Lexical Summary
choshek: Darkness
Original Word:חשֶׁךְ
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:choshek
Pronunciation:kho-shek
Phonetic Spelling:(kho-shek')
KJV: dark(-ness), night, obscurity
NASB:darkness, dark, obscurity
Word Origin:[fromH2821 (חָשַׁך - darkened)]
1. the dark
2. hence (literally) darkness
3. (figuratively) misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
darkness, night, obscurity
Fromchashak; the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness -- dark(-ness), night, obscurity.
see HEBREWchashak
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
chashakDefinitiondarkness, obscurity
NASB Translationdark (5), darkness (73), obscurity (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Exodus 10:21 — absolute
Genesis 1:2 75t. (+
Ezekiel 8:12 strike out Co A B etc.); construct
id.Exodus 10:22; suffix
Psalm 18:29 =
2 Samuel 22:29; —
darkness (opposed to ) literalGenesis 1:2,4 (P),Isaiah 45:7;Job 26:10;Ecclesiastes 2:13, compare in imprecationJob 3:4,5 ( ) =Genesis 1:5,18 (P), compareJoshua 2:5 (JE),Isaiah 45:19;Job 17:12;Job 24:16;Job 38:19;Psalm 104:20;darkness in minesJob 28:3; ofextraordinary darkness, in EgyptExodus 10:21 (twice in verse) (E);Exodus 10:22 (E),Psalm 105:28, from pillar of cloudExodus 14:20; at Mt. SinaiDeuteronomy 4:11;Deuteronomy 5:20; of clouds of theophany2 Samuel 22:12 =Psalm 18:12; of darkness in death, or She'ô l,1 Samuel 2:9;Job 10:21 ( ),Job 17:13;Job 18:18;Psalm 88:13;Proverbs 20:20 ( =extreme of darkness).
=secret place(s)Isaiah 45:3;Job 12:22 ("" ); =hiding-placeJob 34:22 (""id.), comparePsalm 139:11;Psalm 139:12; — onEzekiel 8:12, see above figurative,
= distressIsaiah 5:30;Isaiah 9:1;Isaiah 29:18 (figurative of blindness),Isaiah 42:7;Isaiah 49:9;Isaiah 58:10;Isaiah 59:9;Isaiah 60:2;Lamentations 3:2;Micah 7:8;Psalm 18:29 =2 Samuel 22:29;Job 15:22,23,30;Job 20:26;Job 22:11;Job 23:17;Job 29:3;Psalm 107:10;Psalm 107:14 (in both "" ),Psalm 112:4;Ecclesiastes 5:16;Ecclesiastes 11:8.
= dread, terror, symbolic of judgmentAmos 5:18,20;Zephaniah 1:15;Nahum 1:8;Ezekiel 32:8;Joel 2:4;Joel 3:4.
= mourningIsaiah 47:5.
= perplexityJob 5:14;Job 12:25;Job 19:8; confusionPsalm 35:6.
= ignoranceJob 37:19;Ecclesiastes 2:14.
= evil, sinIsaiah 5:20 (twice in verse);Proverbs 2:13.
= obscurityEcclesiastes 6:4 (twice in verse).
(see Biblical Hebrewdarkness, √ ).
Topical Lexicon
OverviewThe noun ḥō·šeḵ occurs about eighty times across the Hebrew Scriptures. Its semantic range covers tangible nightfall, thick obscurity, and figurative darkness that conveys calamity, wickedness, ignorance, or the hiddenness of God. The term is set in continuous tension with “light,” forming a primary biblical polarity that serves creation theology, covenant history, prophetic warning, and pastoral consolation.
Creation and Sovereignty
•Genesis 1:2–4 presents darkness as a pre-created element over which God asserts immediate dominion: “darkness was over the surface of the deep… And God said, ‘Let there be light.’”
•Isaiah 45:7 echoes that rule: “I form the light and create darkness,” affirming divine authorship of both day and night (Psalm 104:20).
•Job 38:9 poetically recalls primeval darkness as part of earth’s “swaddling band,” underscoring that even what appears chaotic lies under the Creator’s command.
•Psalm 139:12 proclaims His omnipresence: “even the darkness is not dark to You.”
Darkness as Judgment
• The ninth Egyptian plague (Exodus 10:21-23;Psalm 105:28) is the archetypal sign of punitive darkness—“dense darkness that can be felt.”
• Prophets employ ḥō·šeḵ to announce the Day of the LORD:Joel 2:2;Amos 5:18–20;Zephaniah 1:15. The imagery warns that divine retribution reverses normal order, plunging noon into night (Isaiah 13:10;Jeremiah 13:16).
•Micah 3:6 applies judicial darkness to false prophets: “night… without vision, and darkness… without divination.”
