וַ/אֲפֵלָֽה

𐤅/𐤀𐤐𐤋𐤄

vaafelah

and darkness

feminine of אָפֵל; duskiness, figuratively, misfortune; concrete, concealment; dark, darkness, gloominess, [idiom] thick.

H653

Proverbs 7:9 · Word #6

Lexicon H653

Lemmaאֲפֵלָה
Lemma (Paleo)𐤀𐤐𐤋𐤄
Transliterationʼăphêlâh
Strong'sH653
In-contextand darkness

Morphology HC/Ncfsa All morphology codes

Part of Speech N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea
Subtype c — Common — Common noun
Gender f — Feminine — Feminine
Number s — Singular — Singular
State a — Absolute — The noun stands independently

SIBI-P1 H653-01

and dark-gloom

Rootאפל (ʾ-p-l)
Core Meaningsdarkness, obscurity, gloom, hiddenness
Semantic Rangedeep darkness, gloom, obscurity, concealment, figurative calamity or misfortune
Conceptual Significanceאֲפֵלָה often signifies more than physical darkness; it evokes existential or covenantal obscurity—times of judgment, hiddenness, or distress when light (often associated with divine favor or revelation) is absent.
Morphological NotesConjunction וַ + noun common feminine singular absolute (Ncfsa). No pronominal suffix; abstract feminine noun.
Rendering RationaleThe noun אֲפֵלָה derives from the root אפל, conveying deep darkness or obscurity. The form is a feminine singular absolute noun with a prefixed conjunction ("and"), so the rendering preserves the singular sense and the root idea of palpable darkness by expressing it as "dark-gloom."

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root אפל (darkness, obscurity, gloom, hiddenness)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
baafelah in the gloom-darkness
H652-01 ofel deep-darkness

Word Usage (10 occurrences of H653)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Exodus 10:22 אֲפֵלָ֛ה afelah thick
Deuteronomy 28:29 בָּ/אֲפֵלָ֔ה baafelah in the darkness
Isaiah 8:22 וַ/אֲפֵלָ֖ה vaafelah and thick darkness