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37-452: Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness or The Darkness may also refer to: Darkness Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue -sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are inactive when light levels are insufficient, in the range of visual perception referred to as scotopic vision . The emotional response to darkness has generated metaphorical usages of

74-416: A point , on a standard 24-bit computer display , is defined by three RGB (red, green, blue) values, each ranging from 0–255. When the red, green, and blue components of a pixel are fully illuminated (255,255,255), the pixel appears white; when all three components are unilluminated (0,0,0), the pixel appears black. Artists use darkness to emphasize and contrast the presence of light. Darkness can be used as

111-474: A vertebrate , like a human, enters a dark area, its pupils dilate, allowing more light to enter the eye and improving night vision . Also, the light detecting cells in the human eye ( rods and cones ) will regenerate more unbleached rhodopsin when adapting to darkness. One scientific measure of darkness is the Bortle scale , which indicates the night sky's and stars' brightness at a particular location, and

148-446: A 14th-century Middle English writer of The Canterbury Tales , wrote that knights must cast away the "workes of darkness". In Divine Comedy , Dante described hell as "solid darkness stain'd". In Old English there were three words that could mean darkness: heolstor, genip , and sceadu . Heolstor also meant "hiding-place" and became holster. Genip meant "mist" and fell out of use like many strong verbs . It

185-562: A Romantic attraction to landscape and nature painting, for which the plagues were suited, a Gothic attraction to morbid stories, and a rise in Orientalism , wherein exotic Egyptian themes found currency. Given the importance of noble patronage throughout Western art history, the plagues may have found consistent disfavor because the stories emphasize the limits of a monarch's power, and images of lice, locusts, darkness, and boils were ill-suited for decoration in palaces and churches. Perhaps

222-405: A counterpoint to areas of lightness to create leading lines and voids . Such shapes draw the eye around areas of the painting. Shadows add depth and perspective to a painting. See chiaroscuro for a discussion of the uses of such contrasts in visual media. Color paints are mixed together to create darkness, because each color absorbs certain frequencies of light. Theoretically, mixing together

259-596: A nation. This is what the L ORD , the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all

296-593: A second layer of blood. In addition to the Nile, all water that was held in reserve, such as jars, was also transformed into blood. The Egyptians were forced to dig alongside the bank of the Nile, which still had pure water. One week passed before the plague dissipated. This is what the great L ORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into

333-675: Is however still used in the Dutch saying " in het geniep " which means secretly. Sceadu meant "shadow" and remained in use. The word dark eventually evolved from the word deorc . Plagues of Egypt In the Book of Exodus , the Plagues of Egypt ( Hebrew : מכות מצרים ) are ten disasters that Yahweh inflicts on the Egyptians to convince the Pharaoh to emancipate

370-458: Is introduced the creation of light, and the separation of this light from the darkness (as distinct from the creation of the Sun and Moon on the fourth day of creation). Thus, although both light and darkness are included in the comprehensive works of God, darkness was considered "the second to last plague " ( Exodus 10:21), and the location of "weeping and gnashing of teeth" ( Matthew 8:12 ). Erebus

407-561: Is said to be dark when it absorbs photons , causing it to appear dim compared to other objects. For example, matte black paint does not reflect much visible light and appears dark, whereas white paint reflects much light and appears bright. For more information, see color . An object may appear dark, but it may be bright at a frequency that humans cannot perceive. A dark area has limited light sources, making things hard to see. Exposure to alternating light and darkness (night and day) has caused several evolutionary adaptations to darkness. When

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444-477: Is what the L ORD says: "About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again." Before this final plague, God commands Moses to tell

481-627: The Egyptians, and that Deuteronomy never specifies the plagues. Graham Davies, however, questions Van Seters' interpretation and argues that several verses in the book (e.g. Deuteronomy 6:22 ; 11:2–3 ) seem to clearly allude to a plague tradition. The traditional number of ten plagues is not actually mentioned in Exodus, and other sources differ; Psalms 78 and 105 seem to list only seven or eight plagues and order them differently. It appears that originally there were only seven, to which were added

518-500: The Egyptians—something neither your fathers nor your forefathers have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now. Then the L ORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. This

555-497: The Hebrews. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to grant the Israelites their freedom. However, after the plague was gone, Pharaoh refused to keep his promise, as his heart was hardened by God. Various sources use either "wild animals" or "flies". This is what the L ORD , the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back,

592-550: The Israelites originated in Canaan and from the Canaanites , although others disagree. The Ipuwer Papyrus , written no earlier than the late Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt ( c.  1991–1803 BCE ), has been put forward in popular literature as confirmation of the biblical account, most notably because of its statement that "the river is blood" and its frequent references to servants running away; however, these arguments ignore

629-507: The Israelites to mark a lamb 's blood above their doors in order that the Angel of Death will pass over them (i.e., that they will not be touched by the death of the firstborn). Pharaoh orders the Israelites to leave, taking whatever they want, and asks Moses to bless him in the name of the Lord. The passage goes on to state that the passover sacrifice recalls the time when the L ORD "passed over

666-417: The L ORD : With the staff that is in my hands I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink and the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. The Hebrew Bible 's Book of Exodus says that Aaron turned the Nile to blood by striking it with his staff. Pharaoh's magicians used their secret arts to also strike the Nile, creating

