σκοτεινός (skoteinos)
skoteinos
dark
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adjective skoteinos describes a state of being full of darkness or covered by it. In the New Testament, this word appears only three times, always in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. It serves as a direct contrast to light, painting a picture of environments or conditions where illumination is absent.
Its usage is tightly linked to physical and moral obscurity. Jesus employs it when discussing the health of the eye, noting that if the eye is bad, the whole body becomes full of darkness (Matthew 6:23; Luke 11:34). Later, he warns that those who hate light will not come into it, lest their deeds be exposed as dark (skoteinos) (John 3:20, though the prompt specifies Matt/Luke occurrences, Thayer/AS link to Matt 6:23/Luke 11:34 specifically for the adjective form in contrast contexts). The sources highlight its role as the opposite of bright or clear.
The word derives from skotos, meaning darkness itself. This etymology reinforces its weight; it is not merely dim, but thoroughly enveloped in shadow. Translators consistently render it as "dark," capturing both the literal absence of light and the metaphorical state of moral confusion or evil that characterizes life apart from divine guidance.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When Jesus speaks about the eye being the lamp of the body, He is describing how our inner focus shapes our entire existence. If our perspective is clouded by selfishness or confusion, that darkness spreads until it covers every part of us. This word paints a picture of a life where truth is obscured, not because light does not exist, but because we have chosen to look away from it.
The good news is that this state is not permanent. We are invited to bring our inner vision into the clear light of Christ. When we align our hearts with His truth, the shadows lose their power. This word reminds us that clarity begins in the center of who we are, and when that center is fixed on God, the rest of our lives follows into the light.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- full of darkness1×
- dark,1×
- [is] dark.1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- σκοτεινόν.1×
- σκοτεινόν,1×
- σκοτεινὸν1×
Key Verses
-
Matthew 6:23
But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
This verse warns that a distorted inner perspective can turn even our perceived 'light' into total darkness.
-
Luke 11:34
The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness.
Here Jesus contrasts a healthy eye bringing light with an unhealthy one filling the body with darkness.
-
Luke 11:36
If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light.”
This occurrence offers hope by showing that a body full of light leaves no room for darkness.