Darkness

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(blackness). Absence of light (Gen. 1:2²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)); 9th plague (Ex. 10:20-23²⁰But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. ²¹And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. ²²And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: ²³They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. (Exodus 10:20‑23)); State of misery (Job 18:6⁶The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. (Job 18:6)); God’s dwelling (Ex. 20:21²¹And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:21); 1 Kings 8:12¹²Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. (1 Kings 8:12)); typical of national convulsion (Acts 2:19-20¹⁹And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: ²⁰The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: (Acts 2:19‑20)); state of the fallen (Matt. 8:12¹²But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12)); ignorance (John 1:5⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:5)); sympathetic (Luke 23:44⁴⁴And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. (Luke 23:44)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

Used in various significations in scripture.

1. State of the earth before God said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:2²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)).

2. Temporary absence of light in the night (Gen. 1:5⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:5)).

3. Extraordinary darkness sent by God (Ex. 10:21²¹And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. (Exodus 10:21); Ex. 14:20²⁰And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. (Exodus 14:20); Matt. 27:45⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. (Matthew 27:45)).

4. The darkness by which God shrouded His glory (Ex. 20:21²¹And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:21); Psa. 18:9,11⁹He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. (Psalm 18:9)
¹¹He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. (Psalm 18:11); Psa. 97:2²Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. (Psalm 97:2); Heb. 12:18¹⁸For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, (Hebrews 12:18)).

5. State of death as compared with natural life (Job 10:21-22²¹Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; ²²A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness. (Job 10:21‑22)).

6. Moral darkness as the consequent state of man fallen (Psa. 82:5⁵They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. (Psalm 82:5); Isa. 9:2²The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (Isaiah 9:2); Matt. 4:16¹⁶The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. (Matthew 4:16); John 1:5⁵And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:5); John 3:19¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19); 2 Cor. 6:14¹⁴Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14); 1 Pet. 2:9⁹But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (1 Peter 2:9)).

7. It characterizes Satan and his agents (Luke 22:53⁵³When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. (Luke 22:53); Eph. 6:12¹²For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12); Rev. 16:10¹⁰And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, (Revelation 16:10)).

8. It is the abode of wicked spirits and will characterize the place of punishment of the wicked (Matt. 8:12¹²But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12); 2 Pet. 2:4⁴For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Peter 2:4); Jude 6,13⁶And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6)
¹³Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. (Jude 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.

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Job 18:5-6⁵Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. ⁶The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. (Job 18:5‑6). Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him.

To the susceptible mind of the Oriental, light is an object of desire, and darkness something to be greatly dreaded. The lamp is usually kept burning in the house all night; and its light is used as an emblem of prosperity, and the extinguishment of it as an emblem of a great calamity. Thus Job speaks of the days of his prosperity when the candle of the Lord shone upon his head (Job 29:3³When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; (Job 29:3)). David says, “Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness” (Psa. 18:28²⁸For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. (Psalm 18:28)). On the other hand, we find Job saying, as expressive of great affliction: “How oft is the candle of the wicked put out” (Job 21:17¹⁷How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. (Job 21:17)). Solomon says, “Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness” (Prov. 20:20²⁰Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. (Proverbs 20:20)). “The candle of the wicked shall be put out” (Prov. 24:20²⁰For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out. (Proverbs 24:20)).

The Saviour on two occasions refers to this Oriental dread of darkness where he represents the punishment of the wicked under the figure of “outer darkness.” See Matthew 8:12; 22:13¹²But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12)
¹³Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 22:13). Both ideas are blended in Proverbs 13:9⁹The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. (Proverbs 13:9): “The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.”

See also Jeremiah 25:10¹⁰Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. (Jeremiah 25:10).

Darkness

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

Concise Bible Dictionary:

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

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