703-414: The earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in

740-534: The enslaved Israelites , each of them confronting the Pharaoh and one of his Egyptian gods ; they serve as "signs and marvels" given by Yahweh in response to the Pharaoh's taunt that he does not know Yahweh: "The Egyptians shall know that I am the L ORD ". These Plagues are recited by Jews during the Passover Seder . The consensus of modern scholars is that the Torah does not give an accurate account of

777-415: The field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.   [...] The L ORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the L ORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become

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814-474: The grounds that their pattern, timing, rapid succession, and above all, control by Moses mark them as supernatural . In visual art, the plagues have generally been reserved for works in series, especially engravings. Still, relatively few depictions in art emerged compared to other religious themes until the 19th century, when the plagues became more common subjects, with John Martin and Joseph Turner producing notable canvases. This trend probably reflected

851-424: The hand of the L ORD will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses and donkeys and camels and on your cattle and sheep and goats. Then the L ORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout

888-456: The houses of the Israelites in Egypt". Scholars are in broad agreement that the publication of the Torah took place in the mid-Persian period (the 5th century BCE). The Book of Deuteronomy , composed in stages between the 7th and 6th centuries, mentions the "diseases of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 7:15 and 28:60). John Van Seters contends that this refers to something that afflicted the Israelites, not

925-416: The houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials. Exodus states that God ordered frogs to emerge from the Nile, which then jumped around virtually everywhere in Egypt. The magicians attempted to produce frogs from their secret arts, conjuring up a second wave of frogs. Even the private quarters of Pharaoh

962-418: The land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt."   [...] When Aaron stretched out his hand with the rod and struck the dust of the ground, lice came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became lice. The fourth plague of Egypt was of creatures capable of harming people and livestock. Exodus states that the plagues only came against the Egyptians and did not affect

999-407: The land." This is what the L ORD , the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off

1036-433: The many points on which Ipuwer contradicts Exodus, such as Asiatics arriving in Egypt rather than leaving and the fact that the "river is blood" phrase probably refers to the red sediment colouring the Nile during disastrous floods, or is simply a poetic image of turmoil. Attempts to find natural explanations for the plagues (e.g., a volcanic eruption to explain the "darkness" plague) have been dismissed by biblical scholars on

1073-409: The most successful artistic representation of the plagues is Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt , which, like his perennial favorite, " Messiah ", takes a libretto entirely from scripture. The work was especially popular in the 19th century because of its numerous choruses, generally one for each plague, and its playful musical depiction of the plagues. For example, the plague of frogs is performed as

1110-486: The observability of celestial objects at that location. The material known as Vantablack is one of the darkest substances known, absorbing up to 99.965% of visible light (at 663 nm if the light is perpendicular to the material), and was developed by Surrey NanoSystems in the United Kingdom. The name is a compound of the acronym VANTA (vertically aligned nanotube arrays) and the color black. The color of

1147-539: The origins of the Israelites and that, while a small group of proto-Israelites may have originated from Egypt, it did not happen in the massive way that the Tanakh describes. Some scholars have suggested that the story of the Plagues of Egypt might have been inspired by natural phenomena like epidemics , although these theories are considered uncertain. This is what the L ORD says: By this you will know that I am

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1184-476: The plagues are "signs and marvels" given by the God of Israel to answer Pharaoh's taunt that he does not know Yahweh: "The Egyptians shall know that I am the L ORD ". Secular Scholars broadly agree that the Exodus is not a historical account and that, while a small group of proto-Israelites may have originated from Egypt, it did not happen in the massive way the Bible describes. Some scholars also hold that

1221-494: The term in many cultures, often used to describe an unhappy or foreboding feeling. "Darkness" may also refer to night , which occurs when the Sun is more than 18° below the horizon . The perception of darkness differs from the mere absence of light that sometimes lead to afterimages. In perceiving, the eye is active, and the part of the retina that is unstimulated produces a complementary afterimage. In terms of physics, an object

1258-418: The third, sixth, and ninth, bringing the count to ten. In this final version, the first nine plagues form three triads, each of which God introduces by informing Moses of the main lesson it will teach. In the first triad, the Egyptians begin to experience the power of God; in the second, God demonstrates that he is directing events; and in the third, the incomparability of Yahweh is displayed. Overall,

1295-707: The three primary colors , or the three secondary colors , will absorb all visible light and create black. In practice, it is difficult to prevent the mixture from taking on a brown tint. As a poetic term in the Western world , darkness is used to connote the presence of shadows, evil, and foreboding, or in modern parlance, to connote that a story is grim, heavy, and/or depressing. (Incorrect citation) The first creation narrative in Judaism and Christianity begins with void (not darkness, as originally stated, which means an absence of EVERYTHING including darkness.), into which

1332-579: Was a primordial deity in Greek mythology , representing the personification of darkness. In Chinese philosophy , yin is the complementary feminine part of the taijitu and is represented by a dark lobe. The use of darkness as a rhetorical device has a long-standing tradition. William Shakespeare, working in the 16th and 17th centuries, made a character called the "prince of darkness" ( King Lear : III, iv) and gave darkness jaws with which to devour love. ( A Midsummer Night's Dream : I, i) Geoffrey Chaucer,

1369-401: Was infested with frogs. Three days passed before all the frogs died. The Egyptians had to do much work to rid themselves of the corpses, and the land stank of frog for long afterwards. When the decision came for Pharaoh about the slaves, the Lord hardened his heart and Pharaoh decided that the slaves would not be freed. "And the L ORD said   [...] Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of

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