---
title: אֲפֵלָה — darkness · The Tanakh dictionary
description: אֲפֵלָה (653), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 10 times: darkness. BDB 1906: n.f. darkness, gloominess, calamity. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# אֲפֵלָה

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«אֲפֵלָה» 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.

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**Used:** 10 times · **Key:** 653 · **BDB:** אֲפֵלָה

### Glosses

darkness (5); gloom (3); gloom(s) (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

darkness [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/653/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.f. darkness, gloominess, calamity [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/653/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.f. darkness, gloominess, calamity—א׳ Ex 10:22 +; אֲפֵלָתְךָ Is 58:10; pl. אֲפֵלוֹת Is 59:9— 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. fig. of calamity Is 8:22 (‖ חֲשֵׁכָה), 58:10 (‖ חשׁך, opp. צהרים), 59:9 (‖ id., opp. נגהות).

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 10 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (1 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (1 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «אֲפֵלָה» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1488/653/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Proverbs 4:19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.4.19/)

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דֶּ֣רֶךְ רְ֭שָׁעִים כָּֽאֲפֵלָ֑ה לֹ֥א יָ֝דְע֗וּ בַּמֶּ֥ה יִכָּשֵֽׁלוּ׃פ

*Word for word:* \[the\].way of.wicked.\[people\] \[is\].like (the) darkness not they.know on what? are.they.stumbling

*JPS 1917:* The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble.

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[Proverbs 7:9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.7.9/)

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בְּנֶֽשֶׁף־בְּעֶ֥רֶב י֑וֹם בְּאִישׁ֥וֹן לַ֝֗יְלָה וַאֲפֵלָֽה׃

*Word for word:* at twilight in.\[the\] evening of.\[the\].day in.\[the\] middle of.\[the\].night and darkness

*JPS 1917:* In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the blackness of night and the darkness.

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