the absence of light. “Darkness was upon the face of the
deep,” Gen. i, 2; that is, the chaos was immersed in thick darkness,
because light was withheld from it. The most terrible darkness was that
brought on Egypt as a plague; it was so thick as to be, as it were,
palpable; so horrible, that no one durst stir out of his place; and so
lasting, that it endured three days and three nights, Exod. x, 21, 22;
Wisdom xvii, 2, 3. The darkness at our Saviour’s death began at the
sixth hour, or noon, and ended at the third hour, or three o’clock in
the afternoon. Thus it lasted almost the whole time he was on the cross;
compare Matt. xxvii, 45, with John xix, 14, and Mark xv, 25. Origen,
Maldonatus, Erasmus, Vatablus, and others, were of opinion that this
darkness covered Judea only; which is sometimes called the _whole
earth_; that is, the whole country. Chrysostom, Euthymius, Theophylact,
and others, thought it extended over a hemisphere. Origen says it was
caused by a thick mist, which precluded the sight of the sun. That it
was preternatural is certain, for, the moon being at full, a natural
eclipse of the sun was impossible. Darkness is sometimes used
metaphorically for death. “The land of darkness” is the grave, Job x,
22; Psalm cvii, 10. It is also used to denote misfortunes and
calamities: “A day of darkness” is a day of affliction, Esther xi, 8.
“Let that day be darkness; let darkness stain it,”--let it be reckoned
among the unfortunate days, Job iii, 4, 5. The expressions, “I will
cover the heavens with darkness;” “The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood,” &c, signify very great political
calamities, involving the overthrow of kings, princes, and nobles,
represented by the luminaries of heaven. In a moral sense, darkness
denotes ignorance and vice; hence “the children of light,” in opposition
to “the children of darkness,” are the righteous distinguished from the
wicked.
deep,” Gen. i, 2; that is, the chaos was immersed in thick darkness,
because light was withheld from it. The most terrible darkness was that
brought on Egypt as a plague; it was so thick as to be, as it were,
palpable; so horrible, that no one durst stir out of his place; and so
lasting, that it endured three days and three nights, Exod. x, 21, 22;
Wisdom xvii, 2, 3. The darkness at our Saviour’s death began at the
sixth hour, or noon, and ended at the third hour, or three o’clock in
the afternoon. Thus it lasted almost the whole time he was on the cross;
compare Matt. xxvii, 45, with John xix, 14, and Mark xv, 25. Origen,
Maldonatus, Erasmus, Vatablus, and others, were of opinion that this
darkness covered Judea only; which is sometimes called the _whole
earth_; that is, the whole country. Chrysostom, Euthymius, Theophylact,
and others, thought it extended over a hemisphere. Origen says it was
caused by a thick mist, which precluded the sight of the sun. That it
was preternatural is certain, for, the moon being at full, a natural
eclipse of the sun was impossible. Darkness is sometimes used
metaphorically for death. “The land of darkness” is the grave, Job x,
22; Psalm cvii, 10. It is also used to denote misfortunes and
calamities: “A day of darkness” is a day of affliction, Esther xi, 8.
“Let that day be darkness; let darkness stain it,”--let it be reckoned
among the unfortunate days, Job iii, 4, 5. The expressions, “I will
cover the heavens with darkness;” “The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood,” &c, signify very great political
calamities, involving the overthrow of kings, princes, and nobles,
represented by the luminaries of heaven. In a moral sense, darkness
denotes ignorance and vice; hence “the children of light,” in opposition
to “the children of darkness,” are the righteous distinguished from the
wicked.