UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: shade

Semantic entry: 14.60

Semantic domains: Physical Events and States

Subdomains: Darkness

Definition: shade, as a shelter from light and the heat associated with light

Notes: A term for ‘shade’ as an area sheltered from the direct rays of the sun usually differs from a term for ‘shadow,’ which is cast by a particular object blocking rays of light (see 14.61: ἀποσκίασμα / 14.61: σκιά).

Sense 2: shadow

Semantic entry: 14.61

Semantic domains: Physical Events and States

Subdomains: Darkness

Definition: the shape or shade cast by an object which blocks rays of light

Notes: In OET LUK 1:79 (τοῖς ἐν σκότει καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου καθημένοις ‘those living in the darkness and shadow of death’), σκιά may be interpreted as being used figuratively of a shadow cast by impending death, that is to say, death is personified in such a way as to suggest that it casts a shadow because of its nearness. One may, therefore, translate τοῖς ἐν σκότει καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου καθημένοις as ‘those who live in the darkness of impending death,’ in which case σκιά becomes essentially equivalent to an expression of time.|In a number of languages a term for ‘shadow’ has a number of very important meanings. In some instances it is regarded as a part of personality which goes on to the next world, since a dead person no longer ‘casts a shadow.’ The shadow may also be regarded as a kind of counterpart of the personality, a type of alter ego. In cases of severe illness one may say ‘his shadow has walked away,’ and in many parts of the world the shadow of a person is an important element in the practice of black magic, for to damage a shadow may be regarded as a means of causing harm to a person.

Sense 3: foreshadow, faint prototype, shadow

Semantic entry: 58.65

Semantic domains: Nature, Class, Example

Subdomains: Archetype, Corresponding Type [Antitype]

Definition: a faint archetype which foreshadows a later reality