Hebrew word · H4285

מַחְשָׁךְ

machshakh

darkness

Dark place, region of darkness. A noun of place built on the root for 'be dark'. It is used of the pit and the grave (Ps 88:6, 18; 143:3; Lam 3:6), hidden places of violence (Ps 74:20), and the darkness God turns to light for the blind (Isa 42:16).

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) darkness, dark place, secrecy

1a) hiding-place

1b) dark region

1c) grave

Aramaic equivalent: cha.shokh (חֲשׁוֹךְ "darkness" H2816)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 29:15

Range of meaning

Dark place, region of darkness. A noun of place built on the root for 'be dark'. It is used of the pit and the grave (Ps 88:6, 18; 143:3; Lam 3:6), hidden places of violence (Ps 74:20), and the darkness God turns to light for the blind (Isa 42:16).

Against the English

'In the dark' and 'in darkness' are accurate, but they lose the sense of a place. The plotters choose a location. The word's links with the grave also fit the funeral cry 'woe' that opens the verse.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 88:6, 18; 74:20; 143:3; Lam 3:6; Isa 42:16. For the thought compare Job 24:13–17 (those who rebel against the light and work in the dark) and Job 22:13–14 ('Can he judge through the thick darkness?').

From the study of Isaiah 42:16

Range of meaning

A dark place or region. It is a place-noun built from the root for darkness (ḥoshekh). It is used for the depths of the grave (Ps 88:6, 18), the 'dark places of the land' full of violence (Ps 74:20), and hidden schemes done 'in the dark' (Isa 29:15).

Against the English

Most versions say 'darkness', which is fine, but the Hebrew points to a location: dark ground ahead, a place like a pit or prison.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 42:7 describes the servant's task as bringing out 'from the prison those who sit in darkness'. Isaiah 9:2 has 'the people walking in darkness have seen a great light.' The phrase 'set darkness into light' uses the same construction as Isa 5:20 ('woe to those who put darkness for light'). There it describes people corruptly swapping labels. Here God actually transforms the ground. Compare also the pillar of fire lighting Israel's way by night (Exod 13:21).

From the study of Psalm 143:3

Range of meaning

A dark place or region. It is rare (about seven occurrences) and is mostly used of the underworld, the pit, or deep hiding places (Ps 88:6, 18; Lam 3:6; Isa 29:15; 42:16).

Against the English

Most versions have 'darkness.' YLT and WEB keep the plural, 'dark places.' The plural points to an actual location, a dungeon or the grave, rather than a mood.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 88:6 (Heb 88:7): 'You have put me in the lowest pit, in dark places, in the depths.' Lam 3:6 repeats almost word for word the last line of this verse. In the wider ancient Near East the underworld is the 'house of darkness' where the dead sit with dust as their food (Mesopotamian Descent of Ishtar; Gilgamesh VII).

Similar words

Where it appears

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 74:20 מַחֲשַׁכֵּי־ [the] dark places of

    Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

    Here: 'The dark places of': hidden, gloomy spots. Elsewhere the word is used of the grave and the realm of the dead (Ps 88:6; 143:3; Lam 3:6) and of secret wrongdoing (Isa 29:15). Here it can mean hiding places, lurking spots, or a land sunk in deathlike gloom.

  2. Psalm 88:6 בְּ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים in [the] dark places

    You have laid me in the lowest Pit, in the darkest of the depths.

  3. Psalm 88:18 מַחְשָֽׁךְ׃ darkness

    You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.

  4. Psalm 143:3 בְ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים in dark places

    For the enemy has pursued my soul, crushing my life to the ground, making me dwell in darkness like those long since dead.

    Here: 'In dark places.' It is plural, meaning places, not darkness in the abstract. The word is rare and used of the pit and the grave (Ps 88:6; Lam 3:6), the dark of a dungeon or of Sheol.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 29:15 בְמַחְשָׁךְ֙ in a dark place

    Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”

    Here: Not simply 'darkness' but a place of darkness. Elsewhere the word is used for the pit and the realm of the dead (Ps 88:6, 18). They choose a location where nobody can see.

  2. Isaiah 42:16 מַחְשָׁ֨ךְ [the] dark place

    I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.

    Here: Not just 'darkness' but a dark place or region. Elsewhere it is used for the grave, hidden places and dungeon-like depths (Ps 88:6, 18; Isa 29:15). It echoes the prisoners 'who sit in darkness' in 42:7.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 3:6 בְּמַחֲשַׁכִּ֥ים in dark places

    He has made me dwell in darkness like those dead for ages.

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