The opposite of light, misery, shadow, a covering, all of these and more thoughts use darkness as a descriptor. DARKNESS, in most sermons, is a bad thing and is usually anti-God.  The problem with this thought is God created darkness and uses it for His purposes.  It is, however, associated with the devil and evil, negative things, so carefully read the verse and the context. 

By my count, there are fifteen words in the Old and New Testament for the word darkness. There are other words for dark and night.  Job has the most references to darkness and is where darkness becomes/is a negative thing. Most references in Genesis to Deuteronomy on darkness are not negative or evil but refer to what surrounds God.

Exodus 20:21 (NIV) – The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.  This idea is used several times to tell us that God hid from the people/us in darkness.  In the Strong’s that word is #6205 and is translated for us as thick darkness.  # 2822 is frequently the word used for darkness because of how it is used in verses; it can carry negative connotations. My thought on why God would hide in darkness is because of the unapproachable light He lives in. (See the other post that is listed in Light and Dark)

Genesis 1:2 uses #2822 for darkness.  (This post is not for a commentary on Creationism.)  The BIG point I want to make is God started with darkness!  He then called for LIGHT and separated them.  (I will use this idea in the following post.)  This verse can take a different direction if you put in the other thoughts associated with darkness.  

In Genesis 1: 4, 6, 7, 14 the NIV uses the word separate, KJV can use the word divide.  In the Strong’s it is number #914.  This word, to me, is a serious word. It is used about Aaron and his family and how they were to be different than the other Israelites.  To divide light and dark, day and night is a very clear separation.

FURTHER STUDY: Use a concordance to compare the three different words for “darkness” that is used in Job 10.