חָשַׁךְ
châshak · H2821 · Hebrew · 18 occurrences
Meanings
-
to grow dark, to be darkened
Process by which the light gradually disappears, caused by the fact that the light of sun, moon, and stars can no longer reach the location that is in focus, resulting in a state in which no one can readily see, and colors and shapes can no longer be distinguished; loved by the wicked only; associated with hardship, death, and lack of enlightenment
ExamplesJob 3:9 “May the stars of its twilight be darkened; May it wait for light but have none, And may it not see the breaking dawn;
Job 18:6 “The light in his tent is darkened, And his lamp goes out above him.
Psalm 139:12 Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
-
to bring darkness, to make dark, to darken
The process by which deities make the light gradually disappear so that no one can readily see; loved by the wicked only and associated with hardship
ExamplesPsalm 105:28 He sent darkness and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His words.
Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble On the mountains in the dark, And while you are hoping for light He makes it into gloom, And turns it into thick darkness.
Amos 5:8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion, And changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name.
-
to be dark, to be black
State in which objects are or appear to be of a dark color
ExamplesExodus 10:15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Therefore nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field throughout the land of Egypt.
Lamentations 4:8 Their appearance is darker than soot, They are not recognized in the streets; Their skin is shriveled on their bones, It is dry, it has become like wood.
-
to grow dim
Literally: eyes are darkened; hence: state in which the human eye can no longer see very well
ExamplesPsalm 69:23 May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, And make their hips shake continually.
Ecclesiastes 12:3 on the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;
Lamentations 5:17 Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim;
-
to obscure
Causative action by which humans cause an event to appear void of wisdom or understanding
ExamplesJob 38:2 “Who is this who darkens the divine plan By words without knowledge?
How it’s used In 6 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
18 occurrences in 13 groups
- Not stated: he, she or it 4
- אוֹרlight 3
- Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (14) 14
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- יוֹםday, time 1
- עֵצָהcounsel, advice, plan 1
Second objectAs in “call him Lord”
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- לַיִלnight 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
11 occurrences in 14 groups
- Other words · 14 groups that occur once or twice (14) 14
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- לֹאnot 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- זֶהthis 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 4 words
- קָדַר qâdar · H6937 · to grow dark, to become dark, to be darkened
- Both words denote "be dark" or "make dark" or black; they are two distinct Hebrew verbs that overlap substantially in the sense of darkness and blackness and could substitute for each other in appropriate contexts.
- צָלַל tsâlal · H6751 · to quiver, ears tingle
- Both words are verbs denoting darkness or darkening; חָשַׁךְ (châshak, H2821) has a broader application, while צָלַל (tsâlal, H6751) is more restricted ("begin to be dark, shadowing"), but they cover the same semantic space and could substitute in appropriate contexts.
- שָׁחַר shâchar · H7835 · to turn black, to search, to look for
- Both lexemes denote color terms for blackness or darkness.
- עָמַם ʻâmam · H6004 · to grow dim, to grow dull, to compare with
- Both words share a core sense of becoming dark or dim, and both include "hide" along with vocabulary of darkness or dimness.
In the other Testament 1 word
- σκοτίζω skotízō · G4654 · to become dark, to be incapable of perceiving, to not be able to understand
- Greek σκοτίζω directly translates Hebrew חָשַׁךְ in its core sense of causing or becoming dark/obscure, both literally (physical darkness) and figuratively (spiritual/mental obscuring).
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Dark002001001017
- חָשַׁךְ describes becoming or making dark, used of light being obscured, as when the hail-stricken land of Egypt was darkened (Exodus 10:15) and the stars of twilight are darkened (Job 3:9).
- Color002001001014
- The verb can describe a darkening in visual appearance more broadly, a dimming or blackening of what is seen.
- See002004001005
- Darkening in this sense directly affects visibility, describing light growing dim so that sight is obscured, as with a lamp going out (Job 18:6).
- Foolish002001002010
- In figurative use the verb can extend to a darkening of the mind or understanding, an obscuring of sound judgment.
Word family 12 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H2821. chashak חָשַׁךְ verb be, grow dark (Late Hebrew id.; Aramaic חֲשַׁךְ, ; Arabic…
חָשַׁךְ verb be, grow dark (Late Hebrew id.; Aramaic חֲשַׁךְ, ; Arabic bear rancour, see LagBN 30) —
Qal Perfect ׳ח Isa 5:30 Isa 5:4t.; וְחָֽשְׁכָה consecutive Mic 3:6 (but see below); חָֽשְׁכוּ Lam 5:17; וְחָֽשְׁכוּ consecutive Ecc 12:3; Imperfect3feminine singular תֶּחְשַׁךְ Ecc 12:2; וַתֶּחְשַׁךְ Exo 10:15; Exo 10:3masculine plural יֶחְשְׁכוּ Job 3:9; Job 3:3feminine plural תֶּחְשַׁכְנָה Psa 69:24; —
1 be, grow dark, אוֺר Isa 5:30, compare (figurative) Job 18:6; הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ Isa 13:10 (figurative); היום Eze 30:18 (where read חשׁך, for ᵑ0 Baer חשׂך); Job 3:9 (subject כוכבים), compare Ecc 12:2 (subject הכוכבים הירח, האור, השׁמשׁ,); impersonal Mic 3:6; (si vera 1.; but read probably וַחֲשֵׁכָה, corresponding with לַיְלָה preceding).
2 have a dark colour: תָּֽאֳרָם ׳ח מִשְּׁחוֺר Lam 4:8 darker than blackness is their visage; of the earth הָאֶרֶץ Exo 10:15.
3 grow dim Lam 5:17 (subject עינינו), compare Psa 69:24 (figurative), Ecc 12:3 subject הָראֹוֺת i.e. the eyes.
Hiph`il Perfect הֶחְשִׁיךְ Amo 5:8, וְהַחֲשַׁכְתִּ֫י Amo 8:9; Imperfect יַחֲשִׁיךְ Psa 139:12; יַחְשִׁךְ Jer 13:16;וַיַּחְשִׁךְ Psa 105:28; Participle מַחְשִׁיךְ Job 38:2; —
1 make dark, הח לילה ׳יום Amo 5:8; absolute cause darkness Jer 13:16; Psa 105:28, compare Amo 8:9 (לארץ).
2 = hide, conceal, followed by מִמֶּךָּ Psa 139:12.
3 figurative obscure, confuse Job 38:2 (object עֵצָה).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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