652. ophel
Lexical Summary
ophel: Mound, hill, fortress, stronghold

Original Word: אֹפֶל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: ophel
Pronunciation: OH-fel
Phonetic Spelling: (o'fel)
KJV: darkness, obscurity, privily
NASB: darkness, gloom
Word Origin: [from the same as H651 (אַפֵל - gloom)]

1. dusk

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
darkness, obscurity, privily

From the same as 'aphel; dusk -- darkness, obscurity, privily.

see HEBREW 'aphel

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
darkness, gloom
NASB Translation
darkness (6), gloom (3).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
אֹ֫פֶל noun masculine Job 3:6 darkness, gloom (only in poetry) -׳א always absolute —

1 darkness,, of night Psalm 91:6 (opposed to צָֽהֳרַיִם deep in the earth,׳אֶבֶן א Job 28:3 ("" חשֶׁח צַלְמָוֶת); darkness, gloom of underworld Job 10:22 (twice in verse) ("" אֶרֶץ חשֶׁח עֵיפָפָה׳א צַלְמָוֶת); personified Job 3:6 that nightlet darkness take it ׳יִקָּחֵהוּ א; figurative of spiritual darkness Isaiah 29:18 ("" חשֵׁח); of secrecy, treachery Psalm 11:2.

2 especially figurative of calamity, Job 23:17 ("" חשׁ ך q. v.), Job 30:26 (opposed to אוֺר ).

Topical Lexicon
Semantic Range and Imagery

אֹפֶל evokes a palpable, oppressive darkness—“gloom,” “deep shadow,” or “thick darkness.” Unlike ordinary nightfall, it portrays a darkness that stifles movement, perception, and hope. In narrative contexts it is physical; in wisdom and prophetic texts it becomes existential and spiritual, symbolizing ignorance, danger, judgment, and separation from God.

Occurrences in Scripture

Job 3:6 – Job calls for the day of his birth to be swallowed by “thick darkness,” wishing that his existence be erased in impenetrable gloom.
Job 10:22 – He depicts Sheol as “a land of darkness and utter gloom … where even the light is like darkness,” emphasizing death’s disorienting finality.
Job 23:17 – Job refuses to be silenced “by the thick darkness that covers my face,” showing faith’s protest against despair.
Job 28:3 – Humanity’s ingenuity “puts an end to darkness” by mining in “deep darkness,” illustrating dominion over creation while hinting at limits: spiritual gloom remains unconquered without divine light.
Job 30:26 – Expecting light, Job receives “darkness,” a lived illustration of Proverbs 13:12: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”
Psalm 11:2 – The wicked “shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart,” exploiting obscurity to conceal evil intent.
Psalm 91:6 – The believer need not fear “the plague that stalks in darkness,” for the Most High shields even when threats are invisible.
Isaiah 29:18 – In a future restoration “out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see,” foretelling Messianic reversal whereby literal and figurative blindness is banished.

Theological Themes

1. Judgment and Death – אֹפֶל frequently borders Sheol imagery (Job 10:22), underscoring the terror of life cut off from God.
2. Human Limitation – Mining imagery (Job 28:3) celebrates human skill yet contrasts physical advance with spiritual impotence.
3. Moral Ambiguity – The wicked exploit darkness (Psalm 11:2), whereas the righteous rely on divine light (Psalm 27:1).
4. Divine Protection – Psalm 91:6 contrasts unseen threats with God’s surrounding refuge, teaching trust over paranoia.
5. Eschatological Hope – Isaiah 29:18 promises that God will pierce the deepest gloom, anticipating the Gospel proclamation: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2).

Historical and Cultural Context

Ancient Near Eastern cosmology often portrayed chaos and the underworld as regions of pitch darkness. Hebrew poetry adopts the same motifs but roots them in covenant theology: darkness is not merely ominous space; it exists under Yahweh’s sovereign rule. Mining references reveal advanced Bronze Age technology and remind readers of humanity’s age-old quest to master darkness—physical and metaphysical.

Ministry and Homiletical Insights

• Counseling the Suffering – Job’s laments validate anguished believers who feel smothered by gloom; yet his refusal to curse God models persevering faith.
• Spiritual Warfare – Psalm 11:2 equips pastors to expose hidden sin and encourage vigilance, for evil often emerges from metaphorical shadows.
• Assurance in Crisis – Psalm 91:6 empowers congregations facing pandemics or unseen hazards: the Lord guards against the “plague that stalks in darkness.”
• Evangelism – Isaiah 29:18 provides a framework for presenting Christ as Light of the World (John 8:12), the One who opens blind eyes.

