Ḥeshukha is darkness, what remains when nuhra, light, goes out of a room. The Gospels use it for night, for the dark over the land at noon, and for the darkness inside a person whose eye has gone bad.
| Form | Pattern | Transliteration | Script | Standard | Qala rendering |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noun | ḥeshuk- + -a | ḥeshukha | חשוכא ܚܶܫܽܘܟ݂ܳܐ | darkness | darkness, the dark |
| Verb (Peal) | simple stem | ḥshek | — | to grow dark | the light failed (Luke 23:45) |
| With prepositions | b-, l-, d- prefixes | bḥeshukha, lḥeshukha | — | in / into darkness | in the dark; into the darkness outside |
In the Gospels this family appears mostly as the noun, and the Peal verb ḥshek, to grow dark, appears six times, for nightfall (Matthew 14:23; John 6:17) and for the sun's failing light (Luke 23:45).
At dusk today, leave the lights off and watch the room grow dark. Say ḥeshukha, darkness, slowly, then turn on one lamp and say nuhra, light.
The Hebrew cognate is ḥoshekh (חֹשֶׁךְ), the darkness "over the surface of the deep" in Genesis 1:2.