H2822 — חֹשֶׁךְ (choshek)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2822
Original: חֹשֶׁךְ
Transliteration: choshek
Pronunciation: kho-shek
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: חָשַׁךְ (chashak, H2821) — to be dark, to withhold light
Occurrences: 77 unique verses (83 tokens) across 18 OT books
First Occurrence: Gen 1:2 — "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H2821 chashak; the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness. KJV: dark(-ness), night, obscurity.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
darkness	26	33.8%
of darkness	12	15.6%
in darkness	9	11.7%
the darkness	6	7.8%
in the dark	3	3.9%
with darkness	3	3.9%
dark	2	2.6%
in the darkness	2	2.6%
into darkness	2	2.6%
my darkness	2	2.6%
Other (13 renderings)	10	13.0%

The word is rendered "darkness" or a prepositional phrase involving "darkness" in over 95% of occurrences. Two exceptional renderings: "obscurity" (Isa 29:18, Pro 20:20) and "night" (Gen 1:5, where God names the darkness "Night").

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Job	23	2.1
Isaiah	13	1.0
Psalms	11	0.4
Ecclesiastes	5	2.3
Genesis	4	0.3
Exodus	3	0.2
Amos	2	1.4
Joel	2	2.7
Deuteronomy	2	0.2
2 Samuel	2	0.3
Ezekiel	2	0.2
Proverbs	2	0.2
Micah	1	1.0
Nahum	1	2.1
Zephaniah	1	1.9
Lamentations	1	0.6
Joshua	1	0.2
1 Samuel	1	0.1

Job dominates with 30% of all occurrences, followed by Isaiah (17%) and Psalms (14%). Density is highest in the Minor Prophets (Joel 2.7, Nahum 2.1, Zephaniah 1.9) and Ecclesiastes (2.3). The word is concentrated in wisdom and prophetic literature; it is absent from the historical books after Joshua/Samuel and from the entire Pentateuch except Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Primordial/Created Darkness¶

The physical darkness of creation, over which God exercises sovereignty. - Gen 1:2 — "and darkness was upon the face of the deep" - Gen 1:4 — "God divided the light from the darkness" - Gen 1:18 — "to divide the light from the darkness" - Isa 45:7 — "I form the light, and create darkness" - Psalm 104:20 — "Thou makest darkness, and it is night"

2. Theophanic Darkness — God's Concealing Presence¶

Darkness as the envelope surrounding God's manifestation, especially at Sinai. - Deut 4:11 — "the mountain burned with fire... with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness" - Deut 5:23 — "ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness" - 2 Sam 22:12 — "He made darkness pavilions round about him" - Psalm 18:11 — "He made darkness his secret place"

3. Judgment and the Day of the LORD¶

Darkness as the signature of divine judgment, especially in prophetic eschatology. - Exo 10:21-22 — plague of darkness over Egypt, "a thick darkness in all the land" - Joel 2:2 — "A day of darkness and of gloominess" - Joel 2:31 — "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood" - Amos 5:18, 20 — "the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light... even very dark, and no brightness in it" - Zeph 1:15 — "a day of darkness and gloominess" - Nahum 1:8 — "darkness shall pursue his enemies" - Isa 60:2 — "the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people"

4. Death, Sheol, and the Grave¶

Darkness as the condition of death and the realm of the dead. - Job 10:21 — "the land of darkness and the shadow of death" - Job 17:13 — "I have made my bed in the darkness" - Job 18:18 — "He shall be driven from light into darkness" - Psalm 88:12 — "Shall thy wonders be known in the dark?" - Psalm 107:10 — "Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" - Lam 3:2 — "He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light"

5. Moral/Spiritual Darkness — Wickedness and Ignorance¶

Darkness as a figure for moral blindness, wickedness, and folly. - Pro 2:13 — "Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness" - Ecc 2:13-14 — "wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness... the fool walketh in darkness" - Isa 5:20 — "Woe unto them that... put darkness for light, and light for darkness" - Job 24:16 — "In the dark they dig through houses... they know not the light" - Eze 8:12 — "what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark"

