which in the course of time has come to be quoted as independent authority, was taken from the relation of the Christians or from the Scriptures. That the darkness could not have proceeded from an eclipse of the sun is further placed beyond all doubt by the fact that, it being then the time of the Passover, the moon was at the full. This darkness may therefore be ascribed to an extraordinary and preternatural obscuration of the solar light, which might precede and accompany the earthquake that took place on the same occasion; for it has been noticed that often before an earthquake such a mist arises from sulphureous vapors as to occasion a darkness almost nocturnal (see the, authors cited in Kuinoil ad Mat 24:29, and compare Joe 3:3; Rev 6:12 sq.). SEE EARTHQUAKE. Such a darkness might extend over Judaea, or that division of Palestine in which Jerusalem stood, to which the best authorities agree that here, as in some other places, it is necessary to limit the phrase πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, rendered “all the land.” In the “Acts of Pilate” (q.v.), which have been’ quoted by Justin Martyr and Tertullian, we find the following document, in which this preternatural darkness is referred to. SEE ECLIPSE.

“Pilate to Tiberius, etc.

“I have at length been forced to consent to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, to prevent a tumult among the Jews, though it was very much against my will. For the world never saw, and probably never will see, a man of such extraordinarypiety and uprightness. But the high-priests and Sanhedrim fulfilled in it the oracles of their prophets and of our sibyls. While he hung on the cross, a horrid darkness, which covered the earth, seemed to threaten its final end. His followers, who profess to have seen him rise from the dead and ascend into heaven, and acknowledge him for their God, do still subsist, and, by their excellent lives, show themselves the worthy disciples of so extraordinary a master. I did all I could to save him from the malice of the Jews, but the fear of a total insurrection made me sacrifice him to the peace and interest of your empire,” etc.

The “thick darkness” in which God is said to have been (Exo 20:21), was doubtless the “thick cloud upon the mount” mentioned Exo 19:16; and the “thick darkness” in which “the Lord said that he would dwell” (1Ki 8:12), has reference to the cloud upon the mercy-seat, in which he promised to “appear” to Aaron, and which seems to have been rather a cloud of glory and light than of darkness. SEE CLOUD. When it is said (Psa 97:2) “‘ clouds and darkness are round about him,” the reference is apparently to the inscrutability of the divine nature and working. The darkness which is frequently (Isa 13:9-10; Joe 2:31; Joe 3:15; Mat 24:29, etc.) connected with the coming of the Lord has reference to the judgments attendant on his advent.

Darkness is often used symbolically in the Scriptures as opposed to light, which is the symbol of joy and safety, to express misery and adversity (Job 18:6; Psalms 107; Psalms 10; Psa 143:3; Isa 8:22; Isa 9:1; Isa 59:9-10; Eze 30:18; Eze 32:7-8; Eze 34:12); hence also captivity (Isa 47:5; Lam 3:6). ‘He . . that maketh the morning darkness,’ in Amo 4:13, is supposed to be an allusion to the dense black clouds and mists attending earthquakes. ‘The day of darkness’ in Joe 2:2, alludes to the obscurity occasioned by the flight of locusts in compact masses. SEE LOCUST. In Eze 8:12, darkness is described as the accompaniment of idolatrous rites. Darkness of the sun, moon, and stars is used figuratively to denote a general darkness or deficiency in the government or body politic (Isa 13:10; Eze 32:7; Joe 2:10-31). In Eph 5:11, the expression ‘works of darkness’ is applied to the heathen mysteries on account of the impure actions which the initiated performed in them. ‘Outer darkness’ in Mat 8:12, and elsewhere, refers to the darkness outside, in the streets or open country, as contrasted with the blaze of cheerful light in the house, especially when a convivial party is held in the night time. And it may be observed that the streets in the East are utterly dark after nightfall, there being no shops with lighted windows, nor even public or private lamps to impart to them the light and cheerfulness to which we are accustomed. This gives the more force to the contrast of the ‘outer darkness’ with the inner light. Darkness is used to represent the state of the dead (Job 10:21; Job 17:13). It is also employed as the proper and significant emblem of ignorance (Isa 9:2; Isa 60:2; Mat 6:23; Joh 3:9; 2Co 4:1-6).”

skotos (G4655) Darkness

gnophos (G1105) Blackness

zophos (G2217) Gloom

achlys (G887) Mist

Because skotos is the most frequently used and most inclusive word of this group, we will not give it much attention. Skotos is used often in the New Testament, both in its Attic form of skotos and as skotia (G4653), from the common dialect. Skotos is the exact opposite to phos (G5457), as the profoundly pathetic words of Ajax in Euripides reveals: "Alas! darkness [skotos] is my light [phaos]."

