אֲפֵלָהʼăphêlâh
darkness, gloominess, calamity
Pronunciation: af-ay-law' · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H653
Meanings
1. darkness (Deuteronomy 28:29; Proverbs 7:9; Exodus 10:22)
2. figurative of calamity (Isaiah 8:22; Isaiah 58:10; Isaiah 59:9)
Same root
Where it appears
Appears 10 times in the Bible.
- Exodus 10:22 So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days.
- Deuteronomy 28:29 You will grope around in broad daylight like a blind person groping in the darkness, but you will not find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you.
- Proverbs 4:19 But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.
- Proverbs 7:9 It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.
- Isaiah 8:22 and down at the earth, but wherever they look, there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.
- Isaiah 58:10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).