Dimness
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Dimness, in a biblical context, often refers to a lack of clarity or obscurity, both in a physical and spiritual sense. It is used metaphorically to describe a state of spiritual blindness or a lack of understanding and insight into God's truth and revelation.

Biblical References:

1. Isaiah 9:1-2 : "Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." Here, dimness is associated with the spiritual darkness that enveloped the people before the coming of the Messiah. The prophecy speaks of a transition from dimness to light, symbolizing the revelation and salvation brought by Christ.

2. Isaiah 29:18 : "On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see." This passage highlights the transformative power of God's intervention, where dimness is replaced by clarity and understanding. It signifies the opening of spiritual eyes to perceive God's truth.

3. Isaiah 60:2 : "For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you." The dimness here represents the pervasive spiritual ignorance and sinfulness of the world, contrasted with the illuminating presence of God's glory.

Theological Implications:

Dimness, as a metaphor for spiritual blindness, underscores the human condition apart from divine revelation. It reflects the inability of individuals to comprehend spiritual truths without the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible consistently portrays God as the source of light and understanding, dispelling the dimness of sin and ignorance.

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is identified as the "light of the world" (John 8:12), who brings clarity and truth to those who follow Him. The dimness of the Old Covenant, with its shadows and types, is fulfilled and illuminated in the New Covenant through Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

Practical Application:

Believers are called to walk in the light, rejecting the dimness of the world and embracing the clarity found in Christ. This involves a continual renewal of the mind through Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Christians are also tasked with being "lights" in the world (Matthew 5:14-16), reflecting the light of Christ to those still in spiritual dimness.

Dimness serves as a reminder of the importance of spiritual vigilance and the need for God's illumination in understanding His will and purpose. It challenges believers to seek deeper insight into God's Word and to live in a manner that reflects the light of the Gospel.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (n.) The state or quality / being dim; lack of brightness, clearness, or distinctness; dullness; obscurity.

2. (n.) Dullness, or want of clearness, of vision or of intellectual perception.

Greek
887. achlus -- a mist
... a mist. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: achlus Phonetic Spelling:
(akh-looce') Short Definition: a mist, dimness Definition: a mist, dimness ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/887.htm - 6k

4653. skotia -- darkness
... darkness. From skotos; dimness, obscurity (literally or figuratively) -- dark(-ness).
see GREEK skotos. (skotia) -- 15 Occurrences. (skotias) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4653.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew
4155. muaph -- gloom
... dimness. From uwph; properly, covered, ie Dark; abstractly, obscurity, ie Distress --
dimness. see HEBREW uwph. 4154, 4155. muaph. 4156 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/4155.htm - 6k

4588. mauph -- gloom
... dimness. From uwph in the sense of covering with shade (compare muw'aph); darkness --
dimness. see HEBREW uwph. see HEBREW muw'aph. 4587, 4588. mauph. 4589 > ...
/hebrew/4588.htm - 6k

5774. uwph -- to fly
... A primitive root; to cover (with wings or obscurity); hence (as denominative from
owph) to fly; also (by implication of dimness) to faint (from the darkness of ...
/hebrew/5774.htm - 5k

Library

Whether Angels and Man had Faith in their First State
... the knowledge of faith is dark and dim, according to I:Cor.13:12: "now we see through
a glass, darkly." But in their first state there was dimness neither in ...
/.../aquinas/nature and grace/article one whether angels and.htm

Whether Purification of the Heart is an Effect of Faith
... But faith does not purify the intellect of dimness, since it knows things
darkly. Hence faith does not purify the heart in any way. ...
/.../aquinas/nature and grace/article two whether purification of.htm

Christ the Arrester of Incipient Evil and the Nourisher of ...
... Keep near Him that His hand may nourish your smoking dimness into a pure
flame, leaping heavenward and illuminating your lives. III. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/christ the arrester of incipient.htm

Hope for the Heathen
... of the promised Messiah. At first he beheld only "trouble and darkness,
dimness of anguish." Isaiah 8:22. Many who were longing ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 31 hope for the.htm