Gnophos correctly is regarded as a later Doric form of dnophos.Gnophos is used only once in the New Testament (Heb_12:18) with zophos, though it is used elsewhere in this same way (Exo_10:22; Deu_4:11; Zep_1:16). Early English translators apparently felt that gnophos included an element of tempest, as the following translations show: "mist" (Wycliffe and Tyndale), "storm" (Cranmer), "blackness" (Geneva and authorized Version), "whirlwind" (Rheims), and the turbo (storm) in the Vulgate. Our ordinary lexicons indicate such a force only slightly or not at all, though it was distinctly recognized by Pott, who gave as explanatory equivalents the German Finsterniss (darkness), Dunkel (absence of light), and Wirbelwind (tornado). Along with the best modern scholars, Pott understood nephos (G3509), gnophos, and zophos as a group of words that have much in common and that are, perhaps, merely different forms of what once was a single word.

Zophos is used three times in the New Testament (2Pe_2:4; 2Pe_2:17; Jud_1:6) or four, if we accept it in Heb_12:18 (as it seems we should). Zophos is not used in the Septuagint. Zophos, which may be seen as a kind of emanation of skotos, first refers to the twilight gloom that broods over the regions of the setting sun. And usually in Homer, when zophos is used in this sense it occurs with eeroeis (the cloudy). But zophos means more than this. There is an even darker darknessthe sunless underworld, the nigra Tartara (darkness of Tartarus) of Virgil, the opaca Tartara (shaded Tartarus) of Ovid, and the knephaia Tartarou bathe (dark depths of Tartarus) of Aeschylus. Zophos also can refer to the sunless world itself, though more usually it refers to the gloom that envelops it. In Egyptian mythology, Ahriman was born from the zophos just as Ormuzd was born from the light. The appropriateness of the New Testament use of zophos is apparent, since it always signifies the darkness of that shadowy land where there is no light but only visible darkness.

Achlys is used only once in the New Testament (Act_13:11) and never in the Septuagint. Galen defined achlys as something that is more dense than omichle and that is less dense than nephos. The single New Testament use of achlys attests to the accuracy of Luke's choice, as so often is the case in his selection of words, especially medical terms. Luke used achlys to refer to the mist of darkness (achlys kai skotos) that fell on the sorcerer Elymas as the outward and visible sign of the inward spiritual darkness that was his temporary portion as a punishment for resisting the truth. All the translations of our English Hexapla translate achlys by "mist," with the exception of the Rheims, which uses "dimness." The Vulgate correctly translated achlys as caligo (mist, fog). Although Luke's use of the term in Acts is separated by nearly a thousand years from its use in Homer, the meaning of achlys remained unchanged. In the Odyssey, when the poet describes the responsive darkness that comes over the sea when it is overshadowed by a dark cloud, he uses the verb achlyein. Homer used achlys to refer to the mist that clouds the eyes of the dying or in which the gods (for one cause or another) may envelop their favorites.

Used in various significations in scripture.

1. State of the earth before God said, Let there be light. Gen 1:2.

2. Temporary absence of light in the night. Gen 1:5.

3. Extraordinary darkness sent by God. Exo 10:21; Exo 14:20; Mat 27:45.

4. The darkness by which God shrouded His glory. Exo 20:21; Psa 18:9; Psa 18:11; Psa 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. Psa 82:5; Isa 9:2; Mat 4:16; Joh 1:5; Joh 3:19; 2Co 6:14; 1Pe 2:9.

7. It characterises Satan and his agents. Luk 22:53; Eph 6:12; Rev 16:10.

8. It is the abode of wicked spirits and will characterise the place of punishment of the wicked. Mat 8:12; 2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6; Jud 1:13. 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.

Casting Off The Works Of Darkness

Rom_13:11-12.

The LORD Creating Darkness

Isa_45:7.

There Being No Darkness In GOD

1Jn_1:5.

Those That Put Darkness For Light, And Light For Darkness

Isa_5:20.

Those That Walk In Darkness

Joh_11:9-10; Joh_12:35-36; Eph_4:17-18; 1Jn_1:5-6; 1Jn_2:11.

What Came Out Of Darkness

Gen_1:2-3; 2Co_4:6.

What Happens In The Night

1Th_5:7.

