In the Bible, darkness is not simply described as the absence of light, but, at times, it is portrayed as a tangible force. a physical reality that has no natural explanation. During the ninth plague inflicted upon Egypt during the Book of Exodus, this “darkness that is felt” is distinct from ordinary night and eclipse described in Exodus 10:21-23. According to the King James Version, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness that can be felt.” The phenomenon was not a poetic metaphor; it was a supernatural occurrence that immobilized an entire nation while sparing the Israelites in Goshen.
As a result of combining choshek (darkness) with a form that implies thickness or density, the Hebrew phrase underlying “darkness that may be felt” is choshek aphelah. Occasionally, darkness was used in ancient Near Eastern literature to represent chaos or divine displeasure, but the biblical account elevates the concept into a sensory experience. For three days, Egyptians were unable to see other Egyptians, nor could anyone rise from their places. Movement stopped. As the social order collapsed under the weight of an unseen but palpable presence, the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings, emphasizing the protection and election of God.
Egyptians, who cherished order, architecture, and solar worship centered on Ra, were rendered powerless by this plague, which targeted not only visibility but also autonomy. Ra, the sun god, was rendered powerless. The darkness mocked Egyptian cosmology, where light symbolized life and ma’at (cosmic order). God demonstrated absolute dominion over the fundamental elements of creation by engulfing the land in a suffocating veil. In addition to being a sign of God’s faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant, the plague served as a judgment against Pharaoh’s defiance as well as a judgment against his defiance of God.
As a result of the biblical framework in which darkness symbolizes spiritual realities, this event fits within that framework. In Genesis 1, darkness precedes the creative word “Let there be light,” suggesting an orderly chaotic pre-creation chaos that God ordered. It symbolizes separation from God, moral confusion, and the domain of evil. As punishment for enslaving God’s people, the ninth plague temporarily reverses this order, returning Egypt to primordial order.
There is a similar motif in the New Testament: Jesus refers to outer darkness as a place of exclusion from God’s presence (Matthew 22:13), and Paul refers to believers as rescued “from the power of darkness” and transferred into the kingdom of God’s Son (Colossians 1:13).
As a result of the selective nature of the plague, which affected only Egyptians while Israelites experienced light, it emphasizes themes of election and covenant. Goshen, the region allotted to Israel, becomes a pocket of divine favor amid widespread judgment. Noah’s household is preserved in the ark as the world drowns; Lot is spared as Sodom burns; Rahab’s household is marked for salvation during the collapse of Jericho. As a result, the darkness is not arbitrary but purposeful, as it distinguishes between those who are under God’s promise and those who are resisting it.
As a consequence, the plague anticipates the ultimate exodus and Passover. Blood, frogs, locusts, and finally darkness pave the way for the death of the firstborn and the liberation of Israel in a sequence that builds toward redemption. The tangible darkness serves as a prelude to the angel of death, who is also selectively “passed over.” Both events are influenced by divine discernment-between oppressors and oppressed, between covenant breakers and covenant keepers.
Darkness appears as a harbinger of final judgment in apocalyptic literature. Joel 2:2 describes the Day of the Lord as “a day of darkness and gloominess,” and Revelation 16:10 describes the fifth bowl judgment as a period of darkness poured down upon the throne of the beast, causing agony and pain. Thus, the plague of Exodus serves as a prototype of eschatological reality. What Egypt experienced physically, the unrepentant will face spiritually, cutting themselves from God’s light.
Throughout theological and literary discourse, the phrase “darkness that can be felt” has been used as a metaphor for profound disorientation. The poem captures the visceral nature of divine encounter, when the holiness of God is not only perceived and heard, but is also sensed in its terrifying otherness. For the Egyptians, this was terror without form; for Israel, it was assurance that the God who darkened Egypt’s skies could illuminate their path forward.
It is important to note that the event challenges modern assumptions about naturalism. Biblical miracles are not violations of nature, but are suspensions of normal operation for redemptive purposes. Rather than being meteorological, the darkness was theophanic, an intrusion of God’s glory in judgment. As a result, the reader is reminded that the Creator of Scripture is not merely an observer but a sovereign who wields creation as a means of justice and grace.
Finally, the palpable darkness of Exodus points beyond itself to Christ. During the Crucifixion (Matthew 27:45), there is three hours of darkness, a moment when the Son was burdened with sin. Just as Egypt’s darkness preceded deliverance, the crucifixion’s darkness preceded resurrection. It is the Light of the World who overcomes the darkness that shone in Goshen, who does not dispel the darkness externally but enters it fully and emerges victorious.
It remains a stark reminder that God’s judgment is real, His distinctions are precise, and His light is reserved for those who walk in covenant with Him. The darkness that could be felt was not the end but the prelude to freedom, a shadow cast by the approaching dawn of redemption.
