The "thick darkness" in which God is said to ka^ been (Exod. xx, 21), was doubtless the ** thick dtsd upon the mount" mentioned chap, xix, 16; aad tbe ** thick darkness" in which *'the Lord said thstk would dwell*' (1 Kings viii, 12), has reforeoce Is tk cloud upon the mercy-seat, in which he pronissd tt "appear" to Aaron, and which aeems to hare \f^ rather a cloud of glory and lii^ht than of dsrkBtf^ See Cloud. When it U said (Psa. xcvii, 2) "dwi and darkness are round aboat him," the refepeaoe ii apparently to the inscrutability of the divine ast* and workiuf?. The darkness which is fteqoentiy(l* xiii,9,10; Joelii,81; iii,15; Hatt xxiv, 2S, etc.) «»
DARKON
681
DATARTUS
ected with the coming of the Lord has reference to tie judgments attendant on his advent.
** Darkness is often used symbolically in the Scrip- cires as opposed to light, which is the symbol of joy nd safety*, to express nusery and adversity (Job xviil, ; Psa. cvii, 10 ; cxliii, 8 ; Isa. viii, 22 ; be, 1 ; lix, 9, 0; Ezek. xxx, 18; xxxii, 7, 8; xxxiv, 12); hence Iso captivity (Isa. xlvii, 5 ; Lam. iii, 6). * He . . . bat maketh the morning darkness,' in Amos iv, 18, is opposed to be an allusion to the dense black clouds nd mists attending ear^quakes. * The day of dark- less' in Joel ii, 2, allades to the obscurity occasioned ty the flight of locusts in compact masses. See Lo- lusT. In Ezek. viii, 12, darkness is described as the ccompaniment of idolatrous rites. Darkness of the UD, moon, and stars is used figuratively to denote a ^neral darkness or deficiency in the government or >ody politic (Isa. xiii, 10 ; Ezek. xxxii, 7 ; Joel ii, 10- tl). In Eph. V, 11, the expression ' works of dark- teas' is applied to the heathen mysteries on account )f the impare actions which the initiated performed in hem. * Outer darkness' in Matt, viii, 12, and else- where, refers to the darkness outside, in the streets or »pen country, as contrasted with the blaze of cheerful ight in the house, especially when a convivial party s held in the night time. And it may be observed iiat the streets in the East are utterly dark after night- all, there being no shops with lighted windows, nor )ven public or private lamps to impart to them the ight and cheerfulness to which we are accustomed, rhis gives the more force to the contrast of the * outer larkness' with the inner light. Darkness is used to represent the state of the dead (Job x, 21 ; xvii, 18). it is also employed as the proper and significant em- blem of ignorance (Isa. ix, 2; Ix, 2; Matt, vi, 28; John iii, 9; 2 Cor. iv. 1-6)" (Kitto). See Wemyss, Synbol,Dict,».v.
Dar^on (Heb. Darhmf, I'^p^'? ; according to Cre- iemuSyttrewer; according to Fiiistj porter ; Sept Aap- cwv, AopKutv; Vulg. Deron), a person whose "chil- dren" or descendants were among " Solomon's ser- vants" that returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezra ii, 56 ; Neh. vii, 58). B.C. ante 586.
Darling (^"^n^, ifcichid^, onfyj hence belowd) stands (Psa. xxii, 21 ; xxxv, 17) for life (as a thing not to be replaced); hence se{f (like v3S9, soul; comp. "dear me").
Darom COi^n ; Sept. Xe'i//, and AapSfA), This word is generally used in Scripture to denote " the south" (Ezek. xl, 24 ; Job xxxvii, 17). Its meaning in Deut. xxxiii, 28 is doubtful. Moses in blessing Kaphtali says, "Possess thou the tea and Darom,** The A.V. renders it "the west and the south;" the Septnagint, OaXaatrav xal Xipa ; the old Latin, "mare et AMcum ;" and the Vulgate, " mare et meridiem." The territory of Naphtali lay on the north-east of Pal- estine. It did not touch or go near the Mediterrane- an; consequently "the sea" cannot mean the Medi- terranean. The sea of Galilee is doubtless referred to, the whole western shore of which belonged to Naph- tali. The Septuagint rendering of Darom in this pas- sage (Ai;^, i. e. AfHca) must be wrong. Naphtali never had any connection with Africa, or with that re- gion on its northern frontier afterwards called Darom. The word seems here to denote a district near Tiberias, and probably the sunny plain of Oennesaret, which surpassed all the rest of Palestine in fertility (Joseph. War, iU, 10, 8). With this agrees the probable ety- mology of the word, which, according to Gesenius, signifies bright, according to Ftlrst, glowing.
In Ezek. xx, 46 (xxi, 2), Darom appears to be a proper name. " Son of man, set thy face towards Te- man, and drop the word towards Darom." The A. V. translates both words "south," but the Septuagint more correctly Oaifmv and Aapwfi. Instead of Aapwfi
Symmachus gives Aij3a. We learn from Jerome and other ancient writers that the plain which lies along the southern border of Palestine and extends tovrards Egypt was formerly called Darom. Thus, Jerome says, Duma " is a large village in Darom — that is, in the south country in the region of Eleutheropolis, sev- enteen miles distant fhnn that city" (Onomast. s. v. Darom); and Eusebius describes Gerar as situated inrip tov AaptJfiav (ib. s. v. Vipapa'). The name ap- pears to have been applied to the whole plain from the Mediterranean to the Arabah,and southern shore of the Dead Sea (Beland, Paktst. p. 185 sq.). In the early ages of Christianity a Greek convent was erected near the coast, about seven miles south of Gaza, and named Daron. During the crusades it was converted into a fortress, and was the scene of many a hard struggle between the Christians and Saracens (Will. Tyr. in Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 988 ; Marinus Sanutus, p. 86, 246; Bohadin,Ftta SakuUni, p. 72, and Index Geog. s. V. Darounum ; Robinson, Bib. Res. ii,d75). The site is now marked by a small vOlage called Deir el-Balah, " the convent of the dates" (Porter, Handbook for S, and P. p. 266).— Kitto, s. v.