What Is As Darkness

Pro_4:19.

When Your Body Is Full Of Darkness

Luk_11:34-35.

Who Is In Darkness

Job_24:13-16; Pro_2:11-15; Ecc_2:14; 1Jn_2:9-11.

Who Is Not In Darkness

1Th_5:4-5.

DARKNESS.—The word ‘dark’ is used in the sense of the absence of natural light in Joh 6:17; Joh 20:1. The darkness that lasted for the space of three hours at the crucifixion is referred to in Mat 27:45, Mar 15:33, Luk 23:44-45. For a brief summary of the views held as to the nature of this darkness, see Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible , art. ‘Darkness.’ It may suffice to remark that, the Passover falling at full moon, there can be no question here of a solar eclipse.

Generally ‘darkness’ is used in a metaphorical sense, but with slightly different significations. Darkness is the state of spiritual ignorance and sin in which men are before the light of the revelation of Jesus comes to them (Mat 4:16, Luk 1:79, Joh 8:12; Joh 12:45-46). This darkness the presence of Jesus dispels, except in the case of those who love the darkness and who therefore shrink back into the recesses of gloom, when the light shines, because their deeds are evil. Those who have a natural affinity to the light, when Jesus appears, follow Him and walk no longer in darkness.

But there is the deeper darkness that comes through incapacity of sight (Mat 6:23, Luk 11:35). This state results from long continuance in evil (Joh 3:19). It is the judgment passed upon the impenitent sinner. To love the darkness rather than the light is to have the spiritual faculty atrophied, and this is the Divine penalty to which he is condemned. The light that is in him has become darkness. The gospel contemplates for the human soul no more dire calamity.

And the final fate of the impenitent sinner is to be cast into outer darkness (Mat 8:12; Mat 22:13; Mat 25:30). There is a kingdom of darkness which wars against the light, and which has power at times to prevail (Luk 22:53). This is the darkness of sin, chosen and loved as sin, the instinctive hatred, inwrought with what is radically evil, of the Divine purity and light. It is the negative of all good—outer darkness, the darkness that has ceased to be permeated or permeable by any ray of light.

Darkness is twice used of secrecy or privacy (Mat 10:27, Luk 12:3). In these cases, however, a metaphorical use of the word is also implied. In the former passage the reference is to the darkness of perplexity and sorrow; in the latter, to the darkness of sin. See also Light, Unpardonable Sin.

In the later mystical theology there is a use of the term that may be here referred to. There is a ‘Divine darkness’ which is the consummation of the experience of the purified soul—the darkness that comes from excess of light. The pseudo-Dionysius speaks of the ‘luminous gloom of the silence’ which reveals the inner secrets of being, aod in which the soul is raised to the absolute ecstasy. It is an attempt to express the infinitude of the susceptibility of the human soul to emotions of either joy or anguish. From the outer darkness to the light which is above light, and therefore inconceivable, the soul of man is capable of responding to every shade of experience.

Literature.—Cremer, Bib. Theol. Lex. s.vv. σκότος, σκοτια; Martineau, Endeavours after the Christian Life^{6 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred]} , p. 463 ff.; Phillips Brooks, Candle of the Lord, p. 74 ff.; Expositor, ii. iii. [1882] 321 ff.

A. Miller.

By: Emil G. Hirsch

The rendering in the English versions of the Hebrew and its synonyms , . At one time darkness was regarded as something substantial, and not merely as the absence of light. This is apparent from the frequent juxtaposition of "darkness" with "light." God forms light and darkness (Isa. xlv. 7); light and darkness are consumed or confined (Job xxvi. 10). In the Creation-story, darkness is said to have been over primitive chaos, Abyss. In this opening sentence traces or reminiscences of an early mythological personification have been detected (see Cosmogony). Darkness antedates creation. It has also been noticed that it is not called good, as are the other works of the Creator. The absence of the definite article before in Gen. i. 1 points in the same direction.

