Topic
Dark; Darkness
27 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 15:12ISBE
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
- Exodus 10:21ISBE
¶ And 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 10:22ISBE
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
- 1 Samuel 2:9ISBE
He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
- 2 Samuel 22:29ISBE
For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.
- 1 Kings 8:12ISBE
¶ Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
- Job 3:4–6ISBE
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon…
- Job 5:14ISBE
They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
- Job 10:21ISBE
Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;
- Job 19:8ISBE
He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths.
- Psalms 82:5ISBE
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
- Psalms 97:2ISBE
Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
Show 15 more
- Psalms 107:10 ISBE
- Proverbs 2:13 ISBE
- Proverbs 20:20 ISBE
- Ecclesiastes 11:8 ISBE
- Isaiah 9:2 ISBE
- Lamentations 3:2 ISBE
- Ezekiel 32:8 ISBE
- Zephaniah 1:15 ISBE
- Matthew 8:12 ISBE
- Matthew 27:45 ISBE
- John 3:19 ISBE
- Romans 13:12 ISBE
- 2 Peter 1:19 ISBE
- 2 Peter 2:1–22 ISBE
- 1 John 2:11 ISBE
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 27 references
dark, dark'-nes (choshekh; skotos):
1. Darkness and Light in Palestine:
The day and night, light and darkness, are notable antitheses in Palestine. There the day does not slowly fade away into the night after a period of twilight, but before sunset there is the brightness of day, and when the sun has disappeared everything has changed and night is at hand. From sunset until the darkness of night is less than an hour.
2. Symbolic Uses:
In the Bible the main use of darkness is in contrast to light. Light is the symbol of God's purity, wisdom and glory. Darkness is the opposite. Miraculous occurrence of darkness in the land of Egypt for three days is recorded in Ex 10:21,22, and at the death of Christ (Mt 27:45). See PLAGUE; ECLIPSE.
The figurative uses of darkness are many and various. It is used as a symbol
(a) of moral depravity and its punishment. The wicked walk and work in darkness (Ps 82:5; Pr 2:13; Joh 3:19; Ro 13:12), and their reward is to "sit in darkness" (Ps 107:10) or to be "cast forth into the outer darkness" (Mt 8:12);
(b) of things mysterious or inexplicable (1Ki 8:12; Ps 97:2);
(c) of trouble and affliction (2Sa 22:29; Job 5:14; Pr 20:20; Isa 9:2; compare Ge 15:12);
(d) of punishment (La 3:2; Eze 32:8; Ze 1:15); (e) of death (1Sa 2:9; Job 10:21 f; Ec 11:8); (f) of nothingness (Job 3:4-6); (g) of human ignorance (Job 19:8; 1 Joh 2:11).
"A dark (the Revised Version, margin "squalid") place" (2Pe 1:19) refers especially to the state of things described in 2Pe 2.
Alfred H. Joy
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.