Lexical Summary skotoó: To darken, to obscure Original Word: σκοτόω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to darkenFrom skotos; to obscure or blind (literally or figuratively) -- be full of darkness. see GREEK skotos HELPS Word-studies Cognate: 4656 skotóō – to darken; (figuratively) to produce a condition of moral, spiritual darkness (obscurity, blindness). See 4654 (skotizō). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom skotos Definition to darken NASB Translation darkened (3). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4656: σκοτόωσκοτόω, σκότῳ: passive, perfect participle ἐσκοτωμενος; 1 aorist ἐσκοτώθην; (cf. WH's Appendix, p. 171); (σκότος); to darken, cover with darkness: Revelation 9:2 L T WH; Topical Lexicon The Motif of Darkness in Scripture From Genesis 1:2 to Revelation 22:5, darkness functions as more than absence of light; it is a spiritual and eschatological symbol of separation from God. The verb behind Strong’s Greek 4656 consistently intensifies that imagery, portraying an active state in which light is withheld or removed. Occurrences in the New Testament 1. Revelation 9:2 – Cosmic disturbance: “the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft.” Here the verb underscores the terror unleashed when demonic forces erupt from the Abyss, previewing the ultimate futility of creation apart from its Creator. Old Testament Echoes and Jewish Background Ancient readers would recall the ninth plague on Egypt (Exodus 10:21-23) and prophetic oracles where the day of the Lord is a day of “thick darkness” (Joel 2:2; Amos 5:18). Second-Temple literature reflects the same polarity: righteousness belongs to “sons of light,” wickedness to “sons of darkness” (cf. Dead Sea Scrolls, 1QM). Theological Implications • Sin obscures spiritual perception. The darkness that cloaks the mind (Ephesians 4:18) is not intellectual deficiency alone but a volitional rebellion that rejects revealed truth. Christ, the Light Who Dispels Darkness Jesus declares, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). His incarnation, death, and resurrection break the power of both moral blindness and eschatological gloom. The cross itself was shrouded in midday darkness (Matthew 27:45), signaling that He bore the judicial darkness His people deserved. Pastoral and Missional Applications • Proclamation must address the heart, not merely the intellect, because darkness is fundamentally spiritual. Summary Strong’s Greek 4656 depicts darkness that is initiated or permitted by God as judgment, or by human sin as blindness. Whether in apocalyptic turmoil or the everyday hardening of hearts, the term warns of the peril of rejecting light. Yet every occurrence drives readers to the hope that “night will be no more” (Revelation 22:5), when the Lamb Himself will be our everlasting lamp. Forms and Transliterations εσκοτωθη εσκοτώθη ἐσκοτώθη εσκοτώθην εσκοτώθησαν εσκοτωμενη εσκοτωμένη ἐσκοτωμένη εσκοτωμενοι ἐσκοτωμένοι εσκότωται σκοτωθείη eskotomene eskotoméne eskotōmenē eskotōménē eskotomenoi eskotoménoi eskotōmenoi eskotōménoi eskotothe eskotōthē eskotṓthe eskotṓthēLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Ephesians 4:18 V-RPM/P-NMPGRK: ἐσκοτωμένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ NAS: being darkened in their understanding, INT: being darkened in the understanding Revelation 9:2 V-AIP-3S Revelation 16:10 V-RPM/P-NFS Strong's Greek 4656 |
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