Christological Fulfillment

The darkness at Calvary (Mark 15:33) gathers every strand of אֹפֶל: judgment, sorrow, and apparent defeat. Yet the resurrection explodes that gloom forever. Believers now “proclaim Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Practical Application

• Personal Devotion – Memorize Psalm 91:5–6 and pray it when anxiety over unseen dangers arises.
• Corporate Worship – Use Isaiah 29:18 in Advent readings, highlighting hope of illumination.
• Discipleship – Encourage accountability relationships that bring secret sins “out of the shadows” (Ephesians 5:11-13).

Summary

אֹפֶל confronts readers with the stark reality of life apart from God’s light. Scripture never sanitizes the gloom, yet consistently declares that the Lord penetrates, governs, and ultimately dispels it. The believer therefore walks neither in denial nor in despair, but in confident expectation that “the night is nearly over; the day has drawn near” (Romans 13:12).

Forms and Transliterations
אֹ֗פֶל אֹ֝֗פֶל אֹ֣פֶל אֹ֥פֶל אֹֽפֶל׃ אפל אפל׃ בָּאֹ֣פֶל באפל וּמֵאֹ֣פֶל ומאפל ’ō·p̄el ’ōp̄el bā’ōp̄el bā·’ō·p̄el baOfel Ofel ū·mê·’ō·p̄el ūmê’ōp̄el umeOfel
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Englishman's Concordance
Job 3:6
HEB: הַהוּא֮ יִקָּחֵ֪ה֫וּ אֹ֥פֶל אַל־ יִ֭חַדְּ
NAS: [As for] that night, let darkness seize
KJV: As [for] that night, let darkness seize
INT: he seize darkness nay rejoice

Job 10:22
HEB: עֵיפָ֨תָה ׀ כְּמ֥וֹ אֹ֗פֶל צַ֭לְמָוֶת וְלֹ֥א
NAS: of utter gloom as darkness [itself], Of deep shadow
KJV: of darkness, as darkness [itself; and] of the shadow of death,
INT: of utter as darkness deep without

Job 10:22
HEB: וַתֹּ֥פַע כְּמוֹ־ אֹֽפֶל׃ פ
NAS: And which shines as the darkness.
KJV: and [where] the light [is] as darkness.
INT: shines according to as the darkness

Job 23:17
HEB: וּ֝מִפָּנַ֗י כִּסָּה־ אֹֽפֶל׃
NAS: Nor deep gloom [which] covers
KJV: [neither] hath he covered the darkness from my face.
INT: my face covers gloom

Job 28:3
HEB: חוֹקֵ֑ר אֶ֖בֶן אֹ֣פֶל וְצַלְמָֽוֶת׃
NAS: out The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
KJV: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death.
INT: searches the rock gloom and deep

Job 30:26
HEB: לְ֝א֗וֹר וַיָּ֥בֹא אֹֽפֶל׃
NAS: for light, then darkness came.
KJV: for light, there came darkness.
INT: light came darkness

Psalm 11:2
HEB: לִיר֥וֹת בְּמוֹ־ אֹ֝֗פֶל לְיִשְׁרֵי־ לֵֽב׃
NAS: To shoot in darkness at the upright
KJV: upon the string, that they may privily shoot
INT: to shoot for darkness the upright heart

Psalm 91:6
HEB: מִ֭דֶּבֶר בָּאֹ֣פֶל יַהֲלֹ֑ךְ מִ֝קֶּ֗טֶב
NAS: that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction
KJV: [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction
INT: of the pestilence darkness stalks of the destruction

Isaiah 29:18
HEB: דִּבְרֵי־ סֵ֑פֶר וּמֵאֹ֣פֶל וּמֵחֹ֔שֶׁךְ עֵינֵ֥י
NAS: of a book, And out of [their] gloom and darkness
KJV: shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
INT: words of a book of gloom and darkness the eyes

9 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 652
9 Occurrences


bā·’ō·p̄el — 1 Occ.
’ō·p̄el — 7 Occ.
ū·mê·’ō·p̄el — 1 Occ.

651
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