Greek word · G2217

ζόφος

zophos

darkness

Thick gloom, murk. From Homer onward it especially means the darkness of the underworld and the realm of the dead, and also the dark western region where the sun sets.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ζόφος, -ου, ὁ

(akin to γνόφος, which see), [in Sm.: Exodus 10:22, Job 28:3, Psalms 11:2 91:6, Isaiah 59:9 * ;]

in Hom, the gloom of the under-world; hence, darkness, deep gloom (poët. and late prose writers): Hebrews 12:18, 2 Peter 2:4 2:17, Jude 1:6.†

ὁμίχλη, -ης, ἡ,

[in LXX for עֲרָפֶל, etc. ;]

a mist: 2 Peter 2:17

SYN.: νέφος, νεφέλη, both thicker than ὁ (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Peter 2:4

Range of meaning

Thick gloom, murk. From Homer onward it especially means the darkness of the underworld and the realm of the dead, and also the dark western region where the sun sets.

Against the English

'Darkness' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is accurate but flat. ESV's 'gloomy darkness' and YLT's 'thick gloom' carry more of the dread. Most readers miss that this is underworld darkness specifically.

Used elsewhere in the period

Homer, Odyssey 20.356 and Iliad 15.191, where the dead and the lower world are in ζόφος. Hesiod, Theogony 729, on Tartarus. In the New Testament it appears only in 2 Peter 2:4 and 2:17, Jude 6 and 13, and Hebrews 12:18.

From the study of Jude 1:6

Range of meaning

Murky gloom, deep darkness. In Homer it is the darkness of the West and of the underworld (e.g. Iliad 15.191, Hades' lot is 'misty gloom').

Against the English

'Darkness' in most versions; NLT 'prisons of darkness'. Plain 'darkness' loses the underworld associations of this rare word.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it occurs only in 2 Pet 2:4, 17, Jude 6 and 13, and Heb 12:18. In 1 Enoch 10:4–5 Raphael casts Asael 'into the darkness' and covers him with darkness. Jude 13 says 'the gloom of darkness has been kept forever' for the false teachers.

From the study of 2 Peter 2:17

Range of meaning

Deep gloom, murky darkness, especially the darkness of the underworld or the far west where the sun sets. In literary Greek it was a word for the realm of the dead.

Against the English

BSB and NIV say 'blackest darkness', NASB 'the black darkness', ESV 'the gloom of utter darkness', WEB 'the blackness of darkness', YLT 'the thick gloom of the darkness'. KJV has 'the mist of darkness', which can make a modern reader picture fog, close to the ὁμίχλη earlier in the verse, rather than the darkness of the place of the dead.

How it drifted

In 1611 'mist' could carry the sense of dimness or obscurity. Today 'mist' means a light, harmless fog, which loses the sense of a prison-like underworld.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Homer, Hades' share of the world is 'the murky gloom' (ζόφον ἠερόεντα, Iliad 15.191), and the dead go down 'into the gloom' (Odyssey 20.356). In the New Testament it occurs only in Jude and 2 Peter: the rebel angels held 'in chains of gloom' in Tartarus (2 Pet 2:4), kept 'under gloom' (Jude 6), and 'the gloom of darkness reserved forever' (Jude 13). Jewish tradition put the fallen Watchers (the angels who sinned in Genesis 6) in darkness: Azazel is bound and thrown 'into the darkness' (1 Enoch 10:4–5).

Where it appears

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 12:18 ζόφῳ to gloom

    For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;

    Here: Deep, oppressive gloom. In Greek usage the word was linked with the darkness of the underworld (compare 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6). It rhymes with gnophō and adds a note of dread.

2 Peter · 2

  1. 2 Peter 2:4 ζόφου of gloomy darkness

    For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

    Here: More than ordinary darkness. In Greek literature this is the murky gloom of the realm below the earth. 'Chains of gloom' means bonds belonging to that dark underworld prison.

  2. 2 Peter 2:17 ζόφος gloom

    These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.

    Here: In Greek this is the murky darkness of the underworld, the realm of the dead. It is a dark place you are kept in, not just the lack of light.

Jude · 2

  1. Jude 1:6 ζόφον darkness

    And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.

    Here: A thick, underworld gloom. Greek poetry used this word for the darkness of the realm of the dead. It is more than ordinary night.

  2. Jude 1:13 ζόφος gloom

    They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

    Here: A thick, murky darkness. In Greek poetry it is the darkness of the underworld. Jude used the same word in verse 6 for the place where the rebel angels are held.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.