חָשַׁךְ
cha.shakh
to darken
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word "cha.shakh" (H2821) means "to darken." It is a verb that falls within the semantic domain of Light & Darkness, indicating its association with the absence or reduction of light. This word is used 17 times in the Bible, demonstrating its significance in various contexts. The meaning of "cha.shakh" is straightforward, describing a situation where light is diminished or obscured. This can be literal, such as a physical darkness, or metaphorical, representing a state of ignorance, confusion, or spiritual darkness. The range of usage for this word is broad, encompassing both natural and spiritual contexts. The significance of "cha.shakh" lies in its ability to convey the idea of a lack of understanding or guidance. In many biblical passages, darkness is not just a physical absence of light but also a symbol of spiritual confusion or sin. By using "cha.shakh," the authors of the Bible emphasize the importance of seeking light and understanding, whether it be through knowledge, wisdom, or spiritual guidance.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
17 total occurrences across the text
Let the stars of its twilight be dark. Let it look for light, but have none, neither let it see the eyelids of the morning,
Job 18:6The light will be dark in his tent. His lamp above him will be put out.
Job 38:2“Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Psalms 69:23Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see. Let their backs be continually bent.
Psalms 105:28He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn’t rebel against his words.
Psalms 139:12even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
Ecclesiastes 12:2Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain;
Ecclesiastes 12:3in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened,
Isaiah 5:30They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.
Isaiah 13:10For the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Jeremiah 13:16Give glory to Yahweh your God, before he causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it deep darkness.
Lamentations 4:8Their appearance is blacker than a coal. They are not known in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones. It is withered. It has become like a stick.
Lamentations 5:17For this our heart is faint. For these things our eyes are dim.
Amos 5:8seek him who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name,
Amos 8:9It will happen in that day,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.
Micah 3:6“Therefore night is over you, with no vision, and it is dark to you, that you may not divine; and the sun will go down on the prophets, and the day will be black over them.
Exodus 10:15For they covered the surface of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. There remained nothing green, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt.