--- title: חֹשֶׁךְ — darkness · The Tanakh dictionary description: חֹשֶׁךְ (2822), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 80 times: darkness. BDB 1906: n.m. darkness, obscurity. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2822.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [ח](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1495-6.md)‎ / חֹשֶׁךְ‎ # חֹשֶׁךְ «חֹשֶׁךְ» in the Tanakh dictionary: **darkness** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers. **Used:** 80 times · **Key:** 2822 · **BDB:** חֹ֫שֶׁךְ ### Glosses darkness (67); of.darkness (10); \[be\].darkness (1) ### Meaning (OSHB) darkness [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2822/#m1) ### Meaning (BDB 1906) n.m. darkness, obscurity [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2822/#m2) **The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Ex 10:21 darkness, obscurity;—abs. חֹשֶׁךְ Gn 1:2 + 75 times (+ Ex 8:12 del. Co A B etc.); cstr. id. Ex 10:22; sf. חָשְׁכִּי ψ 18:29 = 2 S 22:29;— darkness (opp. אוֹר) lit. Gn 1:2, 4 (P), Is 45:7 Jb 26:10 Ec 2:13, cf. in imprecation Jb 3:4, 5 (ח׳ וצלמות = לילה Gn 1:5, 18 (P), cf. Jos 2:5 (JE), Is 45:19 Jb 17:12; 24:16; 38:19 ψ 104:20; darkness in mines Jb 28:3; of extraordinary darkness, in Egypt Ex 10:21(×2) (E); ח׳־אֲפֵלָה Ex 10:22 (E), ψ 105:28, from pillar of cloud Ex 14:20 (J); at Mt. Sinai Dt 4:11; 5:20; of clouds of theophany 2 S 22:12 = ψ 18:12; of darkness in death, or Sheʾôl, 1 S 2:9 Jb 10:21 (אֶרֶץ ח׳ וצלמות), 17:13; 18:18 ψ 88:13 Pr 20:20 (אִישׁוֹן ח׳ = extreme of darkness). = secret place(s) Id 45:3 Jb 12:22 (‖ צלמות); = hiding-place Jb 34:22 (‖ id.), cf. ψ 139:11, 12;—on Ez 8:12, v. supr. fig., = distress Is 5:30; 9:1; 29:18 (fig. of blindness), 42:7; 49:9; 58:10; 59:9; 60:2 La 3:2 Mi 7:8 ψ 18:29 = 2 S 22:29, Jb 15:22, 23, 30; 20:26; 22:11; 23:17; 29:3 ψ 107:10, 14 (in both ‖ צלמות), 112:4 Ec 5:16; 11:8. = dread, terror, symbol. of judgment Am 5:18, 20 Zp 1:15 Na 1:8 Ez 32:8 Jo 2:4; 3:4. = mourning Is 47:5. = perplexity Jb 5:14; 12:25; 19:8; confusion ψ 35:6. = ignorance Jb 37:19 Ec 2:14. = evil, sin Is 5:20(×2) Pr 2:13. = obscurity Ec 6:4(×2). Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 75 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (4 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (4 candidates) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every English meaning of «חֹשֶׁךְ» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1495/2822/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames. ### In the verses [Psalms 107:10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.107.10/) יֹ֭שְׁבֵי חֹ֣שֶׁךְ וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת אֲסִירֵ֖י עֳנִ֣י וּבַרְזֶֽל׃ *Word for word:* \[those.who\].sat of.darkness and deep.darkness prisoners of.affliction and iron *JPS 1917:* Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron — [Job 17:12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.17.12/) לַ֭יְלָה לְי֣וֹם יָשִׂ֑ימוּ א֝֗וֹר קָר֥וֹב מִפְּנֵי־חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ *Word for word:* night into day they.make light \[is\].near from before darkness *JPS 1917:* They change the night into day; the light is short because of darkness. - ← previous: [חָשַׁךְ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2821.md) - next →: [חָשֹׁךְ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/2823.md) - ↑ back to [ח](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1495-6.md)