H0653 H0653
Darkness, deep gloom; both literal thick darkness (plague, night, Day of YHWH) and figurative darkness of calamity and judgment.
A feminine noun denoting thick, palpable darkness — the kind that swallows light entirely. It appears in some of Scripture's most dramatic scenes: the supernatural blackness of the ninth plague over Egypt (Exod 10:22), the terrifying darkness of the Day of YHWH stacked alongside cloud and thick cloud (Joel 2:2; Zeph 1:15), and the evening shadows where the adulteress lurks (Prov 7:9). Prophetic writers extend it figuratively for calamity and ruin — groping at noonday as in darkness (Deut 28:29), the slippery doom of false prophets (Jer 23:12), and Israel's moral night where hoped-for brightness yields only gloom (Isa 59:9). Spanish translations consistently use 'oscuridad' or 'tinieblas,' reinforcing the seamless bridge between physical and moral darkness in Hebrew thought.
Senses
1. darkness, deep gloom (literal) — Literal thick darkness or deep gloom — the absence of light in its most intense form. This covers the supernatural plague-darkness over Egypt where Exodus 10:22 pairs it with 'darkness' (choshek), the ominous twilight of Proverbs 7:9 described alongside 'the pupil of the night,' and the eschatological Day of YHWH passages (Joel 2:2; Zeph 1:15) where it is heaped with cloud, thick cloud, and blackness to convey cosmic terror. 5×
AR["دَامِسَةٌ", "وَ-الظَّلَامِ", "وَ-ظَلَامٍ", "وَ-عَتمَةٌ", "وَ-عَتَمَةٍ"]·ben["এবং-ঘন-অন্ধকারে", "এবং-ঘন-অন্ধকারের", "এবং-ঘোর-অন্ধকার", "ও-ঘোর-অন্ধকারের", "ঘোর"]·DE["[ואפלה]", "dick"]·EN["and-darkness", "and-gloom", "and-thick-darkness", "thick"]·FR["[ואפלה]", "et-obscurité", "et-ואפלה", "épais"]·heb["אפלה", "ו-אפלה"]·HI["और-अँधेरे-का", "और-अंधकार", "और-घना", "और-घना-अंधेरा", "गहरा"]·ID["dan-kekelaman", "dan-kekelaman,", "pekat"]·IT["[ואפלה]", "e-e-tenebre", "e-tenebre", "thick"]·jav["lan-ndhedhet", "lan-pepeteng", "lan-peteng-ndhedhet", "lan-remeng", "ndhedhet"]·KO["그리고-어둠-에", "그리고-캄캄함-의", "그리고-흑암-의", "칠흡같은", "흡암이라"]·PT["densas", "e-escuridão", "e-trevas"]·RU["густая", "и-мгла", "и-мрака", "и-тьме."]·ES["oscuras", "y-densas-tinieblas", "y-oscuridad", "y-tiniebla", "y-tinieblas"]·SW["mgeni", "na-giza", "na-weusi"]·TR["koyu", "ve-zifiri", "ve-zifirin", "ve-zulmet"]·urd["اور-اندھیرے-کے", "اور-تاریکی", "اور-تاریکی-کا", "گہرا"]
2. darkness, gloom (figurative: calamity, judgment) — Figurative darkness representing calamity, divine judgment, or spiritual ruin. Deuteronomy 28:29 uses it as a covenant-curse image — groping in gloom at noonday. Jeremiah 23:12 places false prophets on a slippery path into darkness. Isaiah 58:10 and 59:9 contrast it with noon-light and brightness (neghohoth), showing that moral darkness is as tangible as physical night. The French and German translations often leave the Hebrew untranslated here, suggesting translators found no single word adequate for this loaded metaphorical weight. 5×
AR["فِي-الظَّلَامِ", "فِي-الظُلْمَةِ", "فِي-الظُّلْمَةِ", "كَالظَّلَامِ", "وَ-حَالِكُكَ"]·ben["-অন্ধকারে", "-এবং-তোমার-অন্ধকার", "-এর-মতো-অন্ধকার", "অন্ধকারে"]·DE["[באפלה]", "[באפלות]", "[ואפלתך]", "[כאפלה]", "in-der-Finsternis"]·EN["and-your-gloom", "in-darkness", "in-the-darkness", "is-like-deep-darkness"]·FR["[באפלה]", "[באפלות]", "[ואפלתך]", "dans-le-ténèbres", "כאפלה"]·heb["ב-אפלה", "ב-אפלות", "ו-אפלתך", "כ-אפלה"]·HI["अंधेरे-की-तरह", "अंधेरे-में", "और-तेरा-अन्धेरा", "घोर-अन्धेरे-में"]·ID["dalam-kegelapan", "dalam-kekelaman", "dan-kegelapanmu", "di-kegelapan", "seperti-kegelapan"]·IT["[באפלה]", "[באפלות]", "[ואפלתך]", "come-il-è-like-profondo-tenebre", "in-il-tenebre"]·jav["ing-pepeteng", "ing-peteng", "kados-pepeteng", "lan-peteng-panjenengan", "wonten-ing-pepeteng"]·KO["그-어둠-에서", "그리고-네-침침함이", "어둠-같다", "에-어둠속에서", "침침함들-속에서-"]·PT["como-escuridão", "e-trevas-tuas", "em-trevas", "na-escuridão"]·RU["во-мраке", "во-тьме", "и-мрак-твой", "как-тьма;"]·ES["en-la-oscuridad", "en-tinieblas", "es-como-oscuridad", "y-tu-tiniebla"]·SW["gizani", "kama-giza", "katika-giza-totoro", "na-giza-lako"]·TR["gibi-karanlık", "karanlilikta", "karanlıkta", "ve-karanligin"]·urd["اندھیروں-میں", "اندھیرے-میں", "اور-تیرا-اندھیرا", "جیسے-اندھیرا", "میں-اندھیرے"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אֲפֵלָה n.f. darkness, gloominess, calamity—א׳ Ex 10:22 +; אֲפֵלָתְךָ Is 58:10; pl. אֲפֵלוֹת Is 59:9— 1. darkness Dt 28:29 Pr 7:9 (‖ אִישׁוֹן לַיְלָה); of supernatural darkness in Egypt Ex 10:22; of day of י׳ (cf. Am 5:20 sub אָפֵל) Jo 2:2 Zp 1:15 (both ‖ חשׁך, ענן, ערפל) sim. of wickedness Je 23:12 Pr 4:19. 2. fig. of calamity Is 8:22 (‖ חֲשֵׁכָה), 58:10 (‖ חשׁך, opp. צהרים), 59:9 (‖ id., opp. נגהות).