6. Captivity, Affliction, and Distress¶

Darkness as a figure for suffering, imprisonment, and oppression. - Isa 9:2 — "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light" - Isa 42:7 — "to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness" - Isa 49:9 — "to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves" - Micah 7:8 — "when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me" - Psalm 107:14 — "He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death"

7. Human Ignorance and Limitation¶

Darkness as the boundary of human understanding. - Job 38:19 — "Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof?" - Job 12:22 — "He discovereth deep things out of darkness" - Job 37:19 — "we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness" - Ecc 6:4 — "he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אוֹר (ʼowr)	H216	25x (32%)	Antithetic pairing: "light and darkness," "divide the light from the darkness"
יוֹם (yowm)	H3117	17x (22%)	"day of darkness," "day and night" cosmic pair
יְהֹוָה (Yehovah)	H3068	13x (17%)	God as sovereign over darkness, or darkness as his judgment
אֶרֶץ (ʼerets)	H776	11x (14%)	"land of darkness" (Job), "darkness over the land" (plagues/judgment)
לַיִל (layil)	H3915	8x (10%)	Natural parallel: "darkness... night"
צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmaveth)	H6757	8x (10%)	Hendiadys: "darkness and the shadow of death"
אֲפֵלָה (ʼaphelah)	H653	5x (6%)	Intensifying synonym: "darkness and thick darkness"

The dominant collocation is with ʼowr (H216, "light"), appearing in nearly a third of all choshek verses. This light/darkness antithesis is the foundational semantic axis of the word.

Synonyms¶

H652 אֹפֶל (ʼophel) — dusk, deep darkness
H653 אֲפֵלָה (ʼaphelah) — thick darkness, gloom (figurative: misfortune)
H2825 חֲשֵׁכָה (chashekah) — darkness (feminine cognate of choshek)
H3915 לַיְלָה (laylah) — night
H6757 צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmaveth) — shadow of death, deep shadow
H6205 עֲרָפֶל (ʻaraphel) — thick cloud, heavy darkness (theophanic)
H5645 עָב (ʻab) — dark cloud, thick cloud
H6051 עָנָן (ʻanan) — cloud

Antonyms¶

H216 אוֹר (ʼowr) — light
H3117 יוֹם (yowm) — day
H5051 נֹגַהּ (nogah) — brightness, splendor
H3476 יֹשֶׁר (yosher) — uprightness (moral antonym)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
אֹפֶל (ʼophel)	H652	"darkness"	ʼophel = deep/thick darkness (intensified); choshek = general darkness
חֲשֵׁכָה (chashekah)	H2825	"darkness"	Feminine cognate; rare (5v); choshek is the standard form
מַחְשָׁךְ (machshak)	H4285	"dark place"	machshak = concrete dark place/location; choshek = abstract quality/state
אֲפֵלָה (ʼaphelah)	H653	"darkness"	ʼaphelah adds figurative misfortune/calamity nuance

Semantic Domain¶

[002001001018] Dark Other words in domain: אָפֵל (H651), אֹפֶל (H652), אֲפֵלָה (H653), חֲשׁוֹךְ (A2816), חשׁך (H2821), חֲשֵׁכָה (H2825)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
σκότος (skotos) G4655	67	32.81	Primary and near-exclusive equivalent
φῶς (phos) G5457	24	19.05	In antithetic "light/darkness" verses (Greek renders as light counterpart)
γνόφος (gnophos) G1105	10	16.79	Theophanic storm-gloom (Sinai, Heb 12:18)
σκοτεινός (skoteinos) G4652	5	12.03	Adjective "dark, full of darkness"
σκιά (skia) G4639	6	10.71	"Shadow" — in tsalmaveth collocations

The LXX maps choshek to σκότος (skotos) with overwhelming consistency (67 co-occurrences, PMI 32.81). This forms one of the strongest Hebrew-Greek bridges in the OT, carrying directly into NT usage (Matt 27:45; John 1:5; 1 John 1:5-6; Col 1:13).