Many religions contrast dark and light with good and evil. Namely Christianity as a off shoot religion does exactly this in the new testament.
Does Judaism use these metaphors directly in any verses or are interpreted that way?
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4Reminder to VTCers that comparative religion questions require knowledge of other religions. This question, as it currently stands, does not, and therefore should be left open.– DonielFApr 1, 2019 at 2:48
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I don't know if this would be considered a metaphor but *Or Zaru'a Latzadik..." - "Lightness is planted for the righteous"? Psalms (I think it's in the 90's.)– DanFApr 1, 2019 at 15:10
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See 1 Samuel 2:9, Job 30:26, Isaiah 5:20, 45:7, Psalm 4:6, 118:27, Proverbs 4:19.– user18041Apr 23, 2019 at 1:12
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3 Answers
The short answer is yes. Darkness and light are precursors in the six days of Creation. They arise on the first day.
For related discussion on the source of Good and Evil, see the following answer: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/130262/7303
Another one that strongly implies it would be Isaiah 45:7:
יוֹצֵ֥ר אוֹר֙ וּבוֹרֵ֣א חֹ֔שֶׁךְ עֹשֶׂ֥ה שָׁל֖וֹם וּב֣וֹרֵא רָ֑ע אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה עֹשֶׂ֥ה כׇל־אֵֽלֶּה
Fashioning light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil -- I am God, Who does all these things.
A version of that actually appears in the daily prayers -- it blesses God "who fashions light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates everything."
The deliberate shift from "evil" to "everything" was most likely a result of the prayer being formalized during the time of Zoroastrianism or a similar religion that saw, essentially, two different deities for good vs. evil. Hence Judaism stressed that evil just another part of "everything", ultimately controlled by one God.
Yes. Here's an example:
רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ וְרַבִּי חִיָּא רַבָּה, רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ אָמַר מִתְּחִלַּת בְּרִיָּתוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם צָפָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים וּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶן שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים, הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב (תהלים א, ו): כִּי יוֹדֵעַ ה' דֶּרֶךְ צַדִּיקִים וְדֶרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים תֹּאבֵד. וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ, אֵלּוּ מַעֲשֵׂיהֶן שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים, וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר, אֵלּוּ מַעֲשֵׂיהֶן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים, אֲבָל אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ בְּאֵיזֶה מֵהֶם חָפֵץ, אִם בְּמַעֲשֵׂה אֵלּוּ אִם בְּמַעֲשֵׂה אֵלּוּ, כֵּיוָן דִּכְתִיב וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאוֹר כִּי טוֹב, הֱוֵי בְּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים חָפֵץ, וְאֵינוֹ חָפֵץ בְּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶן שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים. (בראשית רבה ב:ה)
