Protos

What does "Darkness" mean in the Bible?

The darkness which constituted one of the plagues of Egypt might "be felt." Ex 10:21. Darkness appears in 101 verses across 32 books of the Bible.

What does the Bible say about Darkness?

DARK'NESS. The darkness which constituted one of the plagues of Egypt might "be felt." Ex 10:21. This may have been occasioned by a thick, heavy vapor, or other sensible change in the atmosphere, which caused an entire interception of the sun's rays. It was evidently miraculous, and the dread and terror it inspired are vividly described. Ex 10:22-23. So of the darkness that shrouded the earth when our Saviour was put to death, Luke 23:44-45; it was manifestly miraculous, as no natural eclipse of the sun could take place at that period of the moon. "Darkness" is used in a metaphorical sense for ignorance or sin, John 1:5; Rom 13:12; Eph 5:11; for misery, Isa 5:30; Isa 59:9-10; for the final doom, Matt 8:12, God is said to dwell in the thick darkness. Ex 20:21; 1 Kgs 8:12.

Definition text: Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible · 1898. Public domain.

Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.

What is the Hebrew word for Darkness?

Hebrew · H2822

חֹ֫שֶׁךְ

cho.shekh

darkness

TBESH, STEPBible, licensed CC BY 4.0.

Where does Darkness appear in the Bible?

Darkness is referenced in 101 verses across 32 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

Showing the first 24 of 101.

Open all 101 references in Protos

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Darkness.

Common questions

How many times does the Bible mention Darkness?

Darkness appears in 101 verses across 32 books, most often in Job, which accounts for 21 of them.

Which books of the Bible mention Darkness?

Job, Isaiah, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Genesis, Luke, Matthew, Acts, and 24 more.

Where can I read every verse about Darkness?

This page lists 24 of them. Protos carries all 101, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.

Read it in context

Read Job with "Darkness" explained on the verse.

Tap any name, place, or word you do not recognize and the background opens on the verse you are reading. No second tab, no search, no losing your place.

The Protos reader open on Genesis 1 with the How to Read Genesis background sheet raised over it
"People don't give up on the Bible for lack of discipline. They give up because they don't understand what they read. So they skim past it and jump straight to what it means for them, before they have listened to what God is saying through the words, the story, and the voice of the writer. It happens so often that theology has a name for it: eisegesis."
Fabio Jonathan ArifinFabio JonathanFounder of Protos · Portland Bible College graduate

Protos is the answer to that. Every explanation you read was written by a scholar and published in a reference work, credited right on the page.

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