The absence of light or brightness. In the Bible, the word "darkness" usually has a symbolic meaning rather than just describing places without light.
Literal Darkness in the Bible
In the story of creation, God first made the world without light. Then God commanded light to appear, and he separated light from darkness. He called the darkness "night" (Genesis 1:2, 4–5, 18). Literal darkness is also mentioned during the plagues in Egypt. The ninth plague was a darkness that could be “felt” (Exodus 10:21–23). The darkness lasted three days and only affected the Egyptians. Wherever Egyptians were, it was dark, but where the Israelites were, there was light. The Israelites left Egypt accompanied by a cloud that made it light for the Israelites but dark for the Egyptians (Exodus 14:20). The Bible says that thieves and adulterers do their evil deeds in the dark or at night (Job 24:16–17).
The New Testament mentions literal darkness (not symbolic darkness) two times. The first time was when Jesus died on the cross. For three hours, from midday until 3:00 in the afternoon, the land was covered in darkness (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44). During Christ’s second coming, "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light” (Matthew 24:29).
God's Control of Light and Darkness
Several Bible verses describe darkness surrounding God. This starts with the idea of a simple lack of light but then grows to have a deeper meaning. God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai from a thick, dark cloud (Exodus 20:21; Deuteronomy 4:11). Or, God spoke from the darkness (Deuteronomy 5:23). Darkness is described as God's shelter or cloak (2 Samuel 22:12; Psalms 18:11; 97:2).
God has power over both light and darkness:
God makes darkness come (Psalms 104:20; 105:28).
God creates light and darkness (Isaiah 45:7).
The Bible also says that God lives in deep darkness (1 Kings 8:12; 2 Chronicles 6:1). Thick darkness is beneath God's feet (2 Samuel 22:10; Psalm 18:9).
Darkness as a Symbol
The Bible often uses darkness as a symbol, especially in books of poetry like Job, Psalms, and Isaiah. When the Bible uses darkness this way, it usually means not knowing God’s will. The Bible uses light and darkness to explain something important: when people know God, it is like having light. When people do not know God, it is like being in darkness (Job 12:24–25; Matthew 4:16; John 1:5; 8:12; 12:35, 46; 1 John 1:5; 2:8–9, 11).
In the book of Job, darkness sometimes means complete emptiness (Job 3:4–6). The Bible also uses darkness to talk about death. It describes the place of the dead as a dark land without light (Job 10:21–22; 15:24; 17:12–13; 18:18; Ecclesiastes 6:4; 11:8).
In the Bible, darkness often represents bad feelings like fear and worry. It can also mean the troubles that sinners experience (Genesis 15:12; Job 5:14; 12:25; 15:22, 30; 19:8; 22:11; Psalms 35:6; 107:10, 14; Ecclesiastes 5:17; Isaiah 5:30). Sometimes the Bible uses darkness to mean evil behavior (Proverbs 2:13; 4:19; Isaiah 5:20; 60:2). In the New Testament, when writers talk about darkness, they usually mean two things: people doing evil things and people not understanding God's truth (Matthew 4:16; 6:23; Luke 1:79; 11:35; 22:53; Romans 2:19; Colossians 1:13).
The Old Testament prophets often wrote about a special time they called
the Day of the Lord." They said this day would be very dark (Ezra 32:8; Joel 2:2, 31; Amos 5:18, 20; Zephaniah 1:15). The New Testament also talks about darkness when describing the time when Jesus will return to judge the world (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; 2 Peter 2:17; Jude 1:6, 13). The Bible says that when people come to know God, it is like moving from darkness into light (Isaiah 9:2; 29:18; 42:7). Darkness cannot be a hiding place from God (Job 34:22; Psalm 139:11–12; Isaiah 29:15).