Mark 15:33
in Mark 15From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
KJV
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
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This verse in Mark 15
Commentary
14 notes on this verseAnd when the sixth hour was come,.... Or twelve o'clock at noon, having hung upon the cross from about the third hour, or nine in the morning: there was darkness over the, whole land until the ninth hour; or three o'clock in the afternoon. The Ethiopic version renders the whole thus, "and when it was noon, the sun was darkened, and the whole world was darkened until the ninth hour"; See Gill on Mat 27:45.
This site's exposition
there was darkness over the whole land
When the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, roughly noon until three in the afternoon, a darkness the older commentators read as a real and unusual event rather than an ordinary eclipse, since Passover fell at the full moon when a solar eclipse is astronomically impossible. The bench reads the darkness as creation itself marking the death of its maker, echoing Amos 8:9's prophecy that the sun would go down at noon. Three hours of silence from the cross precede the cry that breaks it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
What else, then, is the meaning of the evangelist Mark saying, "And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him," but this, that the Lord was crucified at the third hour by the tongues of the Jews, at the sixth hour by the hands of the soldiers? That we may understand that the fifth hour was now completed, and there was some beginning made of the sixth, when Pilate took his seat before the tribunal, which is expressed by John as "about the sixth hour;" and when He was led forth, and nailed to the tree with the two robbers, and the events recorded were enacted beside His cross, the completion of the sixth hour was fully reached, being the hour from which, on to the ninth, the sun was obscured, and the darkness took place, we have it jointly attested on the authority of the three evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
(de Con. Evan. 3, 17) Luke added to this account the cause of the darkness, that is, the darkening of the sun.
Note how clearly was fulfilled the prophecy of our Savior's passion. It was to be a day in which "there shall be no light." "From the sixth hour to the ninth hour there was darkness over all the earth." … This was also fulfilled figuratively by his priestly persecutors, for among them came darkness, cold and ice, following upon their indignities to the anointed One. Their understanding also was darkened, so that the light of the gospel did not shine in their hearts, and their love to God grew cold. Then in the evening the light of the knowledge of the Christ arose, so that they who sat in darkness and the shadow of death saw a great light.
But My People hath changed their glory: whence no profit shall accrue to them: the heaven turned pale thereat" (and when did it turn pale? undoubtedly when Christ suffered), "and shuddered," he says, "most exceedingly; " and "the sun grew dark at mid-day: " (and when did it "shudder exceedingly" except at the passion of Christ, when the earth also trembled to her centre, and the veil of the temple was rent, and the tombs were burst asunder? "because these two evils hath My People done; Me," He says, "they have quite forsaken, the fount of water of life, and they have digged for themselves worn-out tanks, which will not be able to contain water.
And so the "pressure" must be maintained up to that hour in which the orb-involved from the sixth hour in a general darkness-performed for its dead Lord a sorrowful act of duty; so that we too may then return to enjoyment when the universe regained its sunshine.
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church4 voices
If this had been the time for an eclipse, some one might have said that this that happened was natural, but it was the fourteenth moon, when no eclipse can take place. There follows: And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. The most brilliant light of the world withdrew its rays, lest it see the Lord hanging, or the impious blasphemers enjoy its light. And it is to …
(ubi sup.) This most glorious light took away its rays from the world, lest it should see the Lord hanging, and lest the blasphemers should have the benefit of its light. Wherefore it goes on: And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
The darkness was not in one place, but over all the earth. And if at that time it had been the period of the waning of the moon, then someone might still say that this was a natural eclipse. But now it was the fourteenth …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Now the scripture was fulfilled ( Amos viii. 9 ), I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day; and Jer. xv. 9 , Her sun is gone down while it is yet day.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
We have in these verses the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. All deaths are solemn events. Nothing in the whole history of a man is so important as his end. But never was there a death of such solemn import as that which is now before us. In the instant that our Lord drew His last breath, the work of atonement for a world's sin was accomplished. The ransom for sinners was at length paid. The kingdom of heaven was thrown fully open to all believers.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
We have in these verses the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. All deaths are solemn events. Nothing in the whole history of a man is so important as his end. But never was there a death of such solemn import as that which is now before us. In the instant that our Lord drew His last breath, the work of atonement for a world's sin was accomplished. The ransom for sinners was at length paid. The kingdom of heaven was thrown fully open to all believers. All the solid hope that mortal men enjoy about their souls, may be traced to the giving up the spirit on the cross. Let us observe, in these verses, the visible signs and wonders which accompanied our Lord's death . Mark mentions two in particular, which demand our attention. One is the darkening of the sun for the space of three hours. The other is the rending of the veil which divided the holy of holies from the holy place in the temple. Both were miraculous events. Both had, no doubt, a deep meaning about them. Both were calculated to arrest the attention of the whole multitude assembled at Jerusalem. The darkness would strike even thoughtless Gentiles, like Pilate and the Roman soldiers. The rent veil would strike even Annas and Caiaphas and their unbelieving companions. There were probably few houses in Jerusalem that evening in which men would not say, "we have heard and seen unusual things today." What did the MIRACULOUS DARKNESS teach? It taught the exceeding wickedness of the Jewish nation. They were actually crucifying their own Messiah, and slaying their own King. The sun himself hid his face at the sight. It taught the exceeding sinfulness of sin in the eyes of God. The Son of God himself must needs be left without the cheering light of day, when He became sin for us and carried our transgressions. What did the miraculous RENDING OF THE VEIL mean?
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| γενομένης | genomenes | when was arriving | G1096 → | 667 times |
| ὥρας | horas | [the] hour | G5610 → | 106 times |
| ἕκτης | hektes | sixth | G1623 → | |
| σκότος | skotos | darkness | G4655 → | |
| ἐγένετο | egeneto | came | G1096 → | 667 times |
| ἐφ᾽ | eph᾽ | over | G1909 → | 883 times |
| ὅλην | holen | all | G3650 → | 109 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γῆν | gen | land | G1093 → | 248 times |
| ἕως | he'os | until | G2193 → | 146 times |
| ὥρας | horas | [the] hour | G5610 → | 106 times |
| ἐνάτης. | enates | ninth. | G1766 → |
ΚαὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
γενομένηςwhen was arriving
genomenesG1096 →667 times
ὥρας[the] hour
horasG5610 →106 times
ἕκτηςsixth
hektesG1623 →
σκότοςdarkness
skotosG4655 →
ἐγένετοcame
egenetoG1096 →667 times
ἐφ᾽over
eph᾽G1909 →883 times
ὅληνall
holenG3650 →109 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
γῆνland
genG1093 →248 times
ἕωςuntil
he'osG2193 →146 times
ὥρας[the] hour
horasG5610 →106 times
ἐνάτης.ninth.
enatesG1766 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 27:45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
it leads to
- Amos 8:9
And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.
- Mark 15:33–34
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
- Isaiah 50:3
I clothe the heavens in black and make sackcloth their covering.”
- Luke 23:44–45
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour.
- Revelation 9:2
The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the…
- Amos 8:9
Through
Mark 15:25It was the third hour when they crucified Him.
it leads to
- John 19:14
It was the day of Preparation for the Passover, about the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews, “Here is your King!”
- Luke 23:44
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour.
- Matthew 27:45
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
- John 19:14
Where this verse is studied
About Mark
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Augustine of Hippo, TRACTATES ON JOHN 117.1; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Eusebius of Caesarea, PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 10.7; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews; Tertullian, On Fasting; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.