Alive or Dead --Which?
... That work may be prospering within them, but through the turmoil of their spirits
and the dimness of their mental vision, they do not at once perceive it, and ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 13 1867/alive or deadwhich.htm

Sharing Christ's Life
... The eye may sometimes gather dimness, but the light shall yet return. Where Christ
hath opened a blind eye, blindness comes not back again. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 60 1914/sharing christs life.htm

The Ark of his Covenant
... of God was opened in heaven." When our Lord Jesus died, He rent the veil of the
temple, and so He laid open the Holy of Holies but such is our dimness of sight ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 41 1895/the ark of his covenant.htm

Abraham, the Man of Prayer
... In the simplicity and dimness of the patriarchal dispensation, as illustrated by
him, we learn the worth of prayer, as well as discover its antiquity. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bounds/prayer and praying men/iii abraham the man of.htm

Impressive Phrases
... D. daring, cordial, discerning, and optimistic. darkness, dimness, dulness,
and blackness. deadly, destructive, fatal, and implacable. ...
/.../kleiser/fifteen thousand useful phrases/section iv impressive phrases.htm

Against Embellishing the Body.
... But in the evening this spurious beauty creeps out to candle-light as out of a hole;
for drunkenness and the dimness of the light aid what they have put on. ...
/.../clement/the instructor paedagogus/chapter ii against embellishing the body.htm

Thesaurus
Dimness (2 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) Dullness, or want of clearness, of vision or of intellectual perception.
Multi-Version Concordance Dimness (2 Occurrences). ...
/d/dimness.htm - 7k

Attentively (35 Occurrences)
... darkness! -- Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not
the dimness for which she is in distress! (YLT). Isaiah ...
/a/attentively.htm - 16k

Adversity (54 Occurrences)
... darkness! -- Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not
the dimness for which she is in distress! (YLT). Isaiah ...
/a/adversity.htm - 22k

Grievously (17 Occurrences)
... (WBS). Isaiah 9:1 Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation,
when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of ...
/g/grievously.htm - 14k

Eyes (6285 Occurrences)
... The frequency of such senile dimness of sight made the case of Moses the more
remarkable that at the age of 120 his eye was not dim (Deuteronomy 34:7). Tobit's ...
/e/eyes.htm - 11k

Dullness (1 Occurrence)
... (n.) The state of being dull; slowness; stupidity; heaviness; drowsiness; bluntness;
obtuseness; dimness; want of luster; want of vividness, or of brightness. ...
/d/dullness.htm - 6k

Dimon (1 Occurrence)

/d/dimon.htm - 6k

Dimnah (1 Occurrence)

/d/dimnah.htm - 7k

Type (12 Occurrences)
... economy. "Shadow" implies dimness and transitoriness; but it also implies
a measure of resemblance between the one and the other. ...
/t/type.htm - 23k

Diseases (38 Occurrences)
... The frequency of such senile dimness of sight made the case of Moses the more
remarkable that at the age of 120 his eye was not dim (Deuteronomy 34:7). Tobit's ...
/d/diseases.htm - 25k

Resources
Dimness: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Concordance
Dimness (2 Occurrences)

Isaiah 8:22
And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
(KJV WBS YLT)

Isaiah 9:1
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
(KJV WBS)

Subtopics

Dimness

Related Terms

Dibon (12 Occurrences)

Escapeth (11 Occurrences)

Dimonah (1 Occurrence)

Additions (4 Occurrences)

Adamah (2 Occurrences)

Lions (50 Occurrences)

Added (97 Occurrences)

Escaped (94 Occurrences)

Woes (3 Occurrences)

Fugitives (21 Occurrences)

Dibongad (2 Occurrences)

Dimness (2 Occurrences)

Dibon-gad (2 Occurrences)

Madmen (3 Occurrences)

Lion (92 Occurrences)

Remnant (157 Occurrences)

Escape (142 Occurrences)

I'm (30 Occurrences)

Dimnah: A Levitical City of Zebulun
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