Moral and Intellectual Darkness
•Proverbs 4:19 contrasts righteousness and wickedness: “the way of the wicked is like deep darkness.”
•Isaiah 5:20 condemns moral relativism that “turns darkness to light and light to darkness.”
•Psalm 82:5 andLamentations 3:2 portray societal collapse and personal despair as wandering in darkness.
•Job 34:22 insists that dark secrecy cannot shield evildoers from God’s scrutiny.
Darkness and Death
• Sheol is “the land of darkness and deep shadow” (Job 10:21-22; 17:13).
•Psalm 88:6; 143:3; and 107:10 describe prisoners and the afflicted confined in shadowy gloom. YetPsalm 107:14 celebrates redemption: “He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death.”
Theophany and Sacred Mystery
• Sinai’s revelation is enveloped in “thick darkness where God was” (Exodus 20:21;Deuteronomy 5:22).
• In royal hymns the Lord rides on clouds and “made darkness His hiding place” (Psalm 18:11;2 Samuel 22:10-12), emphasizing both transcendence and approachability.
•Daniel 2:22 balances mystery with revelation: “He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.”
Prophetic and Messianic Hope
•Isaiah 9:2 foretells light dawning on a people walking in darkness, a promise later echoed in New Testament proclamation.
•Isaiah 60:1-2 assures Israel that even when “darkness covers the earth,” the glory of the Lord will arise.
•Micah 7:8 personalizes the hope: “Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.”
Pastoral and Ministry Significance
1. Sovereign assurance: Believers may rest knowing that God ordains night and limits its reach.
2. Moral discernment: ḥō·šeḵ exposes the peril of calling evil good and emboldens proclaimers of truth.
3. Evangelistic contrast: Deliverance from darkness to light (conceptually echoed inColossians 1:13) frames the gospel.
4. Comfort in affliction: Psalms using ḥō·šeḵ provide language for lament while directing hearts toward the One who “turns the shadow of death into morning” (cf.Amos 5:8).
5. Worship and awe: God’s dwelling “in thick darkness” invites reverence, reminding congregations that revelation is by grace, not presumption.
Thus ḥō·šeḵ functions far beyond a mere description of night; it is a theological canvas upon which Scripture paints creation’s beginnings, humanity’s rebellion, divine judgement, concealed glory, and promised redemption.
Forms and Transliterations
בַּ֝חֹ֗שֶׁךְ בַּחֹ֔שֶׁךְ בַּחֹ֖שֶׁךְ בַּחֹ֗שֶׁךְ בַּחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ בַּחֹ֣שֶׁךְ בַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ בחשך הַחֹ֑שֶׁךְ הַחֹ֔שֶׁךְ הַחֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ החשך החשך׃ וְ֝חֹ֗שֶׁךְ וְהַחֹ֔שֶׁךְ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ וּבַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ וּבַחֹ֣שֶׁךְ וּמֵחֹ֔שֶׁךְ ובחשך והחשך וחשך ולחשך ומחשך חָשְׁכִּֽי׃ חֹ֑שֶׁךְ חֹ֔שֶׁךְ חֹ֖שֶׁךְ חֹ֗שֶׁךְ חֹ֙שֶׁךְ֙ חֹ֛שֶׁךְ חֹ֣שֶׁךְ חֹ֤שֶׁךְ חֹ֥שֶׁךְ חֹ֨שֶׁךְ ׀ חֹ֭שֶׁךְ חֹֽשֶׁךְ־ חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ חֹשֶׁךְ֮ חשך חשך־ חשך׃ חשכי׃ לְחֹ֔שֶׁךְ לַחֹ֗שֶׁךְ לחשך מֵחֹ֣שֶׁךְ מחשך ba·ḥō·šeḵ ḇa·ḥō·šeḵ baChoshech baḥōšeḵ ḇaḥōšeḵ chasheKi Choshech ha·ḥō·šeḵ ḥā·šə·kî haChoshech haḥōšeḵ ḥāšəkî ḥō·šeḵ ḥō·šeḵ- ḥōšeḵ ḥōšeḵ- la·ḥō·šeḵ laChoshech laḥōšeḵ lə·ḥō·šeḵ leChoshech ləḥōšeḵ mê·ḥō·šeḵ meChoshech mêḥōšeḵ ū·ḇa·ḥō·šeḵ ū·mê·ḥō·šeḵ ūḇaḥōšeḵ umeChoshech ūmêḥōšeḵ uvaChoshech vaChoshech veChoshech vehaChoshech velaChoshech wə·ha·ḥō·šeḵ wə·ḥō·šeḵ wə·la·ḥō·šeḵ wəhaḥōšeḵ wəḥōšeḵ wəlaḥōšeḵ
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