Something of this mythological notion is present in Job's imprecation (Job iii. 4, 5); where both "Ḥoshek" and "Ẓalmut" (or "Ẓalmawet") are invoked as though ravenous monsters lying in wait for prey (the verb recalls the blood-avenger, the "goel"). They are in parallelism with a phrase—"Let all that maketh black the day" [R. V.]—which is now recognized by nearly all commentators to describe mythological beasts (see Dragon). In ordinary speech, of course, the Hebrew mind did not revert to this personification of darkness and its underlying antecedent mythological conceits. Darkness is simply the night, as light is the day (Gen. i. 5, 18). The sun grows dark; the day is darkened; and the like. In mines and other subterranean regions darkness has its realm, which the searcher for the precious metals invades, and thus forces upon it the establishment of new boundaries (Job xxviii. 3). This impression of substantiality goes with the descriptions of Egyptian darkness (Ps. cv. 28; Ex. x. 23). Darkness is also likened to a pillar of cloud (Ex. xiv. 20), as something almost palpable, if not personal. It is a frequent circumstance of theophany (II Sam. xxii. 12 = Ps. xviii. 12); and is associated with "She'ol" in such a way as to make it plausible that this place of the ingathering of the shades was a domain ruled over by twin demons, Ḥoshek and Ẓalmut (darkness and thick darkness). The double form, masculine and feminine, "ḥoshek" and "ḥashekah," also goes back to mythology.

In figurative speech, for reasons that are apparent, darkness was used for a secret hiding-place (Isa. xlv. 3; Job xxxiv. 22; Ps. cxxxix. 11, 12). As the effect of sorrow is to dim the eyes by tears, or as grief or sin injects darkness into the world (compare'Ab. Zarah 8a), the Hebrew speaks of distress as darkness (Isa. v. 30, xxix. 18; Ps. cvii. 10-14, again "Ḥoshek" and "Ẓalmut").

Darkness is uncanny. It may be the hiding-place of evil spirits; this, at all events, was the notion in post-Biblical times (compare Demonology); therefore darkness expresses fear, dread, terror. As such it is one of the equipments of the Day of the Lord, a circumstance of judgment (Amos v. 18, 20; Zeph. i. 15; Nahum i. 8). This eschatological idea underlies also the darkness which ensues upon the Crucifixion (Matt. xxvii. 45). According to the theory advanced by Gunkel ("Schöpfung und Chaos"), that in eschatological visions primitive mythology finds its expression, the underlying idea is that darkness is an attendant on final judgment or punishment (Matt. viii. 12, xxii. 13, and frequently in N. T.).

Darkness is also the emblem of mysterious afflictions, of ignorance and frailty (Job xix. 8, xxiii. 17; Isa. ix. 2), of sin and evil (Isa. v. 20; Prov. ii. 13), of mourning (Isa. xlvii. 5), of doubt and vexation (Job v. 14, xii. 25), and of confusion (Ps. xxxv. 5). As wisdom is light, so ignorance is darkness (Job xxxvii. 19; Eccl. ii. 14).

Darkness was the ninth of the ten Egyptian plagues (Ex. x. 21 et seq.). What caused the darkness has been a subject of much unsatisfactory discussion. Some reminiscence based upon observation of natural phenomena is always involved in the other plagues. What the reminiscence is in this case has not been determined; a storm of dust has been suggested by some commentators.

DARKNESS.—See Light.

See Light and Darkness.

Apart from its literal meaning, darkness often has a figurative meaning in the Bible. Its most common figurative usage is as a symbol for evil. This symbolic usage is natural, for wrongdoers prefer darkness to light. It enables them to carry out their wrongdoing more easily (Neh 6:10; Psa 91:5-6; Isa 29:15; Jer 49:9; Luk 22:53; Joh 3:19-20; Rom 13:12-13; 1Th 5:2; 1Th 5:7).

The world of humankind, because of sin, is a place of darkness and death. Believers need not fear this darkness, for God has become their light (Psa 23:4; Psa 27:1; Mic 7:8; Eph 5:14). In fact, when people receive God’s salvation they come, as it were, out of a kingdom of darkness into one of light (Isa 9:2; Isa 42:6-7; Luk 1:76-79; Col 1:13). They must therefore no longer live as if they belonged to the darkness, but live as those who belong to the light (2Co 6:14; Eph 5:8-11; see LIGHT).

An intervention by God in human affairs may be accompanied by unnatural darkness (Deu 4:11; Mat 27:45-46). This is particularly the case if the intervention is one of judgment (Joe 2:2; Joe 2:31; cf. Rev 16:10-11). Therefore, the Bible may speak symbolically of a day of judgment as a day of darkness (Amo 5:20; Zep 1:15). In keeping with this symbolism, the Bible depicts the final destiny of unrepentant sinners as a place of terrifying and everlasting darkness (Mat 8:12; Mat 22:13; 2Pe 2:17; Jud 1:13).

A symbol of sin and evil, which

characterize Satan’s kingdom.